Ancient Chinese and Maya similarities suggest deeper cultural roots

These two ancient civilizations were separated by thousands of kilometers.

Archaeologists report motifs in Honduras that resemble Neolithic Chinese symbolism, raising questions about deep shared roots rather than contact.

Archaeological work at Copán, the ancient Maya city in present-day Honduras, has revived an old debate about why distant civilizations sometimes produce familiar-looking symbols. A Chinese archaeological team working at the site has identified sculptures and architectural features that they say resemble elements associated with China’s Neolithic Liangzhu Culture.

The similarities have prompted renewed interest in whether shared ideas might have very deep origins, reaching back long before either civilization existed in its recognizable form. The claims, as described by researchers involved, are not framed as evidence that people crossed oceans to exchange beliefs or art. The argument is narrower and more speculative: that early human migrations and long-lived symbolic traditions could, in rare cases, leave faint echoes that surface in later civilizations separated by time and geography.

Motifs that look familiar across an ocean

Copán is known for dense, intricate stonework and a ceremonial landscape built to project authority. Within that setting, the team has pointed to decorative patterns and carved figures that it considers unusually close to motifs seen in Liangzhu material, especially in symbolic ornament and depictions of mythical creatures.

One of the main comparisons centers on the Maya feathered serpent deity Kukulkan and ancient Chinese dragon imagery. Supporters of the comparison note that both figures have long functioned as powerful symbols, often associated with sky, water, and divine authority. That overlap, they argue, makes the visual resemblance more than a coincidence of style.

Skeptics, however, caution that serpents, hybrid beings, and sky-linked divine animals are common across many cultures. Similar imagery can emerge independently when societies try to represent natural forces, political power, or religious authority in a memorable form. Without stronger connecting evidence, they argue, visual parallels risk becoming a collection of look-alikes rather than a meaningful  historical pattern.

The debate is not new. What is new, supporters argue, is the attention generated by an active excavation program at a major Maya center and the willingness to frame the discussion around deep ancestry rather than direct borrowing.

The “China-Maya continuum” returns

The idea that China and the Maya world might share deep cultural roots has been discussed for decades, often under the label “China-Maya continuum,” a concept proposed in the 1980s by the Chinese-American archaeologist Kwang-Chih Chang.

Chang’s argument did not hinge on voyages or direct contact. Instead, he suggested that both cultural worlds might retain traces of older shamanistic traditions shaped by Paleolithic ancestors, long before the rise of cities, writing, or formal states. In that view, echoes of ritual life could persist in art, cosmology, and symbolic decoration even as societies developed independently.

That approach remains controversial. Comparative frameworks can clarify patterns, but they can also flatten differences, turning complex traditions into a few reusable shapes. Critics argue that resemblance is too often treated as explanation, when it should be the start of a harder question: why would a specific motif survive across such long spans of time, and what would count as evidence that it did?

Supporters reply that the point is not to claim an unbroken chain of transmission, but to consider whether certain symbolic structures are unusually persistent when passed through human migrations and reshaped in new environments.

Calendars and competing explanations

Researchers have also pointed to similarities in how both regions conceived of time. The Maya calendar, as described by archaeologists discussing the comparison, is said to show conceptual resemblances to the Chinese calendrical system organized around the 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.

The shared element in that comparison is a cyclical view of time. Both systems use repeating sequences that embed social meaning in calendars, linking timekeeping to ritual and authority. Proponents argue that a strongly cyclical structure is not universal in early civilizations and may reflect deeper cosmological assumptions about how the world is ordered.

Here again, the counterargument is straightforward: cycles are one of the most practical ways to organize time in agrarian and ritual societies. Seasonal rhythms, celestial repetition, and the social need to coordinate ceremonies all push communities toward cyclical frameworks. A shared logic does not require a shared origin.

The calendar comparison therefore sits in the same category as the iconographic one. It is suggestive to some, unconvincing to others, and difficult to adjudicate without clearer criteria for what counts as a meaningful match rather than a broad analogy.

Migration, not communication

Li Xinwei, identified as a lead archaeologist from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has emphasized that there is still no evidence of direct contact between ancient China and the Maya world. In this account, the similarities are treated as the possible product of shared Paleolithic ancestry rather than any kind of later cultural diffusion across oceans.

Li’s position, as described, is that the evidence does not support borrowing and that the more plausible explanation is parallel development from common ancestral roots.

That distinction matters. Claims of contact imply ships, routes, exchange goods, and traceable movement of people and technologies. Claims of deep shared roots imply something less dramatic and harder to test: continuity through time, shaped by migration and long-term cultural evolution.

