Psychic's terrifying 2026 prediction comes true just one week into the new year

• MORE: Wild theory claims the world actually ended in 2012

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

An award-winning psychic's concerning prediction for 2026 appears to have already come true, as a series of large earthquakes have rattled the globe.

Jill M Jackson, a spiritual teacher and author from Mississippi, had warned of increased earthquakes this year, especially along the US West Coast and in Asia, with 'major water events' being strengthened by the quakes and causing larger floods.

In just the first seven days of 2026, nearly 100 earthquakes greater than 4.5 in magnitude have been recorded worldwide, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Moreover, 10 large earthquakes over magnitude 5.0 have struck the Pacific Rim in the last two days, impacting Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Russia.

That wave of seismic activity included a major 6.4 magnitude quake that struck the Philippines just after 10pm ET Tuesday night.

Jackson warned Americans to get prepared now, including those living in states such as California, Oregon, and Washington, which could be impacted by several dangerous fault lines sitting along the West Coast.

'There's a lot of changes coming. There's a lot of earth changes coming. I see land shifting... And it's important for us to be in a place of preparation. Pay attention to water and things like that,' she revealed. 

One major earthquake has already struck North America in 2026. A magnitude 6.5 quake rocked southern Mexico on January 2, sending shockwaves all the way to Mexico City and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate buildings.

The US Geological Survey has recorded 95 earthquakes greater than 4.5 in magnitude since the start of 2026, with most centered along the Pacific Rim

Jill M Jackson (Pictured) issued several predictions for 2026, including an economic downturn in the US that would cost many people their jobs

Jackson, who has been named 'Psychic of the Year' twice, added in a recent interview that Earth would see an 'amplification' in the intensity of earthquakes, including in Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand.

She predicted stronger flooding risks would emerge for islands in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific this year as well.

In November 2025, Jackson accurately predicted the major 7.6 magnitude quake striking off Japan's Aomori Prefecture on December 8, 2025, causing injuries, damage, and tsunami alerts.

Her newest predictions come after a year where Californians were repeatedly rattled by significant tremors along the state's coastline and swarms of minor quakes which lasted for days at a time. 

In November and December, more than 300 earthquakes rattled the same region in California, sparking fears among locals that the infamous 'Big One' could soon strike and devastate the West Coast.

San Ramon in the East Bay was the epicenter of this seismic activity, which sits on top of the Calaveras Fault, an active branch of the notorious San Andreas Fault system.

The Calaveras Fault is capable of producing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake, which would impact millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area. USGS has previously estimated there is a 72 percent chance of this happening by 2043.

A rupture along the larger, 800-mile-long San Andreas fault would likely cause even more destruction, with the latest simulations of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake striking near Los Angeles predicting 1,800 deaths, 50,000 injuries, and $200 billion in damages, according to the Great California ShakeOut.

The Great California Shakeout predicted that a 7.8-magnitude earthquake could kill 1,800 people and cause $200 billion in damages in Southern California alone

Jackson (Pictured) has said she began seeing spirited at birth and was able to communicate with them since the age of 12

The psychic's forecast for the new year also included a plea for Americans to prepare for significant instability in the US economy, leading to many job losses.

'I do see a lot of polarity... A lot of ups and downs. It's going to feel like a roller coaster. Sadly, I do see a lot more people losing their jobs in 2026,' Jackson predicted during a December 26 interview on the Jeff Mara Podcast.

The psychic also ongoing wars, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, would continue for several more years with no quick end in sight, although some conflicts like in Venezuela might 'fizzle out' by mid-2026.

While Jackson warned that many Americans could end up unemployed this year, the dramatic turn in the economy would actually benefit these workers, as she claimed the layoffs would force people to leave careers they were not spiritually aligned with.

'I do see a lot of people doing complete 180s and leaving jobs and careers that they have been in for years and years and starting over, starting something new. I also see a lot of new businesses being created, but it feels more local,' Jackson told the podcast.

'Once they go through that, they are going to have an opportunity to go within and realize that they were not on their soul's path anyway.'

Jackson added that these major shifts in the US will cause many to feel a sudden, unexplained urge to move away from homes they've lived in for 10, 15, or even 20 years.

