Joe Rogan invoked three words that still haunt Americans more than two decades later while discussing how the country might react to an alien threat.

Speaking on his podcast, Rogan said such a world-changing event could evoke reactions similar to those seen 'after September 11th.'

'It was a horrible tragedy, but there was a beautiful result temporarily, where everybody was really united,' he said on Thursday.

'There were American flags on everybody's cars in Los Angeles. In New York, everyone was friendly.' 

Rogan added that Americans had all decided that we were together and that we were faced with a real threat and that we had to be united, suggesting a similar reaction would unfold in the event of visitors from another world.

Along with the widespread displays of American flags, there were spontaneous memorial vigils, national unity under the 'United We Stand' theme, lawmakers singing 'God Bless America,' and a surge in support for military and first responders.

The discussion was sparked when Rogan referenced a famous moment from history, recalling Ronald Reagan's speech at the United Nations. 

'Imagine how united we would be if faced with an alien threat from another world,' he said. 'We'd forget our differences and realize that, at the core, we're all connected.' 

Joe Rogan released a new podcast on Thursday, where he shared his feelings about how Americans could react to an alien threat

Rogan said such a world-changing event could evoke reactions similar to those seen 'after September 11th'

Rogan's guest, Michael P. Masters, a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Tech, agreed, expanding on the idea by suggesting humanity may be linked by a deeper, shared consciousness, an idea he said some researchers associate with the UFO phenomenon.

'If we recognize that we are just fingerprints on the same hand, then we're all iterations of the same overarching consciousness,' Masters said. 

'And there may be aspects of that reflected in the UFO phenomenon.'

Rogan has a long-standing obsession with the topic of extraterrestrial life and UFOs, and in his stand-up comedy. 

He often expresses the view that aliens 'are out there' and that the government might be covering up the truth.

The podcaster also believes that, given the 'hundreds of billions of galaxies' and stars in the universe, it is mathematically certain that 'for sure there's something else out here.'

While often focusing on the physical evidence, he has also explored alternative theories with guests, such as the idea that aliens might be interdimensional beings or human time travelers from the future, which aligns with Masters' theories.

Masters, who holds a PhD in anthropology from The Ohio State University, has gained attention beyond academia for his unconventional theories about UFOs. 

'Imagine how united we would be if faced with an alien threat from another world,' he said. 'We'd forget our differences and realize that, at the core, we're all connected.'

Rogan's guest, Michael P. Masters, a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Tech, agreed, expanding on the idea by suggesting humanity may be linked by a deeper, shared consciousness, an idea he said some researchers associate with the UFO phenomenon

In his books, including Identified Flying Objects and The Extratempestrial Model, he argues that some UFO encounters may not involve extraterrestrials at all.

Instead, Masters has proposed that the beings described in many sightings could be future human descendants traveling back through time, a hypothesis he has publicly discussed for years.

'The phenomenon may be our own distant descendants coming back through time to study us in their own evolutionary past,' he said in a 2019 interview.

While Rogan expressed confidence that something unexplained is occurring, Masters emphasized caution, noting that many claims surrounding UFOs and alien encounters require further study as stigma around the topic continues to fade.

Masters also argued the 'gray' alien archetype, large heads, big eyes, thin bodies, mirrors projected human evolution amid declining robustness, fertility issues and genetic engineering. 

He linked abductions involving reproductive material extraction to future humans addressing fertility crises, citing cases like Jim Penniston's Rendlesham Forest message, claiming the need for genetic material.

Rogan and Masters touched on government reverse-engineering, whistleblowers like Bob Lazar, transmedium craft, and Peruvian tridactyl mummies resembling grays, with Masters cautious pending further study.

Rogan expressed conviction in the phenomenon, while Masters shared a personal sighting and childhood 'tasking' inspiring his research. 

The episode framed UFOs as potentially intratemporal, urging discernment of encounter reports amid diminishing stigma. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly moving away from us. Can we 'intercept' it before it leaves us forever? - PART I

3I/ATLAS has passed its closest point to Earth, meaning we will soon lose sight of it for good. Some scientists want to send a spacecraft to chase down the alien comet — or the next interstellar object.

Astronomers want to send a spacecraft to "intercept" 3I/ATLAS or the next interstellar object. Doing so would help researchers learn more about distant star systems in the Milky Way. 

(Image credit: Nicholas Forder/Future)

We've watched it speed through the solar system using the most powerful telescopes in human history. We've studied its light with probes whipping around the sun and robots marooned on Mars. Countless eyes watched it make its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19 — and yet, for all of this, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS remains little more than a blur of gas, shrouded in mystery.

Since its discovery in early July, 3I/ATLAS has been studied more enthusiastically than practically any other celestial object in recent memory. Still, for all its fame, much remains unknown about it. The comet’s origins, from somewhere far across our galaxy, may never be known. Its true age, size, composition, and shape are also poorly constrained.

But how can we learn more about this alien interloper — or indeed, the next one — when we’re already studying it with everything we’ve got?

Two spacecraft will pass right through comet 3I/ATLAS' tail

NASA eyes 3I/ATLAS with alien-hunting Clipper spacecraft in new image

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may come from the mysterious frontier of the early Milky Way, new study hints

Some scientists are proposing a bold solution: We have to "intercept" it with a spacecraft.

Doing so would not only help us to better understand its key characteristics but also photograph its surface and potentially collect our first-ever interstellar samples, which could help reveal how alien exoplanets form, how common our type of solar system is and maybe even help answer the question of whether or not we are alone in the universe.

