8 Clues Alien Civilizations Existed on Mars

Story by Alexander Clark

©Provided by: Morning Overview

8 Clues Alien Civilizations Existed on Mars
For centuries, Mars has captivated human imagination as a potential host for alien life. With numerous missions probing its mysterious surface, intriguing evidence has emerged that suggests extraterrestrial civilizations might have once thrived on the Red Planet. Here, we explore eight fascinating clues that hint at the possibility of alien life on Mars.

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Ancient River Valleys and Water Channels
The Martian landscape is etched with features resembling ancient river valleys and water channels, suggesting the presence of liquid water in the distant past. These formations indicate that Mars may have once had conditions suitable for life.

The discovery of such water-carved landscapes raises the possibility that a civilization could have emerged during a time when the planet was more hospitable. While current conditions are harsh, these ancient waterways hint at a more life-friendly environment in the past.

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Unusual Rock Formations and Structures
Images captured by rovers reveal unusual rock formations and structures on Mars that defy simple geological explanations. Some speculate that these formations might be remnants of alien architecture. The symmetrical and geometric shapes observed in certain regions raise questions about their origins, prompting debates about whether natural processes or intelligent design shaped them.

Although conclusive evidence is lacking, these peculiar structures continue to intrigue scientists and enthusiasts alike.

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Mysterious Martian Meteorites
Martian meteorites found on Earth offer a glimpse into the Red Planet’s past. Some of these meteorites contain features that hint at biological activity, such as fossilized microstructures. These findings fuel speculation about the presence of life forms that might have existed on Mars.

While the meteorites’ exact origins remain debated, their intriguing compositions encourage further investigation into the potential for past life on Mars.

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Fossilized Microbial Life Evidence
The potential discovery of fossilized microbial life on Mars has sparked considerable excitement. Researchers have identified structures within Martian rocks that resemble terrestrial microbial fossils. These structures provide tantalizing evidence that microbial life could have once existed on Mars, surviving in the planet’s ancient watery environments.

If confirmed, this evidence would mark a monumental step in our understanding of life’s potential beyond Earth.

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Surface Anomalies Captured by Rovers
Rovers exploring Mars have captured images of surface anomalies that suggest possible signs of past alien activity. Unexplained patterns and formations challenge our understanding of Martian geology and open the door to speculation about their origins.

These anomalies, while not definitive proof of alien civilizations, invite further investigation to determine their true nature.

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Strange Atmospheric Phenomena
Mars’ atmosphere exhibits strange phenomena that can’t be easily explained by natural processes. Unusual cloud formations and mysterious lights observed in the Martian sky have led some to wonder if these occurrences are linked to alien activities.

While scientific explanations are often sought, the persistence of these phenomena fuels ongoing curiosity and research into their possible extraterrestrial origins.

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Ancient Martian Magnetic Fields
Evidence of ancient magnetic fields on Mars suggests that the planet once had a magnetic environment similar to Earth’s. This magnetic protection could have shielded the planet from harmful radiation, creating conditions conducive to life. The presence of these fields raises questions about whether they played a role in sustaining past civilizations on Mars.

As researchers continue to study these ancient magnetic fields, new insights into Mars’ history may emerge.

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Unexplained Subsurface Radar Signals
Recent radar data from Mars reveal unexplained subsurface signals that hint at hidden structures beneath the surface. These signals could potentially indicate underground water reservoirs or even remnants of ancient alien structures.

The enigmatic nature of these radar signals invites further exploration and analysis, as they may hold the key to unlocking secrets about Mars’ past and the possibility of alien civilizations.

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A veteran US fighter pilot has broken his silence about a near-collision with a UFO that defied the laws of physics and left the Air Force in stunned disbelief.

Major Ryan Bodenheimer, a retired F-15 and F-16 combat pilot, revealed in a YouTube video that one of the 'wildest experiences' of his career involved a close encounter with a rectangle-shaped UFO as he flew with his squadron over southern Wyoming.

Bodenheimer, who served in the Air Force for 13 years, said the large craft suddenly appeared out of nowhere during a training mission and looked to be on a collision course with his plane.

'Then I realized we weren't going to hit, and all of a sudden it came more into view, and it was a rectangular shape. This was like essentially a perfect rectangle,' Bodenheimer revealed in his video on June 8.

The military veteran described the UFO as being 30 to 50 feet in height and appearing to be glowing around the edges of its bright white body as it flew alongside the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's elite aerobatic demonstration squadron.

Bodenheimer added that this craft had no visible vapor trail coming from an engine, no radar signal, and was traveling at approximately 400 knots (460 miles per hour).

'It really was defying any type of aeronautical laws that I've learned,' Bodenheimer said.

Bodenheimer then revealed that his report to air traffic control left officials in 'dead silence' before the entire matter was apparently dismissed as an 'anomalous object.'

Major Ryan Bodenheimer (pictured) spent 13 years flying F-15s and F-16s for the US Air Force and said that he had 2 encounters with unexplainable UFOs over the US

Bodenheimer described one of the UFOs as a perfect triangle that was glowing around its edges and was transparent at its center (AI-generated recreation)

The strange rectangle UFO got so close to Bodenheimer's F-16 Falcon at 30,000 feet in the air that he said he could make out every detail of the craft before it eventually flew off and was never seen again.