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Astronomers spot record-breaking asteroid the size of seven football pitches - and it could be nudged towards Earth

• READ MORE:  NASA finds essential sugars on ancient asteroid Bennu

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Out in the depths of space, somewhere in between Mars and Jupiter, is a newly discovered asteroid that’s breaking records.

Astronomers have spotted a celestial rock the size of seven football pitches that is spinning faster than they’ve ever seen before.

The asteroid, named 2025 MN45, is 710 metres in diameter and completes a full rotation every 1.88 minutes.

The fact that it spins so rapidly has baffled experts, who say it must consist of solid rock in order to maintain its shape.

‘Clearly, this asteroid must be made of material that has very high strength in order to keep it in one piece as it spins so rapidly,’ Sarah Greenstreet, who leads the Rubin Observatory’s Solar System Science Collaboration’s Near-Earth Objects and Interstellar Objects working group, said.

‘We calculate that it would need a cohesive strength similar to that of solid rock.

‘This is somewhat surprising since most asteroids are believed to be what we call “rubble pile” asteroids, which means they are made of many, many small pieces of rock and debris that coalesced under gravity during Solar System formation or subsequent collisions.’

While it is currently out in the asteroid belt, hundreds of millions of kilometres away, asteroids and comets have previously been ‘nudged’ into Earth’s neighbourhood by the gravity of nearby planets.

This artist’s illustration depicts 2025 MN45 — the fastest-rotating asteroid with a diameter over 500 meters that scientists have ever found

The lightcurve of the asteroid - the y-axis shows the asteroid’s brightness, and the x-axis shows its phase, or where it is in its rotation

The sighting forms part of a much larger discovery, as scientists have detected 1,900 new asteroids cruising about our Solar System that have never been seen before.

Within this flurry are 19 super and ultra-fast rotating asteroids – with 2025 MN45 taking the new record for the fastest-spinning asteroid with a diameter over 500 meters that astronomers have found.

For their study, researchers collected data over the course of about 10 hours across seven nights in April and May of last year.

They used the Rubin Observatory’s LSST Camera – the largest digital camera in the world – to capture the night sky.

‘Discoveries like this exceptionally fast-rotating asteroid are a direct result of the observatory's unique capability to provide high-resolution, time-domain astronomical data, pushing the boundaries of what was previously observable,’ Regina Rameika, from the US Department of Energy, said.

As asteroids orbit the Sun, they also rotate at a wide range of speeds, the researchers explained.

These spin rates not only offer clues about the conditions of their formation billions of years ago but also tell us about their internal composition and evolution over their lifetimes.

In particular, an asteroid spinning quickly may have been sped up by a past collision with another asteroid, suggesting that it could be a fragment of an originally larger object.

Most asteroids can be found orbiting our Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt

An illustration of the main asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, where asteroid 2025 MN45 can be found

This image, one of the first released by Rubin Observatory, exposes a Universe teeming with stars and galaxies — transforming seemingly empty, inky-black pockets of space into glittering tapestries for the first time

‘Fast rotation also requires an asteroid to have enough internal strength to not fly apart into many smaller pieces, called fragmentation,’ the team said in a release.

‘Most asteroids are ‘rubble piles’, which means they are made of many smaller pieces of rock held together by gravity, and thus have limits based on their densities as to how fast they can spin without breaking apart.

‘For objects in the main asteroid belt, the fast-rotation limit to avoid being fragmented is 2.2 hours; asteroids spinning faster than this must be structurally strong to remain intact.

‘The faster an asteroid spins above this limit, and the larger its size, the stronger the material it must be made from.’

Within the main asteroid belt are space rocks ranging in size from 530km (329 miles) to just 10 metres (33 feet) in diameter.

‘Sometimes, asteroids and comets are nudged into Earth’s neighbourhood by the gravity of nearby planets,’ NASA says.

However, they explained that it is ‘highly unlikely’ an asteroid large enough to cause widespread damage will impact Earth for the next 100 years or more.