"We only have one shot at this object and then it's gone forever," Darryl Seligman, an astronomer at Michigan State University and the lead author of the first paper published about 3I/ATLAS, previously told Live Science. "So we want as much information from all of our observatories as we can possibly get."

Alien interlopers

On July 1, astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) revealed they had spotted a mysterious object traveling toward us from beyond Jupiter, at more than 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h). ATLAS, which automatically scans the skies using telescopes in Hawaii, Chile and South Africa, was hunting for potential threats to Earth. It found something else entirely.

Less than 24 hours later, NASA confirmed that the speeding blur of light was an interstellar object — an alien asteroid or comet that originated outside the solar system — and named it 3I/ATLAS. It was only the third-ever detection of an interstellar object in our solar system, after the anomalous space rock 'Oumuamua in 2017 and Comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.

Despite the rapid spread of unfounded theories that the object could be an alien probe, early observations confirmed that 3I/ATLAS is a comet — potentially the oldest of its kind ever seen — that likely originated from the Milky Way's "frontier" region.

Interstellar visitors like this are exciting to astronomers because they are one of the few opportunities we have to explore neighboring star systems, which would take generations and the invention of sci-fi technology to reach aboard a spacecraft.

Two spacecraft will pass right through comet 3I/ATLAS' tail

NASA eyes 3I/ATLAS with alien-hunting Clipper spacecraft in new image

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"ISOs are relics from planetary formation, so studying these objects and comparing them to what we have closer to us [could] lead to an interesting view of how other planetary systems in the galaxy formed," Pedro Bernardinelli, a planetary scientist at the University of Washington's DiRAC Institute, told Live Science in an email.

But our Earth-based observatories, and even orbiting spacecraft such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), can only tell us very rough information like general size, shape and composition. To really reveal ISO secrets, we will need to get much, much closer — possibly even close enough to grab a fragment.

Doing so won't be easy, but given the valuable insights it could reveal about the star systems beyond our own, it would be well worth the effort, experts say.

"Each one of these ISOs is a little piece of low-hanging fruit from a tree that can tell us a great deal about the trees growing in some other neighborhood," Wesley Fraser, an astronomer with the National Research Council Canada, previously told Live Science.

Giving chase

But the time to catch this speeding comet is fast approaching. 3I/ATLAS is now reaching its closest point to Earth, around 168 million miles (270 million km) miles away. From there it will move quickly away from us and will likely be beyond Neptune within another year.

Because it is now too late to intercept 3I/ATLAS within the inner solar system, most researchers agree that there is now only one viable option to study this object: to chase it down as it leaves the solar system.

This would require the spacecraft to carry out what researchers call "Oberth maneuvers," where a probe is gravitationally slingshotted around massive objects, such as the sun, to pick up enough speed to allow it to catch up to and intercept an ISO at a specific point along its predicted trajectory.

This idea was first proposed in 2022 to catch up with the first known interstellar object, 'Oumuamua. The plan, dubbed Project Lyra, was to launch a probe in 2028 that would intercept and investigate that object, after completing an Oberth maneuver around Jupiter.

But this chaser method has a huge limitation: Scientists would need to wait decades for data to come back. For example, if Project Lyra launched a spacecraft in 2030, it would not intercept 'Oumuamua until 2052 at the earliest, Adam Hibberd, a researcher with the U.K.-based nonprofit Initiative for Interstellar Studies (I4IS) who worked on Project Lyra, told Live Science.

So far, Project Lyra has not moved past the planning stage — making a 2028 launch highly unlikely — but the project could still reach 'Oumuamua if launched in 2030 or 2033, Hibberd said. This means we would likely still have plenty of time to chase down 3I/ATLAS, if we want to.

Future propulsion methods, such as a solar sail, could drastically cut the travel time of missions like this from decades down to just a few years, he added. But these technologies are decades away from becoming a reality themselves.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly moving away from us. Can we 'intercept' it before it leaves us forever?- PART II

3I/ATLAS has passed its closest point to Earth, meaning we will soon lose sight of it for good. Some scientists want to send a spacecraft to chase down the alien comet — or the next interstellar object.

Playing "hide-and-seek"

But given that 3I/ATLAS will be very hard to chase down, some astronomers argue that we shouldn't bother hunting it. Rather we should prepare to intercept the next interesting ISO.

By launching an interceptor spacecraft and parking it in a gravitationally stable position around Earth, known as a Lagrange point, we could, in theory, be ready to quickly intercept a passing object, they argue.

This idea, also first proposed in 2022, has been dubbed the "hide-and-seek" approach. However, unlike Project Lyra, it is much closer to becoming a reality.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing the Comet Interceptor mission, which is currently scheduled to launch in 2029, on board the same rocket as ESA's Ariel space telescope, said Colin Snodgrass, an astronomer at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who specializes in comets and was the deputy project investigator on the proposal for this mission.

The Comet Interceptor probe isn't specifically aimed at interstellar visitors. Instead, it's designed to hunt nonperiodic comets like Comet Lemmon, which has been visible in the night sky, alongside 3I/ATLAS, in recent months. These comets drift toward the sun every few hundred or thousand years and have poorly defined orbital pathways around the sun.

When ESA researchers spot a comet they can reach, they will "fire the rockets, get to the right place in space to cross the path of the comet and have this fast flyby encounter, where we go shooting past the comet, getting as much data as we can," Snodgrass told Live Science.

And while the mission is not designed to study interstellar objects, the project will be perfectly placed to intercept them.

