Credit: NUFORC at https://nuforc.org
Hexagon UFO Over 29 Palms, California April 27, 2025, UAP Sighting News. Video!

Hexagon UFO Over 29 Palms, California April 27, 2025, UAP Sighting News. Video!
Credit: NUFORC at https://nuforc.org
Glowing Orbs Over Moscow, Missouri April 27, 2025, UFO UAP Sighting News.

Energy Entity, California parking lot, April 24, 2025, UFO UAP Sighting News.
Massive Blackout in Spain and Portugal: A harbinger to a black swan event?
According to REN, Portugal’s national electricity grid operator, the blackout was triggered by a fault originating in Spain’s power infrastructure. The disruption, they claim, was linked to "induced atmospheric variation", a term referring to extreme temperature differences that led to anomalous oscillations in high-voltage transmission lines. These oscillations reportedly caused synchronization failures between regional grid systems, ultimately sparking a chain reaction of failures across the European network.
The Central Black Hole of the Milky Way powers the Cycle of the Ages & the Mass Extinction Cycles

Beyond the smaller cycles of time that we are all familiar with, the sacred texts and legends of our ancestors resonate with the ideas of larger cycles of time which govern the rhythmic rise and fall of civilizations over thousands of years and the evolution and extinction of life forms over geological time scales. Two of these time cycles have been spelled out in explicit detail in the ancient texts, which I have explored in my earlier articles: the “Yuga Cycle” and the “Day and Night of Brahma”.
The Yuga Cycle, also known as the Great Year or the Cycle of the Ages, is the same as the precession cycle of the earth and is 25,800 years in duration. Throughout this long cycle, human consciousness declines from a Golden Age or Satya Yuga of enlightenment, abundance and harmony to an Iron Age or Kali Yuga of greed and manipulations, discord and divisions; and, having touched the nadir of consciousness, civilization, then, begins a slow and steady ascent back to the next Golden Age. These are not just empty tales but are based on scientific facts indelibly imprinted in the archeological records. We now know that, over the past 12,000 years of the descending Yuga Cycle, humans have shrunk in size by at least 10%, along with a decline in bone strength and athleticism. This has been accompanied by a 10% to 17% reduction in our cranial volume, which has reduced our memory, atrophied our sense of judgment and morality, and led to the loss of subtle mental abilities such as foresight, telepathy, astral projection, remote viewing, etc. It also turns out that, towards the end of the last Ice Age (when the Golden Age was in progress), there was no food scarcity or diseases, but as time went on, food sources became scarce, many kinds of diseases became endemic, and incidences of violent deaths increased substantially.
The Yuga Cycle or the Cycle of the Ages is part of an even longer cycle of time called the “Day and Night of Brahma”, which is a grand cosmic cycle of creation and dissolution spanning 25.8 million years or 1000 complete Yuga Cycles!
This cycle also has two halves. A “Day of Brahma” extends for 12.9 million years, when we experience a continuous sequence of 500 complete Yuga Cycles and the world bustles with life and civilization. At the end of a “Day of Brahma”, the entire creation is destroyed and turns into a formless ocean, and all life returns to the Source. This is followed by a “Night of Brahma” of equal duration of 12.9 million years when no life exists in a manifested form. After the “Night of Brahma” ends, the world is created once again, and the next cycle begins anew with another “Day of Brahma”.
A Day and Night of Brahma extends for 25.8 million years, and consists of a Day of Brahma and a Night of Brahma of equal duration of 12.9 million years.
Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra
All of this might sound quite fantastic, and test the limits of our beliefs, but the astonishing fact is that almost every facet of the “Day and Night of Brahma” is reflected in the fossil records of the earth. I had written a detailed article on this topic earlier, and, for now, I will simply present a summary of findings to refresh our memories:
As per the ancient Vedic texts, all life on the earth is extinguished at the end of a “Day of Brahma”, every 25.8 million years. The fossil records, on the other hand, show that a mass extinction of species occurs every 26 million years. The 26 Myr mass extinction cycle has now been validated by a number of separate studies.
The Vedic texts claim that the earth remains in a lifeless state during the “Night of Brahma”, which extends for 12.9 million years following a dissolution or extinction event. The fossil records, on the other hand, show that it takes 10 million years or more for new life forms to emerge and for global biodiversity to recover, after a mass extinction event, due to the continuing grim conditions on earth.
The Vedic texts claim that new life forms arise on the earth as soon as a new “Day of Brahma” dawns, and that it takes nearly 47,400 years for all living entities to be created. The fossil records reveal that new species appear in rapid, episodic bursts, in a fully formed state, and not through the slow and gradual transformation of its ancestors, as Darwin had proposed. The rapid speciation events are completed within 5,000 - 50,000 years.
The evidence is indisputable; the ancients knew how the large cycles of time operate, and change the conditions of life on our planet in profound ways, and it is only now that we are beginning to grasp and appreciate the true import of their wisdom teachings. What I was keen to figure out, however, was, what could be causing these vast time cycles that bring about dramatic shifts in our consciousness, genetics, and the entire ecosphere. Surely, a powerful cosmic source must be involved – something as energetic as our Sun, perhaps – for, what else can be capable of modulating our ecosphere and our psyche in such an intense manner?
In the book, The Holy Science (1894), Sri Yukteswar provided some important clues for decoding this mystery. He wrote that, according to Oriental astronomers, the sun had another motion around a grand center called Vishnunabhi that is responsible for the unfolding of the Yugas. Here are his exact words:
“The sun also has another motion by which it revolves round a grand center called Vishnunabhi, which is the seat of the creative power Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates dharma, the mental virtue of the internal world. When the sun…comes to the place nearest to this grand center, the seat of Brahma (an event which occurs when the Autumnal Equinox comes to the first point of Aries), dharma, the mental virtue becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend all, even the mysteries of Spirit…After 12,000 years, when the sun goes to the place in its orbit which is farthest from Brahma, the grand center (an event which occurs when the Autumnal Equinox comes to the first point of Libra), the mental virtue comes to such a reduced state that man cannot grasp anything beyond the gross material state.”[1]
When we read this intriguing passage, the first question that pops up in our mind is, what did Yukteswar mean by the grand center called Vishnunabhi, around which our sun revolves? Now, that is easy enough to answer based on what we know about our galaxy today. It has been determined that our sun revolves around the Galactic Center, completing one orbit in 225-250 million years. Therefore, Vishnunabhi (i.e. the navel of Vishnu) must be the Galactic Center. This interpretation is also in perfect alignment with ancient Hindu iconography and cosmological symbolism.
Vishnu sleeping on his serpent bed in the middle of the cosmic Milky Ocean, c. 17th century, basalt, Tamil Nadu. On display at Musee Guimet, Paris.
Credit: Ms. Sarah Welch, Public Domain Image via Wikimedia Commons
In Hindu iconography, Lord Vishnu is regarded as the preserver of the created order, and he is typically depicted in a form known as “Anantasayi Vishnu”, in which he is shown, reclining on his serpent bed in the middle of the cosmic Milky Ocean, and dreaming the world into existence from his navel. Out of his navel sprouts a lotus flower which symbolizes the world, and seated within the lotus is Brahma – the supreme creative principle – who brings forth the created order. This is why, Vishnu is called padma-nabha i.e. lotus-naveled”, and Brahma is called nabhija i.e. “navel-born”.
It is reasonable to assume that the cosmic “Milky Ocean” in the center of which Vishnu reclines, refers to the Milky Way galaxy. In that case, the luminous god Vishnu could be symbolized by the gigantic, central bar of our galaxy, which is nearly 27,000 light-years long and stretches across the center of the Milky Way.[2]
The central bar was discovered quite recently, in 2005, using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. It is composed of roughly 30 million stars. That makes it the biggest and brightest constellation of stars in our galaxy. Like the preserver-god Vishnu, the central bar plays an important role in preserving the created order. It is thought to spin like a propeller inside the Milky Way, helping to maintain our galaxy’s unique spiral shape.
At the center of the Milky Way is a spherical bulge of stars and a large central bar which could symbolize Vishnu.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, Public Domain Image.
If Vishnu is symbolized by the central bar of the Milky Way, then Vishnunabhi i.e. the “navel of Vishnu”, must be the Galactic Center, since the navel is the center point of the human anatomy. Thus, whichever way we look at it, the term Vishnunabhi refers to the Galactic Center. It is the “grand center” around which our sun revolves, and it is also the center point of the central bar of the Milky Way, which represents the preserver-god Vishnu.
But the Indian astronomers of the late 19th century (remember, Yukteswar published his book in 1894) were not supposed to know that the sun revolves around the Galactic Center, because it was only in the 1920s that modern astronomers – primarily Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble - began to suspect that we live in a spiral galaxy, and our sun was well off the center of the galaxy by some 30,000 light-years, and probably revolving around it. So, this is yet another example of the sophisticated astronomical knowledge of our ancestors, which had been passed down through oral tradition in specific lineages for thousands of years, but largely forgotten by the rest of the world.
Yukteswar also wrote that Vishnunabhi “is the seat of the creative power Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates dharma, the mental virtue of the internal world”? This statement is aligned with Vedic cosmological beliefs, as per which, Brahma is the unformed, creative principle who sits on the navel of Vishnu i.e. Vishnunabhi, and is called nabhija i.e. the “navel-born”.
Now, if Vishnunabhi is the Galactic Center, then who or what is Brahma, the creative power?
There is only one celestial object in the region of the Galactic Center which is deserving of the epithet Brahma, the creative principle. It is the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center called Sgr A* (Sagittarius A*).
For a long time, astronomers had been observing a powerful radio source at the center of the Milky Way, which they termed Sgr A*since it was located in the direction of the Sagittarius constellation. Then they began to speculate that the only cosmic object that might generate such powerful radiation in the radio frequency (RF) is a black hole. The concept of a black hole came out of Einstein's equations. It was visualized as a “dark star” having enormous gravitational pull that gobbles in and crushes anything which crosses a boundary known as the “event horizon”. A black hole is believed to be formed when an old, massive star uses up its nuclear fuel, implodes under the force of its gravity, and gets compressed within a tiny space called a singularity.
Even till the early 1990s, the existence of black holes was regarded as science fiction by most astronomers, but things changed with the discovery of Sgr A*. Astronomers began to speculate that Sgr A* could be a supermassive black hole, nearly 4.3 million times the mass of the sun, squeezed into a tiny space only ten times bigger than the sun. They proposed that, when the nuclear bulge was forming, a small fraction of the mass lacking orbital momentum collapsed in the middle to form the supermassive black hole.