The new findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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Hidden threat from secret military base discovered lurking deep below Greenland's ice sheet

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Scientists are sounding urgent alarms over a hidden Cold War threat buried deep beneath Greenland's rapidly melting ice sheet. 

A long-abandoned US military base known as Camp Century was recently rediscovered under the ice after a NASA pilot conducting airborne radar tests captured images of its underground remains. 

The base, built in secret during the Cold War, lies about 118 feet below the surface and spreads across an area roughly 0.7 miles long and 0.3 miles wide. 

Once described as a self-contained underground town, Camp Century housed a hospital, theater, church and shop, and was powered by a small nuclear reactor. 

As Greenland's ice melts at accelerating rates, scientists have warned that hazardous waste left behind at the site could eventually be released into the environment. 

That waste includes chemical pollutants, biological sewage, diesel fuel, and radioactive material once thought to be safely sealed in ice forever. 

Researchers now say that assumption was deeply flawed. 'What climate change did was press the gas pedal to the floor,' said James White, a climate scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Camp Century was constructed in the late 1950s with the knowledge of both the US and Danish governments under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement. 

NASA scientists captured an image of an abandoned US military base that has been hiding under ice in the

Camp Century was constructed in the late 1950s with the knowledge of both the US and Danish governments under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement

Danish officials participated in planning and environmental monitoring, and historical reports indicate Denmark approved the disposal of some radioactive waste directly into the ice. 

At the time, scientists and military planners believed Greenland's ice sheet would permanently entomb any contamination.

'That idea, that waste could be buried forever under ice, is unrealistic,' White said. 

'The question is whether it's going to come out in hundreds of years, thousands of years, or tens of thousands of years. Climate change just means it's going to happen much faster than anyone expected.'

The environmental risk posed by Camp Century has taken on new urgency as geopolitical tensions in the Arctic intensify. 

President Donald Trump renewed calls this week for US control of Greenland, citing national security concerns as Russian and Chinese activity in the region grows. 'It's so strategic,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. 

'Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.'

But scientists said the buried base represents a very different kind of security threat, one tied not to military rivals, but to pollution unleashed by a warming climate.

Once described as a self-contained underground town, Camp Century housed a hospital, theater, church and shop, and was powered by a small nuclear reactor

Pictured are US soldiers climbing up to an escape hatch to enter Camp Century

A team of international researchers led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder estimated that Camp Century contains roughly 9,200 tons of physical waste, including abandoned buildings, tunnels, and rail infrastructure. 

The site also holds about 200,000 liters of diesel fuel and significant amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, toxic chemicals once widely used in paints and electrical equipment.

PCBs are especially concerning because they do not break down easily and are linked to cancer, immune system damage, and developmental problems. 

The Arctic's cold climate has trapped these chemicals for decades, effectively turning the region into a global storage site for pollution released elsewhere. 

As ice melts, however, scientists warned that glaciers could become a new source of toxic contamination.

Most former Arctic military sites have undergone cleanup efforts, but Camp Century is one of only five abandoned ice-sheet bases near Thule Air Base that have never been remediated, according to the 2016 study by the CIRES research team. 

Camp Century is a US military base built in 1959 that consists of a network of 21 tunnels but just below the surface of the ice sheet ice 

Pictured is the entrance to the base before it was decommissioned in 1967

At similar sites, PCB concentrations in some paints exceeded five percent by weight.

In addition to chemical and biological waste, Camp Century also contains radioactive material from the nuclear reactor's coolant system. 

When it was buried in the early 1960s, the waste had a radioactivity of about 1.2 billion becquerels, roughly equivalent to the radiation used in a single medical scan. 

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While small compared to major nuclear accidents, researchers cautioned that its presence adds another layer of risk if containment fails.

The base's tunnel system twists and branches beneath the ice, making it difficult to fully map. 

Airborne radar has detected strong reflections that align with known tunnel locations, but scientists say the technology cannot yet identify all buried waste. 

Diesel fuel, stored in underground tanks, may still be liquid today, though researchers believe the tanks may have ruptured.

Models suggest that ice flow and snow accumulation could bury solid waste as deep as 220 feet and liquid waste around 305 feet by 2090. 

While that means contamination may not surface for decades, scientists stressed that burial does not equal safety.

