The 2021 solar event was an example of what scientists describe as a “ground level enhancement,” a rare occurrence where solar particles are energetic enough to pass through the Earth’s magnetic field and reach the surface. Only seventy-three ground-level enhancements have been detected since scientists began recording them in the 1940s, and no such events have been detected since. While Mars’ thin atmosphere does filter out the lower energy particles (and slows down the highly energetic ones), neither the Moon nor Mars generates similar magnetic fields.

This means solar particles reach the surface regularly and even produce secondary radiation (through interaction with surface regolith). According to measurements made by NASA’s LRO mission from lunar orbit, the solar event was rather weak, equivalent to an absorbed radiation dose of only 31 milligray (mGy) or 31 millisieverts (mSV). Meanwhile, the Exomars TGO and Curiosity rover, obtaining measurements from orbit and the surface, recorded doses of 9 and 0.3 three mGy (respectively) – a difference of a factor of 30.

Compare this to the solar outburst recorded in August 1972, which fell between the Apollo 16 and 17 missions. The measured outburst of radiation from this event would have delivered a fatal dose to any astronauts operating on the lunar surface. Jingnan Guo, a researcher with the DSEL with the School of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), explained in an ESA press release:

“Our calculations of the past ground-level enhancement events show that, on average, one event every 5.5 years may have exceeded the safe dose level on the Moon if no radiation protection had been provided. Understanding these events is crucial for future crewed missions to the surface of the Moon.”

Astronauts are exposed to radiation regularly when they go to space, but the hazard of prolonged exposure increases dramatically beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This includes the risk of exposure to solar radiation and cosmic rays, which becomes elevated beyond Earth’s magnetic field. But there is also the risk of huge outbursts of SEPs caused by “coronal mass ejections” (CMEs), also known as “solar flares.”

Impact on Astronaut Health

Given how much of our future planned exploration efforts are centered on the Moon and Mars, it is crucial to understand intense radiation events and their effect on the space radiation environment. According to ESA health guidelines, if astronauts absorb more than 700 milligray (mGy) of radiation during a mission – equivalent to 700 millisieverts (mSv) – they may experience radiation sickness caused by the destruction of bone marrow and damage to their central nervous system. This can lead to serious health problems, including nausea, infection, internal bleeding, and elevated cancer risks.

If an astronaut absorbed as much as 10 gray (10,000 sieverts), they would likely die within two weeks. This is why the ESA, NASA, and other space agencies are dedicated to limiting astronaut exposure to 1,000 mSv, or 3% Risk of Exposure-Induced Death (REID), during the entirety of their career. While radiation shielding is important, dedicated instruments that measure the radiation environment in space are used to predict major events. The advanced warning allows astronauts to seek protection within shielded environments, protective suits, and (in the future) lunar or Martian caves.

On the ISS, astronauts and cosmonauts will retreat to designated areas where the wall shield against incoming energetic particles. This includes the sleeping quarters (located in the Russian Zvezda and NASA Harmony modules) or one of the ISS’ galleys in the Nauka and Unity modules. For astronauts bound for the Moon, the Lunar Gateway will serve as the stopover point and a potential fallback position in the event of solar activity. The Gateway will rely on three instrument suites to monitor the radiation environment around the Moon and inside the Gateway. This includes the:

• European Radiation Sensors Array (ERSA) provided by the ESA
• Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) provided by NASA
• Internal Dosimeter Array (IDA) provided by the ESA and JAXA

“Currently, we live in a golden age of Solar System physics,” said Marco Pinto, an ESA research fellow working on radiation detectors. “Radiation detectors aboard planetary missions such as BepiColombo, on its way to Mercury, and Juice, cruising to Jupiter, add a much-needed coverage to study the acceleration and propagation of solar energetic particles,”

NASA and the ESA are also developing next-generation space suits to provide improved protection against deep-space radiation, including NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). The ESA also sent two mannequins developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to space as part of the Artemis I mission, which conducted a circumlunar test flight between November 16th to December 11th, 2022. These mannequins, nicknamed Helga and Zohar, were studded with radiation sensors provided by NASA and the DLR, while one (Zohar) wore a protective radiation vest.

The data obtained during this test flight will help inform future spacesuits developed for ESA crews. Said Colin Wilson, ExoMars TGO project scientist:

“Space radiation can create a real danger to our exploration throughout the Solar System. Measurements of high-level radiation events by robotic missions is critical to prepare for long-duration crewed missions. Thanks to data from missions like ExoMars TGO we can prepare for how best to protect our human explorers.”

Further Reading: 

• ESA, 
• Geophysical Research Letters

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

05-08-2023 om 22:26 geschreven door peter  

EXCLUSIVE: Dramatic videos of UFOs over the Pacific are revealed, as expert pilots describe seeing bright lights moving in 'race track' circles over the summer - but say their employers told them to keep quiet

• Pilots claim they saw UFOs while flying on routes from Japan and Hawaii in August and September
• Now captains and a former F-18 pilot describe to DailyMail.com seeing bright lights moving in elongated circles or 'race tracks' for hours high in the sky
• The series of sightings were seen by dozens of pilots and captured on video and in air traffic control recordings
• Witnesses tell DailyMail.com they are now being told by their employers to keep quiet about the sightings
• Pilot Chris Van Voorhis said UFO sightings are quite common among pilots, 'Out of my pilot friends, at least 50% have seen some type of an anomaly'
• Van Voorhis said his employer told him to 'cease and desist' even mentioning the incident in public, and that he feared his job could be at risk for reporting his sighting

By JOSH BOSWELL and CHRIS SHARP FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A series of strange UFO incidents over the Pacific Ocean this summer were captured on video and in air traffic control recordings after sightings by dozens of pilots.

Experienced captains and one former F-18 pilot told DailyMail.com they saw bright lights moving in elongated circles or 'race tracks' for hours high in the sky while they flew on routes from Japan and Hawaii towards the US West Coast in August and September.

The incidents were reported to the FAA, and a researcher obtained dramatic audio of the pilots calling in the strange sightings to Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).

Pilots also attempted to film from their cockpits the group of between three and five bright objects, which appeared to fly around in the area of the sky where the 'scoop' of the big dipper constellation sits.

Some of the witnesses told DailyMail.com they are now being told by their employers to keep quiet, and are calling for better reporting procedures for encounters with 'unidentified aerial phenomena' (UAPs). 

A graphic shows the location and dates of the several reported UFO sightings, mainly in the Pacific Ocean, that occurred in August and September of this year 

Pilot Chris Van Voorhis, 63, told DailyMail.com he saw between three and five objects, far brighter than the stars around them, fading in and out with no discernable pattern and moving in a 'race track' circular motion, while he was flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles in August

Two of the pilots can be heard in ARTCC recordings from August 18, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Ben Hansen, a former FBI agent and the host of Discovery+ show UFO Witness.