But, if a black hole is a “dark star”, and nothing, not even light, can come out of it due to its tremendous gravitational pull, then, how is it that the black hole at the Galactic Center is emitting strong radiation in the RF spectrum? Astronomers believe that the radio waves are coming from the “accretion disk” surrounding the black hole, and not from the black hole itself. The accretion disk was visualized as superheated rings of hot gas, dust and stars that surround a black hole, and spiral toward the “event horizon”.
Subsequent observations revealed that the supermassive black holes at the centers of other galaxies are emitting intense radiation at all frequencies – from radio waves to gamma rays – and ejecting powerful plasma jets from their north and south poles. That is why astronomers started to refer to black holes as the “central engine” powering a galaxy.
A Schematic of a black hole.
Source: Adobe Stock.
If black holes are the “central engines” powering entire galaxies, then it would not be amiss to postulate that the supreme creative principle called Brahma, who sits in the Galactic Center i.e. Vishnunabhi, must be the supermassive black hole, Sgr A*.
In other words, as per Sri Yukteswar, it is the central black hole Sgr A*, which regulates our mental virtue and is responsible for the rhythmic rise and fall of consciousness in the course of the Yuga Cycle.
This can be intuitively understood since human consciousness is strongly influenced by electromagnetic radiation. We know that reduced levels of sunlight in the winter months can cause Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), whose symptoms include anxiety, mood swings, sleep problems and even suicidal thoughts. A similar situation could be transpiring on a galactic scale. Currently, we receive very little radiation from the central black hole, since the nuclear bulge of our galaxy is hidden from our view by vast clouds of interstellar gas and dust. It is probably due to this lack of radiation reaching us from the Galactic Center that we are languishing in the Kali Yuga – the time when consciousness touches rock bottom.
A representation of Hindu cosmology, in which Vishnu is the central bar of the Milky Way, Vishnunabhi is the Galactic Center, and Brahma is the central black hole.
Credit: Adapted from NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, Public Domain Image.
Yukteswar wrote that, as per the ancient astronomers, the sun moves towards and away from the Galactic Center in the course of its revolution around it, which causes electromagnetic radiation to fluctuate and thereby influence our consciousness. I was curious to find out if the sun actually exhibits such a to-and-fro motion. It turns out that, the solar system has two additional motions as it revolves around the Galactic Center.
The solar system moves up and down the galactic plane at 5-7 km/s, making one complete oscillation in nearly 60 million years. Since the periodicity of this movement is 60 million years, it cannot be tied to Yuga Cycle of 25,800 years.
The solar system moves towards and away from the Galactic Center at a speed of 20 km/s. The amplitude or periodicity of this sinusoidal movement is not known. It is this oscillation that Yukteswar seems to have mentioned in his book.
Once again, it is amazing to realize that the astronomers of ancient India knew that the solar system moves towards and away from the Galactic Center in the course of its orbit - yet another indication of the high wisdom of ancient times.
We need to ascertain, however, if the sideways movement of the solar system, towards and away from the Galactic Center, at speeds of around 20 km/sec, is large enough to cause a palpable variation in the radiation reaching us from the central black hole. I did a rough, back-of-the-envelope calculation. Let’s assume that the periodicity of the sideways movement is 25,800 years. Since the sideways velocity is 20 km/s, the total distance covered in a 25,800-year period will be 1.72 light years. The amplitude will be less than half of that, i.e. less than 0.86 light years. This is extremely small, particularly in comparison to the vast distance of 25,800 light-years between our sun and the Galactic Center.
How can such a small oscillatory movement change the radiation reaching us from the central black hole to a sufficiently large degree to trigger the enormous changes in our consciousness, physical stature, and environment in the course of the Yuga Cycle? It just didn’t seem convincing to me. To add to the conundrum, very little radiation is anyway reaching us from the black hole due to the interstellar dust clouds.
I was stumped. While it is very likely that the fluctuation in the EM radiation from the central black hole is driving the consciousness shifts during the Yuga Cycle, I couldn’t figure out what is causing the EM radiation to fluctuate. Neither of the motions of the solar system - sideways or up-and-down - could explain it.
So, I decided to change the direction of my thinking. I wondered, what if the source itself is fluctuating? What if the emission of EM radiation from the central black hole itself varies in a sinusoidal manner, over 25,800 years?
As soon as I changed the direction of my inquiry, the doors of possibility opened up, leading me to an eminently plausible explanation.
There are times when the nucleus of a galaxy becomes extremely luminous and emits so much radiation that it outshines the light from the rest of the galaxy. Such a luminous nucleus is called an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). A typical AGN has around four times the luminosity as the rest of the galaxy combined. AGNs are known to be powered by the supermassive black holes in their core, which can become very active from time to time and emit intense radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an “active galaxy”.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows Z 229-15, an active galaxy hosting an AGN.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Barth, R. Mushotzky, Public Domain Image.
Why is this important? Because the nucleus of a galaxy such as the Milky Way, which has a supermassive black hole in its center, can also experience phases of intense activity when it becomes extraordinarily luminous and turns into an AGN.
Right now the Milky Way’s central black hole is not very active and emits only radio waves and sporadic X-ray flares, but astronomers know that it exhibited AGN activity in the past. The Magellanic Stream near the Milky Way is believed to have been photoionized by an AGN event in the Galactic Centre some 1–3 Myr ago.
This means that the Milky Way has its own AGN cycle, and it is possible that the AGN Cycle could be powering the Yuga Cycle.
In a recent paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015), an international team of scientists - whose members included Kevin Schawinski, Michael Koss, Simon Berney and Lia F. Sartori - described the phases of an AGN cycle, along with their estimates for the duration of each phase, for a typical, large galaxy.3 It must be noted that the Milky Way is not a large galaxy, but a medium-sized one, and therefore these estimates are not applicable to the Milky Way.
The scientists identified 3 distinct phases in an AGN cycle: Switch-on phase, AGN phase and Switch-off phase.
Switch-on phase: When the central black hole starts accreting matter, the accretion disc begins emitting radiation at optical, UV and X-ray wavelengths. This is the Switch-on phase. For a large galaxy, this phase extends for ~ 10,000 years.
AGN phase: After the Switch-on phase, the nucleus becomes extremely luminous and emits intense radiation at all frequencies. Since any electromagnetic radiation is a stream of energetic photons, these photons photoionize the interstellar medium of the host galaxy. Photoionization is the process in which a photon ejects electrons from an atom or a molecule and converts it into an ion i.e. a charged particle. It is at that point that the host galaxy can be identified as an AGN. The AGN phase for a large galaxy extends for ~ 100,000 years.
Switch-off phase: After the AGN phase, the black hole stops accreting matter and emitting radiation. However, the interstellar medium of the galaxy continues to be photoionized for some time as the “light echo” from the AGN phase travels out across the galaxy. The Switch-off phase for a large galaxy is estimated to extend for ~ 10,000 – 100,000 years.
As per the scientists in the study, the statistical estimate for the total duration of an AGN cycle (including the three phases) for a typical large galaxy is ~ 200,000 years. As I have mentioned earlier, these estimates are not applicable to the Milky Way since it is a medium-sized galaxy. So what could be the duration of the AGN cycle of the Milky Way?
The point to be noted is that there is considerable variability in the duration of the AGN cycle. In some small galaxies, the AGN phase could last for a few decades or even days. I wondered, what if the total duration of the AGN cycle of the Milky Way is one order of magnitude less than that of a typical large galaxy i.e. ~ 20,000 years? That would make it comparable to the 25,800-year duration of the Yuga Cycle and precession cycle.
I decided to take the argument forward and tried to map the three phases of an AGN cycle to the Yuga Cycle. The outcome was more than satisfactory and quite plausible.
The different phases of the AGN cycle of the Milky Way can be mapped to the complete Yuga Cycle of 25,800 years.
Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra
Since the Milky Way’s nucleus is currently not very luminous, we may be living in the Switch-on phase of the central black hole, Sgr A*. This phase may have started sometime after the beginning of the ascending Kali Yuga in c.676 BCE. We know that Sgr A* has been emitting strong radiation in the radio frequency spectrum. In addition, observations since 2006 indicate that Sgr A* displays strong, unpredictable, flaring emissions in the X-ray band, atop a steady level.[4] Kevin Schawinski and his colleagues have also noted in their paper that, “X-ray light echoes in the Galactic Center show moderate-luminosity flares in the last few centuries.” It is quite possible, therefore, that Sgr A* is currently in the Switch-on phase. The X-ray emissions may be responsible for the genetic mutations that have been increasing our physical size and lifespan during the ascending Kali Yuga.
The AGN phase of Sgr A* could begin after the end of the Kali Yuga in 2025, sometime during the 1200 years of Ekpyrosis. The AGN phase may continue for the entire 11,700 years of the ascending Yuga Cycle, till the end of the Golden Age. During this time, the nucleus of the Milky Way could become extraordinarily luminous and photoionize the entire galaxy. The increase in the intensity of ionizing radiation from Sgr A*, such as extreme UV, X-ray, and Gamma rays, could trigger beneficial genetic mutations that can progressively increase our cranial volume, height and lifespan during the ascending cycle. Ionizing radiation is very effective in killing bacteria and disease-causing microorganisms. This could be why the higher Yugas were said to be free of diseases. The photoionization of the earth’s atmosphere will also provide a positive boost to our mood and attitude. Many studies have shown that exposure to negative ions can alleviate depression, reduce stress, increase mental alertness and improve cognitive abilities.[5]
The Switch-off phase of Sgr A* could begin after the end of the next Golden Age, sometime during the 1200-year period of Kataklysmos that will follow. The Switch-off phase may extend for ~ 10,200 years, spanning the 1200 years of Kataklysmos and another 9000 years till the end of the descending Kali Yuga. During the Switch-off phase of Sgr A*, the emission of electromagnetic radiation will stop. The photoionization of the galaxy will taper off gradually due to the “light echo” in the outer galaxy, and as it does so, the harmful genetic mutations that occur due to the background radiation on the earth (i.e. cosmic rays, solar UV and radioactive decay) will begin to predominate and reduce our lifespans, physical structures and cranial volumes. Germs and diseases will begin to multiply, and the positive “mood” that we experienced in the AGN phase due to the presence of negative ions will begin to slowly dissipate.
The AGN cycle of the central black hole, Sgr A*, therefore, provides a plausible explanation for the changes that occur in the course of the Yuga Cycle. Every AGN burst of 25,800 years duration could be driving a complete Yuga Cycle on the earth. Although we don’t know if the AGN cycle of the Milky Way is actually of 25,800 years duration, I felt optimistic that this was the correct explanation, since, not only does it explain all the changes that occur in the course of the Yuga Cycle it is remarkably well-aligned with Hindu cosmic symbolisms and the writings of Sri Yukteswar.