"The whole science team is very much in agreement that if an interstellar object was to pop up, we wouldn't let that opportunity go by," Snodgrass said.

The main advantage of the hide-and-seek approach is that we wouldn't have to wait decades for a probe to catch up to its target. Additionally, we'd be reaching it at the best time to study it. That's because interstellar comets, like 3I/ATLAS, soak up more solar radiation when in the inner solar system — which, in turn, means they give off more light, gas and dust, giving us a better chance to learn about their composition.

However, a hide-and-seek mission might not be able to catch all the objects we care about. For example, ESA's Comet Interceptor probe would have been unlikely to reach 3I/ATLAS, had it been in orbit when the ISO was first discovered, because the comet was too far away from us, a recent study from Snodgrass and others found.

Collision course

A major limitation of both the chaser and hide-and-seek missions is that ISOs travel too fast for their respective spacecraft to travel alongside, or rendezvous with, these objects.

This makes it "almost impossible" for the probes to directly obtain samples from the objects' surfaces as NASA did during its OSIRIS-REx mission, which successfully landed a probe on the asteroid Bennu in 2020 and collected samples that were later returned to Earth, Hibberd said. Due to fuel limitations, it is also unlikely that these samples could be easily returned to Earth, especially during a chaser mission, he added.

However, there is a third option that could yield valuable interstellar samples: the "impactor" method.

Similar to NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which successfully deflected the asteroid Dimorphos after smashing into the space rock in 2022, an interceptor probe could also be sent to crash into an ISO, Hibberd suggested. While this probe would be destroyed, a second spacecraft could be deployed to analyze the debris field and potentially even collect leftover fragments of the alien object, he added.

But an impactor mission would need to overcome serious technical challenges. First, ISOs travel much faster than solar system objects, like Dimorphos, meaning it's more difficult to smash them apart. Second, this method would likely work only on an asteroid, not on comets, which have hard, icy shells. And third, a collision could accidentally send chunks of debris on a collision course with Earth, like DART did. As a result, most of the experts who talked to Live Science, including Hibberd, agreed that it is probably too risky to attempt an impactor mission until more research has been done on the subject.

The perfect mission

If money were no object, we could pursue all of these options. But if an agency like NASA has the budget for only one such mission, which one should be selected?

A chaser mission would allow astronomers to target a specific object they know they want to study, while a hide-and-seek mission would be limited to objects that happened to pass nearby. On the other hand, the hide-and-seek mission could reliably predict objects' locations in the inner solar system, whereas the chaser method would target objects in the dark, more chaotic outer solar system, where it would be harder to find and photograph them, Snodgrass said.

Another issue is that signals from a more distant chaser mission would take longer to send and receive, so mission operators would be unable to monitor and adjust an ISO flyby in real time or fix technical difficulties easily — a difficulty NASA faces with its distant Voyager probes, Snodgrass said.

There is also the matter of money. Project Lyra would likely cost the same as NASA's New Horizons mission, which flew by Pluto in 2015 and cost at least $700 million, Hibberd said. Meanwhile, ESA's Comet Interceptor mission has a budget of around $150 million, Snodgrass said.

As a result, most researchers who spoke to Live Science agreed that a hide-and-seek interceptor would likely be the best way of studying an ISO up close.

But if this is the method we end up using, how should we design the resulting spacecraft to maximize its chances of collecting useful data?

While ESA's Comet Interceptor is relatively inexpensive, a dedicated ISO interceptor mission — with a bigger budget — would allow us to launch a faster probe that could carry more fuel and thus travel farther. However, the craft doesn't need to be fancy.

A "fairly stripped-back" probe with a decent camera and a few spectrographs, capable of analyzing the light given off by the different gases, would be more than enough to collect sufficient data from any flyby, Snodgrass said.

If the probe were intercepting a comet, and not an asteroid, it could also be fitted with a device to catch specks of dust from the comet's coma or tail during a superclose approach, just as NASA's Stardust probe did with "Comet Wild 2" in 2004.

Assuming that the interceptor hasn't depleted its fuel reserves and can be returned to Earth, this may be the only reliable way of actually getting our hands on interstellar samples, Snodgrass said.

To intercept or not to intercept

Once the "perfect" interceptor is in position around Earth, researchers will have to choose which ISO to go after. And because any spacecraft is unlikely to be reusable, it may get only one shot at picking the right target.

We may soon be spoiled for choice. ISOs may be far more common than we realize. "There are likely thousands of other ISOs in the solar system right now," Fraser said. "We just can't see them because they are too faint, too far and too fast."

But thanks to the newly operational Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which is designed to spot more small and dim objects in the outer solar system, we are likely to find many more ISOs in the coming decades and, more importantly, spot them much earlier on their journey toward us, which would give us a better chance of studying them.

The first thing to consider is whether to go after an asteroid or a comet. Because comets become more active near the sun and present the most likely route for collecting interstellar samples, they would likely take priority, Snodgrass said.

The next consideration would be the target's distance from Earth. As we have already seen, ESA's Comet Interceptor may have struggled to reach 3I/ATLAS on its journey through the inner solar system. Therefore, it might pay to wait for an ISO that is on a favorable trajectory relative to Earth.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

NASA's Galileo spacecraft first photographed a bizarre spider-like structure lurking within a large crater on Europa during a close flyby of the moon on March 29, 1998. 

(Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

A mysterious, spider-like structure lurking on Jupiter's fourth-largest moon, Europa, may finally have a proper explanation nearly 30 years after it was discovered. The arachnid imposter has also been given a demonic new name.