When air traffic controllers in Denver asked Bodenheimer if he could give them any more details about the UFO, he revealed that it had a cream-colored interior that became transparent or had a hole in its center.

'I know it sounds like I'm talking about a delicious pastry, but this was the wildest experience I've ever had,' the fighter pilot joked.

The only evidence of Bodenheimer's sighting was a report made by air traffic control saying that an object had been spotted in the area where the Thunderbirds were training that day, but he never heard from anyone about the incident again.

The former combat officer explained on his channel, Max Afterburner, that this UFO could not have been a weather balloon, a high-tech drone, or some kind of light trick.

'There was nothing that made me think this was some sort of illusion. It was clear as day. It was right down our wing line, a 30 to 50 foot object,' the pilot continued.

Bodenheimer then speculated whether this could have been an extraterrestrial craft, noting that he's never been a fan of 'science fiction' but admitted that his encounter matched many of the incidents involving military pilots that 'defied physics.'

'Going against aerodynamics definitely blows my mind. Anti-gravity, something that cloaks radar, I didn't see anything on the radar,' he added.

The object wasn't even tilted to deflect the wind while traveling at that speed. It stayed completely vertical as if the wind did not affect the UFO's ability to fly at over 400 mph. 

Bodenheimer revealed what he had seen while flying with the Thunderbirds during his YouTube podcast on June 8

Bodenheimer said that he has never heard about the UFO sighting since he reported it to officials with air traffic control in Denver

This wasn't the only time the Air Force veteran had encountered a UFO. He added that 'lightning-fast triangle' while training with the Thunderbirds near Area 51 - the military's top secret base in Nevada.

'There's been lots of crazy stuff that's been reported out there,' Bodenheimer said.

On this day, the mysterious jet-like object flew past Bodenheimer's F-16 as his squadron was coming in for a landing.

'This lightning-fast triangle blitzed past me as we were setting ourselves up on a final [approach],' the pilot revealed.

'I just remember this thing going massively fast past me... It had basically done an interceptor maneuver, a dust-off. So maybe this was its way of having fun, saying maybe this should be Top Gun 3,' Bodenheimer detailed.

The pilot noted that he hopes coming forward will encourage more of his fellow pilots to reveal what they've seen during their time in the military, noting that there have been roughly 800 UFO reports in just the last four years.

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A group of US Air Force veterans has gone public with their story about how an 'invisible enemy' at the top-secret base Area 51 left them with cancer.

The former security guards at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), a classified site that houses Area 51, have claimed that the US government betrayed them and essentially handed them a death sentence without their knowledge.

Their claims stemmed from the revelation that NTTR was built in the 1970s on an area of land that was found to be contaminated with radiation from years of nuclear testing in the area.

However, that 1975 report from the US Energy Research and Development Administration also said it would 'be against the national interest' to stop the military's secret projects at the site.

David Crete, a former Air Force Sergeant who worked at NTTR from 1983 through 1987, said that over 490 of his fellow workers have died of severe illnesses since being stationed at the secret facility.

Making matters worse, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to cover their medical care because none of the surviving veterans can prove they were exposed to radiation near Area 51.

That's because their work was so top secret, all records of their activities have been marked as 'data masked.'

'I have brain atrophy. The left side of my brain is shrinking and dying. That's not too bad. I'm one of the healthy ones,' Crete told the House Veterans Affairs Committee in April while lobbying for legislation to support the Area 51 veterans.

Dave Crete and hundreds of other airmen were employed by the Air Force's security police squadron to guard experimental aircraft

Crete spoke to the House Veterans Affairs Committee in April, revealing that he and his fellow veterans at Area 51 developed tumors

Area 51, an area of more than 2.9 million acres, is located next to the Nevada Test Site, where US nuclear weapons were tested from the 1950s to the 1990s

Crete added that the average age of death for someone who served in that unit is 65 and the youngest airman to die was just 33.

The Air Force veteran was unaware of anyone who worked at NTTR who had lived beyond the age of 80, but the radiation exposure caused even more harm than that.

Along with revealing that most of his fellow airmen had developed multiple tumors since retiring, Crete told lawmakers that the radiation had been passed to their families as well. 

'My wife had three miscarriages. One of the guys that I worked with, his wife had seven,' the veteran explained.

'All four of my children were born with birth defects or significant health problems. It's not their fault. I'm not saying it's mine, but I brought it home. It was my DNA that was permanently altered from low-dose, long-term, ionizing radiation exposure,' Crete continued.

In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton signed a bill that provided compensation and medical benefits to workers who developed illnesses due to exposure to radiation and other toxins while employed at certain government facilities, including nuclear sites.

Crete and other veterans from Area 51 who were invited to Washington on April 8 asked that the same healthcare rules that apply to these workers, who were not part of classified projects, apply to them as well.

Veteran Mike Nemcic told NewsNation: 'It's just a matter of betrayal. These folks knew, and they purposefully kept it quiet because it was more beneficial to them not to tell us.'

Dave Crete (left) and Pomp Braswell (right) previously sued the federal government over their health issues

US Air Force F-117 stealth bombers (pictured) were at the cutting edge of aircraft design in the 1980s

The Air Force base, Area 51, 85 miles north of Las Vegas, was established in 1955 but was not officially acknowledged until 2013

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Air Force for comment regarding this matter is still awaiting a response.