Why Copán matters

Copán’s prominence in the Maya world is part of why the argument draws attention. The city is known for its carved monuments and sophisticated ceremonial architecture, and it has often been described as the “Athens of the Maya world,” a reference to its artistic and intellectual reputation within the region.

The Chinese team has focused on a 4,000-square-meter residential complex that once housed local aristocracy. In that setting, it reports finding a large royal tomb and symbolic motifs such as crossed torches, imagery linked to Maya kingship. Researchers involved have also emphasized jade relics, depictions of the lightning god Kawiil, and regional building layouts as evidence of the site’s complexity and the elite culture that shaped it.

Those discoveries, taken on their own, fit comfortably within what is already known about Maya political and ritual life: elite residences, royal burials, dynastic symbolism, and the use of valuable materials like jade. The more contentious step is using selected motifs from those contexts to suggest a remote connection, however indirect, to symbolism known from Neolithic China.

What the similarities can and cannot show

The strongest version of the argument is modest. It does not require contact, and it does not claim that one civilization borrowed from the other. It proposes that certain ideas and images can endure in human cultures across great spans of time, even as they are transformed by new environments and new social systems.

The weaker version is the one critics worry about: that visual resemblance becomes a shortcut that substitutes for evidence. Similarity, in archaeology, is a starting point, not a conclusion. A convincing case typically requires patterns that are repeated, specific, and difficult to explain through shared human tendencies or basic constraints of representation.

In the account presented here, the proposed explanation remains a hypothesis rather than a demonstration. The comparisons may stimulate useful questions about how symbolism travels through time and how cultures converge on similar solutions. They may also overreach if they imply more certainty than the evidence can bear.

Li has also pointed to genetic research suggesting distant shared ancestry between populations in East Asia and the ancient peoples of the Americas, and has argued that this deep connection could help explain why two geographically isolated civilizations developed certain comparable features. The suggestion is that understanding how groups with common roots followed different paths, yet sometimes arrived at similar spiritual, architectural, and calendrical frameworks, could open a new line of inquiry in global ancient.

For now, the debate turns on an unresolved question that sits at the heart of comparative archaeology: when distant cultures look alike in specific ways, are we seeing inherited echoes from deep prehistory, or the predictable outcomes of human societies grappling with similar needs and similar imaginations in different places?

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11-03-2026 om 22:51 geschreven door peter  

Disk On Newest Mar Rover Photo On NASA Site! Sol 4816, UFO Sightings Daily.

Date of discovery: March 2026

Location of discovery: Mars

Source photo: 

• https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1553665/

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11-03-2026 om 22:33 geschreven door peter  

Phew! NASA confirms 'city destroying' asteroid will narrowly MISS the moon in 2032 – skimming 13,200 miles past the lunar surface

• READ MORE: NASA admits there are thousands of 'city killer' asteroids in space

By SHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

Good news from NASA – an asteroid previously predicted to be on a collision course with the moon will miss it after all. 

Since December 2024, the US space agency has been tracking the 'city–killer' asteroid, dubbed '2024 YR4', as it whizzes towards us. 

The 220ft space rock initially set alarm bells ringing as early measurements suggested it had a one in 32 chance of hitting Earth in 2032. 

Further analysis at the end of last year then suggested the moon had a four per cent chance of taking the hit. 

However, we can finally breathe a sign of relief. 

NASA has confirmed that it has now eliminated the chance of an impact whatsoever.

'Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA's Center for Near–Earth Object Studies at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have refined near–Earth asteroid 2024 YR4's orbit and are ruling out a chance of lunar impact on Dec. 22, 2032,' NASA explained. 

'With the new data, 2024 YR4 is expected to pass by the lunar surface at a distance of 13,200 miles (21,200 km).'

Good news from NASA – an asteroid previously predicted to be on a collision course with the moon will miss it after all

An analysis at the end of last year suggested the moon had a four per cent chance of taking the hit

Since spring last year, the asteroid has been unobservable from Earth, and it was widely assumed we wouldn't see it again until 2028. 

However, an international team, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, identified two narrow opportunities last month when James Webb would be able to see it from its unique position in space. 

'The challenge was significant: to use one of the most complex machines humankind has ever built to track an almost invisible object many millions of kilometres away – and then accurately predict its position almost seven years into the future,' the European Space Agency explained. 

By carefully comparing the asteroid's position relative to the background stars, the researchers were able to measure its orbit. 

This confirmed that the space rock will miss the moon, passing by on December 22 2032 at a safe distance of 13,200 miles.  

'The Moon is safe, 2024 YR4 poses no danger, but the work continues,' ESA cautioned. 

'The Planetary Defence team in ESA's Space Safety Programme continues to detect and track near–Earth objects to ensure that if a genuine danger ever emerges, we will not be caught unaware.'