In March 1998, NASA's Galileo spacecraft — which studied Jupiter and its major moons between 1995 and 2003 — made a close flyby of Europa, a frozen ocean moon often considered one of the most likely places for extraterrestrial life to exist in the solar system. During this flyby, the probe mapped out a roughly 13.7-mile-wide (22 kilometers) impact structure, dubbed Manannán Crater, on the moon's icy surface, and found something strange lurking within it.

Hidden inside a deep pit near the crater's center was a sprawling dendritic shape. The researchers initially believed the dark feature was caused by the extreme gravitational force exerted on Europa by Jupiter, which is responsible for carving multiple fracture lines across the water world's surface. Other experts have since proposed that it was created by eruptions from hydrothermal vents on the floor of Europa's subsurface ocean. However, neither of these explanations fully explain this unusual shape.

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But in a new study, published Dec. 2 in The Planetary Science Journal, researchers proposed an alternative explanation: that the Jovian spider formed in a similar way to how dark dendritic patterns on Earth, known as "lake stars," typically do. These features form when snow falls on frozen lakes and water seeps up through tiny holes in the ice.

With this in mind, the researchers used a similar technique to partially recreate the Manannán Crater's mysterious shape in the lab. The study team also finally named Europa's arachnid-like asterisk Damhán Alla, meaning "spider" or "wall demon" in Irish. (Manannán is a Celtic god from Irish mythology, which partly inspired the new name.)

"Lake stars are really beautiful, and they are pretty common on snow or slush-covered frozen lakes and ponds," study lead-author Laura Mc Keown, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida, said in a statement. "It is wonderful to think that they may give us a glimpse into processes occurring on Europa and maybe even other icy ocean worlds in our solar system."

However, rather than water rising through tiny holes, as happens when lake stars form on Earth, Damhán Alla was likely birthed by an asteroid impact — which created a small crack in Europa's icy shell that enabled salty water to seep upward and paint the spider-like pattern on the surface. (This asteroid impact likely happened after the Manannán Crater was already formed.)

The researchers also noted similarities between Damhán Alla and the infamous "spiders on Mars," which are dusty deposits on the Martian surface that look like swarming spiders when viewed from above. These fake arachnids, known as araneiform terrain, form when submerged carbon dioxide ice sublimates, or turns directly into a gas. Mc Keown's team has previously recreated these features on Earth too.

The similarities in shape between Damhán Alla and the spiders on Mars are due to how "fluid flows through porous surfaces," Mc Keown said. In theory, similar spider features could also form on other frozen ocean worlds, such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, Jupiter's other moon Ganymede and the dwarf planet Ceres, which resides in the asteroid belt beyond Mars.

Mc Keown is now setting up a new laboratory, which will focus on studying how these various spider-like features may form on different solar system moons. She hopes to be able to provide valuable insight that could help inform NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which launched in October 2024 and will arrive to extensively study Jupiter's watery moon in 2030.

"The significance of our research is really exciting," Mc Keown said. "Surface features like these can tell us a lot about what's happening beneath the ice. If we see more of them with Europa Clipper, they could point to local brine pools below the surface," she added.

And these pools could be a good place to start looking for signs of extraterrestrial life.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

These ancient cities were built underground — and no one knows exactly why

Some ancient cities were carved deep below the Earth to house thousands — but no one can say for sure why they were built, or what they were hiding from.

byIvan Petricevic

Derinkuyu Underground City in Cappadocia, Nevsehir, Turkey

Long before steel and concrete-shaped skylines, entire cities were carved deep below the Earth. These were not just emergency shelters — these were fully developed with food storage, schools, temples, and homes. Mind-boggling ancient cities. One could hold over 20,000 people. But despite decades of research, no one knows exactly why they were built. Were they designed to protect from war, climate disaster, or something more mysterious? These hidden cities remain one of archaeology’s most enduring riddles.

Derinkuyu: A vast city buried beneath Cappadocia

In central Turkey’s Cappadocia region, the ancient city of Derinkuyu plunges 18 stories below ground. Discovered by accident in 1963 when a homeowner knocked down a wall and found a hidden room behind it, Derinkuyu revealed an enormous underground complex — complete with kitchens, wine presses, churches, ventilation shafts, and even livestock pens.

Tunnels in the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu.

At its peak, Derinkuyu could accommodate more than 20,000 people. Stone doors could seal off sections of the city in case of invasion, and long vertical shafts provided fresh air to the deepest levels. The earliest sections may date back to around 800 BCE, with possible Hittite origins, though some scholars argue it could be even older. It was later expanded and used by early Christians fleeing persecution.

Kaymakli: A connected city beneath the stone

A room in the underground city of Kaymakli. Wikimedia commons.

Not far from Derinkuyu lies Kaymakli, another underground settlement likely connected by tunnels to its larger neighbor. Unlike the vertical structure of Derinkuyu, Kaymakli spreads out horizontally, with a maze of rooms across at least five known levels — though many believe there are more yet to be discovered.

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Kaymakli was designed for community living, with homes, kitchens, storage areas, and stables all organized into clusters. Its structure suggests it was built not just for hiding, but for long-term habitation. Most experts date its active use to the Byzantine era, especially during times of regional conflict, but some of the rock-cut foundations could be much older.

Mazı: A hidden vertical city carved into the rock

Mazı is a lesser-known but equally fascinating example of ancient underground cities in the Cappadocia region. Unlike the more spacious layouts of Derinkuyu or Kaymakli, Mazı is a vertical settlement, built deep into the volcanic stone with narrow passageways, hidden doors, and steep staircases.