Crete and the other Area 51 veterans were employed by the Air Force's security police squadron to guard the F-117A Nighthawk, America's first stealth bomber, which was being developed and tested at the top-secret facility.

Most of what the airmen did at NTTR since the 1970s is still classified, and they've never been able to share what they were doing, not even to their families.

Veteran Pomp Braswell said: 'It felt very special, especially at a young age. My mom knew absolutely zero about what I was doing. She knew there was a phone number if she needed to get hold of me, that's it.'

According to Crete, the only recognition of their sacrifice at Area 51 came during a conversation with late US Senator John McCain, who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and allegedly knew what was happening at NTTR.

'He came up to me and he said, 'Your unit ended the Cold War.' If you ever wanted validation that what you did was important, that's just about it,' Crete recounted.

Two bills have been introduced in Congress, the Protect Act and the Forgotten Veterans Act, to provide healthcare relief for the veterans affected by their classified work at NTTR.

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EXCLUSIVE - Secret trove of 'UFO evidence' hidden in Vatican archives revealed

By ROB WAUGH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Following the death of Pope Francis, UFO activists are intensifying calls for the Vatican to open its secret archives.

Many believe the archives contain long-hidden evidence of extraterrestrial visitations that have been framed as divine visions in centuries past. 

Some, like US Pentagon whistleblower David Grusch, go even further, alleging the Vatican has known about alien life for decades and actively covered it up. 

One scholar who knows the Vatican archives better than most is Diana Walsh Pasulka, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

In her new book, American Cosmic, Pasulka dives deep into the Church's historical records, uncovering visions and events that sound like they came straight out of an X-Files episode.

While researching Catholic teachings on purgatory, Pasulka explored documents dating from 1300 to 1800, stumbling upon accounts that defied all expectations. 

She found 'reports of orbs of light, flames that penetrated walls, luminous beings, forms of conscious light, spinning suns and disc-like aerial objects,' she writes.

'The historical record is filled with these kinds of events. The people at the Vatican, they don't even know where to look - it's in their basements.'

In the wake of Pope Francis 's April passing, calls from UFO activists have intensified, urging the Vatican to open its mysterious archives  

One scholar who knows the Vatican archives better than most is Diana Walsh Pasulka, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington 

Pope Paul V formally established the Vatican Secret Archives - now called the Vatican Apostolic Archives - in 1612.

The vast collection of documents is estimated to contain over 50 miles of shelving, featuring papal correspondence, historical records of trials and what some believe to be proof of alien life.

According to Pasulka, the Vatican's archivists are in a 'mad rush to digitize' centuries of forgotten documents, but they're not exactly prioritizing 'orbs that were bothering nuns in the 1800s.'

She uncovers a number of so-called 'miracle' stories preserved in Church history - stories that carry a strange resemblance to modern UFO encounters. 

One case involves Sister Maria of Ágreda, a 17th Century Spanish nun who reportedly levitated while bathed in a blinding white light.

Sister Maria also claimed to have been transported across the Atlantic 'on the wings of angels,' where she encountered Native American tribes, despite never physically leaving her cloistered convent in Spain.

Eventually, Pasulka began to see Sister Maria not just as having supernatural abilities, but as what she calls a 'meta experiencer' - someone whose spiritual visions may share a deeper, perhaps even cosmic, connection with today's unexplained phenomena.

'She was a mystic who wrote books about the Virgin Mary that were very popular in her era - and they're still widely read today,' Pasulka writes.

Sister Maria of Ágreda's earliest writings, which were later destroyed by fellow nuns at her convent, were cosmographies - vivid accounts of her astral journeys through space and across the Earth. 

Some have speculated that the Vatican's secret archive stores records of UFO and extraterrestrial encounters. The Archives are pictured above in 2012

David Grusch claims one of these alien spacecraft crashed in Northern Italy in 1933. He said Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini kept it secret, before it was captured by American forces at the end of World War II and shipped to the US (pictured is an artist's impression of the finding) 

An alleged handwritten memo dated Aug. 22, 1936, which includes a sketch and description of a cylindrical aircraft with portholes on the sides and white and red lights spotted flying over Northern Italy

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

•  Vatican's secret links to UFOs laid bare as Pope Francis' successor is urged to share 'the truth' 

In them, she recorded detailed topographies of distant lands, foreign cultures and even realms beyond our world.

Missionaries in colonial New Mexico were astonished when Indigenous people described being visited by a mysterious 'lady in blue' - matching Sister Maria's description and attire, despite her never physically leaving Spain.

'As a young nun, she claimed to bilocate to colonial New Mexico,' writes Pasulka. 

'She said she met Indigenous Americans, taught them about the Catholic faith and prepared them to be baptized by Franciscan missionaries.' 

The Catholic Church recognizes bilocation as a rare charism, or sacred ability - essentially the power to appear in two places at once.

UFO researchers have previously suggested that a 1917 'religious' encounter where a large crowd saw a vision of the Virgin Mary after it was predicted by three children could actually be something extraterrestrial

Pasulka notes that in previous centuries, experiences involving flight, mysterious lights or cosmic travel were interpreted not as alien phenomena, but as deeply spiritual or religious events. 