'We've got a few aircraft to our north here and he's going around in circles, much higher altitude than us. Any idea what they are?' Mark Hulsey, a pilot flying a Gulfstream charter jet off the Los Angeles coast radioed in.

'Uh, no, no I do not,' the baffled controller responded. 'You're not entering any [military] airspace or anything. I am not sure.'

Van Voorhis, who has been flying since he was 14 and has 32,000 hours experience, said the objects appeared to be in Earth's orbit or even further out in space

The pilot described seeing 'maybe three aircraft there,' then called ARTCC 23 minutes later, stating, 'there's now like seven of them,' and estimating that they were 'at least 5 or 10,000 feet above us.'

Asked to elaborate by the controller, the rattled Hulsey added: 'They just keep going in circles. I was an F-18 pilot in the Marine Corps, and I'm telling you, I've done many intercepts, I've never seen anything like this.'

At certain times of day satellites can reflect the sun and appear to pilots as bright lights in the sky. But the expert aviators say they believe the circular movement and duration of the sightings – some for hours – ruled out satellites.

Chris Van Voorhis, 63, told DailyMail.com he saw between three and five objects, far brighter than the stars around them, fading in and out with no discernable pattern and moving in a 'race track' circular motion, while he was flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles in August.

Van Voorhis, who has been flying since he was 14 and has 32,000 hours experience, said the objects appeared to be in Earth's orbit or even further out in space, given their continued position near to the big dipper constellation as he flew over the ocean for hours.

'The other airlines were saying, Hey, are you seeing what we're seeing?' the veteran pilot said.

'They were lights that would come on very bright, you would see them move, then they would go out.

'It had to be in a very, very high orbit, or actually even out in space quite a ways away from anything that a satellite would be, because every time we were seeing it, it was in the lower right hand corner of the Big Dipper, no matter where we were in the world.

'It lasted for such a long time that it actually became boring, almost.

'If it was [Elon Musk's satellite system] Starlink, or anything like that, then it's going to be moving in a linear fashion, and all of them will be moving in the same direction. These weren't. They were moving different directions.'

Van Voorhis said his employer, which DailyMail.com has chosen not to name, told him to 'cease and desist' even mentioning the incident in public, and that he feared his job could be at risk for reporting his sighting.

Gulfstream captain and former F-18 pilot Mark Hulsey's saw a UFO sighting on August 18 by Santa Catalina, an island off the LA coast

This image shows the brightness of the UFO compared to the three circled stars, which are much dimmer 

Two UFOs (also called UAPS - unidentified aerial phenomena) are seen in this photo, grabbed from a video of the encounter 

Hansen has collected accounts of pilots for Southwest Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and others between August 6 and September 23 who say they saw the same lights in the sky as Van Voorhis.

'Many of these pilots are very confident that the lights were not just going in one direction, but in both directions, which is very unusual for satellites.

'In Mark's case they would go from the north and then actually go above his craft, where he had to crane his neck to see them from the canopy.

'It was seen by upwards of 15 different commercial flights. And at least six pilots are willing to go on record with their names and everything if asked to do so by any investigative agencies.

'In this case, we have a global phenomena from as far west as Japan, to as far east as possibly Miami. Whatever it is, pilots are seeing it from halfway across the world.'

But Hansen said there is currently no proper process for reporting such sightings – even of strange objects that could pose a threat to the safety of commercial airlines.

'Civilian pilots do not have a structured, robust process that is publicly provided to them where they can report UAPs,' he told DailyMail.com.

'The reason the pilots don't report primarily is because they don't think the FAA will follow up, or worse they will be ridiculed.'

An FAA spokesman told DailyMail.com: 'The Federal Aviation Administration documents Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) sightings whenever a pilot reports one to an air traffic control facility.

'If the pilot report can be corroborated with supporting information such as radar data, it is shared with the UAP Task Force' – a Defense Department unit that investigates UFOs, now officially called the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

A 2021 Director of National Intelligence report warned that 'UAP threaten flight safety and, possibly, national security,' due to 11 near misses between naval aviators and unknown objects.

Van Voorhis' said UFO sightings are quite common among pilots.

'Out of my pilot friends, at least 50% have seen some type of an anomaly,' he said.

Two of the pilots can be heard in ARTCC recordings from August 18. 'We've got a few aircraft to our north here and he's going around in circles, much higher altitude than us. Any idea what they are?' Mark Hulsey radioed in

'Uh, no, no I do not,' the baffled controller responded. 'You're not entering any [military] airspace or anything. I am not sure'

The incidents were reported to the FAA, and a researcher obtained dramatic audio of the pilots calling in the strange sightings to Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC)

His August sighting was not his first. In February 2004 while flying for Japanese airline Jalways he said he and another plane's crew saw three 'disks' descend from outside the atmosphere, 'stop' mid air, then suddenly pivot 30 degrees while keeping their triangular formation and shoot off beyond the horizon at thousands of miles per hour.

'I was coming back from Japan to Honolulu. We were at 39,000 feet coming across the Pacific Ocean. It was 5:30 in the morning, local time. Something caught my eye off the left hand side of the aircraft. There were three large discs,' he said.

'They were high enough up in the atmosphere to be reflecting the light from the sun which wasn't up yet.

'They came in a triangular formation and stopped. They turned in formation, they didn't bank or anything like that, nothing aerodynamic, they just pivoted. And then they took off over the horizon.

'It wasn't like they accelerated. They were just at speed and gone over the horizon. The whole thing took about 15 seconds.

'The aircraft in front of us saw it too. They said 'are you going to tell anybody?' and we said 'no'.'

Gulfstream captain and former F-18 pilot Hulsey's August 18 UFO sighting was by Santa Catalina, an island off the LA coast.

Famously, US Navy aviators from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz chased a 'tic tac'-shaped UFO near Santa Catalina Island in 2004.

The tic tac evaded Top Gun ace Commander David Fravor, maneuvering and accelerating in ways which seemed to defy the laws of physics. It then disappeared before astonishingly reappearing 40 miles away in less than one minute, at the aviator's CAP point, a rendezvous location only known by the pilot and his commander.

In July 2019, in the same area, multiple strange objects harassed US naval warships over several days.

The Pentagon claimed they were drones, but could not confirm the origin nor the operators of the craft. A source close to the investigation of the incident told DailyMail.com that a nearby Chinese cargo ship named Bass Strait, thought to be the culprit, was searched with no signs of drones.

