Donald Trump Reportedly Told Inner Circle Aliens Are Living in Earth's Oceans

An outlandish presidential revelation forces us to look beneath the waves for visitors from the stars

By   Welbert Bauyaban

Jack Osbourne claims US President Donald Trump told a close friend that extraterrestrials live in Earth's oceans 

PHOTO Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

TV host Jack Osbourne claimed on Sunday that an unnamed friend told him Donald Trump said extraterrestrials are hiding in Earth's oceans. Osbourne stated that this friend, who speaks with the president weekly, confided this news to him.

Recently, Donald Trump directed US agencies to identify and release government files related to UFOs, UAPs, and extraterrestrial life. This move sparked debate among extraterrestrial enthusiasts worldwide. However, the US government's release of UAP-related records does not establish that extraterrestrial beings have been found, and NASA says it has not found credible evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Jack Osbourne, son of rock music icon Ozzy Osbourne, recently discussed this alleged claim while promoting his paranormal channel Spark.TV.

Osbourne said the unnamed friend speaks with Trump regularly. They apparently share a private phone call every Saturday. During one chat, the friend allegedly asked about the latest governmental UAP disclosures. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify that this conversation occurred.

US President Donald Trump said of aliens, ‘We have no idea what they are, but they're in the ocean.’

(Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

An Alleged Conversation

The friend reportedly asked the president about the situation. According to Osbourne, the US leader answered that they do not know what the entities actually are. However, Osbourne claimed that Trump said these unknown beings reside beneath the waves. Quoting the alleged conversation in his recent television interview, Osbourne claimed Trump said, 'We have no idea what they are, but they're in the ocean.' There is no independent evidence confirming Trump made this statement.

Osbourne finds this perspective interesting and plausible, noting that vast sections of the deep sea remain completely unexplored and could hide secrets from the general public. He suggested these hypothetical visitors might simply be observing humanity.

Osbourne compared the hypothetical aliens' behaviour to the Sentinelese, suggesting they could be observing humanity from a distance. Just as modern society watches the isolated indigenous people of Sentinel Island without interfering, Osbourne believes a similar dynamic could occur between humans and these visitors. He theorised that they observe us from the oceans, and suggested that they occasionally abduct people.

Despite sharing these theories, Osbourne states he does not consider himself a fanatic and claims he keeps one foot firmly planted in reality. The investigator says he carefully rides the sceptic line when hearing stories. Owning Spark.TV gives him access to the world of the unexplained, and he says his constant review of supposed evidence forces him to question everything he sees.

Examining Abduction Claims

Osbourne also opened up about his feelings regarding individuals who claim to have experienced alien abductions. He once tried to produce a support group television show where people shared their experiences. Many individuals recounted memories of a room filled with bright light and claimed they were suddenly hovered out of a nearby window, while other accounts defied basic human logic.

Osbourne has also discussed an alleged foreign object examined during a documentary project titled Patient 17, although there is no established evidence that it was extraterrestrial in origin. He described the extracted object in basic medical terms, stating it looked like a large kidney stone.

According to Osbourne, there may be various types of alien visitors, and he theorised that some are friendly while others are hostile.

He also offered a psychological theory regarding typical abduction memories, suggesting that deep emotional trauma plays a role and might trigger vivid hallucinations in certain people. Noting that many individuals vividly recall large creatures with giant heads staring downward and describe waking up in a white, sterile room, Osbourne suspects they might actually be remembering their own human births. He believes such psychological echoes might explain the medical nature of these accounts.

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Conspiracy Theorists Think a 'Lost Continent' Linked to Aliens Was Destroyed by Ancient 'Nuclear War'

Exploring the enduring myths and scientific investigations surrounding Lemuria and its alleged connections to extraterrestrial life

(AI Generated) Conspiracy theorists say a lost continent tied to aliens and ancient nuclear war may be located, but scientists stress new Indian Ocean findings show only geological fragments, not Lemuria AI Generated image )

Conspiracy theorists have latched onto fresh claims that a 'lost continent' linked to aliens and ancient nuclear war may finally have a location, after scientists mapped fragments of a sunken landmass beneath the Indian Ocean.

Conspiracy theorists think a 'lost continent' linked to aliens was destroyed by ancient 'nuclear war,' and the latest geological work has given them a new hook, even though researchers say there is no evidence of Lemuria, alien descendants or a prehistoric civilisation.

Interest in Lemuria has ebbed and flowed for more than a century, but it surged again after reports that zircon crystals on Mauritius date back billions of years, far older than the island's surface rocks.

That finding fits with a genuine geological story about Mauritia, a microcontinent left behind when Gondwanaland broke apart, yet it has been reinterpreted by believers as proof that the mythic Lemuria was real.

The Science Behind the Lost Continent Claims

Lemuria began life as a serious scientific hypothesis. In 1864, British zoologist Philip Sclater proposed a sunken land bridge to explain why lemur fossils appeared in both Madagascar and India but not in Africa, which sits closer to Madagascar. He named it Lemuria after the animals, writing that Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands held 'existing relics of this great continent.'

The idea lost favour once plate tectonics showed India and Madagascar had once been joined, removing the need for a separate continent. Outside mainstream science, though, Lemuria took on a second life, blending with occult beliefs and later with UFO lore.

Mauritia is the real piece of the puzzle. Described in a 2013 paper and bolstered by a 2017 study in Nature Communications, researchers found zircon grains in volcanic rock on Mauritius that are roughly 2.5 to 3 billion years old, even though the island's exposed rocks are no older than about nine million years.

Scientists are now using gravity inversion to estimate the thickness of the oceanic crust and trace where chunks of Mauritia might still lie intact. The work could clarify the size and shape of the ancient landmass, but it has not uncovered ruins, artefacts or any sign of an intelligent civilisation beneath the waves.

From Lemuria to Aliens and Ancient Nuclear War

The jump from geology to aliens is where things get wild. In the late 19th century, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy, described Lemurians as egg‑laying, spiritually advanced beings in her 1888 book The Secret Doctrine. She claimed the discovery of sex led to Lemuria's destruction and that the continent sank, leaving only Australia and Easter Island behind.

Later, the legend migrated to Mount Shasta in Northern California, where believers say Lemurian survivors built an underground city called Telos. Local mythology holds that catastrophic earthquakes destroyed the continent, but some inhabitants escaped and continued living beneath the mountain.

Visitors have claimed to see seven‑foot‑tall Lemurians in flowing robes near the peak, though no physical evidence supports the existence of Telos or its alleged residents.

The story grew stranger as Lemuria merged with tales of Mu, another lost continent promoted by British author James Churchward, who claimed it hosted a technologically advanced civilisation 50,000 years ago. Over time, these narratives fed into 'starseed' beliefs, with some people saying they carry alien DNA or souls from extraterrestrial beings.

More extreme versions allege that Lemuria sheltered refugees from a planet called Maldek, supposedly once orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The Aetherius Society claimed Maldek's population destroyed their world with a hydrogen bomb, creating the asteroid belt, and that Lemuria later suffered its own nuclear war.

Nigel Watson, author of Portraits of Alien Encounters Revisited, noted that writers promoting ancient astronauts point to passages such as Genesis's description of 'brimstone and fire' raining on Sodom and Gomorrah as accounts of nuclear explosions. Fragments of melted glass in Libya's deserts are also cited as evidence of nuclear warfare or accidents 28 million years ago, though mainstream science does not accept these interpretations.

Watson said the claims largely come from automatic writing, alleged psychic messages and speculative readings of ancient texts rather than physical evidence. He added that the stories were also intended as a warning that advanced civilisations can destroy themselves.

Nothing is confirmed yet so everything should be taken with a grain of salt. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify these claims, so take everything lightly.

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Noah's Ark Found? Radar Scans Reveal 3 Underground Decks and 13-Foot Hidden Tunnel in Turkey

Independent scientists have yet to verify the claims, and the team behind the scans plan deeper drilling and testing before drawing firm conclusions.

Archaeologists in Turkey say they have made a remarkable find, using ground‑penetrating radar to pinpoint what they believe may be the remains of Noah’s Ark, with scans reportedly revealing a ‘chemical imprint’, fragments of wood in the soil and the clear outline of a hall‑like structure. 

Zorka Sojka, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons/Wikimedia Commons

Archaeologists in eastern Turkey say new radar scans have revealed a three‑decked, ship‑shaped structure and a 13‑foot tunnel buried beneath a remote mountainside, renewing claims that the legendary Noah's Ark may lie at the Durupinar Formation near Mount Ararat.

The fresh evidence, gathered by an American team working under the banner Noah's Ark Scans over several years, centres on ground‑penetrating radar images that researchers argue align strikingly with the Biblical description of Noah's Ark.

Noah's Ark Searches Focus On Turkish Mountain

According to Scripture, Noah's Ark was the vast wooden vessel that carried humanity and animal species through a catastrophic flood more than 4,300 years ago.

Genesis 8 in The Bible says the ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after 150 days of deluge, a passage that has fuelled centuries of speculation and expeditions across this rugged corner of eastern Turkey.

The Durupinar site, only recognised by modern researchers for less than a century, appears at first glance to match that story rather neatly.

Its dimensions echo the Biblical blueprint for the ark, given in Genesis 6 as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high, which translates to about 515 feet by 86 feet by 52 feet. The mound lies near a summit whose outline, from the air, bears a notable resemblance to a hull.

That visual similarity alone has never been enough to convince mainstream science. Many academics still regard the entire formation as the product of natural geological processes. The team behind the latest work, however, argue that their data now point beyond coincidence.

Radar Scans Hint At Three Decks And Inner Corridors

Independent researcher Andrew Jones, who fronts the Noah's Ark Scans project, has led multiple survey seasons at Durupinar using ground‑penetrating radar, a technique that sends radio waves into the earth to map buried structures.

Speaking to the Christian Broadcasting Network, he said the new scans detected what looked like a 13‑foot passage running through the centre of the formation, along with angular shapes that could represent internal compartments.

A fresh analysis of the radar data, shared with outlets including Express UK, suggests a pattern of central and lateral corridors or hallways, rather than a single homogenous block. Crucially for the ark hypothesis, the scans also show three distinct layers below the surface.

Supporters say that aligns with Genesis 6:16, which instructs: 'Make it with lower, second, and third decks.'

Jones is careful not to promise a perfectly preserved ship. 'We're not expecting something that's fully preserved,' he told CBN. 'What's left is the chemical imprint, pieces of wood and in the ground, the shape of a hall.'

He later added that the radar returns were 'not what you'd expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris.'

He argued instead that the pattern is 'exactly what you'd expect to find if this were a man‑made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah's Ark.'

Soil Clues And A Possible Hidden Tunnel

The radar work is being paired with basic soil science. William Crabtree, a soil scientist who also works with Noah's Ark Scans, said his team collected 22 samples from inside and outside the boat‑shaped outline.

He told CBN that organic matter levels were roughly double inside the formation compared with the surrounding ground, while potassium levels were about 40 per cent higher and the pH noticeably different.

'If you know soil science – as I'm a soil scientist – you'll understand that potassium levels, organic matter, and pH can all be influenced by decaying organic material,' Crabtree said. 'If this was a wooden boat and the wood had rotted over time, we would expect to see elevated levels of potassium, changes in pH, and higher organic content – and that's exactly what we're finding.'

Jones also pointed to a change in vegetation, saying grass growing within the boat‑shaped perimeter appeared a different colour from that just outside, which he believes may hint at human construction beneath.

Alongside the three radar‑defined layers and compartment‑like shapes, the team say they have identified a tunnel‑like feature. Jones described what seems to be a 13‑foot passage extending from the tip of the formation towards its centre, with sufficient space for a person to walk through.

To date, this remains an interpretation of the scans; the structure has not been physically entered or excavated.

Debate Over Noah's Ark Discovery Far From Settled

The Durupinar Formation has split opinion for decades. Some geologists argue the mound's outline and internal patterns can be explained by erosion and natural faulting, with no need to invoke a vast timber hull. Others, often working from a faith background, continue to see it as one of the most promising candidates for Noah's Ark.

Jones presents his project as scientific rather than devotional, though he readily acknowledges the religious significance. Noah's Ark sits at the heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the flood narrative speaks to broader questions of survival, judgement and the power of nature.

The Noah's Ark Scans team say they are only at the start of their investigation. They plan to extend soil sampling beyond the initial 22 tests, carry out core drilling to bring up physical material from deeper layers, and run further ground‑penetrating radar surveys to refine their picture of what lies under the surface. Any excavation or drilling would require Turkish permits and close oversight.

Jones himself has framed the next steps simply: 'We want to compare what's inside the formation to what's outside. That could give us a much clearer picture of whether this is truly something man‑made.'

The Durupinar Formation sits about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak, and has intrigued explorers and believers since it was exposed by storms and seismic activity in 1948.

The boat‑shaped mound, roughly 538 feet long, has long been touted by some as the resting place of the ark described in Genesis, while many geologists maintain it is simply a natural rock feature. The latest radar work is the most detailed attempt yet by this particular group to test those rival theories.

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Americans Still Skeptical That UFOs Are Aliens

49% attribute UFOs to human activity or natural phenomena; 37% say at least some are alien spacecraft

by Megan Brenan

{ https://www.gallup.com/home.aspx }

A hilarious video has revealed the moment a robot fell down the stairs after getting distracted by a crowd of cheerleaders. 

The clip was filmed at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games, which are taking place in Beijing, China.  

At the start of the video, five humanoid robots can be seen performing a cheerleading routine – complete with colourful wigs, short skirts and pom–poms. 

A silver robot then climbs up to a podium at the side of the stage, before glancing over at the dancers. 

Unfortunately, the distraction becomes too much, and as the bot tries to climb down the other side, it falls head–first off the stairs. 

The hilarious clip was posted to X by @Gman_EAI, and has been viewed more than 1.2 million times.

'It is now proven that us men are very simple creatures,' one user replied. 

Another added: 'Because of the rainbow hair one with that mini skirt! Bro had to stare!' 

At the start of the video, five humanoid robots can be seen performing a cheerleading routine – complete with colourful wigs, short skirts and pom–poms

A silver robot then climbs up to a podium at the side of the stage, before glancing over at the dancers

Unfortunately, the distraction becomes too much, and as the bot tries to climb down the other side, it falls head–first off the stairs

This is just one of many falls at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. 

Earlier this week, a weightlifting robot collapsed onto a judges' table, before being rushed away on a stretcher.

The fall took place during the weightlifting final at the second edition of the competition, which is hosted at the Beijing National Speed Skating Oval. 

Footage of the event showed the humanoid robot – who was initially poised – quiver as it attempted to grip and lift a weight with both hands over its head.

As the bot brought the weight above its head, it began to shake and ultimately drop the weight to the floor.

It then began malfunctioning, before stumbling toward a table of judges and ultimately collapsing. 

In the moments following the fall, a group of staff clad in red vests can be seen quickly attending to the robot and piling it onto a stretcher where it is carefully escorted from the event's main floor. 

Officials then immediately halted the competition and declared the attempt over. 

The bot pictured before it took a tumble. It is among hundreds of droids to participate in the second edition of the Chinese competition

In the moments following the fall, a group of staff clad in red vests can be seen quickly attending to the robot

The competition – which began on Sunday and will run for five days – also saw a robot surpass legend Usain Bolt's 100m sprint world record. 

The bot ran 100m in 9.39 seconds – beating the human world record set by the Jamaican sprinting great who ran it in 9.58 seconds. 

Elsewhere at the competition, another robot performed Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'Siuuu' celebration on the football pitch, while a group of droids participated in a synchronised march at its opening ceremony. 

It is estimated more than 2,000 robots gathered for the event at its opening day.

And although 96 per cent of the teams entering the games are Chinese, 16 countries from six continents will take part in the 1,301 matches.

The games include competitions modelled on human sports as well as task–based events some of which require fully autonomous robots.

World Humanoid Robot Games officials will award independent robots full points but semi–autonomous bots will only receive half points. 

Out of the 50 events scheduled, 30 are sports competitions while the remaining 20 are work scenario tasks.

Three humanoid robots running in the the 100m race during the events opening ceremony

robots perform during the opening ceremony of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing

A humanoid robot falls next to another humanoid robot that caught fire after completing a 100m prelim race

Sports–based events include weightlifting, gymnastics, football and even a tug of war. There are also 11 Olympic–style track and field events. 

The 20 work–based tasks involve dextrous hand challenges such as bricklaying, power tool assembling and package handling.

It is understood that the work competitions act as an opportunity to show where humanoid robots will first be commercially used.

However, no events in the 2026 edition of the games will include stairs, ladders, uneven terrain or human–robot collaborations.

READ MORE 

• Moment humanoid robot smashes Usain Bolt's 100m world record... before it is stretchered off the track at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing

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Robot Gets Distracted by Cheerleaders and Falls Down Stairs at 2026 Humanoid Robot Games!

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UFO Beliefs Explored: Author Warns It Is 'Always Going to Be More Likely That Someone Is Wrong'

UFO reports may feel convincing, but Adam Kirsch says witnesses are more likely to be mistaken than to have seen alien technology

Adam Kirsch explores why UFO beliefs endure, arguing that testimony and unexplained sightings should not be confused with evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft AI Generated image

Adam Kirsch, author of the forthcoming We Want to Believe, has argued that UFO claims should be approached with scientific caution, warning in an interview that it is 'always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw' than that an extraterrestrial craft has appeared in the sky.

Kirsch's book, We Want to Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream and Why It Matters, is due to be published by Columbia Global Reports on 25 August.

The Atlantic senior editor examines why unidentified flying objects, now often called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, retain such a powerful hold over the public imagination even when conclusive physical evidence remains elusive.

Whistleblowers claims, military footage and declassified Pentagon material have brought renewed official and public attention to a subject once largely associated with flying-saucer lore, while films and social media have kept the alien question in wider public discussion.

Columbia Global Reports describes the book as an examination of how UAP moved from 'dismissed error to unresolved problem' and why questions about them continue to endure.

UFO Beliefs and the Search for Meaning

Kirsch told reporters that his interest in UFOs began in 2017, when mainstream reporting focused on Pentagon videos and a previously undisclosed programme that collected reports of unexplained aerial sightings.

'The real start of my interest in the subject was in 2017 when there was this sudden reporting in the mainstream media about the Pentagon UFO videos and the so-called secret program to collect UFO reports,' he said. 'For the first time, it seemed like maybe there was some legitimate news or evidence.'

What had long been dismissed as fringe material could now be discussed through military testimony, congressional interest and surveillance technology. The terminology changed, too. UFO became UAP, a more formal term increasingly used by the US government when discussing unexplained observations.

Yet Kirsch's book is not simply a rebuttal of every strange report. He sees the attraction of UFO beliefs as tied to older questions about religion, philosophy and human significance. The publisher similarly describes his approach as drawing on both belief and scepticism rather than treating UAP simply as fantasy or threat.

'For me, humanity's way into the subject is that UFOs are a way of thinking about a lot of the same questions we might also think about in religious or philosophical terms,' Kirsch said. 'Questions like what is unique about humanity, are we alone in the universe, are there other minds, what's our destiny as a species?'

The possibility that humanity is not alone is not merely a scientific proposition. It carries an emotional charge, one that can make every blurry video, unexplained radar reading and pilot account feel potentially significant. Confirmation of intelligent extraterrestrial life would carry profound scientific and philosophical implications.

Kirsch said he had been drawn deeper into the history and lore partly because the discovery of other intelligence in the universe would indeed be extraordinary. 'It would be amazing if we could find proof of that,' he said.

The problem, he added, is that UFO history has repeatedly followed a familiar pattern. Public excitement rises, apparent clues gather momentum and the story eventually 'peters out because there is no evidence and there isn't anything concrete to point to.'

UFO Beliefs Meet the Evidence Test

Kirsch's central distinction is between testimony and evidence. People can report an experience honestly while being mistaken about what caused it, particularly when they are observing something unfamiliar, distant or fleeting.

He pointed to testimony from former military aviators David Fravor and Ryan Graves, arguing that what appears to be corroborating evidence may be less definitive than it initially seems.