She argues that many such experiences, like those of Sister Maria, may have parallels with what modern society would frame as extraterrestrial encounters.

As a researcher, Pasulka spent years exploring various church archives - including at the Vatican - seeking these overlooked or misunderstood accounts.

The Vatican's connection to mysterious aerial phenomena stretches beyond ancient visions and mystical nuns into modern history, even intersecting with global politics.

Grusch made headlines in 2023 when he claimed Pope Pius XII secretly assisted the US in recovering a crashed UFO during World War II. 

According to Grusch, who has not provided physical evidence, the first recovery occurred in Magenta, Italy, in 1933 under Mussolini's regime.

'They recovered a partially intact vehicle, and the Italian government moved it to a secure airbase in Italy until around 1944 [or] 1945,' he told NewsNation. 

'The Pope back-channeled that and told the Americans what the Italians had, and we ended up scooping it.'

While this particular account remains unverified, it adds to the growing body of speculation that the Vatican has long been aware of this phenomena.

Another mysterious event often cited by UFO researchers occurred decades earlier.

American Cosmic tells the story of the relationship between religion and UFO experiences

In 1917, three shepherd children in the town of Fatima, Portugal, claimed to witness repeated apparitions of the Virgin Mary in what later became known as the 'Miracle of the Sun.'

The children - Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto - said an angel first appeared in the spring, urging them to fast and repent. 

Over the following months, they reported seeing a radiant woman, who delivered a series of messages. 

Then tens of thousands of witnesses, including journalists and skeptics, reported seeing the sun appear to spin, pulse with light and even plunge toward the Earth.

The event was captured in photos and widely covered by Portuguese media at the time.

To Pasulka and others, the parallels between Fatima and modern UFO encounters are striking: shining beings descending in spheres of light, spinning aerial displays and the transmission of messages or protocols. 

'While some researchers argue that the Miracle of the Sun may have been an alien encounter misinterpreted through a religious lens, Pasulka takes a more nuanced approach.

'Religion cannot be analyzed in the same way as science,' she writes. 'One cannot put an angel under a microscope. 

'It is this aspect - the mysterious sacred - that distinguishes religion from other organized practices like sports or fandoms. 

'In religions, one finds the inexplicable, sacred event or a mysterious artifact.'

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Archaeologists make surprising discovery at Easter Island - turning everything we know on its head

• READ MORE: Experts make surprising discovery inside burial of 'Jesus' midwife'

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE 

There's no doubt Easter Island is geographically one of the most isolated places on Earth. 

More than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, it was first settled by humans around AD 1200, who built its famous enlarged head statues. 

Historically, the original inhabitants, known as the Rapa Nui, were assumed to have long been completely shut off from the wider world.

However, a new study by researchers in Sweden challenges this long-held narrative. 

They say the 63.2 sq mile island in the southern Pacific was not quite as isolated over the past 800 years as previously thought. 

In fact, the island was populated with multiple waves of new inhabitants who bravely traversed the Pacific Ocean from west to east. 

'Easter Island was settled from central East Polynesia around AD 1200-1250,' study author Professor Paul Wallin at Uppsala University told MailOnline.

'The Polynesians were skilled sailors so double canoes were used.' 

Located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island was first settled by humans around AD 1200, who built its famous enlarged head statues, called moai

There's no doubt Easter Island (pictured) in the southern Pacific is geographically one of the most isolated places on Earth

Due to its remote location, Easter Island is traditionally assumed to have remained socially and culturally isolated from the wider Pacific world. 

This idea is reinforced by the fact that Easter Island's famous Moai statues, estimated to have been built between AD 1250 and 1500, are unique to the location. 

The huge human figures carved from volcanic rock were placed on rectangular stone platforms called 'ahu' – essentially tombs for the people that the statues represented. 

For their study, the team at Uppsala University compared archaeological data and radiocarbon dates from settlements, ritual spaces and monuments across Polynesia, the collection of more than 1,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. 

Their results, published in the journal Antiquity, show that similar ritual practices and monumental structures have been observed across Polynesia. 

The experts point out that ahu stone platforms were historically constructed at Polynesian islands further to the west. 

These rectangular clearings were communal ritual spaces that, in some places, remain sacred to this day. 

'The temple grounds ahu [also known as marae] exist on all East Polynesian islands,' Professor Wallin added. 

Map of the Pacific with the East Polynesian cultural sphere indicated. Note Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in a more isolated location further east

Pictured, ahu (a central stone platform) on Mo’orea, Windward, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean

Archaeologists have analysed ritual spaces and monumental structures across Polynesia, questioning the idea that Easter Island (pictured) developed in isolation following its initial settlement 

EASTER ISLAND TIMELINE  

13th century: Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is settled by Polynesian seafarers.

Construction on some parts of the island's monuments begins.  

Early 14th to mid-15th centuries: Rapid increase in construction 

1600: The date that was long-thought to mark the decline of Easter Island culture. 

Construction was ongoing. 

1770: Spanish seafarers landed on the island. The island is in good working order. 

1722: Dutch seafarers land on the island for the first time. 

Monuments were in use for rituals and showed no evidence of societal decay.