RELATED

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

05-08-2023 om 22:07 geschreven door peter  

“LARGE FLOATING ORB” Congress Demands Answers After Pilots Encounter UFOs

A recent Congressional hearing shed new light on this enigmatic subject, underlining the serious implications it holds for both national security and aviation safety. The examination of these inexplicable occurrences, often reported by highly trained military personnel, is no longer a matter of fringe conspiracy theories but of rigorous scientific investigation.

During the hearing, some riveting accounts were shared, with testimonies that highlighted not only the existence of these UAPs but also their advanced capabilities. One such account detailed a rather peculiar incident at Eglin Air Force Base involving unidentified crafts moving in a precise diamond formation. The eye-witness account describes radar anomalies associated with these crafts and a distinct, unsettling pattern – upon interception by military aircraft, the radar systems began to malfunction mysteriously.

This description of advanced radar jamming capabilities paints a picture of a technology far beyond current human understanding. When approached, these unidentified crafts seemingly have the ability to disrupt or completely disable the tracking systems on our most advanced aircraft. If the recounting is accurate, this speaks volumes about the level of sophistication possessed by these unidentified entities.

• US Senate UFO Hearing: The AARO Takes Center …

• NASA reveals UFO sightings in Middle East in first ever public meeting on UFO and UAP sightings

Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves shed further light on the topic, corroborating similar experiences of unusual radar interference during encounters with unidentified flying objects. Graves described an incident where pilots witnessed a fleet of objects not visible on the Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) system, an observation confirmed by the radar data displayed on the situational awareness page.

The nature of these experiences emphasizes a significant concern for our national security. Not only do these unknown entities demonstrate capabilities beyond our comprehension, but they also seem to have the potential to disable our defense and surveillance systems at will. This highlights the urgent need to better understand these phenomena to safeguard our security.

One significant hurdle to gaining a comprehensive understanding of these UAPs, as emphasized by the hearing, is the existing culture within military and aviation circles. Pilots and other personnel have historically been discouraged from reporting these experiences, for fear of career repercussions or ridicule. This cultural barrier has hampered our collective knowledge and understanding of these phenomena.

Representative Matt Gates, during the hearing, suggested a pressing need for more secure channels to report and analyze these phenomena. He emphasized the need to subpoena radar images of these unidentified crafts and create mechanisms to facilitate more comprehensive reporting and analysis of these incidents. This, he believes, could be a significant step forward in our understanding of these phenomena.

The congressional hearing, thus, underlines a paradigm shift in how we approach the mystery of UAPs. The conversation has moved beyond idle speculation and conspiracy theories to rigorous investigation and genuine concern for national security. As we look to the future, it is clear that the exploration and understanding of these phenomena should be a priority, not just for the U.S, but for the world.

In the light of these revelations, it is crucial that we provide an environment that encourages transparency and facilitates reporting. Protecting whistleblowers and creating a safe space for personnel to share their experiences will significantly contribute to our understanding of these phenomena. We are at the cusp of a new frontier, and every piece of information brings us a step closer to unlocking the mysteries of these unidentified aerial phenomena. Only through such collective efforts can we hope to comprehend and engage with the mysteries that lie beyond our current understanding.

This is indeed an exciting time for both enthusiasts and scientists alike. The real work has just begun, and we are all spectators to this unfolding cosmic mystery. As the saying goes, the truth is out there. And now, more than ever, we are inching closer to uncovering it.

VIDEO:

• Chris Lehto – “LARGE FLOATING ORB” Congress Demands Answers After Pilots Encounter UFOs

RELATED

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

05-08-2023 om 21:38 geschreven door peter  

Een 39 miljoen jaar oud fossiel suggereert dat er in vervlogen tijden een immense reus de wereldzeeën domineerde, die misschien wel 340 ton (!) zou hebben gewogen.

De blauwe vinvis is het grootste dier dat ooit heeft geleefd. Hij is zelfs groter dan de grootste bekende dinosaurus! Het langste exemplaar ooit waargenomen was 30 meter lang en woog een slordige 190 ton. Maar mogelijk moet de blauwe vinvis zijn prestigieuze titel als grootste en zwaarste dier op aarde nu afstaan. Want onderzoekers zijn op een stokoud walvisfossiel gestuit, waardoor ze nu geloven dat er in een ver verleden een nóg zwaarder dier heeft bestaan.

Fossiel
Het gaat om een 39 miljoen jaar oud fossiel dat in het zuiden van Peru is opgegraven. Het fossiel omvat 13 wervels, vier ribben en een heupbot van een zogenoemde basilosauridae-walvis. Dit is een familie van uitgestorven walvisachtigen, die leefde in het midden tot het late Eoceen. Ze kwamen over de hele wereld voor, zelfs rondom Antarctica.

Gewicht
Aan de hand van de gevonden overblijfselen waren de onderzoekers in staat om het gewicht van de oude walvis, die Perucetus colossus is genoemd, te schatten. En daaruit blijkt dat zijn skeletmassa groter was dan die van enig bekend zoogdier of zeedier. Sterker nog, hij was waarschijnlijk 2 à 3 keer zo groot als een 25 meter lange blauwe vinvis. Vermoedelijk woog Perucetus colossus tussen de 85 en 340 ton. Hiermee wedijvert hij met het gewicht van de blauwe vinvis, waarvan eerder werd gedacht dat hij het zwaarste dier ooit was.

Van de troon gestoten
Mogelijk heeft Perucetus colossus de blauwe vinvis dus van de troon gestoten. Niet de blauwe vinvis, maar Perucetus colossus is misschien wel het grootste en zwaarste dier dat (waar wij weet van hebben) ooit heeft bestaan. Deze ontdekking suggereert dat de gang naar gigantisme bij zeezoogdieren mogelijk eerder zijn intrede deed dan gedacht.

Afbeelding: Trustees of the Natural History Museum; Marco Merella

Gigantisme
Kijken we naar het gehele dierenrijk, dan zien we dat er maar weinig dieren gigantische proporties hebben bereikt. Het is eigenlijk een vrij zeldzame eigenschap. En dat is ook goed te verklaren. Het is namelijk een hele kostbare functie. Grote dieren hebben meestal minder nakomelingen, hebben meer ruimte nodig om te leven, eten meer en lopen ten slotte eerder het risico op ziektes zoals kanker. Naast de nadelen van gigantisme heeft een grotere omvang ook duidelijke voordelen – anders was het ook niet geëvolueerd. Het belangrijkste voordeel is voedsel. Ondanks het reusachtige lichaam, leven veel walvissen vrijwel uitsluitend van kleine kreeftachtigen die nog geen tien centimeter lang worden. Een groter lichaam is daarbij natuurlijk handig, omdat ze dan veel grotere happen kunnen nemen en zo in één keer meer voedsel naar binnen zuigen.