Camp Century was constructed in the late 1950s with the knowledge of both the US and Danish governments under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement.

Beyond the environmental risks, Camp Century has become a source of political and legal uncertainty. 

Responsibility for the cleanup remains disputed between the US, Denmark, and Greenland. 

While the waste was left behind by the US, the original 1951 treaty did not account for climate change or Greenland's growing self-governance.

The agreement states that US property in Greenland may be removed or disposed of after consultation with Danish authorities. 

But it remains unclear whether Denmark was fully consulted during Camp Century's decommissioning, raising questions about whether the abandoned waste is still legally US property.

Researchers said Camp Century may represent one of the first real examples of climate change triggering an international dispute over long-forgotten pollution, a preview of conflicts likely to emerge worldwide as rising seas and melting ice expose hazardous waste once thought safely buried.

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NASA has just revealed that the crew of the International Space Station was being evacuated for the first time in history after one of the astronauts suffered a medical emergency.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in a press conference Thursday that Crew-11 would not continue its mission until its scheduled return date in February, and that the steps for their safe return would be worked out over the next 48 hours.

'I've come to the decision that it's in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,' Isaacman revealed.

The announcement came less than a day after NASA cancelled a Thursday spacewalk due to the medical issue, with officials saying they were 'erring on the side of caution for the crew member'.

Crew-11 includes four astronauts: NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

The group was recently joined by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who arrived at the station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2025.

Isaacman said that Williams will remain on the station with the Soyuz crew to maintain America's presence in space.

While the astronaut who suffered the medical issue was not revealed, NASA's chief medical officer Dr James Polk said the astronaut was not in any immediate danger and they were being cared for by their fellow crewmates until their return.

Crew-11 before launching to the ISS. Pictured (L to R): Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and NASA's Zena Cardman

NASA cancelled a planned spacewalk on Thursday involving the crew of the International Space Station (Pictured) over an unspecified medical issue involving one of the astronauts

Dr Polk added that the medical issue the astronaut suffered had nothing to do with the upcoming spacewalk or any other operations on board the station.

'It's mostly having a medical issue in the difficult areas of microgravity,' Polk explained without going into specific medical details. 

NASA officials noted that no special precautions would need to be taken to keep the ailing astronaut safe until their return and called their condition 'stable' until the evacuation plan is finalized. 

NASA has never had to bring an astronaut home for medical reasons, but an evacuation plan has been built into every ISS mission, with crew return vehicles kept on standby.

'We are looking for the correct opportunity to use our existing landing sites,' Isaacman said when asked if NASA would be making an emergency landing to get Crew-11 home faster.

'I´m proud of the swift effort across the agency thus far to ensure the safety of our astronauts,' the NASA chief added. 

The NASA administrator did note that the space agency did consider this a 'serious medical condition' which forced officials to conclude that the first ever evacuation was necessary.

However, Dr Polk stressed that the astronaut was not in immediate danger which would force NASA to consider rushing the evacuation into an unsafe flight window.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman (Left) and NASA chief medical officer Dr James Polk (Center) revealed on Thursday that Crew-11 would be returning as soon as possible 

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui (center) was helping NASA astronaut Zena Cardman (left) and Mike Fincke prepare for the spacewalk before it was postponed 

'The crew member is absolutely stable, so I don't foresee massive changes to the timeline or their activities,' Polk said.

Crew-11 arrived at the ISS on August 1, 2025, meaning their return date had been scheduled for late February.

The four astronauts were supposed to leave after Crew-12 arrived on a SpaceX Dragon capsule no earlier than February 15.

Isaacman said that any decision to potentially move up the launch of Crew-12 would not impact the upcoming Artemis II mission planned for February 2026.

He called the two launches 'totally separate campaigns,' meaning there should be no issue in launching Artemis on time. Artemis II will be the first manned spaceflight to orbit the moon since 1972.

Meanwhile, the ISS is required to have astronauts aboard at all times, as they are essential to carry out maintenance, repairs, operate complex experiments, manage life support and perform spacewalks, tasks that automation cannot fully handle, ensuring constant human oversight for safety and scientific output.