1774: British explorer James Cook arrives on Rapa Nui

His crew described an island in crisis, with overturned monuments.

The team agree that an early population of people spread from the west of the Pacific to the east before encountering Easter Island and populating it around AD 1200. 

But they argue that Easter Island was populated several times by new seafarers – not just once by one group who remains isolated for centuries as previously assumed. 

'The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here,' they say in their paper. 

'Still, the static west-to-east colonization and dispersal suggested for East Polynesia and the idea that Rapa Nui was only colonized once in the past and developed in isolation is challenged.' 

Based on their evidence, they also think ahu originated on Easter Island before the trend spread east to west across other western Polynesian islands during the period of AD 1300-1600.

It was only after this that Polynesian islands – including but not limited to Easter Island – might have become isolated from each other. 

As hierarchical social structures developed independently – at Easter Island, Tahiti and Hawai'i  for example – large, monumental structures were built to display power. 

Overall, the study indicates there were robust 'interaction networks' between Polynesian islands, which allowed the transfer of new ideas from east to west and back again.

The Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, between AD 1,250 and 1,500

Read More

• Collapse of the indigenous Rapa Nui population on Easter Island may have been triggered by changes in the Earth's climate BEFORE the arrival or European settlers in 1722, study shows 

Ultimately, arrival of European explorers at Easter Island in the 18th century led to a rapid decline of the population, brought on by murder, bloody conflict and the brutal slave trade – although the population there may have already been weakening. 

Today, Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with only a few thousand inhabitants. 

But it attracts large numbers of tourists, largely thanks to its monumental and world-famous stone statues that stare sternly out over the island. 

Tourism, which has grown exponentially on the island over the last 20 years, has come at a price, according to co-author Professor Helene Martinsson-Wallin. 

'When I was there in the 1980s, the sandy beach was white and there were almost no people around,' she said. 

'When I came back in the early 00s, I thought the sand looked blue, and when I looked closer I saw that it was due to tiny, tiny pieces of plastic washed up by the sea from every corner of the Earth.' 

WHAT ARE THE STATUES ON EASTER ISLAND AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

What are the statues? 

The Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, between 1,250 and 1,500 AD.

All the figures have overly-large heads and are thought to be living faces of deified ancestors.

The 887 statues gaze inland across the island with an average height of 13ft (four metres).

Nobody really knows how the colossal stone statues that guard Easter Island were moved into position.

Nor why during the decades following the island’s discovery by Dutch explorers in 1722, each statue was systematically toppled, or how the population of Rapa Nui islanders was decimated.

Shrouded in mystery, this tiny triangular landmass, stranded in the middle of the South Pacific and 1,289 miles from its nearest neighbour, has been the subject of endless books, articles and scientific theories.  

All but 53 of the Moai were carved from tuff , compressed volcanic ash, and around 100 wear red pukao of scoria.

What do they mean? 

In 1979 archaeologists said the statues were designed to hold coral eyes.

The figures are believed to be symbol of authority and power.

They may have embodied former chiefs and were repositories of spirits or 'mana'.

They are positioned so that ancient ancestors watch over the villages, while seven look out to sea to help travellers find land.

But it is a mystery as to how the vast carved stones were transported into position. 

In their remote location off the coast of Chile, the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island were believed to have been wiped out by bloody warfare, as they fought over the island's dwindling resources.

All they left behind were the iconic giant stone heads and an island littered with sharp triangles of volcanic glass, which some archaeologists have long believed were used as weapons.

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Mysterious blobs deep inside Earth may fuel deadly volcanic eruptions - with the capability of wiping out life as we know it

• READ MORE: Scientists say Africa is gradually tearing in half

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE 

Explosive volcanic eruptions don't just damage property and cancel flights.

They can kill hundreds or even thousands of people, burying them under lethal 'pyroclastic' flows. 

Now, scientists in Australia have identified a possible cause of gigantic volcanic eruptions – mysterious 'blobs' about 1,200 miles under our feet. 

Blobs are three-dimensional regions that span the length of continents and stretch 100 times higher than Mount Everest. 

They sit at the bottom of Earth’s rocky mantle above the molten outer core – a place so deep that Earth’s elements are squeezed beyond recognition. 

And they're a starting point for plumes of hot molten rock which flow upwards towards the Earth's surface. 

There they erupt as lava, gases and rock fragments – with the capability of wiping out life as we know it. 

The authors warn that giant, large-scale eruptions can have serious impacts, such as sudden climate change and mass extinction events. 

Giant, large-scale volcanic eruptions can have serious impacts, from mass extinction events to sudden climate change. Pictured, glowing lava from a volcano eruption in Iceland

Earth is made up of three layers - the crust, the mantle and the core, which was later separated into 'inner' and 'outer'. A recent study suggested the existence of an 'innermost core' too 

Volcanic eruptions can intensify global warming by adding greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. 

Giant volcanoes also triggered events that led to the largest mass dying on Earth, the Permian-Triassic extinction 252 million years ago. 

'These blobs have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years,' say the researchers from the University of Wollongong near Sydney. 

Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle and the core, which was recently separated into 'inner' and 'outer'.

According to the team, blobs are at the bottom of Earth’s mantle, about 1,200 miles and 1,800 miles (2,000km and 3,000km) below our feet.