One might think that it is too much of a coincidence to expect that the AGN burst of Sgr A* will be exactly equal to 25,800 years, which is the duration of the Yuga Cycle and the precession cycle of the earth. But isn’t nature full of such interesting coincidences? In December 2020, the VERA Experiment used state-of-the-art telescopic measurements to determine that the distance of the Earth from the central black hole is exactly 25,800 light-years![6]
Isn’t that amazing? Think about this: if the duration of the AGN cycle of Sgr A* is 25,800 years, then it becomes exactly equal to the time taken by the radiation from the black hole to reach the earth i.e. 25,800 years. In that case, the Yuga Cycle will be “in phase” with the central black hole i.e. we will see the black hole exactly as it was one full Yuga Cycle ago. In other words, we can look at the current state of the black hole and determine which part of the Yuga Cycle we are in. These are not coincidences, but the signs of Intelligent Design. Intelligent Design is all around us; but since we are languishing at the fag end of a long age of darkness, we have lost the eyes to perceive the underlying reality of our existence.
So, here’s what seems to be going on in tandem to power the Cycle of the Ages. The spherical solar system (yes, the solar system is a sphere, since it is enclosed by a spherical shell of comets called the Oort cloud) is rotating clockwise on its axis once in 25,800 years to cause the precession of the equinoxes. The rotating solar system is also revolving around the Galactic Center once in 225-250 million years, and it is located at a distance of exactly 25,800 light-years from the Galactic Center. The central black hole, Sgr A*, completes one AGN cycle in 25,800 years, which brings about dramatic changes in our consciousness, physical stature, lifespan and the external environment throughout the Yuga cycle.
The AGN Cycle of the central black hole, Sgr A*, is of 25,800 years and it powers the Yuga Cycle.
Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra
My contention in Yuga Shift was that, sometime after the end of the Kali Yuga in 2025, the central black hole, Sgr A*, will switch from the “Start-up phase” of its AGN cycle to the active or “AGN phase”, and this will provide the necessary energetic impetus for our spiritual ascension. I did not know exactly when this switchover might happen but expected it to occur sometime during the 1200 years of transition called Ekpyrosis that will follow the Kali Yuga.
Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I came across this piece of news on CNN Science which stated that, over the past year, the central black hole of the Milky Way has been emitting blindingly bright flares of light daily, along with many shorter flashes. As I have already mentioned, till now the black hole had been emitting only radio waves and occasional X-ray flares, so this is indeed a very big change in its behavior. Here’s a small excerpt from the article.
“Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have spied dynamic flares of light near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The constant, rapid-fire display includes seconds-long short flashes and longer, blindingly bright flares of light on a daily basis...A study describing the findings was published Tuesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters...
In our data, we saw constantly changing, bubbling brightness,” said lead study author Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, a professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, in a statement. “And then boom! A big burst of brightness suddenly popped up. Then, it calmed down again. We couldn’t find a pattern in this activity. It appears to be random. The activity profile of this black hole was new and exciting every time that we looked at it.”[7]
An artists’ impression of the central black hole, surrounded by magnetic filaments glowing in the light emitted by the black hole.
Source: Adobe Stock
This is a clear indication that the central black hole is currently in the process of switching to the active or “AGN phase” of its AGN Cycle. It’s still in the initial stages of the AGN phase, though, since it is emitting only visible light as of now, but over time, we can expect it to become considerably more active and emit intense radiation at all frequencies from radio waves to gamma rays.
I was expecting that the activation of the black hole would happen sometime after 2025, but as it turns out, the shift had already happened in 2024. And now that I think back, it explains a lot of what was going on in 2024. Many people around the world were waking up to the lies and deceptions everywhere and started asking questions about what was really going on in the world. There was a definite uptick in psychic and intuitive abilities, and a lot of people felt that a big shift was on the way. The interest in our true origins and the extraordinary skills and wisdom of our ancestors was picking up and the call for moving away from the drama and negativity of the outer world and aligning with the inner spirit kept getting louder.
What the activation of the central black hole implies is that the spiritual ascension of humanity will now continue relentlessly in an upward trajectory over the next 12000 years, taking us to the pinnacle of human consciousness, and manifesting a virtual utopia on earth. Nothing can derail this process, no power on earth can stop it. All that is needed for us to do is to open our hearts to welcome the new energies, let go of any fears or doubts that hold us back, and be willing to manifest our soul potential.
The news about the activation of the central black hole made me quite certain that it is the AGN Cycle of Sgr A* that is powering the Yuga Cycle. But there is something else, which adds to my conviction. The black hole has a longer cycle, which explains the 26-million-year cycle known as the “Day and Night of Brahma”. I was aware of this when I was writing Yuga Shift, but I did not include it in the book, since it would have required me to explain the concept of the “Day and Night of Brahma”, and I did not want to introduce any additional complexities in that book. But now is the perfect time to bring it up.
Astronomers Kevin Schawinski and his colleagues, whose paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015) I had referenced earlier, had observed that AGNs flicker on and off over tens or even hundreds of millions of years. I contended that these consecutive AGN bursts can power a long, uninterrupted, sequence of Yuga Cycles.
However, the AGN cycles of the central black hole do not go on indefinitely. A black hole typically goes through many short AGN bursts, anywhere from 100 to 10,000, to build up its mass. After that, the black hole enters into a quiescent state, when it emits practically no radiation. This is what the astronomers wrote in their paper:
“It is likely that a large number of 100 to perhaps 10,000 (AGN bursts) make up a longer growth phase of 10^7 – 10^9 yr. To put it another way, what we previously considered to be a 10^8 yr. AGN phase, perhaps triggered by a major merger, should be divided into ~ 1000 short bursts”[8]
In other words, for a typical large galaxy, the central black hole goes through ~ 1000 AGN cycles, which comprises the “growth phase” of the black hole. After the growth phase is over, the black hole becomes completely quiet, and the AGN cycles resume after a long period of no activity.
This behavior perfectly correlates to what we know about the cycle known as the “Day and Night of Brahma”. A “Day of Brahma” consists of a continuous sequence of 500 complete Yuga Cycles of 25,800 years each. If each Yuga Cycle is powered by an AGN burst of the central black hole Sgr A*, then it means that the central black hole needs to go through 500 consecutive AGN bursts to complete its growth phase, before becoming quiet. As per astronomers Kevin Schawinski and his colleagues, a typical large galaxy goes through ~1000 AGN bursts to complete its growth phase. Since the Milky Way is a medium-sized galaxy, it is eminently possible that the growth phase of its central black hole, Sgr A*, consists of 500 AGN bursts, which powers a Day of Brahma!
Moreover, after the completion of a growth phase consisting of ~1000 AGN bursts, the central black hole of a typical large galaxy becomes completely quiet and emits no radiation at all. This perfectly explains the period known as “Night of Brahma” when the cycle of the Yugas comes to a halt, and there is a mass extinction of species.
Thus, the cosmic mechanism for the two grand cycles of time – the Yuga Cycle and the “Day and Night of Brahma” - are intimately tied together. One explains the other. If the Yuga Cycle is powered by an AGN burst of the central black hole of the Milky Way, then the Day of Brahma is the growth phase of the central black hole comprising 500 AGN bursts, while the Night of Brahma is the quiescent phase that follows the growth phase.
Also remember that the Vedic sages referred to the central black hole as Brahma, the “creative power”, which implies that the “Day and Night of Brahma” must be a cycle associated with the black hole. And indeed, it is!
The Growth Phase of the central black hole, Sgr A*, consists of 500 AGN cycles which powers 500 Yuga Cycles comprising the Day of Brahma. The quiescent phase of Sgr A* is the Night of Brahma.
These remarkable correlations made me quite confident that it is the AGN cycle and the growth phase of the central black hole, Sgr A*, of the Milky Way, that is powering the large cycles of time that the ancients spoke of. In fact, I am so certain of this now, that I am going to specify a set of three hypotheses related to the behavior of the central black hole, Sgr A*.
1. An AGN burst of the central black hole, Sgr A*, of the Milky Way is of 25,800 years duration, and it powers a complete Yuga Cycle of the same duration.
2. The growth phase of the central black hole, Sgr A*, of the Milky Way consists of 500 AGN bursts, and it powers a “Day of Brahma” of 12.9 million years duration, which is followed by a mass extinction of species on earth.
3. The quiescent phase of the central black hole, Sgr A*, of the Milky Way is of 12.9 million years duration, known to the Vedic sages as the “Night of Brahma”, when all of creation comes to a standstill.
Of course, all of this raises more questions. How did the ancients know about these long cycles of time? How could they have known about the existence of the central black hole of the Milky Way, and its smaller and larger cycles? Did they figure out all of this by themselves? The truth is that our ancestors always said that their wisdom, skills and knowledge were “given” to them by their gods and sages. This, in turn, leads to questions about who these entities were, and why we do not see them today. The answers to such questions are likely tied up with the UFO phenomenon, and as more clarity emerges regarding these anomalous events we will, hopefully, get to the bottom of this mystery.
A few people have asked me, how do we really know that there is a black hole at the Galactic Center? A black hole is a hypothetical entity, a mathematical construct that came out of Einstein’s equations, and Einstein himself did not have much faith in these kinds of weird “singularities” where the known laws of physics cease to operate.
Is it possible that the energetic cosmic entity at the center of the Milky Way is not a black hole but something entirely different? This is a question that I will attempt to address in a subsequent article, taking the aid of insights from various ancient and spiritual traditions.
References
RELATED VIDEOS
Cyclones on Jupiter and a moon with flowing magma: NASA Juno probe's latest discoveries are awesome
A flurry of new discoveries from NASA's Juno mission Jupiter have taken us beneath the surface of the gas giant's volcanic moon, Io, and into the world of cyclones playing bumper cars at the north Jovian pole.
Juno arrived at the Jupiter system in 2016, but a failed thruster meant that it is now stuck in a wide, polar orbit that brings it close to Jupiter and its moons every 53 days. Still, during those flybys, Juno has amassed a bevy of high-quality data about Jupiter's atmosphere, including at the planet's poles, which had not previously been studied in detail.
At Jupiter's north pole is a cap of stratospheric haze, which Juno has measured to be cooler than its surroundings by 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius). Around the polar cap are jet streams blowing faster than 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour). Below the haze, the north polar region is inhabited by one giant, central cyclone about 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) across, surrounded by its "groupies" — eight smaller cyclones between 1,490 and 1,790 miles (2,400 and 2,800 kilometers) in size, far surpassing any similar phenomena we have on Earth.