Although it wouldn't be as destructive as an impact with the Earth, a lunar collision would have been dangerous enough for deflecting 2024 YR4 to be an option worth considering.

With the new data, collected on Feb. 18 and 26 (pictured), 2024 YR4 is expected to pass by the lunar surface at a distance of 13,200 miles (21,200 km

As it stands, there are no known asteroids this big heading our way, according to NASA.

However, the space agency hasn't ruled out the chance that there's one out there that's yet to be found.

'While no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years, only about 40 percent of those asteroids have been found to date,' NASA warns.

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11-03-2026 om 22:27 geschreven door peter  

One giant leap for planetary defence: NASA successfully changed an asteroid's orbit around the SUN, new study reveals

• READ MORE:  Simulation confirms we could nuke an asteroid heading for Earth

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Humanity has taken a 'notable step forward' in its ability to deflect asteroids heading towards Earth, a new study reveals.

Back in 2022, NASA deliberately smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid 'moonlet' that orbited a larger space rock.

The probe, called Dart, successfully changed the path of the moonlet, called Dimorphos, around its parent asteroid, Didymos.

The mission was hailed as the first–ever successful demonstration of planetary defence, proving humanity can alter an asteroid's trajectory.

But now, scientists have revealed the test also knocked both asteroids off their regular orbit around the Sun.

Researchers have calculated that the speed of Didymos as it orbits the Sun has been reduced by 11.7 micrometres per second as a result of the collision.

This means that future missions could target small moonlets in orbit around large asteroids to change the orbit of the bigger space rock, the team said.

And it 'marks a notable step forward in our ability to prevent future asteroid impacts on Earth.'

In 2022, NASA deliberately sent a spacecraft called Dart 6.8 million miles into space to crash into a mini moon called Dimorphos (pictured) at 14,000mph in a bid to alter its orbit 

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign made the discovery after examining almost 6,000 instances in which Didymos flew in front of a star, blocking out its light.

The change to its orbit – although small – marks the 'the first time a human–made object has measurably altered the path of a celestial body around the Sun'.

This shift occurred because, although Didymos was not directly hit during the Dart mission, it is linked by gravity to its smaller moonlet.

As a result, changes to one asteroid affect the other.

'This is a tiny change to the orbit, but given enough time, even a tiny change can grow to a significant deflection,' said Thomas Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

'The team's amazingly precise measurement again validates kinetic impact as a technique for defending Earth against asteroid hazards and shows how a binary asteroid might be deflected by impacting just one member of the pair.'

When Dart struck the smaller space rock, the impact blasted a huge cloud of rocky debris into space, altering the shape of the asteroid, which measures 560 feet (170 metres) wide.

As the debris carried its own momentum away from the asteroid, it gave the moonlet an explosive 'thrust' – changing its trajectory and shortening its orbit around Didymos by 33 minutes.

This image of asteroids Didymos (left) and Dimorphos (right) was captured by NASA’s Dart mission a few seconds before the spacecraft smashed into Dimorphos

As part of their new study, scientists explored which direction the material thrown off an asteroid goes, and how that direction affects the push on the asteroid

The impact ejected so much material that it also changed the pairs orbit around the sun by 0.15 seconds.

The change in the binary system's orbital speed was about 11.7 microns per second, or 1.7 inches per hour,' said Rahil Makadia, the study's lead author, whose research was published in the journal Science Advances. 

'Over time, such a small change in an asteroid's motion can make the difference between a hazardous object hitting or missing our planet.'

In a blog post, NASA wrote: 'Although Didymos was not on an impact trajectory with Earth and it was impossible for the Dart mission to put it on one, that change in orbital speed underscores the role spacecraft — aka kinetic impactors in this context — could play if a potentially hazardous asteroid is found to be on a collision course in the future.

'The key is detecting near–Earth objects far enough in advance to send a kinetic impactor.'

The space agency is currently building their Near–Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission – a telescope designed specifically for planetary defence.

It will seek out some of the hardest–to–find near–Earth objects, such as dark asteroid and comets that don't reflect much visible light.

But Dr Nancy Chabot, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University who led the Dart mission, said there are no other Dart–like spacecraft ready to launch if an asteroid was suddenly found to be on a collision course with Earth.

'Dart was a great demonstration,' she recently said. 'But we don't have [another] sitting around ready to go if there was a threat that we needed to use it for.'

She referenced YR4, an asteroid measuring up to 90 metres wide, which last year was deemed to have a 3.2 per cent chance of hitting Earth in 2032.

Eventually this chance was downgraded to zero, meaning no defensive action needed to be taken.

'If something like YR4 had been headed towards the Earth, we would not have any way to go and deflect it actively right now,' she added.