The mantle, the planet's thickest layer, is predominantly a solid rock – but blobs may be different compared with the surrounding mantle rocks. 

Blobs are made of rock just like the rest of the mantle, but they're thought to be hotter and heavier. 

For their study, the team used computer modeling to simulate 'mantle convection' – the movement of material in Earth's mantle powered by heat – over one billion years. 

Connection between the deep mantle and Earth’s surface showing the relationship between Blobs, mantle plumes and giant volcanic eruptions (not drawn to scale)

Blobs, which are some 1,200 miles below Earth’s surface, move over time and are connected to Earth’s surface by 'mantle plumes' that create giant eruptions

Their findings suggest that mantle plumes – columns of hot molten rock in the mantle – rise up from the continent-sized blobs. 

Mantle plumes are shaped a bit like a lollipop sticking upwards – with the 'stick' the plume tail and the 'candy' nearer Earth's surface the plume head. 

The researchers found that locations of volcanic eruption fall either onto (or close to) the location of blobs, as predicted by their models. 

This suggests that blobs – an acronym standing for Big LOwer-mantle Basal Structures – are essentially the deep-Earth origin of volcanic eruptions. 

Typically, deep Earth motions are in the order of 0.4-inch (1 cm) per year, so they only become significant over tens of millions of years. 

Blobs probably shift in a year at roughly the rate at which human hair grows each month, the team say. 

Although they have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years, it's unclear what causes their movement. 

Mantle plumes rise very slowly from blobs through the mantle because they transport hot solid rock, not melt or lava. 

Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcano in the world, stands at 19,347 feet (5,897 metres). Historically, its activity started in 1534 when the Spanish conquistadors began to venture into the territories that are now Ecuador

At lower pressures in the uppermost 125 miles (200 km) of Earth’s mantle, the solid rock melts, leading to volcanic eruptions.

'We used statistics to show that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions are significantly related to the mantle plumes predicted by our models,' explain the authors in a piece for The Conversation. 

'This is encouraging, as it suggests that the simulations predict mantle plumes in places and at times generally consistent with the geologic record.' 

The new findings, published in Communications Earth and Environment, suggest that the deep Earth is even more dynamic than we realised. 

Future research aims to explore the chemical nature of blobs, which might be possible with simulations that track the evolution of their composition. 

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A massive fire has broken out near the infamous Area 51, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and UFO enthusiasts into a panic.

A livestream camera, set up on private land just outside the heavily guarded Groom Lake facility near Rachel, Nevada, captured eerie footage of smoke rising from deep within the classified base.

The blaze was sparked by the Gothic Fire, which has grown from 8,000 acres to 35,000 since starting on July 4. It has been confirmed as a lightning-sparked wildfire

But that has not stopped speculation from spiraling online, with conspiracy theorists claiming everything from a crashed experimental craft to a cover-up gone wrong. 

'I'm not saying anything other than it was aliens,' Skywatch Signal, a group that monitors strange sightings, shared on X.

Area 51 has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to decades of conspiracy theories connecting the base to UFOs, aliens and experimental aircraft testing. 

While the fire is around 15 miles outside of the military base, it is currently sweeping over where above-ground nuclear testing occurred, the Nevada Test Site, which sits 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

This site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site, was established for nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War, and there is still nuclear debris and contamination in the area.

A livestream camera, set up on private land just outside the heavily guarded Groom Lake facility near Rachel, Nevada, captured eerie footage of smoke rising from deep within the classified base

While the fire (red) is outside of the military base (bottom right), it is currently sweeping over where above-ground nuclear testing occurred, the Nevada Test Site, which sits 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas

The fire is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, which is listed as the landowner for Area 51 and surrounding regions.

The Gothic Fire is primarily spreading through northern Nevada, gaining fuel as high temperatures and low relative humidity hit the state.

The area is also littered with timber, specifically pinyon and juniper, and grass, allowing the fire to continue its path of destruction.

Despite the fire's growth, no evacuations have been ordered, and no structures are threatened. 

It's currently zero percent contained with no estimate on full containment.

Bryan Cross shared on X: 'Sitting in the Vegas airport at this moment..gray and smoky off toward Area 51.'

Area 51 is a highly classified US Air Force facility located within the Nevada Test and Training Range, approximately 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas. 

Officially known as Groom Lake, the base is situated near a dry salt flat of the same name, nestled between the Nellis Air Force Range and the rugged Groom Mountain range.

Area 51 is a highly classified US Air Force facility located within the Nevada Test and Training Range, approximately 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas

It lies just outside the tiny desert town of Rachel, Nevada, along the so-called 'Extraterrestrial Highway,' which is formally called Nevada State Route 375.

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The base, established in 1955, remained largely unknown until 1989 when Robert Lazar claimed on TV that he worked at a secret site near Groom Lake, 'S-4,' studying alien technology and spacecraft.

The US Air Force and the government have denied those claims. 

The footage has sparked wild conspiracies online, with one X user saying: 'Are they trying to destroy evidence now that a congressman has asked for access to Area 51?' 

Another user asked if people 'finally stormed Area 51,' recalling how 500,000 people committed to rushing the base in July 2019.

The owners of the livestream, EWU Crew, posted an alert about the fire, saying: 'A fire has broken out inside the boundaries of Area 51 and our cameras are capturing it in real time.