Evolutionaire geschiedenis
Het fossielenbestand van walvisachtigen (een onderorde van zoogdieren waar ook dolfijnen, walvissen en bruinvissen onder geschaard kunnen worden) is heel belangrijk bij het documenteren van de evolutionaire geschiedenis van zeezoogdieren. Veel mensen denken dat de voorouders van walvissen in zee hebben geleefd, maar dat is niet het geval. Walvissen stammen namelijk af van dieren die van het land terug de zee in zijn gegaan. Onderzoekers proberen daar nog altijd meer over te weten te komen. Ondertussen zijn ze al op bepaalde aanpassingen gestuit die hand in hand gingen met die terugkeer naar het water. Denk in dit geval aan gigantisme en de daarmee samenhangende toename van de lichaamsmassa, hoewel wordt aangenomen dat laatstgenoemde een relatief recente diversificatie is geweest.

30 miljoen jaar eerder
Maar de nieuwe studie suggereert nu iets anders. De opgegraven fossiele resten van Perucetus colossus zijn namelijk 39 miljoen jaar oud. Bovendien blijkt dat deze gigant al over verschillende kenmerken beschikte die erop wijzen dat hij al volledig was aangepast aan een wateromgeving. Dit betekent dat walvisachtigen zo’n 30 miljoen jaar eerder dan gedacht al hun maximale lichaamsgewicht hadden bereikt. Het drijfvermogen dat gepaard gaat met de toename van botmassa komt overeen met een levensstijl in ondiep water. Dit ondersteunt de heersende theorie dat basilosauridae-walvissen goed aangepast waren aan kustomgevingen.

De studie werpt meer licht op deze orde van oude dieren. Maar dat niet alleen. Het laat vooral zien dat er in vervlogen tijden immense giganten door de zeeën zwierven, die zelfs groter en zwaarder waren dan de befaamde blauwe vinvis. Of er misschien nóg zwaardere dieren dan Perucetus colossus hebben geleefd? Dat valt natuurlijk niet uit te sluiten. We houden de wetenschap in de gaten.

Bronmateriaal

• "Whale fossil may be the largest, heaviest animal ever recorded" - Università di Pisa (via Scimex)
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: Alberto Gennari

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

05-08-2023 om 01:23 geschreven door peter  

Is het een kosmische spons? Een pokdalige aardappel? Nee, het is de bijzondere maan Hyperion! Dit vreemde object draait om de ringplaneet Saturnus.

Hyperion is in alle opzichten een markante maan. Ten eerste heeft deze maan van Saturnus een dichtheid die ongeveer de helft is van water. Wetenschappers denken daarom dat de maan voornamelijk uit waterijs bestaat.

Op het oppervlak zijn ontelbaar veel kleine kraters te zien. Deze hebben een gemiddelde diameter van twee tot tien kilometer. De kraters zijn gemiddeld 400 meter diep. De allergrootste krater op Hyperion heeft een diameter van 122 kilometer en is ruim tien kilometer diep. Deze krater bedekt bijna de hele maan, die een radius heeft van 135 kilometer.

Aangezien Hyperion heel poreus en licht is, is er nauwelijks zwaartekracht op het oppervlak. Om je een voorbeeld te geven: op aarde is de valversnelling 9,81 meter per seconde. Dit wordt 1 g genoemd. En de maan? Daar is de zwaartekracht met 0,165 g zo’n zes keer lager dan op aarde. Je kunt dus zes keer zo hoog springen als je met dezelfde spierkracht afzet. Op Hyperion is de zwaartekracht 0,002 g: 500 keer lager dan op onze planeet. Toch is het niet makkelijk om ‘weg te springen’ van de maan. De ontsnappingssnelheid is namelijk alsnog 268 kilometer per uur.

Misschien nog wel het meest bijzondere aan Hyperion is zijn baan om Saturnus. De rotatie van Hyperion is chaotisch: het maantje tuimelt op onvoorspelbare wijze door de ruimte. De afstand tot Saturnus bedraagt gemiddeld 1,3 tot 1,6 miljoen kilometer. Ook de snelheid varieert continu. Bekijk dit gifje maar eens. Je wordt er misselijk van!

De ruimtefoto van de week is gemaakt door de Cassini-ruimtesonde. De sonde kiekte het maantje tijdens een scheervlucht in 2005. Cassini vloog toen op een afstand van 514 kilometer langs de natuurlijke satelliet. Dat is nog eens een scheervlucht!

Nagenieten van Cassini’s erfenis
Helaas kunnen we niet langer genieten van nieuwe prachtige foto’s van Saturnus en haar manen. In 2017 kwam er een einde aan de Cassini-missie en verbrandde het ruimtevaartuig in de atmosfeer van de ringplaneet. Gelukkig is er nog wel een rijk archief opgebouwd. Zo hebben we op Scientias in 2017 een top 40 gemaakt van de mooiste Cassini-foto’s. Deze foto van Saturnus eindigde op een respectabele derde plek.

• De afgelopen decennia hebben ruimtetelescopen en satellieten prachtige foto’s gemaakt van nevels, sterrenstelsels, stellaire kraamkamers en planeten. Ieder weekend halen we één of meerdere indrukwekkende ruimtefoto uit het archief. Genieten van alle foto’s? Bekijk ze op deze pagina.

Bronmateriaal

• "In Depth - Hyperion" - NASA
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: Cassini

7

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

05-08-2023 om 01:09 geschreven door peter  

With both the Pentagon and NASA launching renewed efforts in the study of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), a Ukrainian research team says that it has undertaken a study of its own, producing imagery of aerial objects that cannot be easily identified.

According to researchers B.E. Zhilyaev, V.N. Petukhov, and V.M. Reshetnyk, the Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine “conducts an independent study of UAP” which has managed to collect imagery depicting several anomalous aerial events. The team says it employs a pair of meteor stations located in Kyiv and in the Vinarivka village, each fitted with video cameras observing the daytime sky.

In a recent paper announcing their findings, the researchers say they have created “a special observation technique” they use “for detecting and evaluating UAP characteristics.” Based on the events they have observed, they break down their observations of UAP into two primary categories, which they call “Cosmics” and “Phantoms.”

Night sky over Kyiv, Ukraine, 2020. 

(Image credit: Getty)

“We note that Cosmics are luminous objects, brighter than the background of the sky,” the authors write, noting three subcategories of Cosmics each named after various birds: swift, falcon, and eagle, whereas “Phantoms are dark objects, with contrast from several to about 50 percent.”