Juno has been tracking the motion of this system of cyclones in visible and infrared light (in the guise of heat coming from deeper within the atmosphere) since 2016, using its JunoCam and Jovian Infrared Aurora Mapper (JIRAM), respectively. These two instruments have shown that each of the eight cyclones drift towards the pole via a process called "beta drift." The same process occurs to cyclones on Earth, and is the result of the Coriolis force interacting with the whirling wind pattern belonging to each cyclone. However, on Earth, cyclones never get anywhere near the poles. That's because the closer they get to cold, dry poles, the more they run out of the warm, moist air that gives them energy. On Jupiter, the atmospheric dynamics are different, and this is not a problem. But once at the pole, Jupiter's cyclones start bumping into each other.
You may like"These competing forces result in the cyclones 'bouncing' off one another in a manner reminiscent of springs in a mechanical system," said Yohai Kaspi, a Juno co-investigator from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, in a statement. "This interaction not only stabilizes the entire configuration, but also causes the cyclones to oscillate around their central positions, as they slowly drift westward, clockwise, around the pole."

Meanwhile, away from Jupiter's atmosphere, Juno has recently been making recurring fly-bys of the innermost Jovian moon, Io — the most volcanic body in the solar system.
During Juno's flyby of Io on Dec. 27, 2024, the spacecraft spotted what has turned out to be the most energetic volcanic eruption ever recorded on Io. When Juno returned on March 2, the volcano was still spewing lava, and it is expected to still be active during Juno's next flyby, which takes place on May 6 at a distance of 55,300 miles (89,000 kilometers) from the surface of Io.
But it's what lies below the surface of Io that has got Juno's science team excited. By combining the spacecraft's Microwave Radiometer (MWR) with JIRAM, scientists were able to measure the underground temperature on Io, revealing the presence of subterranean magma flows.

"The Juno science team loves to combine very different datasets from very different instruments and see what we can learn," said Shannon Brown of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "When we incorporated the MWR data with JIRAM's infrared imagery, we were surprised by what we saw: evidence of still-warm magma that hasn’t yet solidified below Io's cooling crust. At every latitude and longitude, there were cooling lava flows."
Juno has previously ruled out the existence of a large magma ocean beneath Io's surface that could feed the volcanoes, but these cooling, rising flows could explain how Io's volcanoes erupt. The science team calculates that about 10% of the moon's subsurface has these cooling flows, which tells us more about how heat is transported from Io's hot interior to its surface, allowing the world to frequently resurface itself through lava flows spilling out above ground.
"Io's volcanoes, lava fields and subterranean lava flows act like a car radiator, efficiently moving heat from the interior to the surface, cooling itself down in the vacuum of space," said Brown.
The latest Juno results were presented on April 29 at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna.
The Reptilian Encounters: Shapeshifting Entities, Lizardmen, and Supernatural Beings!

Indeed, while these questions could (and almost certainly will do so in the near future) form the basis for an article in their own right, what we will concentrate on here is just some of the many reported encounters with reptilian entities from across the decades and around the world.
Before we explore just some of the many encounters on record with apparent reptilian entities, it is worth our time to examine the 1982 thought experiments of paleontologist Dale Russell from the National Museum of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. Russell theorized what might happen if one or more of the dinosaurs had managed to survive the extinction event and then developed in a similar way that mammals had, eventually evolving into an upright-walking humanoid being – essentially, a reptilian humanoid.
Russell and his team looked at dinosaurs that would have had the best chance of surviving the event and then evolving in such a way. They named their speculative evolved being a Troodon, and speculated just how it would have developed. They suggested, for example, that it would have semi-manipulative fingers that would have evolved over time into hands – with fully-working thumbs – similar to human beings that would allow them to grasp and manipulate. The creature would have a larger than usual head to contain its increased-sized brain, and would, ultimately, be highly intelligent. It wouldn’t, however, have mammary glands, and, as such, would likely have nourished its offspring through the regurgitation of food, similar to how birds feed their young. Perhaps the most interesting detail of all, though, was Russell’s theories as to just how these creatures would sound, suggesting that they would have voices or speech with a bird-like quality to it, similar to a bird’s song. It is interesting to note that many people who have claimed to have encountered these strange entities state that their speech – even though they couldn’t understand the language – sounded bird-like.
Arguably one of the earliest accounts that hints at what we would recognize as a reptilian being dates back to 1770 in Staffordshire, England, and can be found in the book The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries by Hargrave Jennings. According to the account, while digging in a field, a laborer uncovered a bizarre, stone staircase heading deep into the ground. Immediately curious, the man began down the steps, venturing several hundred feet below the ground until he found himself inside a “large underground chamber!” He looked around him, noting that the room was full of “strange objects and large machines!” Even stranger, the room was lit up by a “strange, ever-luminous sphere!” (we might imagine this ever-luminous sphere is some kind of electric light!).

It was at this point that the man suddenly became aware of a figure wearing a hooded robe and sitting in a throne-like chair at the other side of the chamber, watching him. As trivial as this detail might sound, there are many accounts from the modern era of people finding themselves in underground locations with reptilian entities wearing hooded robes. Was this the case here?
Suddenly, without warning, this robed figure stood from the chair and swung a bat-like object that was in one of his hands at the glowing sphere, smashing it to pieces and casting the entire chamber into thick, black darkness. The laborer immediately turned and ran the way he had come, clambering up the stone steps as quickly as he could. After what felt like an eternity, he emerged from the secret tunnel and out into the field. Incidentally, it didn’t take long for word to get around the village of the man’s discovery, and rumors began to swirl that what had been found was a hideout of high-ranking Rosicrucians who “hoarded their scientific secrets” and other advanced technology in such underground lairs. Of course, whether this was the case or whether the figure the laborer happened upon was a reptilian entity remains open to debate.
There are also many accounts of reptilian entities from the modern era. At just after midnight on March 3rd, 1972, in Loveland, Ohio, for example, police officer Ray Shockey was on patrol when he noticed what he thought was a stray dog at the side of the road. He pulled his car to the roadside and went to get out. However, before he could do so, the creature in front of his vehicle jumped to its feet and leaped over a barrier at the side of the road. When the ground where the creature had been seen was investigated a short time later, there were clear signs of “scrape marks” on the embankment. Officer Mark Matthews reported seeing what is presumed to be the same creature – referred to as the Loveman Frogman – two weeks later on the evening of March 17th in almost identical circumstances.
According to an account in the book Unknown Creatures by Robert Benjamin, a decade and a half later, in 1988 in Bishopville, South Carolina, Christopher Davis was driving along a road alongside the Scape Ore Swamp when he realized he had a flat tire and so pulled his vehicle to the side of the road to change it. As he was doing so, he noticed a monstrous reptile-like creature suddenly emerge out of the nearby woodland. He later described this creature as being around seven feet in height with green, scaly skin and hands that were like sharp claws. Davis immediately forgot about changing the tire, got back in the car, and sped away as quickly as he could.
One of the most (relatively speaking) recent encounters surfaced in January 2015 in the San Doong Cave in Vietnam. The cave system in question was first discovered in 1995 and has taken decades to explore, with some regions still largely unexplored by the time it was opened to the public in 2013. These unexplored regions remain off-limits to all but those with specific permission, but a little under two years after the opening, these unexplored regions were thrust into the spotlight. A video appeared on YouTube that appeared to show a reptilian-looking creature lurking in the darkness of the cave. The person who took the video footage claimed that the bizarre-looking entity appeared like a “devil creature” and had a human stance but the face of a “dragon or lizard!”
Even more interesting, around a month after the video appeared, another report appeared online, this time from a former United States soldier who had served in the same region of the country during the Vietnam War. He claimed that at some time in 1970, near the same cave system as shown in the recently released video showing the reptilian entity, he and several members of his unit witnessed an almost identical creature. He described the figure as an “upright lizard humanoid” that stood at least seven feet high. They all opened fire on the menacing creature, but it seemed to disappear into thin air. They made an immediate report to their superiors, but it was, essentially, swept under the carpet, and none of them heard anything more of the incident.