The underground city of Masi. Credit httpsmuze.gov.tr

Its design suggests a focus on defense. Invaders could be slowed or trapped in tight corridors, while residents could escape or defend themselves using hidden exits and small observation holes. Archaeological evidence links Mazı to the Roman or early Christian period, but the full timeline of its use is still uncertain.

Özkonak: Engineered for siege survival

Located in northern Cappadocia, Özkonak may be smaller than Derinkuyu, but it features some of the most sophisticated defense features ever found in ancient cities. Built with narrow shafts that allowed residents to pour boiling oil or water on attackers, it also had communication pipes that ran between levels — a rare feature not seen in other sites.

One of the doors inside the underground city of Özkonak. Wikimedia commons.

Only four levels of Özkonak have been excavated so far, but archaeologists believe there are deeper chambers waiting to be uncovered. Like many of Cappadocia’s subterranean settlements, the exact age of Özkonak is still debated, though its structure suggests it was built with long-term survival in mind.

Tatlarin: A mysterious city still under excavation

Tatlarin is one of the lesser-explored ancient cities in the region. Located near Nevşehir, it features a chapel, storage rooms, and stables — all carved into the rock. Unlike the larger underground complexes, Tatlarin remains only partially excavated, and much of it is still hidden beneath the surface.

One of the rooms of the underground city of Tatlarin. Credit: www.turkishmuseums.com/

Its layout and architecture suggest it may have served both residential and religious purposes. The lack of large-scale tourism or full excavation gives Tatlarin a unique role in understanding the broader underground building tradition in ancient Anatolia.

Why were entire cities built underground?

I believe that the real mystery behind these ancient cities isn’t just their size, but the decision to build them underground at all. Excavating stone, carving tunnels, and creating entire living systems beneath the surface was no small task. It required time, planning, and purpose.

Some historians believe the cities were designed as defensive strongholds, built to protect people from invasions during unstable periods. With hidden entrances, stone doors, and narrow corridors that could be easily defended, the idea holds weight. Others argue that the underground environment offered relief from extreme weather or natural disasters, allowing communities to survive in harsh conditions.

There is also evidence of religious use. In many of these cities, archaeologists have found chapels, altars, and Christian symbols carved into the rock. This suggests they may have served as places of refuge during times of persecution, particularly in the early centuries of Christianity.

Still, these explanations only go so far. The scale of some cities, with facilities for wine production, animal shelters, and food storage, points to long-term habitation. They were not simple hideouts. They were meant to sustain life.

Perhaps the true answer is a combination of factors, or perhaps we are still missing the bigger picture. Until more evidence comes to light, the reasons why these ancient cities were built underground will remain one of the most compelling questions in archaeology.

! https://curiosmos.com/category/ancient-civilizations/ }

 

Blind psychic Baba Vanga's prophecies for 2026 hint at humanity facing a mysterious new civilization

• READ MORE: Blind psychic Baba Vanga's world-changing 2025 prophecy feared to occur in just DAYS

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A blind psychic, who allegedly foretold 9/11 and the Covidpandemic, shared several world-changing prophecies for 2026 before her death nearly 30 years ago.

Baba Vanga was a Bulgarian mystic and clairvoyant who became a cult figure among conspiracy theorists after several of her eerie pronouncements were proved true.

Her prophecies for next year have resurfaced, with the most shocking prediction that humans will make contact with a new civilization in November.

The claim speaks of a 'massive spacecraft' arriving on Earth, marking a historic turning point for humanity. 

However, scientists remain highly skeptical about any near-term contact with alien life, and the US government has found no evidence of such beings.

Another alarming prophecy was the possibility of World War III, as she warned of rising tensions between major global powers, including China, Russia and the US.

One of Baba Vanga's most talked-about predictions involves a wave of catastrophic natural disasters. 

She foresees massive earthquakes, violent volcanic eruptions, and extreme weather striking roughly 8 percent of the planet's land. 

However, Baba Vanga, who died from breast cancer in 1996, reportedly also saw visions of world-changing breakthroughs, such as cancer blood tests and mining for energy in space.

Baba Vanga, who lost her sight at age 12, became a cult figure among conspiracy theorists after several of her eerie pronouncements were proved true

She left no written records of her predictions. Most of the accounts come from her niece, Krasimira Stoyanova, or other followers who documented her alleged visions after her death, and who have been accused of misinterpreting what she said. 

Born in 1911 as Vangeliya Pandeva Dimitrova, she was a famous blind Bulgarian mystic, clairvoyant, and herbalist known as the 'Nostradamus of the Balkans.' 

She lost her sight at age 12 after being caught in a tornado, an event that coincided with the emergence of her purported psychic abilities.

After turning 30, her powers of foresight, healing, and fortune-telling became prominent, attracting believers who sought her guidance.

She made numerous prophecies, often vague, about natural disasters, political shifts and future technologies, some of which supporters claim foretold events like the Kursk submarine disaster, Brexit and the rise of ISIS.

While she has legions of followers, experts warn her prophecies are speculative and not grounded in fact.

Regardless, her predictions for 2026 are flooding the internet.

The prophecy of alien contact seemed to align with reports that President Donald Trump has been briefed about UFOs and alien life living among humans.

Her prophecies for next year have resurfaced, with the most shocking prediction that humans will make contact with a new civilization in November (file photo)

The claims have suggested that Trump could be the one to reveal such details to the world. 