The Ukrainian team says they have detected UAP under a variety of conditions and have observed what they characterize as “a significant number of objects whose nature is not clear.”

“Flights of single, group and squadrons of the ships were detected,” the paper states, with several of the objects exhibiting speeds “from 3 to 15 degrees per second” and varying degrees of brightness that the team gauges within a range of 10 to 20 Hz. The research team also employed synchronized camera systems that in one instance, according to their paper, “allowed the detection of a variable object, at an altitude of 1170 km.”

By employing instrumentation used to measure variations in color, the team also believes they could determine the characteristics of the appearance of some of the objects they observed and estimate their distance.

According to the researchers, the objects they designate as Phantoms appear to have very low reflectivity, characterizing the objects as “a completely black body that does not emit and absorbs all the radiation falling on it.” The researchers hypothesize that such an object may be visible “because it shields radiation due to Rayleigh scattering,” an effect that describes light particles that become scattered without there being changes in their wavelengths.

“Phantoms are observed in the troposphere at distances up to 10 – 12 km,” the researchers state in the paper, estimating their size as being between 3 and 12 meters and capable of speeds of as much as 15 kilometers per second.

The researchers present a variety of diagrams within their paper that indicate variations in the color and brightness, as well as speed and other characteristics displayed by the objects. However, the authors do not propose any possible explanations or hypotheses regarding the objects and their appearance or whether they could have mundane underlying sources.

“Unidentified anomalous, air, and space objects are deeply concealed phenomena,” the authors conclude, adding that the primary characteristic of the UAP they have observed is “extremely high speed.”

The paper, “Unidentified aerial phenomena I. Observations of events,” by B. Zhilyaev, V. Petukhov, and V. Reshetnyk can be read online.

• Hat tip to Brett Tingley of Space.com for bringing this study to our attention.
• Micah Hanks is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on Twitter: @MicahHanks. 

{ https://thedebrief.org/ }

04-08-2023 om 23:53 geschreven door peter  

Bob Fish Told Coulthart: US Govt. Filmed High-Speed UFOs Going Underwater in Atlantic Ocean  

In 2016, a large number of emails from the account of John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, were leaked by WikiLeaks. The tranche of emails thrilled the Internet when reporters associated with the New York Times were working on the groundbreaking story entitled “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program.”

The emails between Podesta and a person named Bob Fish are the main subject that has been widely discussed by UFO enthusiasts. Mr. Fish, who had previously worked as an IT contractor, held the position of Director of Advanced Programs at Network Equipment Technologies from 1984 to 1993. (Source)

During that time, he was responsible for overseeing a top-secret global network for a major intelligence agency within the Department of Defense. In addition, he was involved in various operations that were of national importance, such as the Gulf War and Operation Just Cause.

The leaked emails may provide new insight into UFOs. Mr. Fish sent an email to Podesta on March 5, 2015, in which he stated that blurry photos, crop circles and statements from witnesses alone would not be enough to confirm the existence of UFOs. “What was needed,” he continued, was “hard scientific data collected from instruments that are known to be accurate and reliable.” Which, he added, was available “if one knows ‘where to look’ and ‘what to look for.’

He claimed that the federal government had been collecting data on UFOs since the 1970s, using the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites.

In his next email to Podesta, he shared an incident that happened with him in El Segundo, a city in California. After Project Blue Book was shut down, Fish met with a USAF official who worked on the program. He told Fish that “there were times when they were diverted from these missions to track UFOs off the east coast of Florida.”

Further, the email stated: “His claim was the UFOs had a landing and takeoff spot in the ocean east of Miami, north of Bermuda. He also claimed there was a specific electronic signature (frequency) emanating from them when they were going into or coming out of the water, so they were easy to track. On several occasions, they filmed the UFO as it transitioned from water to air or vice versa.”

Mr. Fish was convinced that the United States Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which was officially closed in 1970, did not end but instead was taken out of public view. The existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) demonstrated that the Pentagon’s interest in UFOs never dissipated.

Based on the observations provided by Lue Elizondo, the former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), the United State government had already been aware that UAPS were vastly outmatched by superior technology. These objects have capabilities that are beyond comprehension.

Read also:

• 2011 Skinny Bob Alien Videos: Forensic Analysis Uncovers Surprising Authenticity
• Famous 19-Sec UFO Footage Could Be Greatest Leak: CGI Experts Say It Is Real Deal
• Tom DeLonge Claims Secret DoD Document From UFO Program Proves Telekinesis Is Real
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

They can travel at incredibly fast speeds and have the ability to get invisible while accelerating. They are capable of moving through air without wings and can travel through space, atmosphere, and oceans without being affected by gravity, and without any visible means of propulsion.

Such scenarios alarmed the US government, and the officials realized that if this god-like technology were to be obtained and mastered by their adversaries before the United States, it would make democracy vulnerable. Australian investigative reporter Ross Coulthart noted that his sources confirmed “there has been consideration given to offensively trying to bring down these objects.”

In his book “In Plain Sight: An investigation into UFOs and impossible science“, Coulthart describes that the United States government appears to have knowledge of some UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) entering Earth’s orbit from deep space. Furthermore, the US government can actively track them via RF signals emanated from these craft based on conversations with retired US intelligence officer Bob Fish.

“I wrote to Bob Fish and after a few weeks, he kindly responded, confirming everything he told Podesta, and more. He had never spoken publicly about UAPs before. A previously very highly security-cleared defense communications intelligence insider, Fish has extensive experience working on classified programs, including President Reagan’s ‘Trust but Verify’ nuclear missile disarmament treaty with the Soviets, and he assured me he was happy to be quoted about his strong interest and belief in UAPs.

He clearly knew a lot more than he was prepared to reveal. When I asked him what he knew about the purported US ability to track such mystery craft, he told me, ‘At some point, the information about “alien” stuff and true US national defense information crosses paths.

Patriots with clearances do not want to be traitors to their country or their way of life. For instance, if I told you the exact electromagnetic signature of a high-Mach UFO that US sensors search for, but don’t attack, and you put it in a book, the Soviets/Chinese would manufacture a bomber with SIGINT/ELINT [signals and electronic intelligence] countermeasure equipment that generated that exact signature.

We must find a path forward that brings about greater knowledge of the truth without endangering the civilizations we have evolved into. The intriguing thing about Fish’s comment was the implication there was indeed a ‘truth’ still being concealed.”

Mr. Fish stated that the UAP entered the atmosphere and descended into the Atlantic Ocean, specifically in an area east of Miami, Florida and north of Bermuda. He suggested that this location would be ideal for a telescope with sensor capabilities if one were to be running the Galileo Project.