'When the camera sees something, the person doesn't see it. And when the person sees something, the camera doesn't see it,' Kirsch said. 'It's always one or the other, it's never both at the same time.'

That is Kirsch's assessment of the cases rather than a definitive finding about all available evidence surrounding the encounters.

He noted that complaints about UFOs being difficult to photograph are hardly new. Witnesses in the 1950s were already saying such objects were strangely unphotogenic, despite the expectation that a physical craft in the atmosphere might produce clearer photographic evidence.

'The obvious and logical explanation is that there's nothing to take a picture of,' Kirsch said.

That is a blunt assessment, but it illustrates the distinction at the centre of Kirsch's argument. A vivid sighting can feel conclusive to the person who experienced it. The leap from 'I saw something I cannot explain' to 'I know what it was' is where he argues greater scientific scrutiny is required.

Kirsch invokes the 18th-century philosopher David Hume's approach to reported miracles. Hume's argument asks whether it is more probable that testimony is mistaken than that an extraordinary event has occurred.

'The same is true of UFOs,' Kirsch said. 'They're not supernatural or miraculous. If they really existed they'd exist in time and space and three dimensions like everything else.'

Kirsch went on to argue that, given current scientific understanding of the universe and interstellar travel, mistaken observation remains more probable than an extraterrestrial spacecraft as the explanation for a UFO report.

He added that modern scientific education requires people to question instinctive explanations, not simply trust them because they are dramatic or satisfying. Released UAP footage may not reveal every available detail, Kirsch said, but an incomplete public record does not automatically point to 'some cosmic secret.'

That distinction also reflects the broader premise of We Want to Believe: unexplained observations may warrant investigation without, by themselves, establishing that extraterrestrial spacecraft are visiting Earth.

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With the arrival of an eagerly awaited preliminary assessment on unidentified aerial phenomena by the Navy’s UAP Task Force in June, opinions on its findings were mixed and varied.

Of greater significance than the contents of the report, perhaps, had been what it left out. Nowhere in the nine-page document delivered to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did words like “extraterrestrial” or “alien” make an appearance, a reality that was no doubt received with much frustration by longtime proponents of the existence of unusual aerial phenomena.

This, despite hopeful pre-reporting by the New York Times, who promised that officials who had been briefed on a classified version of the report prior to its debut “conceded that the very ambiguity of the findings” meant that more exotic potentials couldn’t be ruled out. This seemingly left open for the possibility “that the phenomena observed by military pilots might be alien spacecraft.”

To date, there remains nothing conclusive that links observations of unidentified aerial phenomena—or what until recent years were commonly referred to simply as UFOs—with extraterrestrial technologies. While many hopeful proponents of such speculations on the origin of UAP were likely irritated by the report’s ambiguous tone, the document did reveal a few notable surprises.

“The UAPTF is currently working to acquire additional reporting,” one portion of the report reads, “including from the U.S. Air Force (USAF), and has begun receiving data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”

The inclusion of the FAA as a source for information about UAP within the document was notable, especially because in years past, the agency tasked with regulating all civil aviation in the United States has seemed to want no involvement of any sort with unidentified flying objects.

FAA Order JO 7110.65Z – Air Traffic Control, a publication that “prescribes air traffic control procedures and phraseology for use by personnel providing air traffic control services” took effect on June 17, 2021—just days prior to the delivery of the UAP Task Force’s preliminary report. In chapter nine of the order, dealing with “Special Flights”, section eight is titled “Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Reports”, and outlines the following procedure for UFO sightings made by air traffic control personnel:

9-8-1. GENERAL

1. Persons wanting to report UFO/unexplained phenomena activity should contact a UFO/ unexplained phenomena reporting data collection center, such as the National UFO Reporting Center, etc.
2. If concern is expressed that life or property might be endangered, report the activity to the local law enforcement department.

Identical wording with regard to UFO observations by FAA Air Traffic Organization personnel appears in other publications by the agency, which includes Section 7 of FAA Order JO 7210.3CC – Facility Operation and Administration.

The UAP Task Force and the FAA

It therefore came as a surprise for many who read the recent ODNI report, with its inclusion of the following statement: “The FAA captures data related to UAP during the normal course of managing air traffic operations. The FAA generally ingests this data when pilots and other airspace users report unusual or unexpected events to the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization.”

According to its own procedural publications cited above, the FAA appears to direct air traffic operators to report instances involving UAP (or UFOs, as the agency’s documentation still calls them) to civilian organizations like the Washington-based National UFO Reporting Center. These publications appear to provide no procedural details related to an internal system for collecting such data within the agency.

The fact that the FAA “captures data related to UAP” had not been the only pertinent information about the agency’s involvement with UAP studies included in the June report. Additionally, its authors state that “the FAA continuously monitors its systems for anomalies, generating additional information that may be of use to the UAPTF. The FAA is able to isolate data of interest to the UAPTF and make it available.”

“The FAA has a robust and effective outreach program that can help the UAPTF reach members of the aviation community to highlight the importance of reporting UAP,” the report also states.

“That may be news to the FAA,” Suzanne Rowan Kelleher reported in a Forbes article in June, adding that she was told the “agency that operates air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft insists it does not deal directly with UAP sightings from commercial pilots.”

“The FAA doesn’t track these reports,” Kelleher quoted an FAA spokesperson as having said, who told her that “The National UFO Reporting Center is your best source.”

Similarly, David Axe writing for The Daily Beast noted that “The FAA did not respond to a request for comment” regarding his inquiries about the agency’s UAP data collection described in the June ODNI report.

The FAA Finally Goes on the Record About UAP

In light of the specific references to the FAA and its apparent role in supporting the Navy’s UAP Task Force outlined in the ODNI report, The Debrief reached out to the agency for clarification, asking if it could confirm its role in the collection of UAP data. After several weeks of inquiries, the FAA finally responded to requests for clarification from The Debrief.

“The Federal Aviation Administration documents Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) sightings whenever a pilot reports one to an air traffic control facility,” an FAA spokesperson told The Debrief in an email.

“If the pilot report can be corroborated with supporting information such as radar data, it is shared with the UAP Task Force,” the spokesperson added. The statement marks a notable shift from the FAA’s previous positions regarding UAP, and its insistence even in days following the release of the ODNI report that it has limited involvement with the collection of such data.

Earlier versions of the FAA’s JO 7110.65 order included the additional recommendation that UFO reports should be sent to agencies “such as Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS),” with the inclusion of a phone number and email for contacting the organization.

According to an FAA briefing guide issued in February 2010, “Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) is a new organization that is devoted to exploration of extremely advanced aerospace technology, including the so-called unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) or unidentified flying object (UFO) topics.”

The guide added that “In 2001, another of Mr. Bigelow’s organizations, the National Institute for Discovery Sciences (NIDS), succeeded in becoming the ‘go-to’ organization for the reporting by pilots and air traffic control of UFOs in the United States.”

“NIDS is now defunct and has been replaced by the larger, more capable BAASS,” the 2010 guide reads. “Therefore, pilot and air traffic control reporting of UFOs in the United States should now go to BAASS, vice NIDS. So we are deleting the NIDS acronym and adding the BAASS acronym.”

Robert Bigelow, the FAA, and UFOs

The story of how Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) and its predecessor, the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), became recipients of UFO reports from the FAA–thereby freeing the FAA from having any direct involvement with UFOs for several years–can be traced back to retired United States Army colonel John B. Alexander, Ph.D. A longtime advocate for development of nonlethal weapons while in government, Alexander also worked for Robert Bigelow’s NIDS organization for a time. Speaking with Alexander, The Debrief asked about his role in arranging for the FAA to forward UFO reports it received to Bigelow’s organization.

“That is correct,” Alexander said. “This is one of those serendipitous events when I was first assigned to the Pentagon and living in northern Virginia.”

As Alexander explained, shortly after his assignment he had taken residence in an apartment building where “they had a Friday night happy hour kinda thing, and one of the other occupants happened to be the Deputy Director of Security for the FAA. So I knew him personally.”

“After 911,” Alexander told The Debrief, “[the FAA] became sacrificial lambs. I might mention the FAA had been screaming about security for years before that. The airlines had been resisting mightily.”

“So I went to Washington and had an initial conversation, and said look, we’re interested in [UAP],” Alexander says. Following this meeting, the FAA Deputy Director “was able to set up a secondary meeting where we had Bob [Bigelow] and Colm [Kelleher] with us. And we came in and met with some senior FAA officials.”

“Interestingly, the guys who had experience as air traffic controllers were pretty supportive,” Alexander said. “Many of them had experiences of reports coming in while they were on duty. Organizationally, they were just happy to have an outlet to make this go away.”

“Which, by the way, is the way this has happened across the board in many governmental agencies,” says Alexander.

In the mid 1980s, Alexander founded an informal group of government insiders interested in finding out whether there might be a black program within government that dealt with UFOs. Called the Advanced Theoretical Physics Project (ATPP), Alexander’s group included members from all three military branches and others from the aerospace and intelligence communities. A requirement for membership had been a Top Secret-SCI security clearance at SI-TK, so that all members “had appropriate clearances and could help disseminate information.”

Despite receiving a limited amount of support from many high-level officials during their search, the ATPP found no evidence of any existing black programs within government that were involved with UFOs. To the contrary, Alexander came away from the experience with the feeling that most agencies within government want as little to do with the subject as possible.

In March, Politico reported that several government agencies had allegedly been “blocking or simply ignoring the effort to catalog what they have on [UAP],” based on testimony from several past and present government officials with knowledge on the matter. Despite the aversion to releasing information on UAP shown by the intelligence community, it did not result in a postponement of the report’s delivery to the ODNI by its June 25 deadline, as some had suspected might occur.

“From what I understand,” Alexander says, “all those agencies listed [in the ODNI report] technically participated, but several were certainly dragging their feet, and this was not voluntary at all.”

“Most of them just don’t want anything to do with the topic,” Alexander says.

The FAA Flip Flops on UAP

Also in March, The Debrief reported on its investigation into UAP incidents found within the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), an online database maintained by NASA which collects anonymous reports on behalf of the FAA from pilots, air traffic control personnel, and others who observe potential aviation hazards.

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

EXCLUSIVE - True tomb of Jesus discovered after 2,000 years as hidden location that aligns with Bible account is found

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The Bible describes Jesus' burial place as a tomb carved into rock, set inside a garden near where he was crucified.

For nearly 1,700 years, Christians have believed that tomb lies within Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The first church was built over the site by Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, and generations of pilgrims have since traveled there to pray where Christ is believed to have been crucified, buried and resurrected.

Now, with excavations beneath the church complete, archaeologists have pieced together a fuller picture of an ancient landscape that bears a striking resemblance to the one described in the Gospel of John.

Lead archaeologist Francesca Romana Stasolla told the Daily Mail: 'We have found evidence of a funerary landscape, alongside small areas planted with vines and olive trees, as well as a pastoral landscape characterized by sporadic human activity.'

The excavations show that the church stands over an abandoned quarry outside ancient Jerusalem where cultivated plots and multiple rock-cut tombs existed side by side.

That combination closely mirrors John's description of a garden containing a tomb near the place where Jesus was crucified.

Although no physical evidence identifies the tomb's occupant, the parallels keep alive the possibility that early Christians preserved the true location of Jesus' burial.

Archaeologists have found evidence beneath  the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that aligns with what the Bible says about where Jesus was buried

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre attracts an estimated four million visitors each year.

The original church was dedicated in AD 335 after Roman buildings at the site, traditionally described as a temple to the goddess Venus, were demolished.

During the work, builders uncovered a rock-cut chamber that was identified as the burial place of Jesus, who had died nearly 300 years earlier.

Emperor Constantine's workers focused on one particular tomb that was already being venerated as Christ's burial place, excavating around it to separate it from the surrounding graves. 

The second church at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands today, was built and restored starting around 614 to 626 AD, following the destruction and fire caused by the Persian Sassanid invasion.

The discoveries add to the ongoing debate over the location of Jesus' burial.

Many scholars support the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the site, citing the presence of rock-cut tombs from the first century.

Others argue that the Garden Tomb, another ancient burial site in Jerusalem, better matches biblical descriptions.

There is a long-held debate over where Jesus was laid to rest. Some say the church while others believe he was put inside an ancient rock-cut tomb, known as the Garden Tomb (pictured), which aligns with Biblical text

Archeologists were excavating the floor of the church (pictured) when they uncovered signs of an ancient garden that is mentioned in the Bible as where Jesus was laid to rest

The latest findings are detailed in a new 98-page preliminary report published in Liber Annuus, the archaeological journal of Jerusalem's Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. 

The report brings together results from the final 2025 excavation campaign, completing a project that began during a major restoration of the church's floor in March 2022.

Evidence of the ancient garden was first announced in 2025, but completed excavations have now allowed researchers to reconstruct how the cultivated land, abandoned quarry and burial chambers fitted together across the wider site.

The report revealed that the landscape began as a vast stone quarry cut into the side of a hill outside Jerusalem's ancient walls, with some sections reaching nearly 20 feet beneath the church's present floor.

As stone extraction gradually ended, the deepest areas were filled with soil and divided by low dry-stone walls, creating small plots that could be cultivated.

'Evidence of cultivation is provided by archaeobotanical and pollen remains, which have enabled us to reconstruct a landscape suitable for pastoralism, with natural vegetation used for grazing,' Stasolla said.

The first church was built over the site by Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. Pictured on the right is part of the foundation wall of Constantine's church

Above are Christians touching the Unction Stone at the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which they believe marks the sacred spot where the body of Jesus was washed, anointed with spices, and wrapped in linen for burial

'This type of Mediterranean landscape was widespread throughout the region and coexisted with the abandoned quarry area and the presence of rock-cut tombs.'

Researchers dated the cultivated landscape through its position within the archaeological layers and pottery recovered from the quarry fills.

The evidence places it after the quarry was abandoned but before Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the area in the second century AD, a broad period encompassing the lifetime of Jesus.

However, the plant remains have not been given an absolute laboratory date, meaning archaeologists cannot prove the garden was being cultivated at the precise time of Christ's crucifixion.

Archaeologists also recovered traces of fruits, legumes and wild vegetation, revealing an open Mediterranean landscape that was cultivated, visited and used for grazing but not permanently inhabited.

At the same time, exposed rock faces left behind by the quarry provided ideal locations for burial chambers to be carved directly into the stone.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre attracts an estimated four million visitors each year

The inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre features stunning mosaics throughout

Researchers found multiple tombs opening into the same former quarry at different heights, connected by narrow paths winding between the graves and cultivated plots.

The result was a complex landscape where gardens, grazing land and rock-cut tombs existed together, just as the Gospel of John places a garden and burial chamber beside the site of Jesus' crucifixion.

John 19:41 reads: 'Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.'

The garden reference is one of several clues contained in the Bible.

John 19:20 places the crucifixion close to Jerusalem, while Hebrews 13:12 says Jesus suffered outside the city gate. Archaeologists found that the quarry stood outside Jerusalem's walls at the time of Jesus but remained close to the city, matching both descriptions.

Matthew, Mark and Luke each describe Jesus' grave as having been carved from rock. The excavations confirmed that the gardenlike landscape was also a genuine ancient burial ground containing multiple chambers cut directly into the quarry's exposed stone.

John also states that the tomb was close to the crucifixion site, allowing Jesus to be buried quickly before the Jewish Sabbath began. 

A Roman structure erected during Emperor Hadrian's reign in the second century stood directly against the tomb. Pictured are foundation walls constructed during his reign

Many Christians come to see the Stone of Anointing in Holy Sepulchre Church. Above are two nuns praying before the stone

At the Holy Sepulchre, the chamber traditionally identified as his tomb and the rock of Calvary exist within the same compact area.

None of those features was unique in ancient Jerusalem, as abandoned quarries were commonly reused for cultivation and burials. 

What makes the Holy Sepulchre compelling is the convergence of all the clues in one place: outside the ancient walls but close to the city, with cultivated land, a rocky crucifixion site and a cemetery containing rock-cut tombs.

Within that burial ground, one particular chamber would eventually become the focus of centuries of Christian veneration.

A Roman structure erected during Emperor Hadrian's reign in the second century stood directly against the tomb, making it inaccessible, while also cutting into the nearby rock of Calvary, the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion.

The report suggested the surviving Roman walls may have belonged to a smaller cult site rather than the massive pagan temple described in traditional accounts.

Roughly two centuries later, Constantine's workers demolished the Roman structure and excavated the same location to expose the venerated tomb.

They removed the surrounding rock, separated the chamber from the other graves and constructed the first Christian shrine around it.

Its position was considered so important that architects allowed different sections of the enormous church complex to fall out of alignment rather than move the tomb.

The first monument was probably open to the sky and consisted of a small circular shrine surrounded by 12 columns, allowing early pilgrims to gather around the burial chamber.

Although none of this proves Jesus was buried inside, the decision to return to and preserve one specific tomb centuries later raises the possibility that knowledge of its location survived through generations of early Christians.

The second church at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands today, was built and restored starting around 614 to 626 AD, following the destruction and fire caused by the Persian Sassanid invasion

Stasolla said: 'The archaeological area beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre reveals the long history of a part of Jerusalem that, in the early fourth century AD, underwent the monumentalization of Christological memory.

'In this case, I believe that the archaeological evidence should be used primarily to understand the places and contexts in which Christian memory took shape and became firmly established.'

The evidence shows that Christians were commemorating this particular location by the fourth century, but it cannot confirm that Jesus had been buried there three centuries earlier.

Important gaps remain, as no inscription identifies Jesus, and it cannot be definitively proven that the chamber was new, nor that it had been used or belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, as the Gospels state.

The Bible says that Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Jewish council, asked Pontius Pilate for the body of Jesus after the crucifixion, wrapping it in clean linen and placing it in his own unused rock-hewn tomb.

The discoveries therefore do not confirm the biblical account, but they demonstrate that the traditional site contains the principal geographical and physical features described in the New Testament.

'The Church of the Holy Sepulchre gives monumental form to the sites where, since very early times, tradition has located the memory of Christ's death and resurrection,' Stasolla said.

'Archaeology undoubtedly attests to the enduring nature of this commemorative tradition.'

{ https://www.dailymail.com/news/index.html }

Mystery statue unearthed at Sardis archaeological dig

by Sy Boles, Harvard Gazette

Researchers with the long-running Harvard–Cornell Archaeological Exploration of Sardis have unearthed a larger-than-life statue estimated to be nearly 2,500 years old.

The discovery is remarkable for several reasons, said Nicholas Cahill, the field director of the AES team and a professor of Greek and Roman art and archaeology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

"It is very rare to find such monumental sculptures of this period anywhere in the Mediterranean, and this exceptionally well-preserved, unique monument casts important new light on the major arts of Lydia and on the Lydians' ties to their own past," he said.

The excavation is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and by Harvard Art Museums. The Turkish site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year, cementing its position as a critical site for understanding the ancient world.

Researchers made the discovery in late May while examining a major Roman colonnaded avenue. The statue had been broken into two main pieces and reused, face down, as paving stones in the ancient thoroughfare.

A buried monument emerges

"You sort of see these whole worlds opening up in front of you," Cahill said of the moment he realized the team had found something extraordinary.

A team of conservators carefully excavated around the statue to gradually reveal its full shape and size in the ground.

"Then the guesswork started," said Susanne Ebbinghaus, the George M.A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art at Harvard Art Museums, who was in Sardis for part of the excavation. "'Is this archaic? Maybe not, it looks a little later. Is it a guy? Is it a girl?' When they started cleaning the soil around the head, we saw he had sideburns, so that question was settled."

The people of the Lydian Empire, which controlled what is now western Türkiye from about the middle of the 7th century to the middle of the 6th century B.C., left little written record of their civilization. Much of what was known came from what Greeks and Romans wrote about it—and from their point of view, the Lydians were eastern barbarians. But archaeological evidence has revealed that Sardis, the capital of the Lydian Empire, was a center for luxury and culture, particularly perfumes and fine clothing.

James McCurley '27, a Classics and Physics concentrator who worked on the dig over the summer, said the excavation of the mammoth statue was the highlight of his experience.