Along with alien contact, WWIII and natural disasters, she also foresaw AI taking over major industries, causing not only job upheaval but also complex ethical challenges, Sky History reported.

Industry experts have echoed the claims, saying the technology could advance to hyper-personalized AI agents acting as digital coworkers.

They also see new roles created, including chief AI agent officers.

While Baba Vanga’s prediction of mining energy from Venus is officially scheduled for 2028, experts note that space exploration is a long, gradual process. 

If her forecast that humanity will begin harvesting energy from the planet by then comes true, preparations and groundwork could start as early as 2026. 

One alarming prophecy was the possibility of World War III, as she warned of rising tensions between major global powers, including China, Russia and the US

She also predicted mass-produced synthetic organs by 2046, and 2026 could mark a crucial phase in their development toward that goal. 

Progress may include gene-edited pig kidney transplants, building on programs that began in 2024 and 2025, early clinical trials for bio-artificial liver devices, and bio-printed living-tissue implants, such as 3D-printed ears. 

These developments could lay the foundation for realizing her long-term vision of synthetic organ production. 

Supporters credit her with foreseeing major medical breakthroughs, including improvements in cancer detection and treatment. 

In 2026, multi-cancer early-detection blood tests could move from pilot programs to national screening initiatives in at least one major country.

This would help doctors catch hard-to-detect cancers, like pancreatic and ovarian, much earlier, while sparking debates over false positives, rollout costs, and which patients should be screened first. 

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 { https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

Mystery as flock of UFOs seen hovering above power station for more than a year

By JACK TOLEDO

A small town sheriff has admitted he is perplexed by a series of mysterious flying objects which have been bewildering locals in his Wyoming community for more than a year.

Unidentified flying objects [UFOs] have been regularly spotted for 13 months above the Jim Bridger Power Plant and Sweetwater County's Red Desert.

John Grossnickle, the Sheriff of Sweetwater County, saw lit-up, drone-like objects as recently as December 13, his spokesman Jason Mower told Cowboy State Daily.

Mower said they've worked with everyone they can possibly think of to try and solve the mystery in the sky.

'We've done everything we can to figure out what they are, and nobody wants to give us any answers,' he said.

Locals are now so accustomed to the strange sightings that the Sheriff's office has stopped receiving calls about them, the spokesman told the outlet.

'It's like the new normal,' Mower said.

He also noted that the objects are thousands of feet above the earth, making them too high to shoot from the ground. 

The Jim Bridger Power Plant has been hub for Unidentified flying objects [ UFOs] for 13 months above 

John Grossnickle, the Sheriff of Sweetwater County, saw lighted, drone-like objects as recently as December 13

Mower said there have been no issues or concerns among locals in the region, other than their presence. 

However, if the UFOs were to cause danger, 'rest assured … we'll certainly act accordingly,' Mower added.

The first drone sightings in Sweetwater came as New Jersey was gripped by mass hysteria when drones were seen repeatedly lighting up the night sky.

A private contractor seemingly solved that mystery after revealing at the Army's UAS and Launched Effects Summit at Fort Rucker in August that they had launched the objects to 'test out their capabilities,' according to the NY Post.

'You remember that big UFO scare in New Jersey last year? Well, that was us,' an employee of the unnamed contractor allegedly told a crowd at the event.

According to a source at the summit, the employee went on to claim there was no need to disclose their work to the public because they had a private government contract.

Locals in Sweetwater County are used to the strange sightings that the Sheriff's office no longer receives calls about them

Some 964 sightings of flying objects were logged in the state between November 19 up until December 13 of 2024, according to statistics collected by the state’s Office of Emergency Management.

At the first press briefing of President Trump's second administration on January 28, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had authorized drones and that they did not pose a national security threat.

The FAA last attributed the sightings to 'lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, law enforcement drones, manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones'.

The agency then issued a temporary ban on flying drones, but as the sightings continued, warned that 'deadly force' could be used against drones that present an 'imminent security threat.'

Exclusive polling from DailyMail.com and J.L. Partners found that nearly half (45 percent) of people believe the bizarre activity was more than just recreational or normal drone use, with the majority (26 percent) of those respondents pointing to foreign surveillance.

Similar sightings caused mass hysteria in New Jersey last year around the same time as the UFOs were seen in Sweetwater

A private unnamed contractor took responsibility for the drone activity and claimed that they were working under contract for the government

The foreign powers mentioned were China or Russia, which has been suspected among lawmakers like Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who said some of the unidentified aircraft are 'spy drones.'

But 19 percent of Americans do believe the sightings are nothing more than hobby drones and 18 percent stated they are 'normal flying actives that have been exaggerated.'

There are some Americans (17 percent) who believe the drones were government surveillance tools, but 10 percent said the craft was actually protecting citizens.

And a small eight percent are sure the drones are alien vehicles.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

Menselijke Oorsprong op Aarde en de “Prison Planet” Theorie: Een Diepgaande Verkenning

Zijn mensen hierheen gebracht vanaf een andere planeet?

Inleiding

De vraag naar de ware oorsprong van de mensheid heeft altijd een centrale plek ingenomen in menselijke geschiedenis, filosofie en wetenschap. Van de oude mythes en religieuze overtuigingen tot de moderne evolutietheorie, de zoektocht naar ons verleden blijft een fascinerend en complex onderwerp. In de afgelopen decennia zijn echter ook alternatieve theorieën naar voren gekomen die ver naast de traditionele wetenschappelijke kaders liggen. Een van de meest intrigerende en controversiële hiervan is de “Prison Planet” theorie, die beweert dat de aarde functioneert als een soort gevangenis of controlecentrum, beheerd door geavanceerde buitenaardse of geheime menselijke krachten.