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11-03-2026 om 22:03 geschreven door peter  

Ancient sea fossils atop the world's tallest mountains fuel new claims of Noah's Great Flood

• READ MORE: The Bible theory that links Noah's Ark to the eight modern blood types in humans 

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The discovery of ancient sea fossils atop several mountains around the world has reignited debate over the biblical story of Noah's Great Flood.

A viral video showing hikers uncovering fossilized seashells in the Guadalupe Mountains, a range stretching across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, has fueled fresh speculation online that the towering peaks were once submerged beneath an ancient ocean.

The clip, which has been viewed more than seven million times, shows the group inspecting and collecting rocks, revealing embedded marine fossils such as bivalve seashells and other shellfish remnants.

The discovery has sparked a wave of debate online, with some viewers claiming the fossils are evidence of a global flood described in the Bible.

The Great Flood is portrayed in the Book of Genesis as a global catastrophe sent by God to wipe out widespread human corruption and violence. 

According to the biblical account, Noah was instructed to build a massive ark to preserve his family and pairs of every animal species.

But geologists say the shells are remnants of ancient seabeds that were lifted thousands of feet into the air by tectonic forces over millions of years.

Marine fossils have been discovered on mountain ranges around the world, including the Himalayas, Andes and Rocky Mountains, which scientists say were once covered by ancient seas before being pushed upward as continents collided and mountains formed.

The viral video, shared in 2025, was taken by a group hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains, a range stretching across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico

The clip, which has been viewed more than seven million times, shows the group inspecting and collecting rocks, revealing embedded marine fossils such as bivalve seashells and other shellfish remnants

Despite the scientific explanation, the viral video triggered a flood of online reactions.

'[I] didn't need this discovery to believe in the great flood,' one user wrote on X.

'There have been discoveries all over the world that point to a great flood theory. It happened.' Another commenter declared: 'The Bible is accurate and true!'

However, many other users pushed back on the biblical interpretation, noting that marine fossils in mountains are a well-known geological phenomenon linked to the movement of tectonic plates.

Scientists explain that many rocks found in modern mountain ranges originally formed on the floors of ancient oceans, where marine creatures such as clams, corals and trilobites once lived.

When these animals died, their shells sank to the seabed and became buried in layers of sediment.

Over millions of years, the sediment hardened into rock, trapping the shells inside and turning them into fossils.

Later, the slow movement of Earth's tectonic plates pushed these ancient seabeds upward during massive continental collisions.

Several mountains, including a range in Italy, have been found to have fossilized sea life. The discovery has sparked a wave of debate online, with some viewers claiming the fossils are evidence of a global flood described in the Bible

As the plates crumpled and lifted the crust, the fossil-filled rocks were carried thousands of feet into the air, eventually forming mountain ranges.

The National Park Service explained that millions of years ago, much of what is now west Texas and southeastern New Mexico was covered by a shallow inland sea known as the Delaware Sea. 

Marine animals such as clams, sea urchins and other shell-forming creatures lived in these waters, and when they died, their shells settled to the seabed and were preserved in layers of sediment that later hardened into rock. 

Tens of millions of years later, powerful tectonic forces slowly pushed these ancient seabeds upward, lifting the fossil-filled rocks thousands of feet and forming what are now the Guadalupe Mountains.

Scientists say this process also explains why marine fossils can now be found high in places such as the Himalayas, the Andes and the Rocky Mountains, even though those regions were once located beneath ancient seas.

One of the most striking examples is found near the summit of Mount Everest.

Researchers have identified marine fossils embedded in a rock formation known as the Qomolangma Limestone near the world's highest peak.

The fossils, dating back roughly 450 million years, formed on the floor of the ancient Tethys Ocean before the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates thrust the seabed upward to form the Himalayas.

Evidence of ancient oceans has also been uncovered high in the Andes Mountains of South America.

Geologists say the shells are remnants of ancient seabeds that were lifted thousands of feet into the air by tectonic forces over millions of years. Picutred is the Antequera in Spain

Fossils of prehistoric marine organisms have been found at several sites across the range, demonstrating that parts of the Andes were once submerged long before tectonic forces raised the mountains.

In North America, clues to a vanished sea can be found in the Rocky Mountains.

Much of the region was once covered by the Western Interior Seaway, a vast inland ocean that split the continent millions of years ago.

When the waters receded, they left behind layers of marine sediment and fossilized sea life that are still visible in the rock today.

The Appalachian Mountains, among the oldest ranges on Earth, also contain widespread marine fossils preserved in sedimentary rock layers.

These rocks hold the remains of ancient fish and other sea creatures from a time when large portions of the region were covered by prehistoric oceans.