"After all the anticipation, I was worried the statue might be underwhelming, that we'd dig it up and find its front weathered beyond recognition. Discovering that the statue was not only well-preserved but almost intact and 2,500 years old was a wonderful surprise."

Conservators lifted the pieces from the ground on July 13 and transported them to an AES conservation lab to begin a thorough, ongoing analysis.

Many details have been revealed since that early, excited guesswork.

An old style with new clues

At well over 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall, the figure would have towered over onlookers. He wears a tunic of thinner material (called a chiton in Greek), a diagonally wrapped mantle and a distinctive, perhaps local garment with fine horizontal folds. The design has few parallels in ancient sculpture, said Harvard Art Museums' Bahadir Yildirim, who is the Sardis expedition administrator and assistant director of fieldwork and who participated in the cleaning and analysis.

"The surprising thing about this piece is that it has some features that haven't been seen on sculpture like that ... the drapery underneath, the distinctive horizontal patterning," he said.

The statue's bolt-upright stance, long coiffed hair and manner of dress resemble archaic Greek sculptures from the 6th century B.C. But the prominent veins and other anatomical details betray a much later date, likely in the 470s to 450s B.C., the early Classical period in Greece. During this era, Sardis was no longer an independent capital but had been conquered by the Achaemenid Persians and had become a major provincial center.

But the figure shows no Persian influence. The statue, therefore, comes across at first as a very traditional sculpture, adhering to age-old hairstyles and dress codes while also hinting at familiarity with the current styles in Greece, where such a sculpture might have been depicted as a nude youth. But the Lydians and other Anatolian peoples did not exercise naked and did not depict their young men without clothes.

The references to multiple cultural traditions and time periods reflect an artist with a complex understanding of his or her place in the world, Cahill said.

"This sculptor knows about contemporary styles in Mediterranean and Anatolian sculpture, the interest in hands and the structure of the face and so forth, and yet [the statue is] wearing clothes from 100 years earlier," Cahill said. "I think they're very clearly looking back to their own past."

A likely sacred setting

The original placement and purpose of the monumental statue is unknown. But one possibility is that it stood at the sanctuary of Cybele, the native mother goddess, which has never been found but has been described in literary sources as one of the most important sanctuaries in Sardis. It was common for wealthy citizens or political leaders to ensconce their likeness in the presence of a deity so they could effectively worship in perpetuity, Ebbinghaus explained.

"You put yourself in a prominent place where your fellow citizens or subjects can see you, but also you are indeed worshiping the god—and if you're a ruler, drawing legitimization from the relationship to that deity. So it might well have been an important person being represented," she said.

Most ancient marble statues were painted, and this one was likely no exception. The Sardis conservation team is now working to clean the statue while preserving any remaining flecks of paint for color analysis.

When conservation is complete, the fragments will be joined, and the statue will be displayed in a Turkish archaeological museum, along with other finds from Sardis. The first Harvard excavation of Sardis, a joint project with Cornell University, began in 1958 and was led by George M.A. Hanfmann (1911–1986), a professor of fine arts at Harvard and curator of ancient art at the Fogg Art Museum.

{ https://phys.org/science-news/ }

More Files, More Questions: What the Pentagon’s Latest UAP Release Really Changes

Forty-one records. Gulf of Oman footage. FBI triangle interviews. Eight decades of files entered the public record on August 7. This edition examines what the evidence actually shows—and applies the standard that must hold regardless of how compelling the headlines are.

Artistic Reconstruction — Not a Photograph

This image is an artist’s reconstruction based on witness descriptions in FBI records. It is not a photograph, sensor image, or documentary record of any specific event. The UFO Times applies this label to all reconstructed imagery involving unidentified phenomena.

2. The FBI Triangle Records: Documented Accounts, Unresolved Observations

The released FBI documents describe interviews with multiple witnesses who reported observing large, silent, triangular aircraft—often at low altitude, often with no visible propulsion exhaust. Some estimates placed the objects at more than 300 feet across.

Those accounts are striking. The accounts are detailed and were formally documented by the FBI. The released interview summaries, however, contain no bureau conclusion verifying the witnesses’ physical estimates or identifying what they observed.

But the documents are interview summaries, not technical analyses. The FBI did not conclude that the objects represented exotic technology. The records establish that witnesses described observations they could not explain and that the FBI documented those descriptions. They do not establish the physical nature of the reported objects.

The documents do not establish the origin or nature of the objects. They preserve multiple witness descriptions of apparently triangular objects with unusual reported characteristics. Whether the separate observations shared a common cause remains unknown.

One critical caution: the triangular image circulating online and attributed to these records is an artist’s reconstruction, not a photograph or sensor image. We have applied the label “ARTISTIC RECONSTRUCTION—NOT A PHOTOGRAPH” to every use of that image in our coverage. This distinction matters more than most headlines have acknowledged.

1953 Naval Photographic Interpretation Center film analysis. The analysts examined footage from the Montana (1950) and Utah (1952) film cases. Their calculations were limited partly because object distance was assumed rather than measured. Their final determination was inconclusive. This document has been mischaracterized in some coverage as definitive evidence of a concealed programme.

Project Sign, established in 1947, was the first formal U.S. Air Force UFO investigation programme. Several later participants claimed that an internal “Estimate of the Situation” favored an interplanetary interpretation and was rejected or destroyed. No authenticated copy has entered the public record.

3. The 1953 Film Analysis and Project Sign: History That Cuts Both Ways

The 1953 Naval Photographic Interpretation Center film analysis and the Project Sign documents add historical depth without resolving the central question.

The analysis examined footage from the Montana (1950) and Utah (1952) film cases—two of the most-discussed UAP films of the early Cold War era. The analysts noted that object distance was assumed rather than measured, which limited the reliability of any speed or size calculations. Camera position, focal length, and the absence of a firm reference object further constrained their conclusions. Their final determination was inconclusive.

Project Sign—established in 1947 as the Air Force’s first official UFO investigation—underwent a significant internal debate. Several later participants claimed that Project Sign produced an “Estimate of the Situation” favouring an interplanetary interpretation and that senior Air Force leadership rejected or destroyed it. No authenticated copy has entered the public record, so the account remains historically important but not independently verifiable. The programme was reorganized as Project Grudge and later Project Blue Book. The investigative priorities, methods and institutional attitudes changed substantially under each successor programme. Historians continue to debate how seriously each pursued unresolved cases.

What these documents show is not quite what some have claimed: the historical record shows recurring institutional tension over how much personnel, funding and scientific attention UFO investigations should receive—not necessarily an agency that had answers it concealed.

If the later accounts are accurate, the rejection or destruction of that assessment would be historically significant. The surviving Release 05 records do not independently prove that episode. The records do not, however, prove what was in the sky. They show that the institutional response changed substantially and remains the subject of historical debate.

RELATED 

{ https://theufotimes.com/ }

Science can scan forests, date skeletons, and decode ancient machines, but some chapters of history still refuse to close.

By Kaif Shaikh

Yet even with these tools, some historical mysteries remain unresolved. Not because they lack importance, but because earthquakes, climate shifts, erosion, and human activity have erased the very evidence needed to solve them, or maybe because the events themselves unfolded in ways that defy easy explanation.

From unexplained explosions and abandoned settlements to missing tombs and lost technologies, these cases sit at the boundary between what can be proven and what can only be inferred. 

The seven mysteries that follow are not rooted in myth or speculation, but in real events supported by credible evidence, each offering a reminder that, despite our best efforts, history does not always yield its secrets.

1. The 1908 Tunguska event – Siberia, Russia  

On June 30, 1908, a powerful explosion detonated over a remote region of Siberia near the Tunguska River, flattening an estimated 80 million trees across more than 2,000 square kilometers. The blast was so intense that seismic waves were recorded across Eurasia, and atmospheric disturbances were detected as far away as Western Europe. Yet no impact crater or large fragments were ever conclusively identified.

Most scientists agree the event was caused by a stony asteroid or comet fragment that exploded mid-air in what is known as an atmospheric airburst. Computer simulations and field studies support this explanation, but uncertainties remain about the object’s composition, size, and trajectory. 

Competing hypotheses, including a cometary fragment rich in volatiles, persist because physical evidence is sparse. Over a century later, Tunguska remains the largest known impact event in recorded human history, and its exact mechanics are still being refined by modern planetary science.

3. The lost colony of Roanoke – America 

Established in 1587 on Roanoke Island off the coast of present-day North Carolina, the Roanoke Colony was England’s first serious attempt at permanent settlement in North America. When Governor John White returned from a supply mission to England three years later, the settlement was completely abandoned. No bodies were found, and there were no signs of violence.

The only clue was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a post, a reference to a nearby island inhabited by Indigenous peoples. Archaeological work suggests the colonists may have dispersed and integrated into local communities due to food shortages, disease, or strained relations with neighboring groups. 

However, no single explanation accounts for all the evidence, and no confirmed remains of the settlers have ever been identified. Roanoke endures as a case study in early colonial fragility and the limits of historical reconstruction.

4. The lost cities of the Amazon Rainforest and the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization

For much of the 20th century, scholars believed the Amazon rainforest could not support large, complex societies. That assumption has been overturned by lidar surveys and archaeological research, which have revealed extensive networks of roads, plazas, fortified settlements, and managed landscapes hidden beneath the forest canopy. 

These discoveries suggest populations in the millions may have lived there before European contact. Why these societies collapsed—whether due to disease, environmental change, or social disruption—remains unresolved.

Similarly, the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the world’s earliest urban cultures, declined around 1900 BCE. Major cities were systematically abandoned, not destroyed. Geological evidence points to shifting river systems and prolonged drought, but the civilization’s undeciphered script limits understanding of its political and social response. In both cases, advanced societies vanished without clear historical records, leaving archaeology to piece together incomplete stories.

5. The Nazca lines – Peru 

Etched into the arid plains of southern Peru between roughly 500 BCE and 500 CE, the Nazca Lines consist of hundreds of enormous geoglyphs depicting animals, plants, geometric shapes, and straight lines stretching for kilometers. The figures are best visible from the air, raising questions about how and why they were created.

Peru’s Nazca Lines form giant figures visible only from the sky

© Janeth Charris/Pexels

Archaeological research suggests the lines were made by removing dark surface stones to expose lighter soil beneath, a technique that has allowed them to endure for centuries in the dry climate. Leading interpretations link the geoglyphs to ritual activity, water management, or ceremonial pathways tied to seasonal cycles. 

7. The Antikythera Mechanism – Ancient Greece 

Recovered from a Greek shipwreck dated to around 100 BCE, the Antikythera Mechanism is the most complex known mechanical device from the ancient world. Composed of interlocking bronze gears, it was used to predict eclipses, planetary movements, and astronomical cycles with remarkable precision.

Advanced imaging techniques, including X-ray tomography, have revealed inscriptions and gear systems far more sophisticated than anything previously known from that era. While researchers have reconstructed much of its function, critical questions remain: who designed it, how widespread such technology was, and why this level of mechanical knowledge disappeared for over a millennium. 

The device challenges conventional timelines of technological development and stands as a rare glimpse into lost scientific traditions that were never fully transmitted to later civilizations.

Kaif Shaikh is a journalist and writer passionate about turning complex information into clear, impactful stories. His writing covers technology, sustainability, geopolitics, and occasionally fiction. A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, his work has appeared in the Times of India and beyond. After a near-fatal experience, Kaif began seeing both stories and silences differently. Outside work, he juggles far too many projects and passions, but always makes time to read, reflect, and hold onto the thread of wonder.

{ https://interestingengineering.com/science }

Key points

• Prolonged UAP uncertainty can turn curiosity into powerlessness, anger, and mistrust.
• Information gaps make false narratives and confident claims more appealing.
• Honest communication about what is known and unknown can make uncertainty easier to tolerate.

Source: Ahmed/Unsplash

{ https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/anxiety }

Scientists finally know why astronauts struggle to poop in space — and reveal a hidden risk of long-haul spaceflight

A new NASA-backed study has pinpointed why astronauts often experience constipation in space and how that might affect their health on long-haul missions to Mars and beyond.

 By Harry Baker  Edited by Nicoletta Lanese, Laura Mondragó

Scientists have finally gotten to the bottom of why astronauts struggle to poop in space, thanks to a new blood test. The findings also reveal an unexpected side effect of this cosmic constipation that may need to be addressed before humans take long-haul trips to Mars and beyond, the study authors say.

As soon as people started living in space, it became apparent that it was harder to go "number two" among the stars than down on Earth — and not just because of how complicated it is to use a space toilet. For most astronauts, this gastrointestinal change is just an inconvenience, but some have to take laxatives to overcome the problem. The drugs are routinely stocked on most space missions, including the recent Artemis II mission.

Constipation is one of several digestive issues astronauts contend with, including bloating, indigestion and acid reflux, according to NASA. And like most other health problems that can affect astronauts, researchers have long suspected that microgravity is the leading cause. However, it has been very hard to prove that hypothesis or understand the other effects that chronic constipation may have on astronauts' general health.

 Jeannette Kras - Redacteur

Astronomen hebben in het vroege heelal een opmerkelijk object ontdekt. Het lijkt op een enorme ster, ongeveer zo groot als ons zonnestelsel, maar het straalt honderd miljard keer meer energie uit dan een gewone ster. De meest waarschijnlijke verklaring: een volledig nieuw type kosmisch object, een zogeheten zwartegatster.

De ontdekking, gepubliceerd in Nature, is gedaan met de James Webb-ruimtetelescoop. De telescoop legde het helderrode object vast in een periode waarin het heelal nog maar enkele honderden miljoenen jaren oud was. Het lijkt te bestaan uit een centraal zwart gat, omgeven door een enorme, dichte gasmantel. De energie is daardoor niet afkomstig van kernfusie, zoals bij gewone sterren, maar van het zwarte gat zelf.

Hoofdauteur Rohan Naidu: “We denken dat er een centraal zwart gat zit dat 100.000 keer zo zwaar is als de zon. Daaromheen bevindt zich een zeer uitgestrekte gasmantel die eruitziet als een ster ter grootte van het zonnestelsel. Het is enorm.”

De ontdekking kan bovendien een verklaring bieden voor de mysterieuze kleine rode stippen die op vrijwel alle diepe opnamen van de James Webb-telescoop opduiken. “Deze kleine rode stippen lijken overal in het vroege heelal voor te komen, maar verdwijnen tegen de huidige tijd bijna volledig”, zegt Naidu. “Wat deze objecten precies zijn, is een van de meest bediscussieerde onderwerpen uit het James Webb-tijdperk.”

Op zoek naar vroege sterrenstelsels

De astronomen zochten niet bewust naar een zwartegatster. Het team gebruikte de James Webb-telescoop om de vroegste sterrenstelsels op te sporen in een onderzoeksprogramma met de naam Mirage or Miracle (MoM). “Er is al enige tijd een raadsel rond veel heldere oude sterrenstelsels”, zegt Naidu. “Wat we ontdekten, is dat iets wat eruitziet als een uitzonderlijk helder vroeg sterrenstelsel, oftewel een ‘miracle’, in sommige gevallen eigenlijk een ‘mirage’ kan zijn.” Het lijkt op een sterrenstelsel, maar het is in werkelijkheid iets anders.

{ https://scientias.nl/nieuws/astronomie-ruimtevaart/ }

Secret Soviet UFOs: What happened when two scientists knocked on a door in Estonia? | Reality Check

Ross Coulthart

Something metallic turned up under a garden in a quiet Tallinn suburb in 1969, and the Soviets spent the next twenty years trying to get it out, bringing in excavators and scientists and military, borrowing the house from its owners and living in it, digging on and off until perestroika ended the whole effort and they walked away. Astrophysicist Dr. Beatriz Villarroel and Ocean X co-founder Dennis Åsberg went to that address to find out what is still down there. Nobody came to the door, but the neighbor who had watched all of it from his window talked to them for an hour.

This is their full conversation with Ross Coulthart, recorded for "Secret Soviet UFOs" and running well past what the special had room for. Villarroel walks through the peer-reviewed work that brought her to Estonia, highly reflective objects photographed in orbit years before anyone on Earth had launched a satellite, and why she thinks the same search belongs in the ground. Åsberg ties Merivälja to the Baltic Sea anomaly his team found on sonar roughly 300 kilometers away and argues that both could predate the last ice age. Between them, they count five European cases and will not give up the coordinates of one of them. What nobody can answer yet is what sits under that garden, and the only thing that would settle it is ground-penetrating radar in the yard of a man who has already told them no.

Secret Soviet UFOs: What happened when two scientists knocked on a door in Estonia? | Reality Check

Reality Check: Secret Soviet UFOs | KGB swarms suburban house in UFO hunt

{ https://www.newsnationnow.com/ }

I’ve spent five decades investigating. Here are the facts

FBI Files Detail 'Bronze Metallic Object' Materialising in Sky as Pentagon Releases UFO Data

For the first time, complete UFO case files drawn from multiple federal agencies have been made directly accessible online

The Pentagon has started putting decades of declassified UFO files online via a new public website, officials in Washington confirmed on Friday. 

PHOTO Wayne Thornton/Pinterest

The Pentagon has begun publishing decades of declassified UFO files on a new public website, officials confirmed on Friday in Washington, bringing previously secret reports from the late 1940s to 2025 into the open for the first time.

The move follows President Donald Trump's directive earlier this year ordering US agencies to release government records on UFOs, now formally labelled unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, along with any files touching on 'extraterrestrial life.'

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO, has spent recent years sifting through historic reports and producing public summaries, but this is the first time complete case files, drawn from multiple federal agencies, have been made directly accessible online.

Pentagon UFO Website Puts 'Never-Before-Seen' Files in One Place

The Pentagon said the new site will host 'never-before-seen' UFO material, including videos, photos and original documents pulled from across the US government.

In a statement, the Department of Defence stressed that anyone can now search the database without security clearance, and promised further releases on a 'rolling basis' as more files are reviewed.

It can be recalled that interest in UFOs has surged in recent years, fuelled by leaked cockpit footage, congressional hearings and an increasingly vocal community of former officials urging transparency.

The Pentagon appears keen to show it has heard that noise. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth hailed Friday's drop of documents as 'unprecedented transparency,' even as some files arrive heavily redacted, with full pages blacked out.

Many of the UFO sightings cluster around sensitive military activity and major deployments. In the 1950s and 1960s, that meant Cold War flashpoints in Germany and the Soviet Union.

In more recent years, alleged encounters concentrate in the Middle East, particularly near the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq and Syria, where the US has maintained a sustained footprint and some of its most advanced surveillance kit.

Officials suggest that it is no coincidence. The lion's share of reports in the cache come from military pilots and personnel, often using sophisticated sensors that far outstrip civilian technology. If you go looking with the best gear, in other words, you see more weird stuff.

Crucially, in all of the incidents described in the newly released records, the Pentagon says the aerial phenomena posed no apparent threat to US forces. Most of the unknown objects either broke contact abruptly or vanished from view just as quickly as they had appeared.

Orbs, a 'Super-Hot' Object and a Bronze UFO in the Sky

Among the more recent entries, one 2023 case in the western United States stands out inside the document trove. Over two days, federal law enforcement officers independently reported strange orbs in the sky, with one account describing 'orbs launching other orbs.'

The Pentagon itself labels that episode 'among the most compelling' in its holdings, although the files stop short of any firm conclusion about what was actually seen.

In a separate 2024 encounter in Iraq, an unidentified craft was reported zipping across the surveillance systems of a US aircraft at high speed while the crew was engaged in an unrelated strike. The object cut across their sensors but, again, did not interfere with the mission and disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

A 2025 account relayed by a senior intelligence officer to the FBI pushes things further into science-fiction territory. According to the government's own description, US personnel were dispatched in a helicopter to search an area where orbs had previously been reported.

They allegedly located a 'super-hot' orb hovering above the ground, which then travelled roughly 20 miles at a speed too fast for the helicopter to keep up. That is the sort of detail that will send online forums into overdrive.

The historic files are hardly less surreal. NASA transcripts from 1969 in the release record Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin telling officials he saw what he described as a 'possible laser' in space, noting a 'fairly bright light source' that the crew tentatively ascribed to that explanation.