Dit artikel onderzoekt zowel de wetenschappelijke inzichten over de menselijke oorsprong als de uitgebreide achtergrond van de “Prison Planet” theorie. We zullen de historische context, de bewijzen, de populaire theorieën en de kritische standpunten bespreken, met als doel een evenwichtige en gedetailleerde analyse te bieden van dit onderwerp dat velen intrigeert en uitdaagt.

De Wetenschap Achter de Oorsprong van de Mens

1. De Evolutionaire Theorie

De meest breed geaccepteerde theorie over de menselijke oorsprong is de evolutietheorie, ontwikkeld door Charles Darwin en verder verfijnd door talloze wetenschappers. Volgens deze theorie zijn moderne mensen (Homo sapiens) het resultaat van een lange evolutie die miljoenen jaren overspant, met afstamming van gemeenschappelijke voorouders met andere apensoorten.

De fossiele geschiedenis toont een voortdurende ontwikkeling: van vroege homininen zoals Sahelanthropus tchadensis en Australopithecus, tot de genus Homo, inclusief Homo habilis, Homo erectus, en uiteindelijk Homo sapiens. DNA-analyse, vooral van mitochondriaal DNA, ondersteunt de evolutie-uitgangspunten en bevestigt dat de mens afstamt van een gemeenschappelijke voorouder die ongeveer 200.000 jaar geleden in Afrika leefde.

2. De Overgang naar Bewustzijn

Een belangrijke onderzoekslijn richt zich op de ontwikkeling van cognitieve vermogens bij de vroege mens. De anatomische veranderingen gingen gepaard met een toenemende hersengrootte en complexiteit, wat leidde tot een sprong in taal, cultuur en zelfbewustzijn. Archeologische vondsten, zoals kunst, sieraden en religieuze rituelen, tonen dat onze voorouders al vroeg symbolisch denken en sociaal gedrag ontwikkelden.

3. Open Vragen en Speculaties

Ondanks de uitgebreide bewijsvoering blijft de exacte aard van het proces en de details rond de overgang van aap naar mens onderwerp van discussie. Vragen over het ontstaan van bewustzijn, de rol van genetische mutaties en de mate van invloed van omgevingsfactoren blijven open.

De Historische Context en Mystiek

1. Oude Beschavingen en Mythes over Oorsprong

Door de eeuwen heen hebben verschillende culturen verhalen ontwikkeld over de herkomst van de mens. In de Griekse mythologie bijvoorbeeld, werden mensen vaak gecreëerd door goden zoals Prometheus en Athena. In het Oude Egypte speelden scheppingsverhalen een centrale rol in religieuze overtuigingen. Veel van deze verhalen bevatten een scheppingshandeling die de mens verbindt met goddelijke krachten of kosmische energieën.

2. Mystiek en Esoterisch Denken

Naast religieuze verhalen bestaan er ook esoterische theorieën die proberen de menselijke oorsprong te verklaren vanuit geheime kennis. Sommige van deze theorieën suggereren dat de mens oorspronkelijk een buitenaards schepsel is dat op aarde werd neergestort of hier kwam als deel van een kosmische missie. Andere geloven dat de mens betrokken is bij een voortdurende, geheime strijd tussen goed en kwaad, met aardse en buitenaardse machten die onze geschiedenis manipuleren.

Theorieën over de "Prison Planet"

1. Wat is de "Prison Planet" Theorie?

De "Prison Planet" theorie is een controversiële en vaak gepromote ideeënbundel die stelt dat de aarde niet simpelweg een planeet is waarop de mensheid evolueert, maar eerder een soort gevangenis of gecontroleerd speelveld. Volgens deze theorie worden de bewoners van de aarde onderworpen aan controle door geavanceerde buitenaardse beschavingen, geheime regeringen, of beide samen. Deze machtige entiteiten zouden de mensheid gevangen houden om te experimenteren, te gebruiken als energiebron, of te onderdrukken in een illusie van vrijheid.

2. De Oorsprong van de Theorie

De theorie kreeg haar modern most in de late 20e eeuw, vooral via zelfverklaarde onderzoekers en alternative denkers zoals David Icke, Richard Dolan en andere prominente figuren in de UFO- en conspiracy gemeenschap. Icke, bijvoorbeeld, beschrijft in zijn werken dat de wereld wordt gecontroleerd door een trotskistische, buitenaardse parasitaire elite die hij "Reptilians" noemt. Volgens hem zijn deze reptielachtige buitenaardse wezens verantwoordelijk voor de wereldwijde machtsstructuren en houden zij de mensheid gevangen in een illusie van vrije wil.

3. Kernpunten van de Theorie

• Controlerende Entiteiten: Buitenaardse beschavingen of geheime menselijke genootschappen die de wereld domineren.
• Aardse "gevangenschap": Mensen functioneren als slaven, energiebronnen of proefpersonen zonder dat ze dit bewust doorhebben.
• Manipulatie via Technologie en Media: Globalistische elites gebruiken geavanceerde technologie, media en mind control technieken om de massa te manipuleren.
• De Rol van Geheime Overheden: Veel verhalen vertellen over geheime projecten, zoals de Montauk-projecten, die bedoeld zouden zijn om de controle uit te breiden of om bewustzijnsveranderingen te induceren.