Further west, marine fossils dating back roughly 300 million years have been discovered in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo and Santa Fe mountain ranges.

Scientists have identified scallops and other ocean-dwelling organisms preserved in rock from the Pennsylvanian period, when shallow seas covered parts of the region.

Even Antarctica holds evidence of this dramatic transformation.

Marine fossils found in the Transantarctic Mountains suggest parts of the frozen continent once hosted ocean environments before massive shifts in Earth's crust reshaped the landscape.

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11-03-2026 om 21:43 geschreven door peter  

Scientists reveal controversial plan to launch 50,000 MIRRORS into space for 'sunlight on demand' – but sceptics warn it poses 'serious risks' to wildlife and humans

• READ MORE: Tonnes of chemicals pumped into ocean to stop global warming

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have revealed a controversial plan to launch 50,000 mirrors into space to offer 'sunlight on demand'.

California–based startup, Reflect Orbital, is poised to secure permission to launch a 60–foot (18.3–metre) prototype mirror into orbit to beam sunlight back to the Earth's surface.

Once it has reached an altitude of 400 miles (640 km), the mirror will unfurl and illuminate a patch of Earth about three miles (4.8 km) wide. 

Someone looking up from the ground would see a small dot of light about as bright as the moon.

Reflect Orbital says its space mirrors could allow solar power plants to operate 24 hours a day, provide lighting for disaster–struck regions, and even replace street lights.

The company has already applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which issues licences for satellites, and the enormous mirror could launch as soon as this summer. 

However, not everyone is on board with the plan. 

Martha Hotz Vitaterna, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University and co–director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, warned: 'The implications for wildlife, for all life, are enormous.'

Experts have warned this could disrupt circadian rhythms and ground–based astronomy, even as firms like SpaceX are trying to make their satellites (artist's impression) less reflective 

Reflect Orbital, which has already raised more than $28 million (£20.8 million) from investors, is not the first group to dream about harnessing the sun with mirrors.

In 1993, a Russian satellite dubbed Znamya, or Banner, unfurled a 65–foot mirror and reflected a beam of light as strong as two or three full moons.

The idea was to see whether a small fleet of satellites could be used to extend daylight hours in the remote region of Arctic Siberia.

However, Reflect Orbital's plan is even more ambitious than those early experiments.

The company says it plans to harness the vast quantities of sunlight that normally pass Earth by, and sell it on demand to people, companies and governments.

The biggest appeal will be for the growing solar power industry, which is currently facing the unavoidable problem that solar panels can't generate electricity at night.

Ben Nowack, Reflect Orbital's chief executive, told the New York Times: 'We're trying to build something that could replace fossil fuels and really power everything.'

By the end of 2027, Reflect Orbital plans to launch two more prototype mirrors with hopes to launch 1,000 larger satellites by the end of the following year.

By the end of 2027, Reflect Orbital plans to launch two more prototype mirrors with hopes to launch 1,000 larger satellites by 2028, 5,000 by 2030 and 50,000 orbiting mirrors by 2035

According to the company's current plan, that number will expand to 5,000 by 2030 and reach a full constellation of 50,000 orbiting mirrors by 2035.

Mr Nowack says the company will charge about $5,000 (£3,700) for an hour of sunlight from one mirror if a customer signs an annual contract for at least 1,000 hours.

He also says that solar power plants may be able to arrange for lighting by agreeing to split the revenues of the energy generated with Reflect Orbital's light.

While that might come as a boon for renewable energy, scientists have raised major concerns about the plan's safety and efficacy.

Critics warn that the mirrors could distract pilots, interfere with ground–based observatories, and wreak havoc on the natural sleep cycles of animals and humans.

Circadian rhythms, the natural biological cycles that help organisms know when to sleep, are hugely influenced by the presence or absence of sunlight.

If they're disrupted, animals might breed at the wrong times when food is scarce, hibernating animals and insects might wake up in the middle of winter, and plants might bloom when there are no pollinators.

The additional light could also confuse migratory birds, sending them flying off into the deadly cold when they think summer is approaching.

Reflect Orbital is not the first to attempt this. In 1993, the Russian satellite Znamya (pictured) unfurled a 65–foot mirror and reflected a beam of light as strong as two or three full moons

That could also be a problem for humans in the affected areas, with additional light in the evenings sending our natural sleep cycles into disarray.

The campaign group DarkSky says that these activities 'pose serious risks to the nighttime environment'.

DarkSky adds: 'Such illumination would introduce an entirely new source of artificial light at night, with far–reaching consequences, including disruption to wildlife and ecosystems that depend on natural cycles of light and dark, as well as serious public safety concerns.'