'This livestream is operated from private property overlooking the Area 51 perimeter near Rachel, NV.

'Watch day and night as activity unfolds. Strange lights, aircraft, convoys, and now: smoke rising from inside the base. We're located only minutes from the back gate of Groom Lake.'

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Every 200,000-300,000 years, Earth's magnetic poles do something extraordinary.

They completely flip, meaning the North pole becomes the South, and vice-versa.

The last full reversal took place approximately 780,000 years ago – leaving some experts to predict another flip is imminent.

Now, researchers have created a terrifying soundscape to represent the chaos of this event. 

Using paleomagnetic data – the record of Earth's ancient magnetic field preserved in rocks – from around the globe, scientists have constructed a model of the magnetic field before, during and after this historic reversal.

They also created a musical piece – a 'soundscape' – to represent the haunting sounds of the flip, called the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal.

The team, from the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, used three violins and three cellos to create a 'disharmonic cacophony' that mirrors the complex dynamics of a flip.

The clip starts off as melodic and makes for pleasant listening as it represents the poles while stable. However, it sounds more erratic and eerie as the magnetic fields begin to flux and change. 

Researchers have created a terrifying soundscape to represent the chaos of this event. The left part of the animation represents the magnetic field is a relatively stable state, however, the right represents it in a total state of flux, with the poles completely scrambled

Earth is surrounded by a system of magnetic fields called the magnetosphere. This shields our home planet from harmful solar and cosmic particle radiation, but it can change shape in response to incoming space weather from the Sun. Pictured: an artist's impression

Earth's magnetic field is generated by the roiling liquid metals deep beneath the crust.

It extends from the Earth's interior into space, acting like a protective shield by diverting harmful charged particles from the Sun away from our planet.

A flip doesn't happen overnight but takes place gradually, over centuries to thousands of years.

If a magnetic flip were to happen again, some experts claim it could render parts of Earth 'uninhabitable' by knocking out power grids.

Communication systems could be seriously disrupted, and compasses would point south – meaning Greenland would be in the southern hemisphere and Antarctica in the North.

While it sounds terrifying, and would leave life on our planet exposed to higher amounts of solar radiation, it's unlikely to cause catastrophic events or mass extinctions.

Last year, researchers also transformed readings of an epic upheaval of Earth's magnetic field that took place some 41,000 years ago.

The Laschamp event saw our planet's magnetic North and South poles weaken, with the magnetic field tilting on its axis.

During a pole reversal, Earth's magnetic North and South poles swap locations. While that may sound like a big deal, pole reversals are common in Earth's geologic history. Pictured: an artist's impression of Earth with its magnetosphere

The soundscape was captured using data from a constellation of European Space Agency satellites.

Researchers mapped the movement of Earth's magnetic field lines during the event and produced a stereo sound version using natural noises including wood creaking and rocks falling. 

The noises in the video represent a time when the Earth's magnetic field was at just five per cent of its current strength.

While the Earth's magnetic field did return to normal – over the course of around 2,000 years – its strength has decreased again by 10 per cent over the past 180 years, experts have found.

However, a mysterious area in the South Atlantic has emerged where the geomagnetic field strength is decreasing even more rapidly.

The area is called the South Atlantic Anomaly and has seen satellites malfunctioning over it several times due to exposure to highly charged particles from the sun.

This has led to speculation that Earth is heading towards a magnetic pole flip.

However, some experts have provide reassurance that the poles aren't going to flip anytime soon.

A comparison between the present day geomagnetic field (top) and a potential ancient analogue at 600 BCE (bottom)

Researchers previously pieced together data on Earth's geomagnetic field strength stretching back 9,000 years and say there's no evidence a reversal is on the cards. 

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'We have mapped changes in the Earth's magnetic field over the past 9,000 years, and anomalies like the one in the South Atlantic are probably recurring phenomena linked to corresponding variations in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field', said Andreas Nilsson, a geologist at Lund University.

The team analysed burnt archaeological artefacts, volcanic samples and sediment drill cores – all of which carry information about Earth's magnetic field.

Reassuringly, the team's model suggests that the South Atlantic Anomaly will recover of its own accord and is unlikely to trigger the reversal that some have anticipated.

'Based on similarities with the recreated anomalies, we predict that the South Atlantic Anomaly will probably disappear within the next 300 years, and that Earth is not heading towards a polarity reversal', Mr Nilsson said.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO EARTH IF ITS POLES FLIPPED?

The Earth’s magnetic field is in a permanent state of change. 

Magnetic north drifts around and every few hundred thousand years the polarity flips so a compass would point south instead of north. 

The strength of the magnetic field also constantly changes and currently it is showing signs of significant weakening. 

Life has existed on the Earth for billions of years, during which there have been many reversals. 

There is no obvious correlation between animal extinctions and those reversals. Likewise, reversal patterns do not have any correlation with human development and evolution.

It appears that some animals, such as whales and some birds use Earth's magnetic field for migration and direction finding.

Since geomagnetic reversal takes a number of thousands of years, they could well adapt to the changing magnetic environment or develop different methods of navigation.