Former U.S. Navy Lt. Ryan Graves told Lex Fridman on a podcast that his squadron started getting the UAP hits, once they upgraded their APG-73 radar to the APG-79. He mentioned that the upgrade was something like going from analog to digital and that sometimes they would fly F-18s with the old radar in the morning, and the objects would not be there, but when they swapped to the F-18s with the new radar, the UAP hits would be back again. He also noted that perhaps the new radar was not filtering out something that they should have been yet, or perhaps it had not been calibrated. (Source)

“The radar always picks up everything flying, but they go so fast, you don’t recognize them. Your mind says it could have been an 18-wheeler, it could be something low, I don’t know what it was…”

— John Callahan, FAA Retired at the National Press Club, Washington D.C., 2013. (Source)

There is pretty good evidence that the government has been intercepting UFO signals or emissions since at least the 1950s. In one 1957 case investigated by James E. McDonald, a UFO was simultaneously witnessed by military officers, it was seen on radar and ECM gear detected a certain frequency coming from it. (Source)

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

04-08-2023 om 23:25 geschreven door peter  

What They Don’t Want You To Know About the Tunguska UFO Explosion

In the annals of unexplained phenomena, few events have stirred as much intrigue as the mysterious explosion that shook the remote Tunguska region of Siberia in 1908. Long thought to be the result of a meteor, this astronomical puzzle has seen a resurgence of speculation in recent years with a few daring to suggest an extraterrestrial origin.

Historically, most scientists subscribed to the meteor hypothesis, arguing that a meteorite entering the Earth’s atmosphere at a high speed would have caused the massive explosion, a blast believed to be 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. However, one of the enduring mysteries of the Tunguska Event is the lack of a discernable crater, which typically accompanies meteor strikes.

In contrast, some researchers have recently proposed an extraordinary hypothesis – suggesting that the Tunguska Event was actually the result of an alien spaceship crashing into the Earth. Proponents of this theory argue that the flight path of the object showed signs of being under intelligent control, citing unverified reports that the object made a turn mid-flight – an ability beyond that of a natural meteor.

• The Mysterious Mantell UFO Incident by Crashed …

• The Pilot Who Chased a UFO... and died - Thomas Mantell

Fueling these rumors was none other than Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Historical accounts suggest that he believed the Tunguska blast was the result of an alien spacecraft testing an advanced weapon. Stalin, intrigued by this possibility and ever-concerned for Soviet security, assigned some of his top scientists, including Sergey Korolev, to investigate.

Korolev, renowned for his role in developing the Russian space program, found his interest piqued by the peculiarities of the Tunguska event. After organizing an expedition to the area, the team discovered radioactive metallic fragments unlike any found in typical asteroids or meteorites. This discovery led them to a location ominously called the “devil’s graveyard” – an area where no plant life thrived and animals perished, marked by heightened radioactivity levels.

The question remains: if the Tunguska event was indeed an extraterrestrial incident, where did the fragments end up? Some suggest that the remnants were secreted away to Kapustin Yar, a highly classified Russian military base known for its tight security and cutting-edge research.

The suggestion that alien technology was studied and reverse-engineered in the bowels of this secure facility adds an exciting layer to Cold War intrigue. This has led some to draw parallels between Kapustin Yar and the infamous American Area 51, suggesting that these secretive installations were more similar than anyone could have thought.

In the end, the Tunguska event continues to capture our collective imagination. Whether the result of a meteor or a visit from extraterrestrial life, the event serves as a stark reminder of the incredible, sometimes unexplainable, phenomena that exist beyond our everyday perception. As we continue to explore our universe and technology evolves, we may someday unravel the enigmatic mystery of the Tunguska event, be it a tale of a rogue meteor or a testament to an early encounter with otherworldly beings.

VIDEO:

• What They Don’t Want You To Know About the Tunguska Explosion (S2) | UFO Files | The UnXplained Zone

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

04-08-2023 om 22:46 geschreven door peter  

Cultures around the world have myths that speak of a mysterious underground kingdom that exists deep within the earth, hidden away from the primitive and violent surface-dwellers: which is us. 

Picture a society untouched by time, unscathed by war, and unaffected by natural disasters. A culture much advanced than we are thriving in the vast open spaces inside the Earth. 

Throughout history, many have looked for physical evidence of its existence, tempted by stories of a peaceful but powerful subterranean civilization with advanced technology and ancient knowledge long forgotten by modern man. 

The existence of the underground Kingdom of Agartha may be true, but it has been hushed up for decades and governments go to great lengths to keep it a secret. 

Remember Admiral Richard Byrd who said that there is something strange about the shape of the Earth in both polar areas and explaining that there is a secret land mass the size of the United States that has never been seen by anyone. 

Yet the John Kerry 11-7-2016 departure trip to Antarctica by discussing the new agreed upon Nation State Treaty, banning private ships from traveling to Antarctica without advanced authorized permission to do so, for another period of 35 years to cover-up the secrets from the past and what to think of the polar orbit satellites, they don't cross some significant areas. 

And it seems that there is also a Secret Antarctic Map that reveals the coordinates how to get to the Hollow Earth 

This is the story of the underground Kingdom of Agartha and the explorers who’ve said that - not only is it a real place - but they know where it is.

  

{ http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

04-08-2023 om 21:47 geschreven door peter  

Big, Red UFO Hovered over Vandenberg in 2003, Congressional Witness Testifies

Former Navy Pilot Says Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon Was Seen Above Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County

Reports of a huge, hovering red square above Vandenberg Air Force Base in northern Santa Barbara County were shared at a House of Representatives panel’s hearing on unidentified flying objects last Wednesday, July 26. 

For the last five years, the United States has been slowly leaking bits of information about UFOs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) as they call them. The Indy reported in 2019 that there has been an overall “uptick of interaction with aerial phenomenon” since 2014, according to a spokesperson for naval operations. 

The football-field-sized flying object at Vandenberg was spotted in 2003, according to testimony during the hearing held by the House Oversight Committee’s national security subcommittee.

“A large group of Boeing contractors were operating near one of the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base when they observed a very large, 100-yard-sided red square approach the base from the ocean and hover at low altitude over one of the launch facilities,” said Ryan Graves, a former U.S. Navy fighter jet pilot and founder of a nonprofit focused on UAP sightings. 

“This object remained for about 45 seconds or so before darting off over the mountains,” he continued. 

Graves, the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, said the sighting occurred around 8:45 a.m., followed by a second sighting only hours later. He said witnesses provided him with information about the mysterious incidents, as they had held onto “official documentation and records” from the event over the years.