Until now, there had never been a crew evacuated ahead of their scheduled departure time from the ISS, however, two spacewalks were recently cancelled because of various health issues among the astronauts.

A mission was cancelled in 2021 when Mark Vande Hei experienced a pinched nerve and was unable to travel outside the ISS.

Another spacewalk in 2024 was called off at the last minute because an astronaut experienced 'spacesuit discomfort'.

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Story by Tibi Puiu

 

Scientists have discovered a mysterious hole on the surface of Mars, and they have no idea what lies inside it.

This pit, located in the Arsia Mons region — one of Mars’ giant volcanoes — could potentially be a skylight leading to a vast network of lava tubes.

Lava tubes are natural caverns formed by flowing lava. Here on Earth, they provide shelter for many life forms, and on Mars, they could offer human explorers much-needed protection from the harsh Martian environment.

So, is this hole the key to unlocking a potential Martian habitat?

A Mysterious Martian Pit — Leading to Where?

There’s no shortage of environmental hazards out to kill any astronaut bold enough to dare set foot on Mars. With Mars having only 0.7% of Earth’s sea-level pressure, humans would have to don a full pressure suit or live inside a specialized chamber. Without these precautions, oxygen wouldn’t circulate in the bloodstream, with potentially fatal consequences.

Radiation, however, remains the primary concern. Although Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth, the absence of a magnetic field and its thin atmosphere mean it’s exposed to much higher radiation levels than Earth. The Mars Odyssey probe has shown radiation levels on Mars are at least 2.5 times higher than what astronauts face on the International Space Station. Furthermore, besides regular exposure to cosmic rays and solar wind, it receives occasional, lethal radiation blasts due to solar flares.

The Photos NASA Sent To Aliens

Any attempt to colonize the Red Planet will require measures to ensure radiation exposure is kept to a minimum. Some of the proposed ideas thus far involve habitats built directly into the ground or even above-ground habitats using inflatable modules encased in ceramics.

However, a promising alternative lies in Mars’ natural landscape. The planet is scattered with deep pits, caves, and lava tube structures that can act as a shield against radiation.

Collapsed sections of these tubes, called skylights, could provide access to these subterranean refuges. This is what scientists believe this newly identified pit could be. It was recently imaged by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

The Nature of Martian Pits

Two images of the pit in Arsia Mons. The one on the left was taken a couple of years ago. The one on the right is more recent and shows a side wall, which may mean the hole is not an entrance to a lava tube or cave.

(NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)© ZME Science

The newly examined pit measures only a few meters across and resides in the Tharsis region — a vast volcanic plain, thousands of kilometers across and elevated about 10 km above the planet’s mean elevation. This area was once very volcanically active, so scientists’ best guess is that the pit is a skylight to a lava tube.

However, that’s not the only option. In another image, you can see an illuminated sidewall, indicating it might just be a cylindrical pit. This raises the possibility that the hole may simply be a pit crater, similar to those found in Hawaii.

These craters form when cracks in volcanic rock widen and collapse, offering no access to underground chambers. In Hawaii, pit craters range from 6 to 186 meters deep and 8 to 1140 meters wide. The Arsia Mons pit is about 178 meters deep, Universe Today reports.

Lessons from the Moon

So, the big question now is: does this hole on Mars lead to a larger underground cavern? We don’t have a straight answer yet. But with time, scientists might be able to study and understand Martian pits as well as they do those on the Moon.

We understand lunar lava pits and tubes much better than those on Mars. Some lunar tubes are thermally stable and have boulder-covered floors. There are even plans for robots to explore these lunar caves, potentially housing astronauts in inflatable habitats.

Mars, with its weaker gravity, should support even larger lava tubes. This would provide extremely valuable shelter on a very unforgiving planet. Perhaps this is not all that different from how the first human explorers made bases in caves as they traveled across uncharted territory, colonizing the world.

However, unlike the Moon, we lack conclusive evidence of their existence on Mars. This intriguing pit on Arsia Mons is part of an ongoing search for Martian lava tubes. Future robotic missions designed to explore these potential underground worlds will be crucial in unlocking the secrets they hold.