Radiation at ground level would increase, however, with some estimates suggesting that overall exposure to cosmic radiation would double causing more deaths from cancer. ‘But only slightly,’ said Professor Richard Holme.

‘And much less than lying on the beach in Florida for a day. So if it happened, the protection method would probably be to wear a big floppy hat.’

The movement of the Earth's magnetic poles are shown in this animation at 10-year intervals from 1970 to 2020. The red and blue lines sjpw the difference between magnetic north and true north depending on where you are standing. On the green line, a compass would point to true north. Credit: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Electric grid collapse from severe solar storms is a major risk. As the magnetic field continues to weaken, scientists are highlighting the importance off-the grid energy systems using renewable energy sources to protect the Earth against a black out. 

'The very highly charged particles can have a deleterious effect on the satellites and astronauts,' added Dr Mona Kessel, a Magnetosphere discipline scientist at Nasa.

In one area, there is evidence that a flip is already occurring. ‘The increasing strength of the South Atlantic anomaly, an area of weak field over Brazil, is already a problem,’ said Professor Richard Holme. 

The Earth's climate could also change. A recent Danish study has found that the earth's weather has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field.

They claimed that fluctuations in the number of cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere directly alter the amount of cloud covering the planet.

Henrik Svensmark, a weather scientist at the Danish National Space Centre who led the team behind the research, believes that the planet is experiencing a natural period of low cloud cover due to fewer cosmic rays entering the atmosphere.

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Mysterious new world has just been discovered in our solar system

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By CHRIS MELORE, ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Astronomers have discovered a new world circling the outer edges of our solar system.

Researchers using the Subaru Telescope, located in Hawaii, spotted a small, distant object called 2023 KQ14 far beyond Pluto. They've given it the nickname Ammonite.

2023 KQ14 is a rare type of object called a 'sednoid,' a small, icy body in the outer solar system, similar to the icy rocks floating in the Kuiper Belt or dwarf planets like Pluto.

So far, there are only four known objects like it in our solar system. 2023 KQ14 is about 71 times farther from the sun than Earth is.

This object follows a unique, stretched-out orbit that has stayed stable for about 4.5 billion years.

Scientists found that 2023 KQ14's orbit was similar to the other sednoids in the solar system for billions of years, but that has mysteriously changed over time, suggesting the outer solar system is a more complex space than we thought.

This discovery also makes the possible existence of 'Planet Nine' less likely, as 2023 KQ14's orbit doesn't quite fit with where scientists believe that world would be.

Dr Yukun Huang from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said: 'It is possible that a planet once existed in the solar system but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.'

Researchers using the Subaru Telescope, located in Hawaii, spotted a small, distant object far beyond Pluto and have named it 2023 KQ14 

Planetary scientist Fumi Yoshida added that Ammonite was found in a region of space far beyond the influence of Neptune's gravity

'The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when 2023 KQ14 formed,' Yoshida explained in a statement.

Scientists are calling Ammonite a cosmic 'fossil' from the beginnings of the solar system.

The discovery was part of the Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy (FOSSIL) survey project.

The project's name itself reflected the goal of finding objects like Ammonite that act as 'icy fossils,' preserving information about the outer solar system's formation and evolution.

'I would be happy if the FOSSIL team could make many more discoveries like this one and help draw a complete picture of the history of the solar system,' Yoshida said.

Until now, astronomers had been focused on proving the existence of the fabled Planet Nine (or Planet X as NASA calls it), a mysterious ninth planet believed to be hiding far beyond Pluto at the edge of the solar system.

A recent study had whittled a list of 13 candidates down to just one potential object slowly moving around our sun approximately 46.5 billion to 65.1 billion miles away.

2023 KQ14 is a rare type of object called a 'sednoid,' a small, icy body in the outer solar system. So far, there are only four known objects like it in our solar system

Beyond Neptune is a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt, where Pluto and other ice fragments sit. All 4 sednoids sit in this region as well

To put that in perspective, that hypothetical planet would be almost 20 times farther away from the sun than Pluto is.

However, the Japanese team’s discovery of Ammonite (2023 KQ14) challenges the Planet Nine theory, as its unique orbit suggests that Planet Nine, if it exists, would need to be even farther from the sun than previously thought.

This has led the researchers who discovered Ammonite to hypothesize that a mystery planet (possibly Planet Nine) was somehow thrown out of its orbit around the sun long ago.

Scientists had been using the Planet Nine theory to explain some of the unsolved mysteries still surrounding our tiny corner of the Milky Way galaxy.

In a breakdown of Planet Nine, NASA said: 'It could also make our solar system seem a little more 'normal.'

'Surveys of planets around other stars in our galaxy have found the most common types to be 'super Earths' and their cousins — bigger than Earth, but smaller than Neptune,' NASA researchers continued.

'Yet none of this kind exist in our solar system. Planet Nine would help fill that gap.'

If astronomers had found a giant planet at the rim of the solar system, it could explain why objects in the Kuiper Belt are tilted by about 20 degrees with respect to the plane the planets sit on as they orbit the sun.

Planet Nine's gravity would be pulling on these objects over long periods of time, tilting their orbits so the entire ice belt would be out of line with the planets.

The existence of Planet Nine and its strong gravity would also explain why all these comets and tiny dwarf planets like Pluto all cluster together and move in the same direction without floating away.

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