A particularly intriguing encounter unfolded sometime in late 1999 in Connecticut in the United States. According to an article in the November 7th, 1999 edition of The Hartford Courant-Connecticut News by Christine Dempsey, on the night in question, five young men - 19-year-old Jeremy Sander, 18-year-old Shaun Cyr, 18-year-old Paul Poniatowski, 18-year-old Joseph Robinson, and 23-year-old Todd Silber – were practicing martial arts at Devil’s Hopyard State Park after having just finished a martial arts class in nearby Tolland. The location presented them with clear “open spaces” that allowed them to practice complicated moves away from other people. The evening progressed without incident, to begin with. Then, Poniatowski claimed to have suddenly heard someone “whispering” his name. Of more concern, this strange voice also stated that they should “leave now or join us forever!”
Several moments later, another of the group heard the whispered warnings, and a short time after that, the group decided to leave. As they did so, much to their concern, they heard an ominous, disturbing laughter. The strangest recollection of all, though, was that of Robinson, who claimed that he witnessed a “beast-like demon” sitting on a fence close to where they had been practicing only moments earlier. Poniatowski seemingly backed this up somewhat, claiming that saw a “shadow with a jagged edge!” Then, things turned even stranger. Silber suddenly rose into the air as if he was picked up by a pair of powerful arms before he was thrown through the air as if he were nothing but a rag doll. Only a tree broke his momentum, causing him to crash to the ground. A moment later, he got to his feet, four claw marks clearly visible through his (now) slashed jeans.
The group ran as fast as they could to their car. Once they were on the road, Cyr urged Sander, who was driving, to head to the nearby town of Manchester so that they could visit Reverend David Bowser in light of what they had just seen. He did so, and they arrived at Bowser’s home a little after 2 am. Cyr and Silber immediately got out of the vehicle and raced to the front door of the property. Unfortunately, the evening was about to take an even stranger turn.
Unaware of who was knocking at his door, and why, at such a late hour, Bowser called the police. Officer Scott Ventura arrived a short time later and, understandably, questioned the group as to what they were doing at the reverend’s house so late at night. Unfortunately for them, when the police searched their vehicle, they discovered several of the items they used for their training – items such as a samurai sword, baseball bats, and several knives, all of which could also be viewed as weapons. Ultimately, in part due to the obvious discomfort of Bowser, not to mention the late hour, as well as their unlikely story and Cyr’s increasingly agitated state, Ventura arrested all five of the men. During the exchange, Cyr had even lost consciousness, which his friends attributed to diabetic shock. However, he would later state that Ventura, albeit briefly, appeared identical to the shadowy figure he had seen earlier. They were eventually charged with carrying weapons and disturbing the peace. Just what they had witnessed in the park that night remains a complete mystery.
More recently, in an ancient cave system in northern Austria in 2011, a witness referred to only as “Gregor” was investigating a salt mine when he suddenly found himself in the middle of a surreal situation. He was at a depth of around 150 feet below the ground and was removing chippings from one of the walls for later study when he heard the sound of strange voices close by. He stopped the chipping for a moment and listened in an attempt to locate where the voices were coming from. After several moments, the voices seemed to stop, and Gregor decided to move on to a small chamber in the mine a short distance from where he was standing.
As soon as he stepped inside the chamber, a pungent smell of “something rotting” confronted him. A moment later, the voices began once more. This time, though, they appeared much closer. He instinctively turned to leave the chamber. Before he did, though, he took one last glance toward the other entrance, noticing a light coming from it, as if someone was approaching the room. He quickly made sure he was out of sight but was able to peer around the corner undetected. He was more than shocked to see several “lizard-like creatures” standing upright, exactly as a human would. Even stranger, each of these figures wore the same uniform, from which a large lizard-like tail protruded and trailed behind them. He further recalled that although the language these creatures spoke was “human-like,” it was a language unknown to him. Ultimately, he backed out of the chamber as quickly and quietly as he could, and then left the salt mine.
Another fascinating encounter with underground reptilian entities comes to us from the personal research files of author Cherry Hinkle, whose son, Marc Brooks, 13 years old at the time, found himself in a bizarre and surreal situation in the cave systems around Black Mountain just outside of Henderson in Nevada in 1977. On the day in question, Marc and a friend – “Harry” – were hiking near the cave systems around Black Mountain – and we should remember that this was when the land in the region had no highways or businesses, and was nothing but desert land. As they ventured into one of these caves, though, they suddenly found themselves in a strange, circular chamber. As they examined this chamber, they stumbled upon another opening, one that led somewhere that was so dark the lights from their flashlights could barely penetrate the blackness. Moreover, upon closer examination, although there was a branch ladder on the side of this entrance, it was essentially a shaft that led to an almost vertical drop. Despite all of this, curiosity got the better of the two boys, and they decided to explore further.
They descended the shaft and began down a deep tunnel. It wasn’t long before they could hear the sound of voices, as well as what sounded like the “distant humming of machines!” Each believing they had stumbled onto some kind of secret mining operation, they continued on, eventually coming to a large, rusty, metal door. Of more immediate concern to the boys was a strange, metallic rod that they found next to the door. It was around a foot in length and had a cap on one end with a strange symbol carved into it. Marc picked up the rod. He expected it to be heavy, but much to his surprise, he found it was very lightweight. He turned the rod over in his hands, intrigued with it, and then placed it through his belt buckle.
At this point, Marc and Harry turned their attention back to the large door. Marc reached for the doorknob, twisting and rattling it several times in an attempt to open it, but it remained steadfastly in place. Moments later, the two boys heard the sound of approaching footsteps as well as bizarre animalistic voices coming from the other side of the door, causing a surge of fear to rise up in each of them. They turned and ran as fast as they could, the sound of the metal door opening coming from behind them. They clambered up the shaft and back into the circular chamber. At this point, both of the boys ran toward the entrance as fast as they could, eventually breaking out of the darkness and into the light of the afternoon. They weren’t sure how far they ran before they stopped to rest and look back. When they did, though, they realized that Marc still had the strange rod they had found near the metal door. It was as they were examining it in awe that a sudden growl-like roar reached their ears.
They quickly spun round to face the way they had just run from. There in the cave entrance was a “large greenish humanoid” – and what’s more, it was heading in their direction. The two boys turned and ran as fast as they could once more. Eventually, Marc’s backyard came into view, and they slowed slightly. However, when they turned around, the humanoid creature was still in pursuit – and was getting closer. The two boys sped up once more and didn’t slow down until they burst through the door of Marc’s house. As soon as they were inside, Marc turned and locked the door, calling out as he did so, “He’s going to get us – don’t open the door!”