Unfortunately, the FCC does not take any of these factors into consideration when considering Reflect Orbital's application.

The agency's official policy is that anything that happens in space is, by definition, not on Earth and therefore not subject to environmental review.

Besides the environmental impacts, scientists are also extremely concerned that Reflect Orbital could jeopardise astronomy.

Astronomers have been warning for years that the light bouncing off the thousands of satellites in orbit is making it more and more difficult for telescopes to look out into space.

Even as SpaceX are voluntarily trying to make its satellites darker, Reflect Orbital is trying to make its spacecraft as bright as physically possible.

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11-03-2026 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

Mystery drone triggers terror alert and shelter-in-place at major US Air Force base home to nuclear strike bomber

• MORE:  Chilling list reveals which US cities would be targeted first in WW3

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

Soldiers at one of America's most important military bases were forced to shelter in place after a mysterious drone set off a terror alert on US soil. 

Officials at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana revealed that an 'unmanned aerial system' - better known as a remote-controlled drone - was spotted near the facility Monday morning.

Since drones are strictly prohibited from flying near or over the base, the Air Force temporarily raised their Force Protection Condition (FPCON) level to 'Charlie,' meaning a possible terrorist threat had been detected.

Barksdale Air Force Base is home to the military's fleet of B-52 bombers, capable of delivering nuclear strikes around the world.

Base officials noted that Monday's incident was still under investigation, and no details on where the mystery drone came from or if it was captured have emerged.

The Louisiana base has long been considered a major target of US adversaries because it serves as the headquarters for Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force.

A Barksdale AFB spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'Under state and federal law, any unauthorized drone activity over a military installation is a criminal offense that can result in significant fines and imprisonment.'

'We retain the right to protect our installation and will continue monitoring our airspace to address any threats to our mission or personnel.'

Personnel at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana were ordered to shelter in place on Monday due to a potential hostile drone in the area

Barksdale AFB is home to three squadrons of B-52s (Pictured), a long-range bomber which can carry out global nuclear strikes

The B-52H Stratofortress is one of the country's most terrifying aircraft, especially as tensions in the Middle East spark rhetoric of nuclear escalation.

It is a long-range, heavy bomber capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet.

The B-52 also has a range of approximately 8,800 miles without refueling, meaning it can reach Europe, the Middle East and Asia without needing to land.

The bomber has become famous for its ability to carry up to 70,000 pounds of ordnance for both conventional and nuclear strikes and its round-the-clock patrols during times of extreme crisis, like during the Cold War.

Three squadrons of B-52s call Barksdale AFB home, and the military has warned that penalties for approaching this base have recently been increased.

In July 2025, airmen from Barksdale's legal office worked with Louisiana state lawmakers to update the state's drone law, expanding restrictions on unauthorized flights to include Barksdale, US Navy ships, ports and other facilities across the state.

Monday's incident was the first reported incident causing a military base in the continental US to shelter in place since the start of the war in Iran.

US military bases in the Middle East have come under repeated attack from missile and drone strikes since the start of the conflict in Iran broke out on February 28.

Barksdale AFB officials said the drone incident was still under investigation by the military and the FAA

In Louisiana, state laws have been ungraded to include increased fines and prison time for any unauthorized drone flights over Barksdale AFB

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

• Map reveals your nearest nuclear shelter and states that are MOST exposed... amid fears of US attack 

Two days later, all military bases worldwide were placed on a heightened state of alert for potential retaliation or terror attacks.  

All bases in the US and abroad are reportedly at FPCON Bravo, meaning there is an 'increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity.'

The incident over Barksdale adds to the growing list of unexplained sightings and potentially hostile drone incidents around US military sites since 2024.

Hundreds of bizarre drone sightings were reported along the East Coast starting in November of that year and continuing into early 2025, including over local military bases in New York and Ohio and President Trump's property in New Jersey.

US Air Force Staff Sergeant Ramiro Valero said in a 2025 statement: 'People who try to fly near a military base might have malicious intent. With the harsher punishments, they might think twice before trying it.'

The updated penalties covering the airspace over Barksdale now call for a fine of up to $250,000 and at least one year in prison for the drone flyer, according to the Air Force.

However, Louisiana state law R.S. 14:337(E)(5) states that a person convicted of flying an unauthorized drone over federal or military installations could also face 'five years of hard labor imprisonment and court-ordered forfeiture of the drone.'

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

11-03-2026 om 20:58 geschreven door peter  

Manitoba AI Technology Enhances UFO Detection in 2025 Analysis

Manitoba AI enhances UFO detection in 2025, analyzing 1,052 sightings. Only 3% remain unexplained, promising new insights.