Renewed Interest and New Discoveries

In November 2024, a breakthrough study on Earth provided some supporting evidence that Martian caves could act as time capsules. Researchers exploring lava tubes in Lanzarote, Spain, found that the tubes shielded minerals and organic compounds from weathering, effectively preserving “biosignatures” of past microbial life. This confirms that if life ever existed on Mars, a lava tube would be the most likely place to find its fossilized remains, protected from the harsh radiation on the surface.

Meanwhile, the region hosting the pit, Arsia Mons, received a stunning visual update in May 2025.

Arsia Mons, an ancient Martian volcano, was captured before dawn on May 2, 2025, by NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter while the spacecraft was studying the Red Planet’s atmosphere, which appears here as a greenish haze.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU© ZME Science

NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter captured a rare panorama showing the volcano’s summit poking through a vast blanket of morning clouds. This image highlighted the extreme altitude of the Tharsis region (where the pit is located), reminding us that any habitat here would need to contend with not just radiation, but unique atmospheric weather patterns distinct from the rest of the planet.

But there could be other, even more interesting caves.

In late 2025, when scientists identified a potential new class of caves in the Hebrus Valles region. Unlike the volcanic tubes of Arsia Mons, these new candidates appear to be “karstic”—caves formed by the dissolution of bedrock by water. If confirmed, these wouldn’t just be shelters; they would be remnants of ancient aquifers, making them the ultimate “holy grail” for both human habitation and the search for alien life.

This article was originally published in 31 May, 2024, and has been reedited to include additional information.

This story originally appeared on ZME Science. Want to get smarter every day? Subscribe to our newsletter and stay ahead with the latest science news.

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Jupiter's moon Europa lacks the undersea activity needed to support life, study suggests

by Chris Woolston, Washington University  }in St. Louis

The giant planet Jupiter has nearly 100 known moons, yet none have captured the interest and imagination of astronomers and space scientists quite like Europa, an ice-shrouded world that is thought to possess a vast ocean of liquid salt water. For decades, scientists have wondered whether that ocean could harbor the right conditions for life, placing Europa near the top of the list of solar system bodies to explore.

Europa's geology and tidal forces explained

For Byrne, a planetary scientist, Europa's appeal extends well beyond the question of life. "I'm really interested to know what that seafloor looks like," he said. "For all of the talk about the ocean itself, there has been little discussion about the seafloor."

Without a submarine, Byrne and co-authors had to combine known facts about Europa with inferences drawn from the geology of Earth and other bodies, including our own moon.

The ice shell on Europa is thought to be 15 to 25 km thick, and the ocean covers the entire moon to a depth of up to 100 km. Even though Europa is slightly smaller than our own moon, it likely holds much more water than Earth.

Beneath that ice and water lies a rocky core analogous to Earth's. While Earth's core still burns hot, Byrne and co-authors calculated that any heat from Europa's core would have escaped billions of years ago.

The team also calculated the gravitational forces from Jupiter, a pull that can be strong enough to keep a moon geologically alive. On its innermost large moon, Io, Jupiter's gravity roils tides and heats the rocks beneath the icy surface. Io, in fact, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system.

The tides on Io are especially violent because the moon has an erratic orbit that periodically takes it closer to Jupiter, but Europa's orbit is relatively stable and distant, lessening the chance for substantial tidal forces, Byrne explained.

"Europa likely has some tidal heating, which is why it's not completely frozen," Byrne said. "And it may have had a lot more heating in the distant past. But we don't see any volcanoes shooting out of the ice today like we see on Io, and our calculations suggest that the tides aren't strong enough to drive any sort of significant geologic activity at the seafloor."

Future missions and scientific curiosity

Europa's quiet seafloor geology doesn't provide much support for any contemporary life beneath the ice, Byrne said. "The energy just doesn't seem to be there to support life, at least today."

Byrne is still excited about future chances to explore Europa, especially the Europa Clipper spacecraft that will fly by the moon in the spring of 2031. That mission—conceived and championed in part by Bill McKinnon, the Clark Way Harrison Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences and interim director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences—will take close-up pictures of Europa's surface and provide more precise measurements of its ice cap and ocean.