Then there is the FBI's own artwork. One composite sketch, based on witness reporting, shows what the bureau calls an 'apparent ellipsoid bronze metallic object materialising out of a bright light in the sky, 130-195 feet in length, and disappearing instantaneously.'

The image reads like classic UFO lore, except this time it is filed in a government record rather than a tabloid or late-night talk show.

Trump Claims Credit as Experts Warn of New Speculation

Trump teasing a major disclosure of UFO and UAP material. On his social media platform, the president took a victory lap on Friday, saying it was his push for 'Complete and Maximum Transparency' that forced the release.

'It was my Honor to direct my Administration to identify and provide Government files related to Alien and Extraterrestrial Life, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and Unidentified Flying Objects,' Trump wrote, claiming the publication will allow Americans to 'decide for themselves' what is happening in the skies.

Last month, while welcoming the Artemis II astronauts to the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that his administration would be 'releasing as much as we can in the near future.' UFOs, he said, had been 'in the minds of people for a long time', hinting that the government needed to catch up with public curiosity.

Not everyone inside the Pentagon ecosystem is thrilled about how the data drop is being presented.

Sean Kirkpatrick, the former head of AARO, issued a pointed warning against reading too much into raw files without expert context.

READ MORE

The Pentagon Just Declassified a UFO 'Time Warp' Encounter and Harvard Is Blaming Alien Technology

He said there was 'nothing unexpected' in the latest release and argued that, without analysis, the website would 'only serve to fuel more speculation, conspiracy and armchair pseudoscience, particularly from the playhouse politics theatre company.'

For starters, AARO's official reviews to date have not found any evidence that UFOs or UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin. That conclusion runs directly against the hopes of some true believers, and it is one reason the office has itself become a target of suspicion and wild claims.

The newly released files arrive, then, in an awkward middle ground. On one hand, this is the first time complete case files, even in redacted form, have been published straight from federal archives. On the other, many pages remain obscured, and the government is still saying, essentially, that nothing in its vaults proves alien visitors.

Whether this wave of UFO transparency calms public obsession or just adds more fuel to it, the files are now out there, and they are not going back in the box.

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{ https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ }

Iran’s Alien Files? Tehran’s U.S. Conspiracy Claim Takes on New Leverage in a High-Stakes War

INSIDE THIS REPORT

• Iranian media once promoted an extraordinary claim that alien forces secretly controlled the United States.
• No verified evidence establishes that Iran possesses UAP materials—or that the U.S. has an alien partnership.
• But in wartime, even unproven “disclosure” claims can become a potent tool of propaganda, pressure and psychological warfare.

By Samuel López | USA Herald

As U.S.-Iran hostilities continue to shake the region, an old and extraordinary allegation from Iranian state-aligned media is worth revisiting—not as proof of extraterrestrial contact, but as a warning about how UAP narratives can be turned into geopolitical weapons.

In January 2014, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency circulated a report claiming the United States had been governed since 1945 by a secret extraterrestrial “shadow government.” The story invoked a supposed alien agenda, alleged contact with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and claims attributed to documents supposedly linked to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on the Fars publication and its allegations at the time.

The claim takes on a different significance in the middle of a real geopolitical crisis. The relevant question is no longer whether the 2014 story was credible—it was not supported by verifiable evidence—but whether Tehran could revive, expand or strategically deploy the same narrative if it claimed to possess proof that the United States has been governed by a secret extraterrestrial “shadow government” since 1945.

To be clear, there is currently no public, credible evidence that Iran possesses such proof, or that the United States has cooperated with extraterrestrial beings, or has hidden an alien program from Congress or the public.

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office reached a similar conclusion in its historical report. Read AARO’s historical-record report here.

But, that doesn’t end the legal, political or national-security significance of the subject. It sharpens it.

A government at war does not need authentic alien artifacts to exploit public interest in alien artifacts. It needs a plausible narrative, carefully timed releases, selectively edited footage, ambiguous radar tracks, alleged insider testimony, or claims that cannot immediately be disproven because the underlying information is classified.

If Iran were to announce that it possessed UAP-related material—whether real, misunderstood, fabricated, foreign-made, or simply unexplained—the first battlefield would be public confidence. Tehran could frame the release as evidence that Washington has concealed advanced technology, lied to its own citizens, or maintained secret arrangements beyond democratic oversight.

The immediate target would not necessarily be scientists. It would be American public trust.

That kind of disclosure campaign could be designed to trigger congressional demands for classified briefings, force the White House into rapid denials, fuel online speculation, and divide an already polarized public over whether officials are withholding information. It could also muddy the line between authentic classified aerospace programs, adversary technology, drone incursions and truly unresolved aerial events.

The strategic value would be especially high during sensitive diplomacy. A claimed Iranian “UAP disclosure” could be deployed to distract from sanctions negotiations, military setbacks, intelligence disclosures, weapons inspections or domestic unrest. Tehran could offer supposed evidence through intermediaries, friendly media channels, foreign intelligence contacts, or international institutions—then demand political concessions, sanctions relief, security guarantees, or a halt to military action in exchange for access to the material.

That would amount to leverage by ambiguity.

The legal problem for the United States would be just as serious as the public-relations problem. If Iran released purported documents identifying U.S. facilities, defense contractors, aviation programs or alleged recovery sites, federal officials could face a difficult choice: deny the allegations and risk validating portions of the disclosures, or refuse substantive comment and allow speculation to intensify.

American intelligence agencies have confronted versions of that dilemma for decades. Genuine classified programs, especially aerospace, surveillance and weapons-development projects—can create the appearance of a cover-up when viewed without context. AARO itself noted that secrecy surrounding legitimate national-security programs has fueled public speculation about hidden extraterrestrial knowledge.

Iran could exploit that uncertainty with remarkable precision.

Still, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. A grainy video, anonymous source, metal fragment, or government statement probably wouldn’t do much to establish ‘proof’ of an extraterrestrial U.S.-connection.

Without real and authenticated evidence, a revived Iranian claim that they have alien materials or proof that the “United States is being governed by a secret extraterrestrial “shadow government,” would be political theater—not disclosure.

But political theater can matter during war. It can move markets, influence public opinion, strain alliances and force governments to spend valuable time rebutting claims that were engineered to be impossible to conclusively disprove in real time.

Iran’s 2014 alien-shadow-government story may have been dismissed as fringe propaganda. In today’s environment, however, it offers a revealing preview of how UAP narratives could be repackaged as a modern instrument of state pressure: not to prove that aliens are here, but to exploit the fact that millions of people believe governments may know more than they are saying.

{ https://usaherald.com/ }

'We Want to Believe' book explores the reality of UFOs: 'It's always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw' (interview)

"They're not supernatural or miraculous. If they really existed they'd exist in time and space and three dimensions like everything else."

UAPs are hot these days, whether they can be partially explained or wholly dismissed 

(Image credit: David Wall/Getty Images)

After all these years, we still want to believe.

Whether you're a bona fide believer or a staunch skeptic, we can all agree that UFO legends and lore is a fascinating subject that continues to fuel endless debate. And with pop culture feeding our lizard brains lurid tales of flying saucers and alien invasions, it’s no wonder humanity is always up for a good story of inexplicable aerial sightings or various uncanny encounters of the third kind.

In "We Want To Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream And Why It Matters" (Aug. 25, Columbia Global Reports), acclaimed literary critic and Senior Editor at The Atlantic Adam Kirsch explores this insatiable drive to wonder at unidentified phenomena. For Kirsch, the topic asks many of the same questions that human religions do. "For me, humanity's way into the subject is that UFOs are a way of thinking about a lot of the same questions we might also think about in religious or philosophical terms," Kirsch told Space in an interview. "Questions like what is unique about humanity, are we alone in the universe, are there other minds, what's our destiny as a species?"

Kirsch says the recent wave of alleged whistleblowers helped push him towards studying UFOs, or UAP, as they're now known.

"The real start of my interest in the subject was in 2017 when there was this sudden reporting in the mainstream media about the Pentagon UFO videos and the so-called secret program to collect UFO reports. For the first time, it seemed like maybe there was some legitimate news or evidence."

Get ready for the next Pentagon file drop with our essential UFO reading list

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Kirsch recognized that monumental occasion as a pivotal moment that truly altered the way that American culture and media talked about the titillating topic.

"I got more into the history and the lore of UFOs and partly out of just that basic idea that it would be really cool if there were other minds in the universe. It would be amazing if we could find proof of that. Over the years it's happened repeatedly in this history of UFOs. There's a lot of public excitement and then it peters out because there is no evidence and there isn't anything concrete to point to. And that's definitely what's happened over this last cycle."

Using grounded scientific logic and basic common sense, Kirsch brings a calm measured approach to the UAP hysteria that's been gripping the whole country.

"One of the interesting things about testimony that people like David Fravor and Ryan Graves gave about this is, 'When the camera sees something, the person doesn't see it. And when the person sees something, the camera doesn't see it.' It's always one or the other, it's never both at the same time. Even as long ago as the 1950s, people were saying that UFOs for some reason are not photogenic. No one ever seems to be able to get a real clear image of a UFO the way you’d think you'd be able to if they actually exist in the atmosphere."

"The obvious and logical explanation is that there's nothing to take a picture of. But it does get to this basic question of how do we go from, 'I had an experience' to 'This is what the experience tells me about the world.' I talk in the book about the difference between evidence and testimony. When they're talking about UFOs, people often blur that distinction. Testimony is an account and people are often wrong or misinterpret about what happened to them."

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After all the smoke clears, the test that Kirsch declares must be applied to these reports is the same test that 18th-century philosopher David Hume said when talking about religious miracles.

"You don't have to prove that a miracle didn't happen, all you have to do is prove that it's more likely that someone was wrong, than that the laws of nature were suspended," Kirsch adds. "The same is true of UFOs. They're not supernatural or miraculous. If they really existed they'd exist in time and space and three dimensions like everything else. Based on the way we understand the universe and space travel, makes the odds very small that a UFO report would really be an actual extraterrestrial spacecraft. It's always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw.

"Modern science and scientific education is all about learning to not trust your instincts. It's about learning to say that the way that I spontaneously understand the world is wrong and there's a better way to understand it. UFOs are a perfect example of this because there's no evidence for them, but there's lots of people that see things in the sky they don't understand.

"With these released UAP videos, we might not be getting the whole truth, but that doesn't mean the whole truth is as interesting as I want it to be, and that there's some cosmic secret."

"We Want To Believe" is available at bookstores and online outlets Aug. 25, 2026.

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{ https://www.space.com/entertainment }

Metals recovered by Russia from alleged UFO appear not to be from Earth: Coulthart

Rob Taub

(NewsNation) — Some metals from an alleged UFO recovered by Russia in Estonia were determined not to be of Earthly origin.

NewsNation special correspondent Ross Coulthart told “NewsNation Prime” the discovery by Russian scientists showed the metals were “not normal isotopic ratios that you would expect for similar metals that were found on this planet.”

The development follows Coulthart’s latest podcast, “Secret Soviet UFO,” which details a story from the 1960s where a suburban couple was doing routine work on their home when a worker digging a well struck a hard metallic object.

“The reality is the Soviet Union had its fair share of anomalous events and this is one of the most celebrated ones,” Coulthart said after visiting the site. “It’s been the subject of speculation in Estonia for many years, both before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain.”

KGB had files about the alleged UFO event: Coulthart

Coulthart noted the event was recorded in both KGB files and files of the former Overseas Intelligence Service, the KGB and now the FSB.

“We also know from multiple witnesses who were on the ground at the time that there was a massive investigation where the Soviet military came in, the whole house garden was dug up, there was a tunnel dug to the object, whatever it was, and there were reports — multiple reports — of people including a worker that tried to hit the object with a pickaxe,” he added.

“He was hit in the chest by some kind of propulsive force. We don’t know what that force was, but as a result of that incident and weird anomalous things that happened in and around the house that were witnessed and recorded again by multiple witnesses, the entire tunnel system was closed up and as best as we know, the object has never been recovered,” Coulthart said.

Metals discovered supposedly caused weird events: Coulthart

The object — now dubbed “Object M” — appeared to cause “weird phenomena” around the house, with multiple events recorded by multiple witnesses. Coulthart noted Russian files were discovered that exemplified diagrams of Object M under the ground.

“There were ground-penetrating radar tests done by scientists intriguingly at the very beginning of the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s; there was even a Japanese team that went and did their own ground-penetrating radar survey and they confirmed that there was indeed an anomalous metallic object about 30 metres, 30 feet under the house.”

Coulthart believes the discovery led to one of the biggest UFO investigations of all time.

“The Soviets in the era of the Cold War dedicated an investigation to over 10,000 UFO cases, and what they found proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that Russia was very, very interested in UFOs,” he acknowledged.

{ https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/ }

Did the Government Just Admit It Can’t Explain the UAP Orbs — Or Did It Just Hire Someone to Explain Them Away?

INSIDE THIS REPORT

• Avi Loeb says government sources asked him to build a science council because they can't explain UAP orbs as human-made tech.
• The wording raises a hard question: are officials seeking answers, or a credible cover story?
• A closer look at the "orb" phenomenon suggests something Loeb's framework may not be built to capture.

By Samuel López | USA Herald

WASHINGTON - Professor Avi Loeb has spent the summer of 2026 becoming the most quoted man in ufology, and his latest post on X may be the most consequential yet. Writing through the account of the UAP Science Advisory Council he now chairs, Loeb said reliable, national-security-focused U.S. government sources asked him to build the council because the nature of UAP orbs remains unresolved based on all publicly available data — and, as he put it in his own words, because they cannot explain the orbs "in terms of human-made technologies."

That single phrase deserves more scrutiny than it has received.

“Reliable US government sources who are focused on national security asked me to establish the UAP Science Advisory Council because they cannot explain UAP orbs in terms of human-made technologies. Given these circumstances, it is the duty of all genuine scientists to figure out who these strangers visiting our backyard are.” - Professor Avi Loeb @ProfAviLoeb

On its face, Loeb's statement reads as vindication for years of witness testimony: the government, by its own admission, is stumped. But read it again. "Cannot explain UAP orbs in terms of human-made technologies" is not the same sentence as "cannot explain UAP orbs." It is narrower, and the narrowness may be the point. It suggests a search confined to one hypothesis space — ours — rather than an open inquiry into what these objects actually are.

If the goal from the outset is to find a terrestrial, technological explanation, then the council isn't hunting for the truth. It's hunting for the most defensible version of a predetermined answer.

That distinction matters enormously, and it is worth asking plainly: are the agencies who approached Loeb genuinely trying to solve the orb phenomenon, or are they trying to acquire his credibility — his Harvard pedigree, his media fluency, his willingness to speak in public — to construct a narrative the public will accept?

A scientist of Loeb's stature lends enormous weight to whatever conclusion eventually gets announced. That weight is valuable whether the underlying goal is disclosure or damage control.

Loeb's own record complicates the picture further. Public reporting this year has repeatedly noted that the council formed after intelligence and defense officials, including the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the ODNI, and the FBI, tasked him with assembling a multidisciplinary panel to bring scientific rigor to the government's UAP files.

Loeb has framed his approach as a "whodunit" — better sensors, better data, elimination of competing explanations. That is a defensible scientific method. But method only gets you as far as the assumptions baked into it, and this investigation may be starting with the wrong ones.

Here is where independent research into the orb phenomenon diverges sharply from the official framework. Reports of sphere-like objects — the so-called Buga sphere, metallic ball-shaped craft, luminous circular objects tracked by military sensors — are typically treated as a single category: unknown physical craft awaiting classification. Loeb's council, understandably, wants better instrumentation and material data to sort that category out. But that approach assumes the orbs are objects in the conventional sense: solid, engineered, governed by the same physics as a drone or a satellite.

My own investigation into the orb phenomenon points somewhere else entirely. The pattern that recurs across credible sightings — orbs descending low, entering the atmosphere, and appearing to track their surroundings with something resembling awareness — does not fit the profile of hardware. It fits the profile of something behaving. Witnesses do not describe machines. They describe presence. That is not a materials-science problem, and it may not yield to a materials-science solution, no matter how sophisticated the council's sensors become.

None of this proves the government is running a cover story. It is entirely possible that officials approached Loeb in good faith, hoping rigorous science will finally cut through decades of speculation. But the phrasing he chose to publish — a search for a human-made explanation — leaves the door open to a less comforting possibility: that the mission was never to find out what the orbs are, but to find a way to explain them that the public, and perhaps Congress, will accept without asking what else they might be.

Genuine science does not start with the answer it's permitted to find. Until the council's mandate is stated without that qualifier, the public is right to keep asking the question Loeb himself raised: who — or what — are these strangers visiting our backyard?

{ https://usaherald.com/ }

ILLUSTRATIVE RECONSTRUCTION // NOT EVIDENCE

Overview

A bright streak of light seen over the Las Vegas sky just minutes before a family placed a 911 call reporting what they believed were alien figures was most likely a meteor, according to a scientist who reviewed the event. The flash, which briefly drew attention online and among local observers, has become the latest example of how a single sky event can quickly take on a life of its own when it overlaps with unexplained or emotionally charged reports.

The timing of the fireball — appearing shortly before the emergency call — fueled speculation among people following the story. But the scientific assessment points in a far more ordinary direction: a natural object entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. In other words, the dramatic light show was likely astronomical, not extraterrestrial.

What Scientists Concluded

Based on the available review of the event, the bright object was identified as a likely meteor, not evidence of alien activity. Scientists routinely use factors such as a streak’s brightness, motion, and duration to distinguish meteors from other aerial phenomena, and this case appears to fit that familiar profile. While the public conversation around Las Vegas has long included paranormal and UFO speculation, the fireball itself does not appear to provide support for those claims.

The distinction matters because fireballs are often mistaken for something more unusual, especially when they appear unexpectedly over populated areas at night. Their sudden brilliance can make them seem artificial or controlled, but that visual impact is consistent with a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. In this case, the scientific reading offers a grounded explanation for a moment that otherwise invited more fantastical interpretations.

Why the Incident Drew Attention

What made the Las Vegas episode stand out was not just the streak of light, but the proximity of that sighting to a 911 call involving claims of alien activity. That sequence gave the story a built-in tension that spread quickly beyond local news audiences. For many observers, the fireball and the emergency call seemed connected; scientists, however, say the two events should not be treated as evidence of the same cause.

This is a familiar pattern in unexplained-sky reporting: a plausible natural event occurs, then a separate human report adds a layer of mystery. When those timelines overlap, public interest often jumps ahead of the evidence. The meteor explanation helps separate what was seen in the sky from what was later reported on the ground.

Broader Context

The episode also lands in the middle of an ongoing national fascination with UFOs, paranormal claims, and unexplained aerial phenomena. In recent years, those topics have shifted from fringe conversation into mainstream debate, with new government transparency efforts and persistent public curiosity keeping the issue in the spotlight. That environment can make ordinary events feel extraordinary, especially when they happen in places already associated with spectacle and mystery.

For now, the best-supported explanation for the Las Vegas fireball is straightforward: a meteor. The 911 call may continue to fuel online debate, but the streak of light itself appears to have a scientific answer.

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{ https://usubjects.com/ }

5.5km UFO On Moon Watching NASA 1967 Mission, UAP Sighting News.

Date of photo: Feb 23, 1967

Date of discovery: Aug 22, 2026

Location of discovery: Earths moon

Source: 

• https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunarorbiter/frame/?3078

There is a long spacecraft hovering over the moons surface in a NASA photo from 1967. This is 100% proof that aliens were watching humans before we ever stepped on the moon. 

 

I took the measurement of the crater in the photo called Theophilus crater, which is 110km or 68 miles across by 4.4km or 2.7 miles deep and can conclude that this UFO is 1/20 the length of the crater...equals 5.5km or 3.4 mile long UFO. Thats huge to us humans but to aliens, its considered a small shuttle craft. 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily

 

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

The Atlantic has contained entire landscapes, ecosystems and geological worlds that were completely unknown to humans until very recently. As sea levels rose following the last Ice Age, entire inhabited landscapes disappeared beneath the ocean. 