Chris Rutkowski, UFO researcher, stands with alien models in his Winnipeg office, highlighting his work on UFO sightings.

Based on coverage from Global News, CP24, National Observer, and Lethbridge News Now.

Canadians filed 1,052 reports of unidentified flying objects last year, ranging from simple “lights in the sky” to descriptions of discs, cylinders and glowing orbs. The latest Canadian UFO Survey says most cases have ordinary explanations, but a small slice, a little more than three per cent, still couldn’t be pinned down after review.

As advancements in AI technology promise to enhance UFO detection capabilities, ongoing infrastructure developments at the Winnipeg Airport, supported by a recent influx of funding, may also play a role in fostering innovative research in the region. For more on this, see our coverage of the airport's development funding efforts here.

The technology helps with more "sophisticated" detection, Rutkowski said.

Stefan Michalak made this sketch of a strange craft he encountered in the Falcon Lake woods in Manitoba on the May long weekend of 1967. The Falcon Lake incident is Canada's most famous UFO encounter. 

(Submitted by Stan Michalak)

The survey’s longtime lead researcher, Winnipeg-based Chris Rutkowski of Ufology Research, says better tools are on the way to sort the mundane from the genuinely puzzling. The next big shift, he argues, is artificial intelligence that can quickly tell the difference between a bird, a plane, a satellite and something that does not match common patterns.

Canadian UFO Survey reports 1,052 sightings

The 2025 edition of the annual survey was released Monday and pulls reports from public submissions, UFO research groups, government agencies, an aviation incident database and even social media. Ufology Research uses a straightforward definition: a UFO is “an object seen in the sky which its observer cannot identify.”

The tally is a slight increase from 2024, when 1,008 reports were collected. Rutkowski has been compiling the annual survey for decades, and CTV News reports it has catalogued more than 26,000 Canadian UFO sightings since 1989.

Witnesses come from all walks of life, according to the survey: “from farmhands to airline pilots and from teachers to police officers.”

What Canadians say they saw

A big chunk of reports are the classic “nocturnal lights.” The Canadian Press story says about half of sightings fell into that category, often turning out to be satellites, aircraft or stars. CTV pegs it at 52 per cent of reports being lights.

Beyond that, CTV’s breakdown includes spheres (11 per cent), triangles (five per cent) and discs (five per cent). Nearly half of sightings (48 per cent) were described as white objects or lights, followed by “multicoloured” at 16 per cent. About 13 per cent of sightings happened during the day.

Rutkowski’s bottom line on the wilder descriptions is pretty restrained: the vast majority are explainable, and there’s “no proof aliens are responsible.” Even the “unknown” label comes with a warning in the report itself: unexplained doesn’t mean extraterrestrial, and some cases may still get solved with more investigation.

Where UFO reports happened in Canada

Reports came from every province and territory. Ontario led the country, with CTV citing 307 reports, followed by Quebec at 210 and British Columbia at 131.

The survey also connects sightings to population: bigger places tend to generate more reports. Past hot spots have included Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but the survey says Calgary topped the list for cities last year.

Rutkowski also notes a limitation that’s been around for years: the survey depends on co-operation from investigators and groups across the country, and it hasn’t always been comprehensive because some organizations withhold information.

AI and the Harvard Galileo Project

Rutkowski says UFO hobbyists and researchers are increasingly setting up observation stations that do more than eyeballing the night sky. These stations can collect more “scientific data,” and some are training AI to classify objects, spotting patterns and filtering out the usual suspects.

He points to the Galileo Project at Harvard University, which uses high-tech telescopes and cameras at monitoring sites, along with AI to classify and analyze what they capture. The pitch is simple: if you can reliably rule out birds, planes, satellites and other known objects faster, you’re left with a cleaner set of cases worth a closer look.

Federal call for a Canadian UAP office

The terminology is shifting, too. “UFO” is increasingly replaced in official circles by “UAP,” short for unidentified aerial (or anomalous) phenomena.

A report from Canada’s Office of the Chief Science Advisor recommended creating a public-facing federal agency to standardize, collect and study UAP reports. Rutkowski supports the idea, partly because of concerns about incursions into Canadian airspace and Canadian sovereignty, calling it something to take “very seriously” as part of Canada’s defence package.

Some reports already come from official channels. CTV says 18 cases were found in Transport Canada’s online aviation incident database, including a flight approaching Vancouver International Airport that reported “an unrecognizable flying object of mechanical nature, without lights,” and another over northern Alberta reporting a “cylinder-shaped object” at 39,000 feet. Transport Canada cautions those reports are preliminary and unconfirmed.

Rutkowski’s view is that stigma around reporting is fading, and that better data starts with more people documenting what they saw. He also offers a bit of reassurance for anyone who has looked up and wondered: he says one in ten Canadians believe they’ve seen a UFO.