At this point, Marc’s mother, Cherry, ran into the room, gasping when she saw the state of terror both boys were clearly in. As she was taking in the scene before her, Harry suddenly blurted out that the creature outside was “big and looked mean,” also imploring Marc’s mother not to open the door. Still thinking the boys had been spooked by something – or someone – perfectly rational, Cherry told the two boys to get a drink of water while she went to “speak with the man” outside. Each of them insisted that “he’s not a man” and that he would kill them all if she opened the door. Cherry was about to protest once more before Marc stated that the figure outside “looks like a man but his face looks like a snake – like a lizardman!” He also stated that this creature was “naked except for a wide belt with stuff on it!” This last detail of a strange belt is worth highlighting. Not only does it come up a lot in apparent encounters with reptilians, but there are legends of a similar belt (often referred to as a wolfstrap) that can be found in accounts of alleged werewolves. Might we consider if these two creatures – if indeed they do exist in reality – are the same if different manifestations of the same supernatural source? It is certainly something worth keeping on the mental backburner.
Although Cherry now halted her advance to the door, she continued to insist that the creature the two boys had seen was likely someone – perhaps an older boy – wearing a costume as part of a joke or prank. It was only when the two boys admitted they had been in the cave systems of Black Mountain – a location, incidentally, that Cherry had forbidden the boys from visiting – that Cherry ceased her protests, and instead went to the window and peered out. As she did so, Marc continued that the creature had emerged from one of the caves and was so large that it could barely squeeze out of the entrance. Cherry could see no one outside and turned around to speak to the boys once more. When she did, she immediately caught sight of the strange rod the boys had found earlier. She asked the boys what it was, which seemingly reminded Marc that it was attached to his belt. He immediately reached for it and threw it down in fear.
Cherry moved forward to pick up the rod, causing Harry to warn her that it might be dangerous. She reasoned with the boys that they had carried it from the cave to the house and come to no harm, so it was unlikely to be dangerous, before reaching for it and picking it up. She examined it closely, particularly the strange symbols engraved in it. They were seemingly random combinations of circles, triangles, and spirals, although their meaning was beyond any of their comprehension. The metal cap on the top of the rod was rigid and didn’t move, and there was no other obvious “on” switch. Cherry later wrote that she “knew it was not a toy, but (it was) nothing I recognized!”
By this time, it was beginning to get dark outside, and Cherry decided that she and Marc would walk Harry home to ensure he arrived there safely. They did so, and by the time they returned, it was almost midnight. Marc, Cherry noted, was still clearly anxious, repeatedly returning to the window and peering outside. Eventually, the pair retired to bed for the night. The bizarre events, however, were far from over.
At just after 2 am, Marc entered his mother’s bedroom and woke her up, claiming that there was someone – or something – trying to get into his room through his window. At this point, Cherry suddenly felt scared and vulnerable, and the realization that she was alone with Marc and three other children in the house suddenly grew clearer. As quietly and calmly as she could, she reached for a flashlight and made her way to Marc’s bedroom. She crept to the window and reached for the curtain. When she drew it back, she was confronted with a sight she was not prepared for.
There, on the other side of the glass, was a monstrous figure with “a large head with ridges on the top” and “other ridges on his cheekbones!” Moreover, the creature’s eyes were glowing a sickly golden-yellow color. She realized Marc was standing beside her, and each of them stared at the beastly figure as it stared directly back at them. They noticed that one of its large hands was on the glass, noting that it appeared “large, with webbed, rough, gnarly-looking fingers with powerful claws!”
Cherry realized that she was shining the beam of the flashlight directly at the creature’s face. She began to feel even more fright run through her and began looking around the room in an attempt to locate something she could use as a weapon. Although she didn’t know how she knew, she got the impression that the creature realized what her intentions were. It suddenly “turned its head a little as if asking a question!” As it did so, Cherry could clearly see “four pointed teeth” protruding from its mouth. Just as she thought the creature would attempt to crash through the window and launch an attack, it turned and ran from the house, disappearing into the night.
After gathering their thoughts, Cherry and Marc made their way from room to room, checking every window and door as they did so. Cherry noted that the windows in Marc’s bedroom (where they had seen the creature) were particularly high from the ground, telling her that the creature must have been at least seven feet in height.
They agreed that the creature had likely returned to the house in an attempt to retrieve the metal rod Marc and Harry had brought from the cave. As soon as it was light outside, they drove to the cave in question, and Marc left the rod near the entrance, fearing that if they didn’t return the device, the creature would likely return. Although it isn’t known if the creature retrieved the rod from the entrance, neither Marc nor Cherry had any further encounters with this particular lizard-like humanoid again. Unfortunately, Marc passed away in 1999, but Cherry still lives close to Black Mountain. Although she hasn’t had any further encounters with the apparent reptilian entity, there have been persistent claims from local residents of a strange and bizarre rumbling noise coming from under the ground in the area around Black Mountain.
Without a doubt, one of the most thought-provoking accounts of apparent reptilian entities can be found in the book A Look Through The Secret Doors by John Macklin. In it, an account is relayed that unfolded in Manila in the Philippines in May 1951 and was a series of incidents that were witnessed by multiple people. On the evening in question, as there had been for several weeks, there was an increased police presence in the city of Manila due to the expectation of “trouble” and general public disturbances. Because of this increased police presence, when Clarita Villanueva experienced one of the most terrifying events of her life, several on-duty police officers were there to witness it after receiving a call to their respective patrol cars about some kind of disturbance in the city.
Several officers made their way to the location and quickly noticed a crowd had gathered on the street. The officers exited their vehicles and made their way to the crowd, fully expecting to find a street brawl underway. However, upon arrival, they could see the events were altogether stranger. As they pushed their way through the crowd, they could see that they were gathered around a young girl who was writhing around in pain on the ground, and making motions as if she were being attacked by an invisible entity. As the officers looked on, they all heard the terrified girl exclaim, “Keep it away from me,” quickly followed by, “Someone help me!” The officers looked on at the bizarre scene in front of them in complete shock as the girl then screamed that her attacker was “biting me to death!”
Then, as if to underscore just how bizarre the events they were witnessing were, claw and bite marks began appearing on the young woman’s arms and neck right before their eyes. After several moments, two of the officers came to their senses, stepped toward the young woman, and reached out to her. They swiftly pulled her from the ground and, uncertain of what to do, they handcuffed her and placed her in their police car. They set off immediately for their police station. Only moments later, the woman once more began to move in a way that suggested, at least to her, an invisible attacker was unleashing another assault. Once they reached the station, they requested that the police doctor examine the young lady, convinced that she must be under the influence of some kind of mind-altering, hallucination-inducing drug.
Dr. Marianna Lara carried out this medical assessment, with her initial conclusion being that Clarita had likely suffered an “epileptic fit!” She advised that they hold the young woman in custody overnight for her own protection, and so she could continue to assess her. The officers took Clarita to a cell and locked the door, leaving her alone inside. To begin with, she sobbed miserably, almost in an attempt to comfort herself. After several moments, however, she suddenly began to scream out loud: “The thing is coming at me. It’s coming through the cell door as if it weren’t there!” She continued that this “thing” looked like a man but had “big, bulging eyes” and appeared to “float in midair!”
Officers rushed to the cell. However, when they opened the cell door, all they found was Clarita alone. They attempted to calm her and then watched in shock as the claw and bite marks appeared on the young woman’s skin as if being made by some kind of invisible beast. Realizing that these already strange events were getting even stranger, the officers requested that Dr. Lara return to the cell, which she duly did. Perhaps as a testament to how strange the officers found the events they were confronted with, they also requested the chief of police, as well as the city’s mayor, Arsenio Lascon, attend the police station. After examining these newly appeared claw and bite marks, Dr. Lara noted that many of them were in places on Clarita’s body that she simply couldn’t have inflicted on herself. All those in attendance agreed that they were witnessing something completely out of the ordinary.
By this time, Clarita had calmed somewhat, even falling asleep for a short time. Despite the truly surreal nature of the events, and perhaps bizarrely, the police decided to take Clarita to the courthouse the following morning, where she would be charged with vagrancy (a charge of being homeless or of traveling without means of financially supporting oneself – essentially, hitchhiking and sleeping rough). It was during the journey to the courthouse that the bizarre events began once more.
Suddenly, from the back of the police car, Clarita screamed that “the thing” was back. From the front of the vehicle, the officers could see new bite and claw marks appearing on the young woman’s arms and neck; in fact, on any part of her body that was exposed. These unsettling events continued once Clarita was in the courthouse, with several newspaper reporters witnessing them. As this apparent attack reached a climax, Clarita lost consciousness and collapsed to the courthouse floor. She was immediately examined by a doctor, who concluded without doubt that the wounds were authentic and genuine and were not self-inflicted.
It was at this point, with several newspaper reporters already preparing to run a story on these bizarre events in their next respective editions, that the police decided to take Clarita to the hospital so she could be examined more extensively. Dr. Lara and Mayor Lascon, who had been at the courthouse and had seen the events in their entirety, insisted on riding in the same ambulance as Clarita – and during the journey, the disturbing events continued. Now, however, instead of claiming there was one attacker, Clarita stated that a second identical attacker was in the ambulance with the first one. And as if to back up what she was saying, the now familiar claw and bite marks continued to appear on the young girl’s body in front of all those present. Incidentally, both Dr. Lara and Mayor Lascon publicly swore on oath as to what they had seen, with Dr. Lara stating that the events were a “complete mystery” and “something which defies explanation!” She further stated that she was “scared stiff” while witnessing the unnerving events.
Bizarrely, at the very moment Clarita entered the hospital, the attacks suddenly stopped. Despite this, the police remained on guard outside her hospital room in case the strange activity began again. It never did. Clarita remained in the hospital for around six weeks while her wounds were treated and she made a full recovery. Her experience, though, remains largely unexplained.
That said, there is still a lot to contemplate regarding these bizarre and disturbing events. Perhaps the most obvious would be whether Clarita could have somehow caused the wounds to appear on her body herself, perhaps through the power of her subconscious mind, like a bizarre and extreme form of stigmata. Might we consider, for example, that Clarita did indeed hallucinate a monstrous creature attacking her in the street, but her mind believed the hallucination to such a degree that it resulted in genuine wounds? Might this have been why the attacks suddenly ceased once she reached the hospital, simply because she believed she was safe? While that is possible, it is perhaps unlikely.
If not some form of hallucination and consequential stigmata, then, might we consider that Clarita was genuinely attacked by some kind of bizarre, unseen entity, perhaps one that was invisible or even one that attacked from another realm or dimension and, as such, remained unseen by all but its victim. We might also consider that the fear Clarita undoubtedly felt during the episodes helped to feed and strengthen this mysterious entity’s presence, perhaps even resulting in the second creature's appearance.
Perhaps above all else, just what might this brutal and unseen creature have been? The claw and bite marks suggest something beast-like, with many descriptions of reptilians suggesting clawed hands and sharp teeth. It is also interesting to note that many researchers suggest that reptilian creatures – whether through some kind of ability (altering their vibratory rate or frequency) or advanced technology – have the ability to render themselves invisible. Was that the case here? Was Clarita attacked by an invisible reptilian entity in full view of police officers, medical staff, and reporters? It is certainly something we have to consider.

Undoubtedly, one of the most controversial and interesting claims of encounters with reptilian entities is those of Jim Sparks, whose encounters were seemingly connected to an alien abduction he had suffered several years previously. During the early hours one morning in 1988, at around 3:30 am, Sparks suddenly found himself wide awake even though he had no idea what had awoken him. He suddenly became aware of a strange, low-pitched sound – a sound that seemed to be coming from inside his head. It was then that he realized that he couldn’t move and was completely paralyzed. Before he could contemplate this inability to move his arms or legs, he felt a sudden sensation of being pulled downward. Then, he lost consciousness.
He did his best to put the encounter out of his mind – that was, until several years later, in May 1995, when he found himself in the middle of the same kind of encounter. Once more, he blacked out. This time, however, when he awoke, he found himself seemingly floating around 1000 feet above the ground, looking down on what looked to be an abandoned amusement park. He realized he was slowly descending, and when he finally touched down on the ground, he could see several reptilian humanoids standing around him. Each was at least seven feet in height with red, shining diamond-shaped eyes and heads that were between a lizard and a snake. The creature closest to him, though, sported a grotesque hologram-like human face that had clearly been superimposed.
The next thing Sparks knew, voices began appearing in his head, seemingly from the creature with the hologram-like face. He later recalled that this voice told him that they were a reptilian civilization and that they had been on Earth for a very long time. Moreover, certain government leaders from around the world were aware of their presence and remained in constant contact with their leaders, even reaching agreements regarding their presence on the planet and the decision to keep this presence secret. This communication continued, telling Sparks that part of this agreement was that the reptilian race would hand over advanced technology to world leaders so that they could use it to improve the environment, something they had failed to do on several occasions. There were, though, further revelations.
Sparks claimed that he was informed that much of the planet’s water was contaminated to such a level that plants and wildlife had already been significantly affected. Of more concern, several “significant breaks” had appeared in the human food chain because of “nuclear and biological contamination!” These events, combined with an eventual overpopulation of Earth, would lead to the “end of humanity!” Despite these grim predictions and warnings, this reptilian entity went on to offer details that could lead humanity down a different, more beneficial path. They further stated that certain government leaders were aware of this technology and how it could be used for the betterment of humanity. They also said, however, that most of these government leaders believed that “abundant food” and “clean energy” would be a “security threat” to humanity – make of that what you will.
Perhaps a last encounter to explore is one that was investigated by David Hodrien of the Birmingham UFO Group in England, which featured a young girl named “Julie” who encountered something truly chilling and strange in 2000. According to the report, at around 9 pm on the night in question, Julie – then only 12 years old – was at home in her bedroom reading a book. As she was doing so, she noticed a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye at the bottom of the bed. She instinctively looked up from her book and was shocked to find herself looking at a black, scaly arm with claws with white talons where the hand should have been. Although she couldn’t see the creature the arm belonged to, she knew that something was at the bottom of the bed, and she knew she wasn’t imagining it. The monstrous arm continued to move across the bed. Then, to her absolute shock, it disappeared into thin air as she was looking at it.
She remained where she was for several moments, not daring to move. Then, when she was certain she was indeed alone, she let out a long breath of air in relief. Despite the truly bizarre nature of the events that had just unfolded, she didn’t feel any fear and simply went back to reading her book. In the days that followed, however, Julie began to increasingly feel a strange presence seemingly waiting outside her room, so much so, that she repositioned her bed so that it faced the door.
Hodrien immediately noticed several interesting details. As soon as he spoke to her, for example, he immediately got the impression that she had definitely seen “something” as opposed to having imagined the encounter – after all, she had stared at the arm for several seconds. Perhaps of more interest was the bizarre positioning of the creature, something which resonates nicely with many other reptilian encounters. The creature was seemingly kneeling at the bottom of Julie’s bed, reaching up with its arm. There are many reports of these strange creatures crouching or lying in an “unusual way” and reaching up towards the respective witness.
We might also consider the notion that there could have been more to the encounter than Julie can remember. Was this a case of alien abduction, for example, one that she could only recall the last several seconds of (when the strange arm was visible at the bottom of the bed)? Might this explain why she was so unnaturally calm despite the surreal nature of the events? Whatever the truth of the strange events that evening, it would be only the first of several that Julie would experience over the coming years.
In 2001, for example, Julie began experiencing many strange, paranormal-like encounters. She began hearing strange footsteps around the house, even though there was no one there. She also regularly heard strange clattering noises that came from nowhere, and doors would often open of their own accord. More unsettling, she often saw strange shadowy figures out of the corner of her eye – figures that always disappeared by the time she turned in their direction. She noticed that these dark figures appeared to be extremely tall, a characteristic often attributed to reptilian entities.