Hidden beneath the Atlantic’s deep waters lie structures, lost cities, and clues that could rewrite what we know about Earth’s history, and challenge our understanding of the ancient world. Yet with more than 75% of its seafloor still unmapped, the Atlantic Ocean remains one of the least explored places on the planet. 

From sonar scans revealing geometric formations, like the Bimini road, beneath the waves, to vanished ships, underwater cities, and unexplained regions like the Bermuda Triangle, the Atlantic has become more than an ocean of currents and depth. Stories of lost civilizations, sunken continents, like Atlantis, and mysterious discoveries have only deepened the mystery. 

There are also the unexplained sonar/UFO reports in the Atlantic. These reports involve military sonar, classified data, unidentified underwater contacts and objects that apparently move in unusual ways.  

Given the numerous reports of UFOs emerging from and diving into the ocean, it is not unreasonable to speculate that ancient intelligent (extraterrestrial) civilizations could still be inhabiting hidden underwater bases deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean to this day. 

In this documentary, we explore what has been found in this ocean, the stories passed down through history, and how they may connect to what lies below the surface. We’ll examine the myths, the discoveries, and what makes it Earth’s most mysterious ocean.

  

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

Rock samples have been lying for several years in sealed tubes directly on the surface of the Red Planet. They were supposed to be retrieved by a joint program that was left without funding. It is now unclear whether they will ever reach Earth at all.

NASA’s Perseverance rover on the Red Planet. Illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP

A Decision Without Guarantees

Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh Charles Cockell said in an interview with Universe Space Tech that there is currently no guarantee that soil samples will be returned from Mars. Funding for a number of NASA programs was cut, and the Mars Sample Return program was affected by these reductions.

Rock and soil in Jezero Crater were collected using the Perseverance rover and sealed in tubes. The samples currently remain on Mars. The project under which this cargo was supposed to be lifted into orbit and delivered to Earth has been canceled. 

Charles Cockell himself puts it simply. The material has been collected, it is lying on Mars, but what happens to it next is unknown.

Congressional Decision

In the fiscal year 2026 budget process, Congress did not restore support for the existing architecture, retaining only part of the related technology work within the framework of future Mars missions. As Space writes, part of the scientific community had previously opposed shutting down the program.

This is not a pause but the dismantling of a specific plan under which two spacecraft were supposed to fly to retrieve the container with the collected material. Without it, the soil in Jezero Crater remains a scientific resource to which no one has access.

China’s Schedule

China, meanwhile, is moving according to its own schedule. Charles Cockell notes that the mission there will focus on landing at a single site and returning several samples, meaning a much smaller amount than that collected by the Perseverance rover.

The launch of Tianwen-3 is planned for around 2028, with the return of the payload to Earth scheduled for 2031. The mission architecture calls for two separate launches, drilling to a depth of up to two meters, and the return of at least 500 grams of Martian samples.

Tianwen-3 mission architecture. Source: Handout

The foldable quadcopter version proposed by Chinese researchers is capable of collecting up to 100 grams of samples.

Source: Handout

The ground segment of the program is also being prepared. A planetary protection laboratory for receiving extraterrestrial material is already being designed, according to CGTN. 

Who Will Study the Material

Any batch of Martian material will first be placed in a high-containment facility. There it will be checked for the presence of active microorganisms, and only afterward will it be released to the broader scientific community.

Competition for access then begins. Charles Cockell explains that many researchers want to study Martian material, while the amount available is small, so only laboratories with the appropriate equipment and clean-room conditions will be able to work with it.

According to him, the necessary equipment is also available at the University of Edinburgh. He says that studying Martian rock would be fantastic, although he assumes that his colleagues rather than he personally would carry out such work.

Foreign laboratories have already received access to Chinese extraterrestrial material. CNSA granted access to lunar soil from the Chang’e-5 mission through a competitive application process, with institutions from the United Kingdom and the United States among those selected. Five international projects have already been chosen for Tianwen-3, but they concern instruments carried aboard the mission. The procedure for distributing the Martian material itself has not yet been announced.

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

Deimos — the more distant of Mars’s two tiny moons — is named after the ancient Greek god of fear. Unlike its companion Phobos, which is covered in craters, Deimos has an unusually smooth surface buried beneath a thick layer of regolith. In addition, a giant crater about 10 km wide is located at its south pole. 

Mars’s moon Deimos. Image: Space Engine

For a long time, astronomers could not understand exactly what events had shaped such an unusual landscape. A new study published in Nature Astronomy provides answers to these questions. 

One Fatal Impact

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission, which took detailed images of Deimos from close range in March 2025, provided scientists with valuable new data. A team of researchers led by Dr. Sabina Raducan of the International Space Science Institute and the Free University of Brussels compared the images with large-scale computer simulations.

The animation shows how an asteroid impact could have changed the shape of Deimos and covered it with a layer of dust. Source: ESA

Using special code developed at the University of Bern, the scientists conducted about one hundred impact simulations, each of which took nearly a week. According to the calculations, the most likely scenario was the impact of an asteroid approximately 320 m in diameter that struck Deimos at an angle of 40°. 

This single catastrophic collision was enough to completely reshape the moon’s appearance. The impact blasted out an enormous amount of debris and dust, which settled back onto the surface, forming a “blanket” up to 200 m thick. This layer buried smaller ancient craters beneath it, making Deimos appear visually smoother than Phobos.

Why Did Deimos Not Break Apart?

A logical question arises: why did such a powerful impact not shatter a relatively small moon only about 12 km in diameter?

The answer lies in Deimos’s internal structure. Observations confirm that it has an extremely porous structure — its interior is more like a loose pile of space rocks held together by weak gravity. When the asteroid struck the surface, Deimos’s fractured interior acted like a shock absorber: it absorbed and softened the shock wave, saving the moon from complete destruction.

Answers from the MMX Mission 

The origin of the Martian moons themselves remains a matter of debate: they may either be asteroids captured by Mars’s gravity or fragments blasted off Mars itself during ancient collisions. Deimos’s porous structure inclines scientists toward the first hypothesis, but the upcoming Japanese MMX mission (Martian Moons eXploration) is expected to provide a definitive answer.

Mars’s moon Deimos. Image: Space Engine

The launch of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft is scheduled for the end of this year. In 2027, it will arrive in the Martian system, conduct detailed observations of both moons, and collect soil samples from Phobos, which are expected to return to Earth in 2031. The collected data will help not only verify the calculations concerning Deimos, but also provide a better understanding of the evolution of the entire Solar System during the early stages of its formation. 

Previously, we reported on how the moons of Mars turned out to be remnants of a destroyed comet.

• According to CNN 

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

Neptune possesses a ring system that was officially identified 37 years ago. However, the history concerning the existence of these rings extends significantly further and encompasses a mystery intricately linked to their characteristics

Neptune’s rings.  Source: Wikipedia

The discovery of Neptune’s rings

Neptune is recognized as the eighth planet from the Sun and is the most distant one in the Solar System. Its average distance from the Sun measures approximately 4.5 billion kilometers. Nonetheless, it is well known that Neptune possesses a ring system. However, evidence of these rings was observed much earlier. William Lassell first reported their discovery in 1846, shortly after the planet itself was identified.

However, it soon became evident that this was simply a consequence of the limitations inherent in the telescope he employed. The rings were neglected for a period of one hundred years. Their potential existence was reconsidered in 1966, when astronomers observed a planetary occultation and observed that it transpired marginally earlier than anticipated.

However, at that time, this report was disregarded and was not revisited until 1977, when Uranus’s rings were subsequently discovered through a similar methodology.

In 1984, astronomers resumed observations of the planet’s occultation of stars and made a noteworthy discovery: the eclipse was observed on one side of the planet, but not on the opposite side. This finding supported the hypothesis that Neptune is encircled by a system of open rings or arcs.

A pair of images of Neptune’s rings taken by Voyager 2. Source: Wikipedia

Scientists were unable to comprehend the mechanism behind this phenomenon; however, they were powerless to intervene, as the ground-based telescopes available at the time lacked the capability to observe the rings directly.

It was not until August 22, 1989, that the Voyager 2 spacecraft conducted a flyby of Neptune and, for the first time, captured photographs of Neptune’s rings, thereby confirming their existence. Additionally, it provided further insight by demonstrating that the majority of the planet’s rings are, in fact, closed.

Structure of the rings

Scientists have long debated whether at least one of Neptune’s rings is actually open, as this would strongly contradict orbital mechanics. However, they ultimately concluded that the planet’s four moons, which orbit within the ring system, exert a significant influence on the uniformity of the rings.

The structure of Neptune’s rings. Source: Wikipedia

The Galle ring is situated nearest to Neptune’s surface. Its innermost boundary is positioned 41,000 km from the planet, with a width of approximately 2,000 km. Comprising primarily fine dust, it is exceedingly faint.

Subsequently, the narrow and luminous Le Verrier ring is introduced, measuring merely 113 km in width with an outer radius of 53,000 km. Within this ring, in closer proximity to its inner boundary, orbits the Despina moon. Despina exhibits an irregular shape, with an approximate radius of 150 km. Additionally, two other moons, Naiad and Thalassa, are situated in the space between the Galle and Le Verrier rings.

Immediately beyond the Le Verrier ring lies the relatively sparse Lassell ring. Its width is approximately 4,000 km. At its outer edge begins the narrow and luminous Arago ring, which has a width of only 100 km.

Neptune’s moons. Source: www.techtimes.com

Subsequently, a gap is observed through which a secondary small satellite, Galatea, orbits. This is followed by the most notable object within the system — the Adams ring. The Adams ring is the subject of considerable debate among scientists, as it appears to comprise five distinct arcs. More comprehensive investigations reveal that these arcs are essentially irregularities along the edges of a continuous ring; nonetheless, the structure remains highly unusual.

The mystery of the rings’ origin

Presently, the most significant enigma concerning Neptune’s rings pertains to their origin. The dominant hypothesis posits that the rings emerged significantly after the formation of the planet, as a consequence of the disintegration of one of its natural satellites.

Nevertheless, in actuality, this entire configuration — with multiple distinct rings and medium-sized moons positioned between them — indicates a considerably more intriguing formation process. The Neptune system is abundant with peculiar phenomena. Specifically, some research demonstrates that the various rings originated from different dust fractions and diverse moons.

Triton. Source: Wikipedia

Among the moons themselves, there are no large ones, but there is one that is truly enormous — Triton — though it was clearly once captured by the gravitational pull of the ice giant. Additionally, several small moons in very low orbits exhibit mineral compositions that could only have developed in the presence of substantial liquid water — an element that could never have existed on them previously.

All of this indicates that the fundamental cause of Neptune’s remarkable rings was, indeed, the capture of Triton. Prior to this event, the planet was orbited by several large moons; however, the gravitational influence of the newly arrived Triton generated chaos, resulting in collisions that ultimately led to the current configuration of the system. Whether this hypothesis is accurate remains a subject of ongoing scientific investigation.

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

The closest distance between Earth and Apophis during the flyby will be a mere 38,000 kilometers, about one-tenth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Coordinating these planetary defense efforts among the Earth’s nations may be one of the biggest challenges as the object comes uncomfortably close.

Apophis Explained

As soon as astronomers first discovered Apophis in 2004, the asteroid’s 340-meter-wide diameter and close pass by Earth immediately made it a concern for scientists. Fortunately, it is expected that on April 13, 2029, it will safely pass our planet at a distance of close to 20,000 miles—closer than some of our weather and communication satellites, but still with no risk of an impact.

Yet the near-Earth asteroid still holds mysteries for scientists. Models of the object depend heavily on assumptions, not hard data, to predict not just its tidal effects but also its composition, size, internal structure, and spin state.

A series of images of the asteroid Apophis captured in March 2021

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech and NSF/AUI/GBO)

With so many open questions about the asteroid and the unique opportunity to collect data and test processes for future planetary defense operations, many countries are planning missions to Apophis, but in this new paper, the researchers note that some of these activities require increased international coordination to avoid interference.

Part of the paper synthesizes known data on Apophis, including radar observations, light-curve, and spectral data. From this data, the team then developed new predictions for the asteroid’s dust ejection, orbital and spin changes, internal structural response, and surface material displacement. These projections were crucial in the researchers’ evaluations of the feasibility of various currently proposed or authorized missions and their likely scientific value.

Apophis Missions are Gearing Up

Future Apophis missions fit into four primary categories: rendezvous, flyby sample return, and impactor experiments.

In the recent research, the team found that flyby missions should capture data at very fine scales, down to the centimeter or decimeter for surface changes and hours for changes in spin period. Additionally, these space-borne instruments should be able to measure dust ejection phenomena. Together, this data stream alone could provide important direct evidence for how such rubble-pile asteroids evolve structurally. Relatively low-cost sample return missions could push this even further.

The activities coordinated under the International Asteroid Warning Network constitute the largest multinational asteroid detection and observation effort ever assembled and are its first global joint exercise. The network will build experience responding to potentially deadly space threats in the future.

Earth Interactions

On the other hand, the asteroid’s close approach to Earth will affect Apophis as well. Our planet’s gravity is expected to alter Apophis’s orbit from an Aten-type to an Apollo-type, changing the object’s spin period and orbital uncertainty. 

Additionally, roughly 1% of Apophis may experience a surface material disruption, potentially altering the object’s spectral properties by exposing fresh material.

The asteroid’s extremely low gravity may also cause it to lose surface dust to Earth’s magnetosphere, posing an electromagnetic disturbance hazard to spacecraft. Space agencies will need to monitor the situation to protect our increasingly essential space-based communications infrastructure during the event.

While there is no immediate danger to our planet, the researchers say this event is shaping up to be a pivotal moment in international space cooperation and a turning point for organized space defense.

The paper, “The Apophis Encounter in 2029: A Rare Opportunity for Planetary Science and Defense,” appeared in Space: Science & Technology on August 22, 2026.

• Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org.

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

Mars's Funky Moon Deimos was Shaped by an Impact

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Dry Martian Meteorite Reveals Early Water in Mars's Crust

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Set in the year 2179, James Cameron's sequel follows a group of Colonial Marines who come face-to-face with extraterrestrial terrors beyond their wildest imaginations.

However, although humanity thankfully hasn't discovered the Xenomorph, scientists say this visionary film does make some surprisingly accurate predictions.

According to Professor Steve Benford, of the University of Nottingham, many of the film's sci-fi inventions are now commonplace items used by millions.

Aliens is set 153 years into our future, making it as far removed from the present day as we are from 1873, when gas lighting and steam power were the height of technology.

However, Professor Benford points out that our technology has already surpassed some of the gadgets seen in the film.

Professor Benford told the Daily Mail that the thing that Aliens predicted most accurately is 'sadly' the use of automatic guns and robotic weaponry.

But from synthetic humans to the iconic motion tracker, there are still a lot of things the film gets wrong.

This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary. Now, a scientist has revealed what the film got right and wrong about the future of technology 

What Aliens gets right

Professor Benford says one of the most impressive things Aliens gets right isn't the big impressive pieces of technology, but the small things people carry with them.

While the apparent absence of personal phones might seem strange to modern audiences, the Colonial Marines do have plenty of wearables.

Professor Benford says that the motion detectors, wearable cameras and biosensors embedded into wristbands all feel quite 'current'.

From smart watches to fitness tracking rings, small wearable devices are now exceptionally common.

In fact, the watches worn by many people today are smaller, smarter, and more multi-purpose than many of the devices seen in the film.

Another surprising innovation that Aliens appears to have predicted is the development of exoskeletons.

At the climax of the film, Ellen Ripley climbs into an enormous mechanical suit known as a 'loader'.

Professor Steve Benford, of the University of Nottingham, says that the iconic 'loader' from Aliens is close to being replicated by modern exoskeleton technology 

What did Aliens get right... and wrong

What Aliens got right

* Wearable technology

* Exoskeletons

* Autonomous weaponry 

What Aliens got wrong

* Interstellar travel

* Motion trackers 

* No personal devices

* Synthetic humanoid robots  

This humanoid robot mirrors the wearer's movements, greatly enhancing their strength and mobility.

While that might seem far-fetched, real exoskeletons with a similar design are already starting to become commercially available.

For example, you can now purchase an Ascentiz H+K modular hip-and-knee exoskeleton for £1,250 ($1,699).

These small exoskeletons are designed to boost performance or make walking easier, but others will have a more serious purpose.

Professor Benford says: 'I think we will see them to help people walk and otherwise assist them.'

At the Consumer Electronics Show last year, developers revealed a $250,000 exoskeleton called XoMotion, which uses 12 motors to mimic natural human movements and balance.

While XoMotion was specifically designed for disabled people who have lost the ability to use their legs, developers say it could be used by factory workers to help them lift heavy boxes without damaging their joints.

However, Professor Benford says he doesn't think we will ever see Aliens-like loaders strutting around on factory floors.

Pictured above is the XoMotion, a futuristic high-tech exoskeleton allowing disabled people to walk forward, backwards and turn to either side. They can also sway their hips

Instead, he thinks it is much more likely that this role would be filled by robots, so that humans can stay safe out of harm's way.

'Some things are better controlled remotely,' Professor Benford explains.

But the thing that Aliens predicted most accurately was the growing use of autonomous weaponry.

In the film, we see the Colonial Marines deploying automatic sentry turrets that have the ability to detect targets, aim and fire without any human intervention.

The war in Ukraine has seen the rapid advancement of robotic and fully autonomous weapon systems.

These include robotic gun platforms capable of defending positions or roaming the frontlines with only minimal human supervision.

Some of these, such as the 'Buria' turret developed by Frontline Robotics, even bear a striking resemblance to those seen in the film.

What Aliens gets wrong

Professor Benford says that modern autonomous weapons, such as the 'Buria' turret developed by Frontline Robotics (pictured), bear a striking resemblance to the automatic weapons seen in Aliens 

The outbreak of the war in Ukraine has seen the rapid development of robotic weaponry, such as the DevDroid unmanned combat system (pictured)

Despite a few accurate predictions, this sci-fi classic also gets quite a few things wrong.

Most obviously, humanity is still nowhere near close to developing the ability to travel between the stars within a human lifetime.

Besides this glaring issue, the film also failed to predict just how personal technology and computer systems would develop.

One of the iconic pieces of technology in Aliens is the motion tracker, which the Colonial Marines use to track the hidden Xenomorphs.

What James Cameron couldn't have predicted is how fast surveillance and 'computer vision' – a field of AI where machines are trained to recognise objects – would advance.

Professor Benford says that a network of 'smart cameras' throughout the colony would have been able to track both humans and aliens alike far more effectively.

Similar systems, such as 'live facial recognition', are already being deployed on the streets today to monitor crowds and watch for suspicious behaviour.

On the other hand, some pieces of technology in Aliens feel futuristic right now, but could be achievable in the future.

Professor Bentford says that the film didn't anticipate how fast some personal AI tech would advance, making the film's iconic motion tracker seem quite outdated

In particular, Professor Benford points to the character of Bishop, played by Lance Henriksen, who acts like a human but is – spoilers for anyone who has yet to watch Aliens – a type of android known as a synthetic.

'Bishop can act autonomously and physically, making plans, moving through the world, manipulating stuff,' Professor Benford says.

'Today's mobile robots may be able to do some of this, but I think they are a long way off operating at human levels of improvisation and often require human support behind the scenes.'

However, some of Bishop's abilities are starting to seem more believable.

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Professor Benford says: 'Bishop clearly has the ability to converse with humans; this seems pretty plausible given today’s chatbots.

'We are getting used to AI that appears to talk to us intelligently.'

The big question, Professor Benford adds, is whether our technology will ever develop to the point that, like Bishop, it appears to become self-conscious and even act morally.

He says: 'Whether AI can become self-aware and even moral is a huge question people are asking now, and have been ever since Alan Turing first wrote about AI.'

KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY'S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE

Discovery of pulsars

British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.

Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.

Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.

'Wow!' radio signal

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data.

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the 'Wow! signal', which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.

Fossilised Martian microbes

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.

The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984. 

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.

Photographsere released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)

However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated. 

They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils. 

Behaviour of Tabby's Star in 2005 

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.

It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist's impression)

Recent studies have 'eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure', and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.

Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017 

In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.

Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star 'Trappist-1', and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.

Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them. 

Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: 'This is just the beginning.' 

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Noah's Ark mystery deepens as new scans show boat-shaped formation is more than just rock

• READ MORE: Bombshell discovery in soil at 'site of Noah's Ark' has convinced me Bible story is TRUE

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A mysterious boat-shaped geological formation in the mountains of eastern Turkey has long been dismissed as nothing more than a solid mass of natural rock.

But an international team investigating the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat believes it could contain the remains of Noah’s Ark.

According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved Noah, his family and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood that some biblical chronologies place more than 4,300 years ago.

Now, a new radar survey has detected strong subsurface anomalies and distinct layers inside the 515-foot-long formation, challenging the idea that it is one homogeneous block of rock.

Led by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, the survey used BakhtarRadar, a specialized imaging system developed through US Air Force research, to probe deeper beneath the site than earlier scans.

Noah’s Ark Scans founder Andrew Jones, who is part of the research team, said the deeper readings processed so far had yet to reveal a clear boundary between the formation and the underlying bedrock.

The team is still analyzing the data and will use the results to select locations for core drilling that could establish what lies beneath the formation.

‘We believe the Durupınar Formation is the remains of Noah’s Ark, and that is exactly why we want to put it through the strongest scientific testing we can,’ Jones said.

However, the researchers acknowledged that the results are preliminary and that radar anomalies alone do not prove the formation has an archaeological origin.

A new radar survey has detected strong subsurface anomalies and distinct layers inside the 515-foot-long formation, challenging the idea that it is one homogeneous block of rock

Bakhtar shared: 'My team and I are carefully evaluating the collected subsurface data, which aids in planning the core drilling pattern to be performed at the site. 

'We will use BakhtarRadar's unique capability to directly distinguish any still preserved petrified, man-worked timbers from the natural host formation and its varying mineralogy.'

The team expects to release a preliminary technical report in the coming weeks identifying the strongest anomalies, providing a clearer view of the underlying geology and determining the best locations for targeted core drilling. 

The samples would allow researchers to test the radar findings against physical evidence from inside the formation. 

Located just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak, the Durupinar Formation has only been known to the modern world for less than a century.

According to local reports, heavy rains and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away the surrounding mud, revealing the mysterious formation. It was then discovered by a Kurdish shepherd.

The Bible states that Noah's Ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living creature not sheltered inside the wooden vessel.

The radar captured 'a series of right angles' about 20 feet down, which researchers believe could be the rooms that held animals on the ark

What is intriguing is that the formation sits near a mountain with a peak that some believe matches the ark's shape and dimensions. 

According to biblical measurements, the ark was '300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high,' roughly 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall.

The idea that the ark landed on Mount Ararat has long sparked debate.

While many scientists argue that the formation is a naturally occurring geological feature, others are convinced it points to something far more extraordinary.

The team at Noah's Ark Scans firmly believes the latter.

Jones has been investigating the site since 2016, using ground-penetrating radar to see deeper underground, finding what he believes is a network of 'corridors' converging on a hollow central chamber he dubbed the atrium.

He linked the discovery to the Bible's description of the Ark, which states the boat contained three internal levels built to shelter Noah, his family and pairs of animals.

'God told Noah to bring the animals in. And so these animals would have stayed there, plus Noah and his family,' Jones told GB News.

Just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's tallest peak, the Durupinar Formation emerged less than a century ago

A team of American researchers working at the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat has uncovered evidence of hidden tunnels as described in the biblical account

What's interesting is that these voids are lining up below the ground - and they're not just random. These tunnels also follow a pattern. GPR is just a way to look below the soil using radar.'

He added that further studies using infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing technology that can uncover hidden structures underground, have also suggested the presence of a ship-shaped hull buried deep in the soil.

Jones told GB News that he and his team collected 88 samples from inside and outside of the ship in 2024.

Soil testing in the area showed extremely high levels of potassium, consistent with massive amounts of decomposed lumber.

'However, due to the extremely cold climate, many parts of the Ark are still intact and petrified. It spends almost six months out of the year completely frozen,' Noah's Ark Scans explained in an X post.

In 2024, Jones revealed that he and his team uncovered angular structures as deep as 20 feet beneath the surface, features that could represent rooms below a deck-like platform.

The researchers added further studies using infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing technology that can uncover hidden structures underground, have also suggested the presence of a ship-shaped hull buried deep in the soil

According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved humanity and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood more than 4,300 years ago

In Genesis 6:14, the Bible describes the ark: 'Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.'

'This is not what you'd expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris,' Jones told The Christian Broadcasting Network.

'But it is exactly what you'd expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah's Ark.'

The team has also performed soil testing, uncovering what Jones described as 'some interesting things.'

'We noticed that the grass growing within the boat-shaped formation is a different color compared to the area just outside it,' Jones said, suggesting this could point to a man-made origin rather than a natural one.

William Crabtree, another member of Noah's Ark Scans, added that a tunnel appears to run from the tip of the formation toward the middle, and it is large enough to walk through.

'The ultimate goal is not just soil test, which is great, or GPR scans, but to get inside the ship somehow,' Jones told Patterns of Evidence.

'Core drilling, getting samples deep inside of it to where we see the substructure, these voids, put a camera in it. This is an opportunity coming up that possibly will allow us to do that next season.

'Whatever happens, whenever God opens doors, we will continue working on the site.'

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UFO News Effect: Why A Third Of Americans Changed Their Minds About Aliens

Pentagon UFO scientist claims the US is hiding multiple alien species in top-secret facilities

by Michael Gwilliam

alien species in room

A scientist who previously consulted on Pentagon UFO programs claims the US government is storing bodies belonging to at least four alien species inside secret military facilities.

Dr Eric Davis made the extraordinary allegations during an appearance on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight, claiming he had viewed classified photographs and government records connected to crashed unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) and alien bodies.

“There’s a minimum of four that we know of, and I’ve seen the evidence, and I’ve seen the records,” Davis said.

Davis identified the alleged species as Grays, Nordics, Insectoids, and Reptilians. He described Grays as the short, large-eyed creatures commonly depicted in movies, while Nordics supposedly resemble tall, blonde humans.

Insectoids were compared to human-sized praying mantises, while Reptilians were described as humanoid creatures with lizard-like features. Davis claimed all four types have two arms and two legs.

“I don’t know what they eat. Most of them that I am aware were found dead,” he said.

alien species

Scientist claims US captured alien alive

Davis claimed officials once had an idea where the alleged bodies were stored, but said the operation was divided and moved during Barack Obama’s first presidential administration.

“We did have a hint of where those bodies went to when they were recovered,” he said. “That institute got split up into two or three components and relocated into different military medical institutes by the first Obama administration.”

He further added that he had heard former intelligence officer David Grusch knew of one being that was allegedly captured alive, but admitted he had no further information about it.

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The astrophysicist says he has investigated UAPs for 30 years and previously worked as a consultant on government programs including the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program.

He is now asking President Donald Trump to waive his non-disclosure agreement and protect UFO whistleblowers from prosecution.

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“With your signature, you could waive the NDA to protect UAP whistleblowers like myself,” Davis said. “I respectfully request that you take swift and decisive action, as the nature of UAP should not be kept deeply classified.”

However, Davis has not publicly produced the photographs or records he claims to have seen, and his allegations have not been independently verified.

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has previously said it found “no verifiable evidence” of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.

The claims come amid growing interest in possible alien life, including NASA’s discovery of a potential sign of ancient life on Mars and separate allegations that alien DNA has been detected in alleged abductees.

If there are advanced aliens out there potentially waiting to make a move, the world may not stand much of a chance. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb had previously told Dexerto that Earth has no plan for an invasion and has urged the UN to take precautions in the event of such a threat.

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Europe's never–ending scorching summer: Timelapse reveals the vast swathes of the continent that have hit 40°C over the last four months

• READ MORE: Area affected by wildfires in Europe will TRIPLE by 2100

BySHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

A timelapse video has revealed just how long–lasting Europe's scorching summer has been. 

Created using data from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), the timelapse shows the daily maximum surface air temperature across Western Europe from 1 May to 19 August. 

The darkest areas on the map indicate temperatures that met or exceeded 40°C (104°).

As the timelapse progresses, the dark red areas become more and more widespread across the continent.  

'Western Europe got its first hint of an unusual summer in May 2026, when a heat dome produced exceptional temperatures that shattered records in several countries,' NASA explained. 

'Remarkable as it was, that early heat wave turned out to be only the opening salvo.

'By mid–August, Europeans were sweating through their fifth heat wave of the season, with the latest onslaught pushing temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across a broad area. 

'During these bouts of extreme weather, high temperatures were often unrelenting, persisting for several days and sometimes weeks on end, and remaining overnight.'

Created using data from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), the timelapse shows the daily maximum surface air temperature across Western Europe from 1 May to 19 August

The timelapse starts on 1 May, at which point only small patches of the map are even light orange

The timelapse – which you can view here – starts on 1 May, at which point only small patches of the map are even light orange. 

However, by 22 May, you can see huge parts of the continent – including Portugal, Spain and Ukraine – darkening in colour. 

Fast–forward to mid–June, and several countries are dark red on the map, indicating temperatures of at least 40°C (104°).

Over the entire summer, heat records have been broken across the continent.

Back in May, temperatures in the UK hit 35.1°C (95.2°F), smashing the previous May record by a staggering 2.3°C (4.1°F).

In June, Bordeaux, France, broke its maximum–temperature record on three consecutive days, hitting 42.5°C.

By August, Slovakia set a new national records for both daytime and nighttime highs.

These scorching temperatures have taken their toll on people, animals, landscapes and infrastructure.

Greece, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Croatia have all been hit by wildfires that have displaced thousands of people. Pictured: a fire in Belgium on August 15

The UK's hottest days on record

40.3°C – 19 July 2022 in Coningsby, Lincolnshire

38.7°C – 25 July 2019 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

38.5°C – 10 August 2003 in Faversham, Kent

38.2°C – 18 July 2022 in Pitsford, Northamptonshire

37.8°C – 31 July 2020 at Heathrow, London

Greece, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Croatia have all been hit by wildfires that have displaced thousands of people.

Last week, a blaze spread rapidly across the Hautes Fagnes natural park in eastern Belgium, near the border with Germany.

It is the biggest fire on record for the nation, surpassing a blaze in 2011 that burned nearly 1,400 hectares, data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed.

Meanwhile, hundreds were evacuated from a beach resort in northern Greece and from a village in southwest France.

Likewise, the UK has now seen its worst fire season on record, with firefighters responding to over 1,132 blazes across the UK.

Preliminary reports suggest that heat may have been associated with as many as 10,000 excess deaths, including thousands of people in the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium.

'For a region accustomed to relatively mild summers, the heat upended everyday life. Hospitalizations and heat–related deaths spiked,' NASA said.

'Highways and train tracks buckled, forcing road closures and service disruptions.

Fast–forward to mid–June, and several countries are dark red on the map, indicating temperatures of at least 40°C (104°)

arge and destructive wildfires raged in areas where they were once rarely seen.

'The heat also worsened the severe drought that has gripped the region for months, contributing to record–low river water levels and disrupting water and power supplies, transportation routes, and agriculture.'

READ MORE

• Think this is bad? Study warns the area affected by wildfires in Europe will TRIPLE by 2100

Worryingly, scientists predict that future summers will be even hotter and drier, thanks to climate change. 

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UFO 'that looked like a giant nuclear weapon' stalked me before disappearing into sea, says NASA scientist

• MORE: UFO disclosure movement's astonishing new Trump claims: Secret Oval Office meetings... Air Force One plan... and 'imminent' next move

A NASA engineer has detailed a frightening experience involving glowing orbs over Florida and what the US military did when they intercepted the UFOs. 

Dr Charles Buhler, a physicist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, claimed that in 2014 he and his wife were at Cocoa Beach when they spotted a strange orb appear in the sky, which lit up like a 'nuclear bomb went off,' three miles away.

'It looked like a giant nuclear weapon. It wasn't a mushroom cloud with it, but it was just the brightness of it,' Buhler told podcast host Danny Jones.

'And we were like, "This is weird." So the helicopter hung over for a few minutes and then just went back and the light was still there.' 

The incident got even stranger after Buhler said a military helicopter from Patrick Air Force Base flew out to examine the UFO and then simply flew off without taking action.

Buhler said: 'They're like, "Okay, they know what it's not. It's not the Russians. It's not the Chinese. So, okay, it's not them. We'll be fine. Let's go back." That's my guess. They know what it's not.'

However, Buhler claimed the glowing orb began moving toward him after the military left the area, coming within 200 feet of the shore, following the scientist and then breaking into five or six separate basketball-sized orbs. 

The objects were allegedly seen rotating like a wheel, with half of them going underwater while the other half stayed visible from the beach. 

Pictured: NASA engineer Charles Buhler views glowing orb UFO encounters similar to his experience in Florida a decade ago

Pictured is an artistic impression of a 'mother orb' releasing the smaller 'orbs' as reported by the federal agents in October 2023 at a similar encounter to Buhler's

Despite similar sightings being recently released in the Pentagon's UFO disclosure files, and thousands of other orb encounters reported to civilian-run websites, the US government and NASA have maintained that there is no physical proof that UFOs or extraterrestrials exist. 

Buhler claimed the orb appeared around 10pm ET along the eastern coast of Florida, noting that countless people likely saw the craft from the nearby buildings and condos facing the Atlantic.

The scientist initially thought the object was a boat on the water before it pulsed with a light that illuminated the entire area and was too bright to be a standard signal flare.

'Then it gets real bright... It got so bright it lit up the whole beach as far as I can see. It made shadows of us against the buildings behind us,' Buhler said on the Danny Jones Podcast on August 14.

That was when one or two aircraft reportedly took off from the nearby military base and were seen hovering over the pulsating orb in the Atlantic.

Despite all of this taking place near a populated beach community and a major Air Force facility, Buhler said he could not find a single mention or report of the incident the following day.

However, his experience with the orbs is reportedly a well-known phenomenon in the area, with tour groups actively seeking them out and attempting to summon the orbs through psychic communication.

'Cape Canaveral is a huge port, and there's a lot of sightings off of cruise ships of these same red what you saw, what I saw, things following the cruise ships like dolphins do,' Buhler said. 'People have that on video. No one knows what the heck it is. I don't think anyone knows what it is.'

Dr Charles Buhler, a physicist and electrostatics specialist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, recently discussed a UFO encounter over Cocoa Beach, Florida

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

•  I'm an evangelist who arranged a secret UFO disclosure meeting. This is the one clue everyone missed 

While Buhler believed the orb UFOs were attempting to communicate in a friendly manner, he said the experience on Cocoa Beach quickly turned scary.

Within 15 minutes of the Air Force helicopters leaving the UFO, Buhler claimed the glowing orb began moving closer to the shore, getting within one mile of the beach and appearing to head directly toward the scientist and his wife.

At roughly a third of a mile out, Buhler said the object split into five or six smaller lights which moved to where the waves were breaking, just 200 feet offshore, and began spinning in and out of the water.

'They went and rotated, these five lights, five or six lights... Went like bicycle spokes into the water, halfway out of the water, halfway into the water, and they just kept doing this,' Buhler described. 'It was like the freakiest, I don't know what the hell it was.'

He then detailed how when he and his wife started sprinting away, the lights followed while continuing the spinning motion. 

Buhler claimed the whole episode lasted nearly 45 minutes.

A similar cluster of unknown flying orbs was spotted near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an Ohio military installation rumored to be linked to UFO activity, on April 8, 2026

Above is an artistic interpretation of a similar orb sighting described by law enforcement in the western US three years ago

Feeling scared, and drawing on things he had read about extraterrestrials as a child, Buhler said he closed his eyes and tried to tell the orbs to go away with his mind. 

Shortly after, the lights sank into the water and did not return.

'It wouldn't have gone away if I didn't tell it to. I don't think it would have gone away unless I told it to. It was completely gone after that,' Buhler said.

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What colours do you see? Mind-boggling optical illusion tricks your brain into seeing red and blue in a black and white spinning wheel

• READ MORE: Mind-boggling mirage off the coast of Cornwall baffles locals
  

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

A bizarre optical illusion tricks your brain into seeing colours in a black and white spinning disk.

The phenomenon, which has baffled scientists for hundreds of years, fools viewers into thinking they can see colours such as red and blue when they are not present.

The most famous example of this is 'Benham's top' – a disk painted in a black and white pattern which was initially sold as a toy.

When it is stationary, the opposing pigments appear unremarkable.

But when the top is spun, arcs of pale colour are visible at different places on the disk.

'When a pattern drawn only in black and white is rotated, people sometimes perceive colours that are not actually present,' researchers, from the National Institute for Basic Biology in Japan, said.

'This phenomenon is known as "subjective colour" and has been studied for approximately 200 years as one of the remarkable mysteries of vision.'

So, can you see the different colours in the video below?

When Benham's top is stationary, the black and white colours appear rather unremarkable. But when it is spun, colours such as red and blue can appear

As part of a new study, scientists wanted to work out the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.

They presented a black and white Benham's top to an AI model that had been trained to predict 'what kind of image will come next' after viewing a range of nature videos.

Although the input images contained no colour information at all, faint colours appeared in the images predicted by the AI.

The artificially generated colours were found to change depending on the colours of moving objects contained in the video used to train the AI.

This indicates that learning a link between movement and colour may be one factor that enables colours to emerge from black and white simulations, the researchers explained.

'This study suggests that subjective colour may not be a phenomenon completed solely within the retina, but may also be related to the brain's function of predicting future visual input based on past experience,' the team said.

'By using AI, the study provides a new clue to the classical mystery of why colours are perceived from a black-and-white spinning top.'

The conclusion, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reads: 'This framework provides a clear explanation for why colours appear on Benham's top arcs when they are conceptualized as moving objects.'

For the study, researchers presented a black and white Benham's top to an AI model that had been trained to predict 'what kind of image will come next' after viewing natural videos

This image plots the perceived hues that participants in a previous study reported. This phenomenon is known as 'subjective colour'

Benham's top was first developed in 1894 by British inventor Charles Benham, who created a black-and-white patterned spinning disc that produced the surprising illusion of coloured rings when rotated.

The effect became known as Fechner-Benham colours, or pattern-induced flicker colours, and quickly attracted the attention of scientists studying how the eye and brain perceive colour.

Over the following decades, researchers used the spinning disc in experiments investigating whether the colours were generated by the retina, the visual cortex, or interactions between different parts of the visual system.

Experiments found that the colours can change depending on the speed and direction of rotation, providing clues about how the visual system processes the timing and phase of light signals.

WHAT IS THE DELBOEUF ILLUSION?

The Delboeuf illusion is one type of visual illusion where a dot surrounded by a large ring is typically perceived to be smaller than the same-sized dot surrounded by a small ring.

This optical trick works because your brain perceives the dot in the context of the outer ring.

It was named after the Belgian philosopher and mathematician Joseph Remi Leopold Delboeuf (1831 – 1896), who created it in 1865. 

The Delboeuf illusion is one type of visual illusion where a dot surrounded by a large ring is typically perceived to be smaller than the same-sized dot surrounded by a small ring

In terms of plate size, the theory goes that having a smaller plate tricks people into thinking they have more food.

However, new research suggests that when people are hungry, they are able to identify food portion accurately, no matter how it is served.

According to the researchers, this indicates that hunger stimulates stronger analytic processing that is not as easily fooled by the illusion.

However, the Delboeuf illusion is widely believed to work in other contexts.

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Could These Be the Remains of Noah's Ark?
The biblical story of the great flood and Noah’s Ark is probably one of the best-known narratives in the world. Is this story fact or fiction?

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Photograph by Mike Peel., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image via PixaBay

Deluge
Up until the 18th century, it was commonly accepted that the biblical story of the flood was an accurate report of historical events. Over the years, however, as scientific knowledge has expanded, most people have come to see the biblical flood narrative as symbolic, rather than factual.

But although science tells us the creation story described in the bible doesn’t fully match up with what we know of the world, even the most ardent sceptics have to deal with a fact that makes some people believe that Noah’s Ark is still out there to be found.