“Later in the evening, post sunset, there were reports of other sightings on base, including some aggressive behaviors. These objects were approaching some of the security guards at rapid speeds before darting off,” Graves said.

The Vandenberg Air Force Base — renamed the Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2021 — is no stranger to anomalous phenomena. In 1964, a test missile was destroyed shortly after launch at the base. The event was allegedly filmed by Lieutenant Robert Jacobs, who in 1982 came forward saying a space object approached the missile and shot a plasma-type beam at the dummy warhead from four different angles. His superiors had told him to say nothing of the sighting. 

Graves, one of three former military members to testify at the July 26 hearing, based his discussion around “three critical issues,” including claims that UAP are in our airspace but are grossly underreported, stigma around UAPs is powerful and “challenges national security,” and “the government knows more about UAP than shared publicly, and excessive classification practices keep crucial information hidden.” 

The alleged sighting of a giant, flying red square raises eyebrows. The credibility is questionable — how did others miss it? Nevertheless, reports of odd sightings are becoming more public, and are being treated more seriously by government officials on both sides of the political spectrum. 

Last year, the Department of Defense created the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, for handling UAP reports.

The U.S. intelligence community said earlier this year that UFO reporting by U.S. military personnel is increasing, but government officials have emphasized that only a small percentage of those reports could be described as “anomalous.” 

Many representatives at the hearing acknowledged UAPs as a potential threat, which requires government transparency and better understanding of UAPs. That includes efforts to encourage people to come forward with UAP reports, according to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach). 

The Independent reached out to Congressmember Salud Carbajal’s office, but they had no comment at this time. 

“The more we understand, the safer we will be,” Garcia said.

{ https://www.independent.com/ }

04-08-2023 om 00:49 geschreven door peter  

Whistleblowing is fundamentally American, since 1778

BY STEPHEN M. KOHN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR

{ https://thehill.com/ }

04-08-2023 om 00:26 geschreven door peter  

An Intermediate Mass Black Hole (IMBH) is one with a mass between hundreds and thousands of Suns. They aren’t formed by the collapse of a massive star, nor are they the gravitational seeds of galaxies. They’ve only recently been discovered through the gravitational waves of black hole mergers, so they aren’t well understood. We don’t even know how common they might be. But if an IMBH orbits Sag A*, its gravitational pull would affect the orbits of nearby stars also orbiting our supermassive black hole.

In this study, the team looked at the orbit of a star known as S0-2, or S2. It has one of the closest orbits to Sag A*, with an orbital period of just 16 years. It orbits the black hole so closely that you need to take general relativity into account when calculating its orbit, and we have more than two decades of observational data on it. If there is an IMBH orbiting nearby, S0-2 should be affected by it.

The team found that to the limits of observation, there was no evidence of gravitational perturbations on the orbit of S0-2. This doesn’t mean there isn’t an intermediate-mass black hole in the area, but it does put some upper bounds on the mass if it does exist. Based on the data, if a hypothetical IMBH orbits outside the orbit of S0-2, say with an orbital radius between 1,000 AU and 4,000 AU, then it could have a mass no greater than 1,000 to 10,000 Suns. If there is an IMBH orbiting Sag A* closer than S0-2, then it can have a mass no greater than 400 Suns.

Those aren’t tight constraints, but they do confirm that there isn’t a large intermediate black hole orbiting Sagittarius A*. If it has a smaller IMBH companion, it’s currently beyond our ability to detect.

Reference: 

• Will, Clifford M., et al. “Constraining a companion of the galactic center black hole, Sgr A*” arXiv preprint arXiv:2307.16646 (2023).

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

03-08-2023 om 22:06 geschreven door peter  

The Tesla Files & the 11973 Brookhaven Particle Accelerator Death Ray - August 2023

Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American engineer and physicist made numerous advances in the generation, transmission, and use of electric power. He invented the first alternating current motor and pioneered the development of AC generation and transmission technology.

Despite his notoriety and respect, he never succeeded in turning his innumerable inventions into long- term financial success, unlike Thomas Edison, his main rival and former employer. In this video, we’ll tell you about Nikola Tesla’s last message and his prediction to future generations revealed in old documents.

RELATED

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/ }

03-08-2023 om 21:28 geschreven door peter  

Here are the 5 most memorable moments from Congress’ UFO hearing

03-08-2023 om 20:48 geschreven door peter  

Unveiling the Secrets of S4: A CGI Recreation of the Infamous UFO Base

In the never-ending quest to decipher the mysteries of our universe, we often find ourselves drawn to the enigmatic Area 51, a name synonymous with extraterrestrial encounters, top-secret research, and alleged UFO sightings. As the world of technology continues to evolve, we find new ways to visualize and understand these baffling phenomena. Today, we are thrilled to present an incredibly detailed and immersive computer-generated video, recreating the secret S4 UFO base, allegedly situated within the confines of Area 51.

Inspired by the riveting documentary “Bob Lazar and the Flying Saucers,” (Amazon link) the creator of this video sought to amalgamate valuable insights and painstakingly bring to life a digital representation of the secret S4 Base. Harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5, the result is a vivid and engrossing look at the world’s most enigmatic “extraterrestrial” base.

The animation traces its roots to the contentious story of Bob Lazar, the scientist who sparked worldwide intrigue with his claims of working on reverse-engineering alien technology at a site called S4, near the Area 51 test facility in Nevada. For the many who are unfamiliar with Lazar’s narrative, it revolves around his supposed employment in the late 1980s at a concealed military installation where he alleges to have worked with extraterrestrial technology.

• Unveiling Extraterrestrial Life - Unveiling the Secrets of Life on Other Planets

• Researchers talk about UFO landing sites, 1970s - 80s & 90s

To enhance the credibility and add further depth to this video, the creator has drawn upon the work and blueprints provided by Dan Burisch and Michael Schratt. Burisch, a retired government microbiologist renowned for his work in “The Hidden Hand: Alien Contact and the Government Cover-Up” and the TV series “Ancient Aliens,” lends his intricate understanding of supposed governmental contact with alien beings to this project.

Meanwhile, Schratt, a prominent military aerospace historian featured in several documentaries like “Hangar 1: The UFO Files,” “Ancient Aliens,” “Unacknowledged,” and “Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified,” provides his extensive knowledge of military aerospace history, adding another layer of authenticity to the project.

The synergy of these dynamic elements results in a stunningly realistic animation of the mysterious S4 base. As viewers, we’re taken on a journey through eerily lifelike corridors and spaces, bringing us as close to the rumored alien technologies as we can possibly get from our computer screens.