What is further interesting is that Julie was far from the only witness to these bizarre events. Moreover, rather than being confined to the family home, these events could seemingly happen anywhere Julie or her family happened to be. One particular evening, for example, with her mother unable to find replacement childcare, Julie and her brother, Steve, were at the nursing home where she worked. As this was a night shift, Julie’s mother made a bed for the pair on the settee in one of the back rooms and then left them to go about her duties. During the night, Julie woke up to hear her mother comforting Steve, who was crying profusely. When Julie asked what had happened, her mother told her that she had heard Steve screaming in fright, stating that the hoover was moving by itself. When she entered the room, she too had seen the appliance moving even though it wasn’t plugged in. When she nudged it with her foot, it simply stopped. This wasn’t the only strange event connected to the nursing home that Julie experienced.
Several weeks later, a resident of the nursing home that both Julie and Steve were friendly with – Dorothy – passed away. One afternoon in the days that followed, Steve was making his way to the bathroom when he claimed to have seen Dorothy sitting clear as day at their dining room table in the kitchen. Although Julie didn’t see Dorothy, in the days that followed Steve’s sighting of her, she began seeing disturbing shadowy figures in the room, figures that caused her to feel such fear that she didn’t enter the room unless she absolutely had to. As it turned out, as part of Hodrien’s investigation, Julie passed a long recent (2022) text exchange between herself and Steve, during which it became clear that paranormal incidents were rife and they were not limited to just Julie.
He recalled, for example, that he often saw their grandfather in the house, even though he had been dead for many years, as well as, like Julie, hearing strange footsteps coming from rooms in the house that he knew were empty. Of more concern to him, though, and of particular interest to us here, he recalled often seeing a “large, shadowy creature” that wore some kind of “hat or hood!” On one occasion, he even claimed to have seen an unsettling, black, clawed arm, almost identical to the arm that Julie witnessed that evening in 2000.
Another particularly ominous encounter came to light during this text exchange, one that Julie had previously been unaware of. Steve recalled that he had woken early one morning, and could immediately hear their father speaking to someone downstairs. He continued to listen for around 10 minutes when the conversation came to a sudden stop. At this point, Steve got out of bed and made his way downstairs. When he walked into the room where his father was sitting, he could see the look of confusion on his face. He asked Steve why he was back in the room, claiming he had just been speaking to him for the last 20 minutes. Was this “other Steve” the reptilian entity, and had it assumed his form? There are many accounts that state reptilians can do exactly that. Taking this further, could this explain the sightings of Dorothy, as well as Steve and Julie’s grandfather?
On another occasion, Steve was at home watching television while their father was sitting at the family computer. Suddenly, random items started landing near where he was sitting on the settee, and he began hearing his name being whispered. He thought it was his father playing a prank on him and told him to stop. It was immediately clear to him, though, that his father didn’t know what he was talking about, and had not thrown items at him, or whispered his name. Then, the sound of his name being called came again, and this time, his father heard it also, causing him to “turn white” with fear.
Although several strange events occurred in other locations, as the years went on, Julie began to question if the family home was somehow crucial in understanding the strange events, not least when she learned that other people had had strange encounters on the property before she or her family had lived there. Several years after the incidents began, with Julie now a young woman and working as a barmaid in a local pub, she learned of such a person. Moreover, this person told Julie that all the while they lived there, they witnessed “strange goings-on!”
She also had another friend named Timothy, and by chance, discovered that his mother had also lived in the house years previously. Timothy recalled that she also experienced many strange events and happenings while living there, including seeing a strange, shadowy figure standing in her bedroom one evening. All she could recall of the incident was feeling sheer terror and that the figure watched her for a significant amount of time.
A mutual friend of Julie and Steve’s – Rob, who had recently passed away at the time the report was made – also became intertwined in the strange activity at the house, seemingly from beyond the grave. In the weeks following their friend’s passing, Julie began to experience strange, intense dreams. They were always the same and featured Rob walking into her bedroom and sitting on the bed. Julie had these dreams so often that she began to consider if they were not dreams at all but some kind of visitation. Once more, we might consider if this apparent reptilian entity had assumed the form of Rob following his death. One evening, she asked Steve to stay awake and sit in her room while she slept to see if a ghostly apparition did indeed walk in. In another bizarre twist, during the night, Steve was amazed when Rob did indeed walk into the bedroom and sit on the bed before disappearing. In a similar way to Julie’s first encounter, rather than being scared, Steve simply turned his attention back to the computer following the sighting.
In the summer of 2002, however, things took a much more ominous turn. She began to have a different recurring dream, even more intense than those involving Rob. This time, she could see two young girls who appeared to be in a warehouse, tied to a radiator. On some occasions, she even dreamt that the girls were on fire. She eventually spoke to her mother about the disturbing dreams. Between them, and it is important to note that this is pure speculation on Julie and her mother’s part, they contemplated whether the dreams were connected to the (then) missing Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman (who were eventually discovered murdered). It is claimed that following their murders, their bodies were partially burned in an effort to destroy evidence. Whether this connection is accurate or not (both Julie and her mother were fully aware of the missing girls at the time) remains open to debate.
By 2016, with Julie now in her 20s and working at a local hospital, the bizarre events would follow her there. One particular evening, Julie was on shift when one of the patients in her ward passed away. It was around 2 am by the time family members who had been at the recently deceased patient’s bedside had left. Julie and another member of staff began wrapping the body, ready for collection, so it could be taken to the morgue. As they were doing so, Julie happened to glance at the mirror on the wall. She almost physically recoiled in horror when she saw her reflection with a tall, shadowy figure behind her, moving from one side to the other. Moreover, she could hear a “shuffling sound” coming from the floor behind her, suggesting that something was physically moving.
Julie instinctively moved back away from the movement. As she did, she caught the look on the other nurse’s face – a look that told her she could also see the shadowy figure. A moment later, both of them stopped what they were doing and ran out of the room. They stood in the corridor for around 15 minutes, not daring to go back into the room. When they eventually plucked up the courage to do so, the figure, whatever it was, was no longer there. They quickly finished preparing the patient’s body as quickly as they could, and then rushed out of the room to fill out the necessary paperwork. However, they soon discovered that one of the forms they required had been left in the room with the deceased. Julie returned to the room to retrieve it and was more than shocked to find that the wrapping had been torn away from the dead patient’s body, leaving his head fully exposed. Although no further incidents occurred that evening, both Julie and her fellow nurse were left unsettled by the events.
Several years later, in 2021, yet another bizarre encounter occurred, once more at the hospital where Julie worked. It was around 1 am on the night in question, and Julie was transferring a patient from one ward to another when she suddenly noticed a strange, shadowy form of a young woman with startling blond hair moving towards the sink in the room. At first, Julie believed it was one of the patients currently on the ward who had a similar appearance. When she turned around to face the figure fully, however, it was no longer there. She turned to face the other nurses in the room – each of them had seen the mysterious apparition also. What’s more, all agreed that the figure looked like the patient on their ward. Was this another case of this reptilian entity assuming the form of a person Julie would recognize? And if so, for what purpose? Perhaps one thing to consider is whether this reptilian entity – if that is what it was – was somehow using the fear it caused in Julie to nourish or feed itself. While that might sound bizarre to some, many researchers have suggested that reptilians, like poltergeists and other spirits, require fear and other negative emotions to build strength and manifest. Whatever the truth, the events have continued for over two decades.
As we can see, then, while the subject of reptilian entities is problematic for many people – even those inside conspiracy and UFO circles – the fact is there are so many documented encounters from people around the world and across the decades that it would be bordering on irresponsible to dismiss such claims without further research and investigation. While it might be a leap too far to imagine V-like beings walking among us, considerations of a subterranean indigenous reptilian species sharing the planet discreetly are perhaps more realistic, if, ultimately, unlikely. As long as reports of these reptilian creatures continue to surface – whether contemporary reports or ones made public retrospectively – we should continue to document, research, and investigate them in the hope that one day we will gain a collective understanding of just what lies at the heart of such fascinating, if bizarre, incidents and reports
RELATED VIDEOS
Top secret US spy drone gets deadly laser that MELTS missiles mid-air amid fears of World War III
A US weapons company has unveiled a first-of-its-kind laser that can be mounted onto spy drones, allowing them to melt missiles in mid-air.
General Atomics unveiled the new defense technology at the Sea Air Space 2025 event in National Harbor, Maryland this month.
The company equipped its MQ-9B SkyGuardian — an autonomous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drone — with this laser.
It currently emits about 25 kilowatts of energy, enough to disable or destroy small targets. This system could help the US military take down large groups of low-cost, disposable drones.
But General Atomics claims it could be scaled up to as much as 300 kilowatts, which could take down large aircraft and missiles by melting or burning through their critical infrastructure.
What's more, the laser can emit both pulsed and continuous bursts of energy and is capable of operating in all types of environments.
At the event, video footage showed the MQ-9B using the laser to shoot down incoming attack drones similar to Iran's Shahed 'kamikaze' drones, which were heading toward a navy ship for the purposes of this demonstration.
Using a laser-equipped drone to destroy small attack drones or cruise missiles would save the military thousands of dollars, as expensive, non-reusable missiles are currently used to conduct this type of defense.