"Those measurements should answer a lot of questions and give us more certainty," Byrne said.

Even if, eventually, modern Europa is found to be lifeless, Byrne won't be disappointed.

"I'm not upset if we don't find life on this particular moon," he said. "I'm confident that there is life out there somewhere, even if it's 100 light-years away. That's why we explore—to see what's out there."

• Provided by Washington University in St. Louis 

• Europa clipper captures Uranus with star tracker camera

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British military ‘wanted to acquire UFO technology to protect Brits’

Luke Alsford

British military thought there was a ‘basis in fact’ to the UFO sightings (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The British military thought there was ‘basis in fact’ to UFO sightings and wanted to get their hands on the ‘extraterrestrial’ technology, previously secret files show.

Confidential memos from the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) within the Ministry of Defence warned that ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’ (UAP) were a ‘potential threat’ to the UK in the 1990s.

The documents – now in the National Archives in Kew – also reveal how Britain’s most well-known UFO sighting at Rendlesham Forest was ‘confirmed’ by US military personnel.

One internal correspondence from March 4, 1997 reads: ‘Logic would indicate that if significant numbers are reporting seeing strange objects in the sky then there may be a basis in fact.

‘It could be argued that UAPs pose a potential threat to the defence of the realm since we have no idea what they are!’

The report referenced reports in Belgium of low-flying back triangles (Picture: Getty Images)

Intelligence officers appeared particularly concerned about the reports of large, silent, low-flying black triangles which came out of Belgium in their thousands between November 1989 and April 1990.

The reports sparked calls for Britain to try get hold of the technology.

The document noted: ‘A supplementary issue is the possibility of technology acquisition.

‘UAPs do not appear to use conventional reaction propulsion.

‘The Belgian deltas (confirmed by the country’s MoD) hovered for long periods and accelerated quickly to supersonic speeds, outrunning F-16s.

‘If this represents real technology perhaps it should be acquired.’

Another briefing letter, marked ‘Secret UK Eyes B’, acknowledged that the British military did not have the ‘reported technology’.

It added: ‘No matter the origin, the determination of the technology, and possible acquisition, is a matter for Defence Intelligence Staff [DIS].’

The correspondence added that ‘some reports described objects in terms of manoeuvre, speed and shape which lie beyond our engineering knowledge and that which could be reasonably expected from hostile powers.’

The file also stressed that most UFO reports were tenuous, with only a small number that could not be explained immediately.

The documents jokingly dismissed the possibility of alien life as part of fringe conspiracy theories.

The file reads: ‘Mention of UAPs is guaranteed to generate mirth and Little Green Men jokes, possibly because of the fringe element of “crazies”.’

Rendlesham Forest UFO sightings ‘confirmed’

Rendlesham Forest was home to one of the world’s most famous UFO sightings (Picture: Shutterstock / RMC42)

A separate file from the British Military sheds new light on the Rendlesham Forest incident.

Dating back to December 1980, members of the US Air Force stationed at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England, reported seeing unexplained lights and a craft in the forest.

Witnesses, including high-ranking officers, described seeing a glowing, metallic, triangular object hovering and emitting strange beams of light.

The document says that the Rendlesham Forest ‘landing’ was ‘confirmed by the US unit commander and others’.

It adds: ‘In both [Rendlesham Forest and Belgian] cases the UAP apparently did not use any conventional propulsion system and could hover as well as move at considerable speed.

‘The French have always had an interest in this topic … and I am aware that there is an informal intelligence grouping in the US.’

The sightings sparked front page news

The sighting has fuelled decades of speculation and conspiracy theories ranging from alien encounters to secret military tests.

One UFO expert, Philip Mantle, told Metro he is convinced something happened over those fateful nights in 1980 – but doesn’t necessarily think aliens were involved.

The former Director of Investigations for the British UFO Research Association speculated that soldiers could have come into contact with ‘strange plasma’ that caused ‘electromagnetic effects’.

The previously secret file also claimed to have a ‘Moscow report’ that suggested ‘two military scientists are responsible for UFOs’.

 { https://metro.co.uk/news/ }