4. Bewijs en Argumenten

Aanhangers van de "Prison Planet" theorie baseren hun claims op verschillende soorten "bewijzen":

• UFO-waarnemingen en buitenaardse ontmoetingen: Vaak worden ufo's en vermeende buitenaardse contactmomenten geïnterpreteerd als bewijs dat buitenaardse wezens de aarde controleren.
• Archieven en geheime documenten: Sommige beweren dat er geheime documenten bestaan die de waarheid over de controle en manipulatie door krachtgroepen onthullen.
• Anciente Aliens en Megalieten: Theorieën die aangeven dat oude beschavingen en monumenten het resultaat zijn van buitenaardse interventies, en dat deze beschavingen de aarde gebruiken voor hun eigen doelen.
• Technologie en mind control: Beschuldigingen dat technologieën zoals HAARP, 5G, en chemtrails worden gebruikt om de mensheid te beheersen.

Kritische Analyse en Wetenschappelijke Standpunten

1. De Wetenschappelijke Tegenargumenten

De meeste wetenschappers en academici staan sceptisch tegenover de “Prison Planet” theorie, omdat het gebrek aan direct bewijs en de vaak speculatieve aard ervan in strijd is met de principes van de empirische methode.

• Gebrek aan empirisch bewijs: Er is geen concreet en verifieerbaar bewijs dat wijst op een planetaire controle door buitenaardse wezens of geheime machtsstructuren.
• Misbruik van wetenschap en geschiedenis: Veel van de beweerde bewijzen worden gebaseerd op interpretaties van oude artefacten, cryptische teksten, of geluidsfragmenten die niet wetenschappelijk verifiëerbaar zijn.
• Psychologische verklaringen: Sommige theorieën over geheime controle en buitenaardse overheersing kunnen worden verklaard door psychologische factoren zoals paranoia, cognitieve bias, en het zoeken naar verklaringen voor complexe, onbegrepen situaties.
• Mislukking van simulaties: Terwijl technologie snel vordert, is er geen bewijs dat we in een door buitenstaanders gecreëerde simulatie of gevangenis leven.

2. Kritiek op de Conspiracy Circuits

Veel critici beschouwen de “Prison Planet” theorie als een vorm van pseudowetenschap of pseudohistorie, gebouwd op selectief gebruik van feiten en speculatie. Ze wijzen op het gevaar van het verspreiden van vermeende “waarheden” die de publieke angst en desinformatie vergroten.

3. Alternatieve verklaringen voor de verhalen

Het verlangen naar een gevoel van controle of het zoeken naar zingeving en geheime kennis kunnen verklaren waarom zoveel mensen zich aangetrokken voelen tot deze theorieën. Gebrek aan transparantie binnen de overheid en de complexiteit van mondiale machtstructuren dragen ook bij aan deze overtuigingen.

Afbeeldingsbron: Anomalien.com

Conclusie

De vraag naar de menselijke oorsprong is een fascinerend samenspel tussen wetenschap, mythologie, religie en moderne alternatieve theorieën. De evolutietheorie biedt een robuuste en door bewijs onderbouwde verklaring voor hoe wij als soort zijn ontstaan. Tegelijkertijd blijven mystiek, oude verhalen en geheime ontdekkingen de menselijke verbeelding prikkelen.

De “Prison Planet” theorie vertegenwoordigt een radicale alternatieve kijk die inspeelt op diepgewortelde angsten en het verlangen naar geheime kennis. Hoewel er geen wetenschappelijk bewijs is dat deze theorie ondersteunt, blijft het een krachtig cultureel fenomeen dat ons dwingt na te denken over machtsstructuren, controle en de aard van realiteit.

Het is essentieel dat we kritisch blijven nadenken, onderscheid maken tussen feit en fictie, en openstaan voor nieuwe inzichten, terwijl we de waarde van goed onderbouwde wetenschap omarmen. Pas door een evenwichtige benadering kunnen we de mysteries van ons verleden en onze huidige wereld op een verantwoorde manier onderzoeken.

Epiloog

De zoektocht naar de ware oorsprong van de mens en de waarheid achter de wereld waarin we leven, blijft een boeiend avontuur. Of we nu geloven in natuurlijke evolutie, oude mythes, of zelfs dat we gevangen zitten in een “Prison Planet”, het vraagt ons allen om kritisch te denken, open te staan voor nieuwe ideeën, en altijd te zoeken naar kennis en inzicht.

Door onze geschiedenis en de vele verhalen die daaruit voortvloeien te bestuderen, kunnen we een dieper begrip krijgen van wie we zijn, waar we vandaan komen en welke wereld we creëren voor de toekomst. Het is onze menselijke drang om te begrijpen en te verbinden, die ons blijft drijven in deze eeuwigdurende zoektocht naar de waarheid.

Noten en Referenties

Omdat dit artikel gebaseerd is op een breed scala aan bronnen, campagnethema's en theorieën, wordt aanbevolen om verder te lezen in de werken van Charles Darwin (The Origin of Species), David Icke (The Robots), Richard Dolan (UFOs and the National Security State), en verschillende academische en kritische bronnen over conspiratietheorieën en de geschiedenis van de menselijke evolutie.

• Let op: De "Prison Planet" theorie wordt niet erkend door de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap en wordt beschouwd als een alternatief idee zonder substantieel bewijs. Het is belangrijk om informatie kritisch te beoordelen en te vertrouwen op wetenschappelijk verifieerbare feiten.

{ PETER2011 }

 { https://scientias.nl/nieuwsbrief/ }