A US weapons company has unveiled a first-of-its-kind laser that can be mounted onto spy drones, allowing them to melt missiles in mid-air
A laser beam can't be directly destroyed, and it will keep inflicting damage as long as it has power.
But the biggest caveat to this technology is that a drone's power supply is limited, which means the laser could falter in the field.
The MQ-9B drone is capable of flying for more than 40 hours on a single charge, but the addition of the laser will likely reduce its battery life, though its unclear by how much.
Still, the development of this system marks an important step toward operationalizing airborne high-energy lasers (HEL) for defense.
The US military has been working toward this goal for years, but faced numerous technological, logistical and financial hurdles that staunched progress.
The Air Force's Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program, which aimed to develop technologies that could protect aircraft from incoming missiles, was scrapped in 2024 without a prototype or test flights to show for their efforts.
But the Air Force Research Lab, which launched the project, said it had made 'significant advances in the readiness of airborne HEL technology.'
It's possible that some of these gains informed the design of MQ-9B's new laser, though General Atomics' technology is the result of an entirely separate research and development effort.

The MQ-9B drone is capable of flying for more than 40 hours on a single charge, but the addition of the laser will likely reduce its battery life, though its unclear by how much
The company's breakthrough comes at a time when the need for this system may be greater than ever, as swarming drones and kamikaze-style attacks like the ones seen in Ukraine and the Middle East are becoming cheaper, faster and more common.
In recent months, Russia has doubled down on its use of Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones against Ukraine, using them to target civilian infrastructure and residential areas.
From August 1, 2024 to March 1, 2025, Ukraine recorded that Russia launched 15,011 Shahed-type strike drones, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.
Traditional defense mechanisms like missiles are too expensive and too slow to handle a multitude of small, fast-moving threats.
But a laser can tackle this type of assault efficiently, precisely and cost-effectively.
RELATED VIDEOS
The sun as you've NEVER seen it: Scientists reveal the most detailed photo of our home star yet
It’s the super-hot, churning ball of plasma whose surface reaches temperatures of 5,500°C (10,000F).
Now, scientists have released the most detailed photo of our sun yet – and it gives a close-up glimpse of its intense magnetic energy.
The image was captured by the world’s most powerful solar telescope, which takes 2D snapshots of the sun at a range of wavelengths.
Several hundred images are taken in just a few seconds by three synchronised cameras using different settings – similar to taking a series of photographs using different filters.
Combining these images allows for a 3D view of the sun’s structures – as seen in this remarkable picture.
The newly released image reveals a cluster of sunspots on the Sun’s surface, measuring approximately 25,000km by 25,000km.
Sunspots - areas of intense magnetic activity - often lead to solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are what is responsible for our Northern Light displays on Earth.
The image achieves a spatial resolution of 10km per pixel – showing the sunspots in unprecedented detail.

The incredible image shows a cluster of sun spots - areas of intense magnetic energy. Each pixel in the original version of the image corresponds to 10 km (or 6.2 miles) on the Sun

The Visible Tunable Filter’s (VTF) optical device, called an etalon, is pictured here. It consists of two reflecting plates which can measure small differences in the flux of light for different wavelengths
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope was first installed at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) near the summit of Maui’s Haleakalā volcano in 2022.
It has now achieved ‘first light’ – used to describe the first time a telescope lens is exposed to the night sky – with its most advanced instrument, the new Visible Tunable Filter (VTF).
Designed and built in Germany, the VTF arrived at the observatory last year and has since been carefully installed.
It weighs 5.6 tons and has a footprint roughly the size of a small garage, occupying two floors.
While it is not yet fully operational, science verification and commissioning are expected to begin in 2026.
‘Seeing those first spectral scans was a surreal moment,’ said Dr. Stacey Sueoka, Senior Optical Engineer at the observatory.
‘This is something no other instrument in the telescope can achieve in the same way.
‘It marked the culmination of months of optical alignment, testing, and cross-continental teamwork.

Near the summit of Maui’s Haleakalā, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope - and its set of cutting-edge solar instruments, such as the Visible Tunable Filter - is set to pave the way for a deeper understanding of our home star

Engineers and scientists work on the Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) inside the Coudé Lab at the Inouye Solar Telescope, preparing the instrument for its first light
‘We’re already seeing the instrument’s potential. This is only the beginning, and I’m excited to see what’s possible as we complete the system, integrate the second etalon [optical device], and move toward science verification and commissioning.’
The team said their new instrument may help reveal hidden details about the solar magnetic field, which is crucial for understanding solar flares and space weather.
The sun regularly displays powerful eruptions that hurl particles and radiation into space.
On Earth, this solar bombardment can trigger spectacular auroras – Northern Lights - but can also disrupt technical infrastructure and satellites.
Carrie Black, NSF program director, said: ‘When powerful solar storms hit Earth, they impact critical infrastructure across the globe and in space.
‘High-resolution observations of the sun are necessary to improve predictions of such damaging storms.’
On our increasingly technological Earth, sudden solar storms can cause devastating damage to critical infrastructure, and disable large portions of the electrical power grid, communications networks, or space systems.
This new instrument can analyse crucial properties such as plasma flow velocity, magnetic field strength, pressure and temperature.

A solar superstorm, strong enough to cause an 'internet apocalypse', knock out satellites and cripple clean water supplies could hit Earth 'at any moment', experts have warned (stock image)
‘The commissioning of VTF represents a significant technological advance for the Inouye Solar Telescope,’ said Matthias Schubert, VTF project scientist.
‘The instrument is, so to speak, the heart of the solar telescope, which is now finally beating at its final destination.’
Dr. Thomas Kentischer, KIS Co-Principal Investigator and key architect behind the instrument’s optical design, said: 'After all these years of work, VTF is a great success for me.
'I hope this instrument will become a powerful tool for scientists to answer outstanding questions on solar physics.'
Breakthrough as nuclear batteries could power weapons of mass destruction for 50 years
In a technological breakthrough that could threaten US national security, a Chinese company has begun mass producing tiny nuclear batteries that can last for decades.
The BV100 battery, created by BetaVolt, is smaller than a coin, but is capable of powering a device for up to 50 years, the company claims.
That's because it gets its power from a radioactive isotope called Nickel-63, which releases energy as it slowly decays.
Nuclear batteries have been around since the 1950s, and are used to power pacemakers, space technologies, sensors and monitoring equipment, and more.
But this is the first time one has ever been mass produced. In its current state, it only delivers 100 microwatts of power — suitable for running low-power technologies like medical devices and sensors.
BetaVolt plans to roll out a one-watt version sometime this year, which could power future weapons of mass destruction like war drones that never need to land and recharge.
While this marks a significant achievement in the world of energy technology, there are also risks associated with this new battery, especially because it is currently controlled by one of America's biggest foreign adversaries.
As the capabilities of the BV100 expand, China could harness its power in alarming ways, potentially gaining an edge over the US in surveillance, combat and even space exploration.

The BV100 battery, created by BetaVolt, is smaller than a coin. But it's capable of powering a device for up to 50 years, the company claims
For example, the Chinese military could use these extremely long-lasting batteries to power surveillance or combat drones that can fly ceaselessly, provide continuous power to military satellites or run cyber-warfare tools.
Any one of these advancements would significantly enhance the country's military capabilities.
What's more, China's leadership in nuclear battery technology could give it a leg up in the new space race, potentially helping it gain control of the moon before the US.
NASA is currently racing against China, Russia and several other nations to land astronauts on the moon and establish a lunar base for research, resource extraction and future military strategic operations.
The US is the current front runner, with NASA making strides towards its goal to put Americans back on the lunar surface by 2027.
But China isn't far behind, and if it gets there first, it wouldn't just be a blow to NASA's reputation as the world's leading space agency.
It could also pose a threat to US national security, as cislunar space (the region between Earth and the moon) is now viewed as 'the ultimate high ground.'
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have argued that ceding control of cislunar space to China could shift the balance of geopolitical power.

The Chinese military could theoretically use these extremely long-lasting batteries to power surveillance or combat drones that can fly ceaselessly (STOCK)
For one thing, lunar dominance would allow China to track and interfere with US satellites (and therefore our communication and GPS systems) more easily — a major advantage over the US if conflict broke out.
Some believe China could go as far as to militarize the moon, establishing bases on the surface for surveillance and potential weaponry.
Last April, then-NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told US legislators: 'We believe that a lot of [China's] so-called civilian space program is a military program.'
This issue came up repeatedly during NASA Administrator nominee Jared Isaacman's Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, during which he warned that the US 'can't be second' in getting to the moon.
The BV100 battery's energy-generating capacity will have to be scaled up before it can be used to power lunar base infrastructure or high-power spaceflight technologies.
But China could eventually harness its longevity to continuously power technology on the moon and in space, make landers and rovers more autonomous, simplify lunar base design and more.
As the battery's power source (Nickel-63) decays over time, it continuously releases energy in the form of beta particles (a type of radiation).

China's leadership in nuclear battery technology could also give it a leg up in the new space race, potentially helping it gain control of the moon before the US
It takes 100 years for half of the Nickel-63 atoms to be depleted, which is why this battery can last for roughly 50 years before the power source becomes insufficient to power a device.
The energy density of nuclear batteries is 10 times greater than that of conventional lithium batteries, according to BetaVolt. But due to the volatility of its radioactive power source, it can be difficult to harness the their full energy potential.
This means that scaling the BV100 battery up from its current 100-microwatt configuration could prove challenging.
But with its site set on bringing a one-watt BV100 to market sometime this year, it's clear that China is currently leading the charge towards a future where nuclear batteries power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles and more.
That wasn't always the case. The US actually created the world's first nuclear battery in the 1950s, and paved the way for this technology over the past 70 years.
In the 21st century, however, China's progress on this front has surpassed the US, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
RELATED VIDEOS