©Jacopo Bassano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Animals_Entering_Noah's_Ark_1570s_Jacopo_Bassano.jpg

Mount Ararat
In the biblical flood narrative, after the rains have ended and the waters began to subside, Noah landed his Ark on the “mountains of Ararat,” where, after releasing both a raven and a dove, he finally opened the giant vessel’s hatches and released the rest of the animals he had stowed there. From the mountain’s slopes, the animals then spread out throughout the empty earth and, along with Noah and his offspring, repopulated it.

But while the question of whether Noah’s Ark truly landed on Ararat remains open, one thing is fact: Mount Ararat is real, and the people who live near it have claimed it is the final resting place of the ark, for centuries. It is there that, in 2009, an expedition was headed with the hopes of discovering archeological traces of the biblical story.

But they were not the first.

©CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MountArarat.jpg

The Highest Peak in Turkey
Mount Ararat can be found in the extreme east of Turkey, close to the country’s Iranian and Armenian borders. The highest peak in Turkey, it is the principal national symbol of Armenia, and is considered to be sacred by the Armenians, who view it is a holy mountain.

Standing at a towering 5,137 meters (16,854 ft), Ararat is one of the 50 most prominent peaks in the world, and boasts perpetual snow, year-round – a fact which has meant that, despite legends of the Ark landing somewhere on its slopes, it has remained largely unexplored over the years. The first recorded ascent to its summit only took place in 1829, even though people have been trying to reach its peak since at least the middle ages.

Due to its legendary status, many have attempted to scale it and find the Ark – but until recently, no one had found much of value.

©Image via PixaBay

https://pixabay.com/photos/syria-archaeological-ruin-2932498/

Previous Expeditions
Perhaps the most famous person to have explored Ararat in antiquity was Marco Polo, who describes the mountain in his famous book, The Travels of Marco Polo.

But while claims that the Ark was on Mount Ararat “for all to see” have been made for nearly two millennia, exploration of the mountain began in earnest only in the 19th century.

In 1829, Dr. Friedrich Parrot, who had climbed the mountain, wrote that "all the Armenians are firmly persuaded that Noah's Ark remains to this very day on the top of Ararat, and that, in order to preserve it, no human being is allowed to approach it."

Nearly fifty years later, another explorer by the name of James Bryce would make a discovery that would echo throughout the world.

©Harris & Ewing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Bryce,_1st_Viscount_Bryc

e_cph.3b16400.jpg

JamBryce’s Discovery

In 1876, James Bryce, a Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, who also worked as a historian, statesman, diplomat and explorer, began to scale Mount Ararat on a fact-finding mission.

While he didn’t manage to reach the top, he did manage to climb up past the tree line, and it was there, on the cold, desolate slope, that he found something that would shake the research community to its very core.

©Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images

The Wooden Beam
As Bryce climbed up Mount Ararat, he looked to his sides and saw nothing but rocks and boulders around him. But as he continued to ascend, suddenly, something caught his attention. A shape he had hoped to see, but didn’t dare believe he would find.

There, among there rocks, where it was too cold and hard for anything to grow, he found an ancient wooden beam. It was too big and heavy to have just been carried there, and no one had ascended the mountain in years. Bryce concluded that it could be nothing else but a part of the Ark, and upon his return to England, his finding would herald in a new age of expeditions to the mountain. But it was only in 2009 that anything of interest would truly be found.

©Serouj Ourishian, CC BY-SA 4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Ararat_and_the_Araratian

_plain_(cropped).jpg

False Positives
Bryce’s discovery was exciting – but it by no means proved that the Ark had actually been found.

Over the years, many explorers have claimed that they had found the Ark – or evidence of it – and were later proven wrong. But while most expeditions simply failed to provide acceptable evidence, one prolonged, ongoing expedition would, for a while, convince the world that the Ark had finally been found in its entirety.

In the 1960s, a man by the name of Ron Wyatt saw a photo of a site 18 miles south of Mount Ararat’s peak, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the structure of a boat.

©Timo Roller, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cudi-dagh-tr-1829.jpg

The Durupinar Site
In the biblical account of the Flood and Noah’s Ark, it is said that Noah’s Ark’s final resting place was in the mountains of Ararat. There is, however, only one Mount Ararat in the world – how is this reconciled?

While many people believe that the Ark does indeed rest on Mount Ararat’s peak, some biblical scholars hold that Ararat was the entire region in which the modern-day Mount Ararat resides, and that the Ark could have been put down in any one of the many peaks in the mountainous ranges in the area.

One such peak, 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, is known as the Durupinar site – and when you look at it, it’s impossible to deny that both its shape and size match what we believe the Ark looked like.

It was Ron Wyatt’s intention to prove that it was, in fact, the Ark.

©Robert C. Michelson in conjunction with the SEPDAC Corporation, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/DrogueStoneFasol

d.jpg

Joining the Quest

In 1985, Wyatt was joined by David Fasold, who was a former United States Merchant Marine Officer and salvage expert, as well as geophysicist John Baumgardner. As soon as Fasold saw the site, he exclaimed that it was, to his eyes, a shipwreck. Using controversial technology known as a “frequency generator,” Fasold and the team claimed that their scans revealed a regular internal structure and measured the length of the formation as 538 ft (164 m), close to the 300 cubits (157 m, 515 ft) of the Noah's Ark in the Bible if the Ancient Egyptian cubit of 20.6 inches (0.52 m) is used.

But it was another, much more tangible discovery that really got them excited.

©Robert C. Michelson in conjunction with the SEPDAC Corporation, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/DrogueStoneFasold.jpg

The Drogue Stones

As they scanned the countryside for additional evidence, Wyatt and Fasold made an interesting discovery; ancient stones with big holes carved in them. Fasold posited that these were drogues – a type of anchor large ships deploy to this day during storms to help with stability and maintaining course in the face of strong winds and swift currents.

Due to their extremely ancient origins, and since the stones were found many miles from any large body of water, Fasold concluded they must have belonged to the Ark. But despite this exciting find, soon his theory would be punctured.

But what could make anyone believe that Noah's Ark was ever real?

RELATED

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De Black Knight Satellite: Ontrafelen van het Mysterie van de Oude Orbiter van de Aarde

Inleiding

De mysterieuze Black Knight Satellite heeft decennia lang de verbeelding van wetenschappers, astronauten, UFO-enthousiastelingen en skeptici gevangen gehouden. Deze vermeende oude satelliet zou al meer dan 13.000 jaar in een baan om de aarde cirkelen, en wordt vaak beschouwd als bewijs van buitenaardse beschavingen die onze planeet al eeuwenlang observeren. In dit artikel duiken we diep in de geschiedenis, wetenschappelijke theorieën, visuele bewijzen, en de mythen rondom deze fascinerende objecten, en onderzoeken we of er echt een buitenaardse intelligentie betrokken is of dat het simpelweg gaat om ruimteafval en natuurlijke fenomenen.

De Oorsprong van het Mysterie

De geschiedenis van het mysterie rondom vreemde objecten en signalen in de ruimte begint al aan het einde van de 19e eeuw. In 1899 deed de beroemde uitvinder en natuurkundige Nikola Tesla, bekend om zijn baanbrekende werk op het gebied van elektriciteit en elektromagnetisme, een opmerkelijke ontdekking tijdens experimenten in Colorado Springs. Tesla was toen vooral bezig met het onderzoeken van draadloze transmissie van energie en radiogolven. Tijdens deze experimenten meldde hij het waarnemen van ritmische radiosignalen die hij niet kon verklaren met bestaande natuurkundige verschijnselen. Hij beschreef deze signalen als "magnetische oscillaties" die op een georganiseerde wijze leken te worden uitgezonden, mogelijk door buitenaardse wezens of een intelligente beschaving op Mars of Venus. Tesla geloofde dat deze signalen een vorm van communicatie waren, een poging tot contact van buitenaardse beschavingen. Hoewel latere analyses aantonen dat deze signalen waarschijnlijk natuurlijke elektromagnetische verschijnselen waren, zoals atmosferische elektrische discharges of natuurlijke resonanties in de atmosfeer, markeerden ze een belangrijk keerpunt in de menselijke nieuwsgierigheid naar buitenaardse communicatie. Tesla’s experimenten en zijn interpretaties legden de basis voor verdere speculaties en onderzoek naar het bestaan van buitenaardse signalen en bewijzen dat er mogelijk al in de 19e eeuw pogingen werden ondernomen om contact te leggen met buitenaardse beschavingen.

Naast Tesla’s experimenten ontstond in de eerste helft van de 20e eeuw een groeiende interesse in het detecteren van buitenaardse signalen. De opkomst van radio en de toenemende technologische ontwikkelingen maakten het mogelijk om signalen over grote afstanden te verzenden en te ontvangen. Echter, het was niet alleen professionele wetenschappers die zich hiermee bezighielden; ook amateur radio-operators begonnen opvallende en onverklaarbare radiotransmissies te registreren. In de jaren 1920 en 1930 werden meldingen gedaan van zogenaamde 'Long Delayed Echoes' (LDE’s), een fenomeen waarbij een radiogolf enkele seconden of zelfs minuten na de oorspronkelijke uitzending terugkeerde. Deze terugkerende signalen zorgden voor verwarring en fascineerden wetenschappers en hobbyisten. Wat deze LDE’s bijzonder maakte, was dat ze niet konden worden verklaard door bekende atmosferische of natuurlijke oorzaken, zoals reflecties in de ionosfeer of interferentie. Sommige onderzoekers en nieuwsgierigen gingen ervan uit dat deze signalen mogelijk afkomstig waren van een oude monitoringstation van een buitenaardse beschaving die onze planeet observeerde, of dat ze een aanwijzing waren dat er al contact was geweest dat op de een of andere manier niet werd opgemerkt. De ontdekking van deze anomalieën stimuleerde verdere speurtochten naar buitenaardse communicatie en zette de toon voor een voortdurende zoektocht naar onverklaarbare signalen uit de ruimte, die tot op de dag van vandaag voortduurt.

GIF van de zes afbeeldingen van het ruimteafval, een thermische deken, die laat zien wat lijkt op zijn afdaling naar de aarde

Vroege Radiobuigingen en Signalen

In de jaren 1920 en 1930, tijdens de beginperiode van de radio-ontdekking, begonnen amateur radio-operators wereldwijd onverklaarbare radiotransmissies te ontvangen. Deze radiogevallen werden vaak gemeld door enthousiaste hobbyisten die signalen oppikten die niet binnen de normale communicatiepatronen pasten. Een bijzonder fenomeen dat toen opviel, waren de zogenaamde 'Long Delayed Echoes' (LDE’s). Deze echo’s bestonden uit radiogolven die, na het uitzenden, pas na een aanzienlijke vertraging – variërend van enkele seconden tot zelfs meerdere minuten – terugkeerden naar de zender of de ontvanger.

De aard en het gedrag van deze LDE’s veroorzaakten veel verwarring en nieuwsgierigheid onder onderzoekers. Ze konden niet worden verklaard door bekende natuurlijke oorzaken zoals atmosferische reflecties, natuurlijke radioactieve bronnen of technische storingen. Sommige wetenschappers en radiohobbyisten gingen zelfs verder in hun interpretatie en suggereerden dat deze signalen mogelijk afkomstig waren van buitenaardse beschavingen of monitoringstations die de aarde vanuit de ruimte observeerden. Het idee dat er een oude, geavanceerde buitenaardse technologie in de buurt van de aarde zou kunnen bestaan, werd in die periode niet uitgesloten.

De theorieën over deze anomalieën werden versterkt door het mysterieuze en onvoorspelbare karakter van de signalen. Sommige onderzoekers dachten dat de LDE’s mogelijk het resultaat waren van technologische experimenten of zelfs natuurlijke fenomenen die nog niet volledig begrepen werden. Desalniettemin bleef het fenomeen onverklaard en voedde het de speculaties over buitenaardse communicatie en de mogelijkheid dat we niet alleen waren in het universum.

Kortom, de vroege radiobuigingen en de opvallende Long Delayed Echoes vormen een fascinerend hoofdstuk in de geschiedenis van de radiostudie. Ze illustreren niet alleen de technische uitdagingen en mysteries van de begindagen van de radio, maar ook de menselijke nieuwsgierigheid en de drang om het onbekende te doorgronden. Hoewel moderne wetenschap nog steeds niet volledig kan verklaren wat deze signalen veroorzaakte, blijven ze een intrigerend voorbeeld van vroege pogingen om contact te maken met de kosmos.

Voorafgaande Detecties en Voortijdige Tracering

De geschiedenis van ruimtewaarnemingen en het traceren van objecten in de ruimte gaat veel verder terug dan de lancering van de eerste artificiële satelliet, Sputnik 1, in 1957. Al in de jaren daarvoor werden militaire radarinstallaties ingezet die allerlei onverklaarbare objecten detecteerden in polaire banen. Deze objecten vertoonden snelheden die veel hoger lagen dan wat met toen bekende menselijke technologie mogelijk was; ze konden snelheden bereiken van meer dan 18.000 mijl per uur (ongeveer 28.800 km/u), wat een enorme afstand en snelheid betekende. De waarnemingen werden vaak gedaan door radarstations die tijdens de Koude Oorlog intensief werden gebruikt voor de bewaking van het luchtruim en de ruimte. Sommige van deze objecten vertoonden gedrag dat niet overeenkwam met bekende satellieten of ruimtevaartuigen; ze maakten plotselinge koerswijzigingen, bleven langdurig in dezelfde baan, of vertoonden patronen die niet verklaard konden worden door menselijke technologie.

Deze waarnemingen riepen vragen op over de aard van deze objecten. Sommige onderzoekers suggereerden dat het mogelijk buitenaardse artefacten waren die al eeuwenlang onze planeet bewaken en in de ruimte opereren. Anderen dachten dat het om geavanceerde geheime technologieën van aardsoever, zoals clandestiene satellieten of experimenten, ging. De theorieën werden versterkt door de consistentie van de waarnemingen en het gebrek aan duidelijke verklaringen in die tijd. Hoewel er nooit definitief bewijs is gevonden, blijven deze vroegere detecties een fascinerend onderdeel van de geschiedenis van ruimteverkenning en buitenaardse speculaties.

De Koude Oorlog en de Opkomst van de 'Dark Satellites'

Tijdens de Koude Oorlog nam de interesse in mysterieuze satellieten en onverklaarbare objecten in de ruimte aanzienlijk toe. De militaire en inlichtingendiensten van zowel de Verenigde Staten als de Sovjet-Unie waren intensief bezig met het traceren en monitoren van alles wat zich in de ruimte afspeelde. In deze periode ontstonden rapportages over zogenaamde 'Dark Satellites', oftewel mysterieuze, vaak onzichtbare of niet-identificeerbare satellieten die in polaire of elliptische banen rond de aarde bewogen. Deze objecten werden vaak geassocieerd met geheime militaire operaties, spionage, of zelfs buitenaardse activiteiten.

In 1954 publiceerde het invloedrijke vakblad 'Aviation Week' een artikel waarin werd gerept over waarnemingen van vreemde objecten die in polaire banen draaiden. Dit was nog vóór de lancering van de eerste menselijke ruimtevaartuigen en deed de vraag rijzen of er mogelijk al oude buitenaardse satellieten in de ruimte aanwezig waren. Het artikel beschreef dat deze objecten zich niet hielden aan de bekende regels van orbital mechanics en dat ze zich op ongebruikelijke manieren gedroegen. Dit leidde tot speculaties dat sommige satellieten al duizenden jaren in dezelfde of vergelijkbare banen konden blijven zonder dat wij dat doorhadden, mogelijk omdat ze niet afhankelijk waren van menselijke technologie of brandstof.

De aanwezigheid van dergelijke objecten zette de militaire inlichtingendiensten aan tot uitgebreide onderzoekingen en tracingsystemen. Hoewel de meeste waarnemingen later werden verklaard door natuurlijke fenomenen, technische fouten, of geheime projecten, blijven de 'Dark Satellites' een intrigerend hoofdstuk in de geschiedenis van ruimteverkenning en buitenaardse theorieën. Ze symboliseren de onzekerheid en het mysterie dat altijd heeft gehangen rondom de ruimte en haar ongrijpbare verschijnselen.

Wetenschappelijke Beschouwingen over Orbital Mechanics

Volgens de gevestigde wetten van de hemelmechanica, zoals beschreven door Isaac Newton en later verfijnd door de wetten van Kepler, kunnen objecten in een baan om de aarde niet zonder voortdurende bijsturing of brandstof langdurig in dezelfde positie blijven bestaan. Een satelliet die in een stabiele baan verkeert, ondervindt altijd enige mate van atmosferische weerstand en invloed van zonnestraling, die geleidelijk de baan kunnen veranderen. Daarom is het algemeen aanvaard dat kunstmatige objecten die in een baan om de aarde blijven, een vorm van onderhoud of brandstof nodig hebben om hun positie te corrigeren.

Het idee dat een object al 13.000 jaar op dezelfde baan blijft, zonder enige vorm van bijsturing of hernieuwde brandstof, staat haaks op de natuurkundige principes. Zonder een mechanisme voor orbitale correcties zou een dergelijk object moeten afremmen, in een lagere baan terechtkomen en uiteindelijk in de atmosfeer verbranden. Sommige theorieën over buitenaardse artefacten of oude satellieten suggereren dat deze mogelijk gemaakt zijn van onvergankelijke materialen die niet onderhevig zijn aan verval, of dat ze beschikken over geavanceerde technologie die hun orbitale stabiliteit garandeert zonder menselijke tussenkomst. Toch ontbreken momenteel wetenschappelijke bewijzen voor dergelijke claims.

De meest aannemelijke verklaring blijft dat menselijke technologie en natuurlijke processen de bewegingen en stabiliteit van satellieten bepalen. Het idee dat een object sinds duizenden jaren in dezelfde baan blijft zonder onderhoud of brandstofinjectie wordt door de natuurkundige wetten als onwaarschijnlijk beschouwd. Desalniettemin blijven deze discussies de verbeelding prikkelen en vormen ze een belangrijk onderdeel van de buitenaardse en ruimte-onderzoekscultuur, waarbij het belang van voortdurende exploratie en wetenschap wordt benadrukt.

Radio- en Visuele Bewijzen

In 1998 maakte de Space Shuttle missie STS-88 enkele opvallende beelden van een zwart, hoekig object dat in de ruimte zweefde. Deze foto’s werden door NASA vrijgegeven en leidden tot veel speculatie en discussie. Officieel verklaarde NASA dat het hier ging om ruimteafval, zoals een thermische deken die was losgeraakt tijdens de missie. Echter, complotdenkers en UFO-enthousiastelingen namen deze beelden onder de loep en beweerden dat het object in werkelijkheid de Black Knight was – een vermeende buitenaardse satelliet die al eeuwen in een baan om de aarde zou cirkelen. De foto’s werden digitaal bewerkt, vergroot en gedeeld op internet, wat de mythe verder voedde. Critici wijzen erop dat zulke beelden gemakkelijk kunnen worden misleid door technische fouten, reflecties of natuurlijke ruimteverschijnselen, en dat er geen officieel bewijs is dat het object buitenaards was. Desalniettemin blijft het een fascinerend voorbeeld van hoe visuele bewijzen kunnen worden geïnterpreteerd en misbruikt in de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven.

Het Decennium van de Radio- en Visuele Bewijzen

Gedurende de laatste decennia zijn talloze rapporten, foto’s, video’s en radarwaarnemingen gepubliceerd die wijzen op vreemde objecten en gedrag in de ruimte en in de atmosfeer. Veel van deze waarnemingen zijn afkomstig van bekende en betrouwbare bronnen, zoals militaire radarstations, astronauten en amateurs. Sommige beelden tonen structuren en bewegingen die niet overeenkomen met menselijke technologie of natuurlijke hemelverschijnselen. Bijvoorbeeld, objecten die plotseling snel van richting veranderen of ongewone vormen vertonen, leiden tot speculaties over buitenaardse technologie. Toch zijn er ook veel twijfels en skeptische geluiden: velen betwijfelen de authenticiteit van deze bewijzen, wijzen op meetfouten, menselijke interpretatie of natuurlijke fenomenen zoals meteorieten, weersverschijnselen of atmosferische interferentie. Het gebrek aan officiële bevestiging en de mogelijkheid van manipulatie maken het moeilijk om tot conclusies te komen. Desalniettemin blijft de verzameling van deze bewijzen een belangrijk onderdeel in de discussie over het bestaan van buitenaards leven en het ontdekken van vreemde objecten in onze ruimte en atmosfeer.