{ https://www.thecanadareport.ca/ }

11-03-2026 om 20:47 geschreven door peter  

More than 1,000 UFOs reported over Canada in 2025

11-03-2026 om 20:30 geschreven door peter  

Reports of UFO sightings in Canada jumped last year. What’s going on?

 By Adriana Fallico - Global News

Next time you are going for a walk outside, maybe take a look at the sky and see if you spot anything unusual.

The 2025 edition of the Canadian UFO Survey was released Monday, which says that the number of sightings of unidentified flying objects was at its highest point since the COVID-19 pandemic, but has not topped the number reported during 2020.

The 2025 numbers show 1,052 UFO reports were shared in Canada, involving “participating private organizations, and through social media.”

Those 1,052 sightings are in contrast to the 1,008 in 2024, 570 in 2023, 768 in 2022, 722 in 2021, and 1,243 in 2020, which was up from 849 in 2019.

Out of all those 2025 reports, 3.42 per cent were classified as “unexplained.”

“Most [cases] were having simple or easy explained configurations, such as many sightings being aircrafts, planes, satellites, planets, that type of thing,” said Chris Rutkowski, the research coordinator for the Canadian UFO Survey.

Rutkowski also stated that one in 10 Canadians believe they have seen a UFO.

“It cuts across all demographics, and all areas of Canada,” he said. “If you’ve seen a UFO, you are definitely in very good company.”

Number of sightings have increased over the years

Rutkowski stated that the number of reported cases had been declining as of 2012, which was the highest reported number of cases with 1,982 since the survey began in 1989.

However, this year’s 1,052 sightings are the highest since 2020, when 1,243 sightings were documented.

“Over the past few years and certainly after the pandemic, after that point people started taking a renewed interest and I would imagine some of that renewed interest came from some objects flying in the sky,” he said.

In 2023, the number of reported cases sat at 570, indicating a difference of 482 cases compared to 2025 reported cases.

“There certainly is a concern about people being a little watchful and wondering what’s going on up there,” Rutkowski said.

Where are the reports coming from?

Rutkowski also noted that there has always been a stream of reports from “coast to coast to coast” across Canada since 1989, surrounding all Canadian provinces and territories.

“The number of reports in a given area is related to population, of course we get more reports from Ontario, Quebec and B.C., but there are some irregularities,” he said.

“For example, Manitoba and Newfoundland had significant increases in UFO numbers, whereas in Alberta and B.C. we saw decreases in numbers. Why? We are really not sure, but it really proves that there is more to the UFO phenomenon that bears more understanding.”

In 2025, Ontario led the pack with 30 per cent of the total number of UFO reports, Quebec claimed about 20 per cent, B.C. had 13.5 per cent and Alberta had about 11 per cent.

Both Manitoba and Nova Scotia saw significant increases in numbers of reported UFOs in 2025, with 55 and 117 cases, respectively.

The report says that the higher number of reports in Nova Scotia was “likely because Nova Scotians have very active UFO-related social media where witnesses can report their UFO sightings easily.”

In terms of metropolitan cities in Canada, Toronto finished first with 53 UFO reports, Vancouver with 45, Montreal with 30, Calgary with 28 and Edmonton with 23.

What was also different in this year’s findings was the time of year in which these sightings were reported.

According to the survey, “reports were in the late summer and winter instead of mostly summer months as usual.”

UFO hearing: US has conducted secret crash retrievals for alien aircrafts, former DoD official says

“We’ve actually noticed for several years now that the peak in August has been more prevalent, and that’s not intuitive in Canada because of our winters that there would be more people outside in the middle of summer seeing and reporting things in the sky, and yet it’s not June and July, which are the warmest months but August had more reports of UFOs,” Rutkowski said.

“In the middle of winter in January 2025, there was a number of UFO reports compared to most other months as well, so it’s not just a matter of the weather.”

Duration of sightings also spiked

The survey also states that the average duration of Canadian UFO sightings was 47 minutes, a “very significant” increase over 2024 (36 minutes), 2023 (16 minutes), and 2022 (13 minutes).

The survey indicates that the length of time a UFO is detected is actually “one of the biggest clues to its explanation.”

“Experience in studying UFO reports has shown that short duration events are usually fireballs or bolides, and long duration events of an hour or more are very probably astronomical objects moving slowly with Earth’s rotation,” the survey reads.

The survey also states that the peak times in which sightings were documented “has usually followed a similar pattern every year, with a “peak at 2200 hours local and a trough around 0900 hours local.”

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{ https://globalnews.ca/ }

11-03-2026 om 20:15 geschreven door peter