De Mythe van 13.000 Jaar Oude Communicatie

Een van de bekendste en meest intrigerende theorieën over buitenaardse communicatie is die van Duncan Lunan uit 1973. Hij analyseerde lang vertraagde radio-echo’s (LDE’s), die sinds de jaren 1920 werden waargenomen en die toen nog als mysterieus werden beschouwd. Lunan stelde dat deze echo’s patronen bevatten die niet door natuurlijke of menselijke bronnen konden worden verklaard. Door de patronen te bestuderen, beweerde hij star maps te hebben ontdekt die leidde naar de ster Epsilon Boötis, ongeveer 13.000 lichtjaar van ons vandaan. Volgens Lunan zouden deze patronen een boodschap van buitenaardse intelligenties kunnen bevatten, mogelijk afkomstig van een oude buitenaardse satelliet of ruimtestation dat al 13.000 jaar in een baan om de aarde cirkelt. Sommige onderzoekers interpreteren deze theorie als bewijs voor contact met een oude buitenaardse beschaving die al eeuwenlang onze planeet observeert. Anderen wijzen erop dat de interpretatie van Lunan niet algemeen wordt geaccepteerd en dat de LDE’s mogelijk natuurlijke oorzaken hebben, zoals atmosferische of technische interferentie. Toch blijft de theorie fascinerend omdat het suggereert dat er mogelijk al eeuwenoude communicatie ligt die nog niet is ontdekt. De combinatie van oude radio-echo’s en de mysterieuze Black Knight-objecten maakt deze theorie tot een intrigerend onderdeel van de buitenaardse mythologie.

Wetenschappelijke Kritiek en Weerlegging

De meeste wetenschappers verwerpen Lunan’s interpretaties als pseudowetenschap. Ze stellen dat de LDE’s kunnen worden verklaard door natuurlijke atmosferische en ionosferische verschijnselen. Bovendien is het fysiek onmogelijk dat een object zo lang in een stabiele baan blijft zonder correcties, en dat signalen van zo ver weg zo lang worden teruggekaatst en ontvangen.

In 1974 publiceerden onderzoekers van MIT en Cambridge uitgebreide analyses die aantonen dat de signalen kunnen worden verklaard door kosmische en atmosferische invloeden. Radiotechnici benadrukken dat de frequenties, modulaties en patronen overeenkomen met menselijke communicatie en ruimteafval, niet met buitenaardse technologie.

Photografisch Bewijs en Verificatie

De meest bekende foto’s van 1998 werden door NASA gemaakt tijdens de Space Shuttle missie. NASA verklaarde dat het om een losgeraakte thermische deken ging. Toch blijven complotdenkers geloven dat het hier een buitenaardse satelliet betreft. Digitale beeldanalyses tonen dat de objecten vaak artefacten zijn van camera’s, reflecties of space debris.

De rol van NASA en overheidsinstanties is onderwerp van discussie. Sommigen beweren dat de NASA en het Pentagon bewuste dekmantels gebruiken om het bestaan van buitenaardse objecten te verbergen. Anderen geloven dat de officiële verklaringen de enige realistische opties zijn.

De Oude Astronauten Theorie

De theorie van de oude astronauten, oftewel de oude astronautentheorie, suggereert dat de Black Knight-satelliet een overblijfsel is van een oude buitenaardse bewakings- of communicatiepost die al duizenden jaren op aarde zou bestaan. Volgens voorstanders zou deze mysterieuze object, mogelijk al 13.000 jaar oud, bewijzen bevatten van oude contacten tussen menselijke beschavingen en buitenaardse wezens. Ze baseren hun beweringen op archeologische vondsten, mythes en symboliek die volgens hen verwijzen naar buitenaardse invloed.

Erich von Däniken, een bekende auteur en voorvechter van deze theorie, schreef onder andere ‘Chariots of the Gods?’ waarin hij betoogt dat vele oude monumenten, kunstwerken en mythologische verhalen aanwijzingen bevatten voor een vroegere buitenaardse aanwezigheid. Hij stelt dat de Black Knight niet zomaar een satelliet is, maar een overblijfsel van een geavanceerde beschaving die onze planeet al duizenden jaren observeert. Volgens hem zou deze satelliet mogelijk communicatie of bewakingsfuncties vervullen en verbonden zijn met oude beschavingen die wij nu nog niet volledig begrijpen.

Voorstanders wijzen op vreemde waarnemingen en artefacten die volgens hen bewijzen dat de Black Knight al eeuwenlang in de lucht zou hangen en dat deze mogelijk een bewijs is van buitenaardse aanwezigheid. Zij geloven dat de theorie ons dwingt om onze geschiedenis en evolutie te heroverwegen en dat er mogelijk een hoger niveau van technologische ontwikkeling is geweest in het verre verleden.

Kritiek op de Oude Astronautentheorie

Wetenschappers, archeologen en historici verwerpen meestal de oude astronautentheorie omdat er geen concreet wetenschappelijk bewijs is dat deze satelliet daadwerkelijk buitenaards van oorsprong is. Ze wijzen erop dat veel van de symboliek, kunstwerken en structuren die worden aangehaald, goed kunnen worden verklaard door menselijke creativiteit, religieuze betekenissen en technologische ontwikkelingen van oude beschavingen. Veel archeologische vondsten worden geïnterpreteerd als menselijke uitvindingen in plaats van bewijzen van buitenaards contact.

Daarnaast wordt de theorie vaak als pseudowetenschap en pseudohistorie beschouwd omdat het gebaseerd is op interpretaties zonder sluitend bewijs en vaak wordt gebruikt om oude beschavingen te romantiseren of te verklaren buiten wetenschappelijke consensus om. Kritische wetenschappers benadrukken dat het belangrijk is om theorieën te baseren op geverifieerde gegevens en dat veel van de claims rondom de Black Knight niet ondersteund worden door empirisch bewijs.

De Media, Populaire Cultuur en Mythologie

De popularisering van de Black Knight en de oude astronauten-theorie is sterk beïnvloed door media, films en televisieprogramma’s. Documentaires zoals ‘Ancient Aliens’ van het History Channel, gepresenteerd door Giorgio Tsoukalos, hebben de mythe wereldwijd bekend gemaakt. Deze programma’s presenteren vaak speculatieve theorieën en beelden die de mogelijkheid van buitenaardse betrokkenheid bij oude beschavingen suggereren, waardoor het publiek wordt aangezet tot verbeelding en geloof.

Fictieve scenario’s uit films zoals ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ versterken de gedachte dat oude satellieten en buitenaardse bewaking mogelijk zijn, en dragen bij aan de mythevorming rondom de Black Knight. Deze representaties zorgen ervoor dat de theorie een breed publiek aanspreekt en een cultureel fenomeen wordt. Hoewel deze ideeën vaak niet wetenschappelijk onderbouwd zijn, hebben ze wel een blijvende impact op de populariteit en het mysterie rondom de Black Knight en de oude astronauten-theorie.

Sociale media en internet

In de afgelopen decennia heeft het internet onze manier van communiceren, informatie delen en kennis vergaren ingrijpend veranderd. Platforms zoals YouTube, Facebook, Twitter en diverse online forums zorgen voor een snelle en grootschalige verspreiding van verhalen, foto’s, video's en meningen. Dit heeft de toegankelijkheid tot informatie aanzienlijk vergroot, maar brengt ook enkele belangrijke uitdagingen met zich mee. Doordat informatie zich razendsnel verspreidt, bestaat het gevaar dat onjuiste of misleidende berichten zich ook snel verspreiden. Vaak worden nieuwsberichten, theorieën en beweringen zonder kritische verificatie gedeeld, wat kan leiden tot desinformatie en misverstanden onder het publiek.

Daarnaast ontstaan er zogenaamde echo chambers, waarin gelijkgestemde mensen vooral met soortgelijke meningen geconfronteerd worden en alternatieve perspectieven worden uitgesloten. Hierdoor versterken overtuigingen zich vaak, zelfs als ze niet op feiten gebaseerd zijn. Dit fenomeen draagt bij aan polarisatie en het versterken van geloof in complottheorieën.

De ontwikkeling van het internet heeft ook de manier waarop complottheorieën zich verspreiden veranderd. Mensen kunnen zich anoniem uitspreken en groepen vormen die gezamenlijke overtuigingen delen, zoals het geloof in geheime agenda’s of buitenaardse betrokkenheid. Sociale media maken het bovendien mogelijk dat informatie zich in korte tijd wereldwijd verspreidt, wat zowel voor en tegenstanders van bepaalde ideeën kansen en risico’s biedt. Het is daarom essentieel dat gebruikers kritisch blijven, informatie controleren en bronnen verifiëren, om zo bij te dragen aan een geïnformeerde samenleving.

De Wetenschap versus Conspiratie

De discussie tussen wetenschappelijke consensus en complottheorieën is al jaren actueel. Een bekend voorbeeld is de mythe rondom de Black Knight satelliet, die door sommige mensen wordt gezien als een buitenaards object dat al duizenden jaren onze planeet beschemt. Wetenschappers en ruimtevaartexperts benadrukken echter dat er geen bewijs is voor het bestaan van een dergelijke satelliet. Ze verklaren waargenomen objecten meestal als ruimteafval, natuurlijke hemellichamen of menselijke technologie. Desondanks blijven complotdenkers geloven dat overheden en geheime genootschappen het bestaan van buitenaards leven verbergen en dat de bewijzen, zoals vermeende foto’s en signalen, slechts gecensureerd worden.

De kern van deze controverse ligt in het gebrek aan openbaarheid en het wantrouwen jegens officiële instanties. Veel theorieën worden ondersteund door anekdotes en interpretaties van onduidelijke gegevens, terwijl wetenschappelijke methoden gebaseerd zijn op herhaalbare observaties en bewijs. Het blijft daarom een voortdurende uitdaging om feit en fictie te onderscheiden, vooral in een tijd waarin informatie gemakkelijk gedeeld wordt via digitale media.

De Technische en Wetenschappelijke Feiten

Volgens de principes van hemelmechanica en ruimtevaarttechniek kunnen objecten in een stabiele baan om de aarde niet zonder onderhoud duizenden jaren blijven bestaan. De zwaartekracht, atmosferische weerstand en ruimteweer zorgen dat satellieten en andere objecten na verloop van tijd in de atmosfeer verbranden of door andere natuurlijke processen verdwijnen. Wetenschappers en ingenieurs stellen dat het onmogelijk is dat een satelliet of ander object al 13.000 jaar in dezelfde baan blijft, zonder dat er onderhoud of reparaties plaatsvinden.

Moderne ruimtewaarnemingsystemen, zoals het NORAD-netwerk en de ESA-trackingprogramma’s, maken gebruik van geavanceerde radar en optische systemen om duizenden objecten in de ruimte in kaart te brengen. Ze kunnen objecten meten tot ongeveer 10 centimeter grootte en identificeren, waardoor het vrijwel onmogelijk is dat een grote, oude satelliet onopgemerkt blijft. Als er een object zou bestaan dat al zo lang in dezelfde baan zou blijven, zouden moderne technologieën dit zeker detecteren en traceren. Het ontbreken van bewijs voor dergelijke objecten ondersteunt de wetenschappelijke consensus dat de meeste waargenomen ‘onverklaarbare’ objecten natuurlijke of menselijke oorsprong hebben, en dat het idee van een 13.000 jaar oude satelliet niet houdbaar is binnen de huidige kennis van ruimtewetenschap.

Conclusie

Hoewel het fascinerende verhaal van de Black Knight Satellite al meer dan een eeuw de verbeelding beheerst, is er geen wetenschappelijk bewijs dat deze bestaat als een buitenaardse bewakingssatelliet. De waarnemingen, foto’s en signalen kunnen meestal worden verklaard door menselijke ruimteafval, natuurlijke objecten of atmosferische fenomenen.

Toch blijft de mythe bestaan, aangewakkerd door media, pseudowetenschap en menselijke nieuwsgierigheid. Het verhaal benadrukt onze zoektocht naar buitenaards leven, onze fascinatie met de kosmos en de kracht van verhalen die de grenzen tussen wetenschap en fantasie vervagen. De waarheid ligt misschien wel tussen wetenschap en mythologie, maar tot nu toe blijft de Black Knight Satellite een intrigerend symbool van onze eeuwige zoektocht naar het onbekende.

{ PETER2011 }

Crop Circles: De Ontdekking van het Mysterie Achter Geometrische Patronen in Velden Wereldwijd

Inleiding

Over de hele wereld, van de glooiende tarwevelden in Wiltshire, Engeland, tot de maïsvelden van Iowa, verschijnen 's nachts complexe geometrische patronen met een precisie die de menselijke creativiteit te boven gaat. Deze formaties, variërend in omvang van 50 tot wel 900 voet in diameter, vertonen een indrukwekkende complexiteit inclusief perfecte fractals, Fibonacci-spiraalpatronen en heilige geometrische verhoudingen die zelfs voor ervaren wiskundigen een uitdaging vormen.

Hoewel skeptici wijzen op bekende hoaxes en menselijke groepen die cirkels maken, blijven sommige formaties mysteries die de onderzoekers blijven verbazen. Dit artikel onderzoekt de geschiedenis, de vormen, de mogelijke oorzaken en de betekenis van crop circles, en werpt een kritische blik op de verschillende theorieën die deze fenomenen omringen.

Wat Zijn Crop Circles en Hoe Worden Ze Gemaakt?

• Definitie en Beschrijving

Crop circles zijn bijzondere geometrische patronen die zich meestal 's nachts in landbouwvelden voordoen. Ze ontstaan doordat gewassen zoals tarwe, gerst, of maïs op een opvallende en vaak kunstige wijze worden platgedrukt of gebogen. De patronen variëren van eenvoudige cirkels tot uiterst complexe ontwerpen die soms meerdere honderden meters in diameter kunnen meten.

Wat deze patronen zo intrigerend maakt, is hun opmerkelijke precisie en symmetrie. Veel crop circles bevatten fractale structuren en mathematische principes, wat suggereert dat ze volgens ingewikkelde regels zijn ontworpen. Het uiterlijk van deze patronen wekt de indruk dat ze met grote nauwkeurigheid en vakmanschap zijn gemaakt, vaak met een esthetische of symbolische betekenis. De patronen kunnen bestaan uit meerdere lagen, spiralen, en geometrische vormen die naadloos in elkaar overlopen. Ze worden meestal ontdekt in rustige, afgelegen velden, en de manier waarop ze worden gemaakt, roept vragen op over de technieken en intenties achter hun ontstaan. Sommige mensen geloven dat crop circles meer zijn dan kunstwerken; ze worden beschouwd als boodschappen of tekenen van buitenaardse wezens, of als manifestaties van natuurlijke fenomenen die nog niet volledig worden begrepen.

• Hoe ontstaan ze?

De oorzaak van crop circles blijft een van de grootste mysteries. Er zijn verschillende theorieën over hoe ze ontstaan. Een gangbare verklaring is dat ze door menselijke makers worden gemaakt, vaak door teams die gebruikmaken van touwen, houten palen, en meetinstrumenten om de patronen nauwkeurig te creëren. Deze theorie wordt ondersteund door het feit dat sommige groepen en individuen bekende technieken en gereedschappen gebruiken om crop circles na te maken. Echter, veel van de complexere patronen worden gemaakt in de vroege ochtenduren zonder dat getuigen het zien, wat de vraag oproept of er misschien andere factoren bij betrokken zijn. Alternatieve verklaringen suggereren dat natuurlijke fenomenen zoals plasma-vortexen, elektromagnetische verschijnselen, of aardstralen een rol kunnen spelen.

Sommige onderzoekers geloven dat deze natuurlijke krachten patronen kunnen veroorzaken door de gewassen op een bijzondere manier te beïnvloeden. De snelheid waarmee crop circles worden gemaakt, en het gebrek aan sporen of gereedschap bij sommige ontwerpen, maken het moeilijk om een eenduidige verklaring te geven. Of het nu menselijke creatie is of natuurlijke verschijnselen, de mysterieuze aard van crop circles blijft mensen fascineren en uitdagen om verder te zoeken naar antwoorden.

• Geometrische Patronen en Mathematische Verhoudingen
  Veel crop circles bevatten complexe geometrische patronen die gebaseerd zijn op wiskundige principes. Ze maken vaak gebruik van de gulden snede, een verhouding die bekend staat om haar esthetische harmonie en die in de natuur en kunst veel voorkomt. Sommige ontwerpen vertonen fractale structuren, waarbij patronen op verschillende schaalniveaus terugkeren, wat wijst op een geavanceerde kennis van wiskundige principes. Andere patronen volgen Fibonacci-sequenties, een reeks getallen die vaak in natuurlijke vormen voorkomt. Deze wiskundige principes geven crop circles een bijna universele en tijdloze uitstraling, alsof ze een boodschap bevatten die verder gaat dan eenvoudige kunst. Sommige ontwerpen lijken zelfs astronomische symboliek te bevatten, zoals sterrenbeelden of planeten, wat suggereert dat ze bedoeld zijn om een groter verband of oude kennis over het heelal over te brengen. De complexiteit en precisie van deze patronen wijzen erop dat er mogelijk een hogere intelligentie achter schuilt, of dat de makers beschikken over een diepgaande kennis van wiskunde en geometrie. Door deze mathematische verhoudingen blijven crop circles een bron van inspiratie en verwondering voor zowel wetenschappers als mystici.

De Historische Achtergrond en Oude Legendes

• Oudere Verhalen en Folklore

De oudste bekende vermelding van een mysterieuze cropformatie dateert uit 1678, in het Engelse Hertfordshire, onder de titel “The Mowing Devil”. Volgens dit verhaal zou een boer die niet wilde betalen voor het werk van een arbeidskracht, hebben verklaard dat hij liever de Duivel zelf zijn veld zou laten maaien, waarna de volgende ochtend het veld in perfecte cirkels was gemaaid. Hoewel dit verhaal mogelijk een allegorie is, weerspiegelt het de oude overtuigingen dat dergelijke patronen door bovennatuurlijke krachten kunnen worden veroorzaakt.

• Van Folklore naar Wetenschap

Gedurende de 19e en vroege 20e eeuw werden meldingen van vreemde patronen in landbouwvelden sporadisch gerapporteerd, vaak als onderdeel van lokale legendes. Pas in de jaren 1970 en 1980 verschoof de focus van folklore naar wetenschappelijke en artistieke analyses, mede door de toename van het aantal meldingen en de verfijning van de ontwerpen.

Modern Tijdperk: Van Eenvoudige Cirkel tot Complexe Kunstwerken

• De Ontwikkeling in de Jaren 1970 en 1980

In de jaren 1970 en 1980 evolueerden crop circles van simpele cirkels tot complexe geometrische kunstwerken. Aanvankelijk waren het eenvoudige ronde inslagen, vaak gemeten in tientallen meters, maar al snel verschenen er ontwerpen met meerdere lagen, symmetrische patronen en symboliek uit verschillende culturen.

• Technologische Innovaties en Organisatie

Vanaf de jaren 1990 begonnen georganiseerde groepen gebruik te maken van geavanceerde technologieën zoals GPS, lasers en meetinstrumenten om zeer precieze patronen te maken. Deze groepen plannen hun ontwerpen vaak maanden van tevoren, waarbij ze gebruik maken van wiskundige principes en symmetrische algoritmen.

Notabele Voorbeelden

• Het 'Olifant' patroon in Wiltshire (2001): Een ontwerp dat lijkt op een olifant met fractale details.
• De 'Fibonacci Spiral' in Canada (2010): Een patroon dat de Fibonacci-spiraal exact weergeeft.
• De 'Astronomische' patronen: ontwerpen die uitlijnen met sterrenbeelden of planeten, wat de theorie van buitenaardse communicatie ondersteunt.