This video stands as a testament to the power of technology and its ability to breathe life into stories and narratives that have captivated us for decades. It not only allows us to visualize Lazar’s claims but also stokes the flames of our collective curiosity about what truly lies within Area 51.

Though we must bear in mind that these representations are speculative and the existence of the S4 base remains unconfirmed, it does serve as a fascinating exploration into the world of UFO lore. The video brings us closer to understanding, or at least imagining, the tantalizing mysteries that continue to surround Area 51 and its supposed extraterrestrial affiliations.

In conclusion, this captivating animation bridges the gap between science, speculation, and storytelling, bringing to life the mysteries of Area 51’s S4 base in an unprecedented way. Whether you’re a fervent UFO enthusiast or just an intrigued visitor, prepare to embark on an exciting exploration of one of the most iconic and mysterious locations in UFO history.

VIDEO:

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

03-08-2023 om 19:39 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.liberationtimes.com/ }

03-08-2023 om 01:00 geschreven door peter  

NASA Can't Get Voyager 2 to Call Home — But There Might Be a Fix

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft hasn't called home in a while, but NASA says the spacecraft will be fine.

BY KIONA SMITH

 

MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images

“CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?”

While Voyager 2’s operators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory were uploading a series of commands to the spacecraft on July 21, something in their programmed commands accidentally tilted its antenna about two degrees. And over 12.3 billion miles of space, a tiny two-degree error turns into an astronomical miss.

“Data being sent by the spacecraft is no longer reaching the [Deep Space Network’s antennas on Earth], and the spacecraft is not receiving commands from ground controllers,” NASA announced recently.

The Deep Space Network picked up a carrier signal — the constant broadcast from a radio transmitter, whose frequency and intensity can be changed, or modulated, to carry an actual signal — from Voyager 2 on Tuesday afternoon. Engineers hope that if the carrier signal is hitting DSN’s antennas, then messages sent from Earth will also reach Voyager 2. If that’s the case, they can send the spacecraft instructions to point its antenna in the right direction again.

If that doesn’t work, Voyager 2 will be cut off from contact with its human operators until October 15, when the spacecraft is scheduled to reset its orientation on its own.

Voyager 2 launched in August 1977, and it entered interstellar space in November 2018. About a year ago, its sister ship, Voyager 1, experienced a different communications issue, which engineers managed to troubleshoot from billions of miles away. NASA engineers have had to find increasingly creative ways to keep the two Voyager spacecraft sending data home to Earth, but if all goes well, both spacecraft will keep calling from interstellar space until sometime in 2035.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

03-08-2023 om 00:32 geschreven door peter  

If Aliens Actually Crashed Into Earth, Would We Know About It?

The military would probably call dibs on the evidence, but any attempt at a cover-up likely wouldn't last long, experts suggest.

BY KIONA SMITH

 

Anton Petrus/Moment/Getty Images

These questions seem like fodder for very trope-y science fiction, but last week, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer told Congress last week, with a straight face, that an unnamed source had told him that the U.S. Department of Defense (or possibly its contractors) has debris and “nonhuman biologics” from a crashed UFO.

To answer these suddenly relevant questions, Inverse spoke with Greg Eghigian, a Pennsylvania State University historian and bioethicist who specializes in the study of UFOs.

WHO OWNS CRASHED UFOS?

If a flying saucer crashes in Oklahoma tomorrow, just for example, what happens next?

No law or treaty spells out who gets to claim the spaceship or alien remains. The U.S. and several other countries have laws about who owns meteorites (spoiler alert for U.S. readers: if the meteorite falls on private land, it belongs to the landowner; on public land, it depends) and even debris from human-made spacecraft re-entering Earth’s atmosphere (you can’t collect rocket parts in Florida, for example). Other laws even spell out who’s liable if a de-orbiting satellite crashes on someone’s house. At the moment, though, there’s nothing on the books about who technically owns a flying saucer that crashes on U.S. soil.

Senators Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds are hoping to change that with an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Their amendment, if it passes, would (among other things) give the U.S. federal government “eminent domain over any and all recovered technologies of unknown origin (TUO) and biological evidence of non-human intelligence (NHI) that may be controlled by private persons or entities in the interests of the public good.”

“I think the sense is that the government, particularly the military, would be the key entity that would take on this stuff,” Eghigian tells Inverse. “I don't think civilian scientists would be getting first dibs on this. I think they would be out of the loop.”

COULD THE GOVERNMENT REALLY KEEP A CRASHED UFO A SECRET?

Does that mean the Department of Defense would whisk the crash debris (and the “nonhuman biologics,” as former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch recently described it to Congress) away to a top-secret bunker, never to be spoken of again?

“To start with, I think there's no question that the first people on the ground are going to be policing authorities: it’s going to be the police, and it’s going to be the military,” says Eghigian. Once the crash site is secure, the next step would probably be forensic work, involving a mix of technicians, scientists, and engineers from within the military branches or from defense contractors.

It’s likely the military’s interest would be threefold: first, to determine whether the flying saucer and its builders pose a threat to humanity, especially the U.S.; second, to try to reverse engineer the technology for military use; and third, to keep anybody else from doing part two. That would almost certainly involve some secrecy — or at least, an attempt at secrecy.

“Militaries keep secrets all the time, and the intelligence community is built around, not just holding secrets, but also exposing secrets for their benefit,” says Eghigian. “If something remarkable happened, I can believe that that would be a dynamic that would emerge.”

But SETI Institute astronomer Seth Shostak questions how long a veil of secrecy would last on a planet surrounded by high-resolution imaging satellites.

“Actual alien craft in our airspace bigger than an office desk would likely be visible to satellites that — among other things — supply imagery to Google Earth,” he writes in a recent essay for the SETI Institute. And it’s not just satellites; more than one country’s military personnel have managed to share sensitive operational information on social media. “I still strongly maintain that alien visitation is not something that could be kept secret. The size of such a secret is just too big,” writes Shostak.

Eghigian is also skeptical that an alien cover-up could last very long, but he says the fact that so many people expect — or already believe in — a government conspiracy to hide aliens from us is, in itself, very revealing.

“So often this stuff about UFOs isn’t about UFOs at all,” Eghigian says. “It gets to the heart of how a person or an organization or group of people, your image and your idea of how government works, and what modern governments are capable of and what they do."

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Once the word gets out — and Shostak and Eghigian seem to agree that it almost certainly will, one way or another — scientists around the world would be clamoring for access to the evidence, and even the Department of Defense might have some good reasons to share.

“That would probably be followed by, you would hope, lots of questions coming from journalists like you,” Eghigian says. “And then I think the civilian scientists and researchers, if we catch wind of this stuff, would then be I think clamoring for an opportunity to have a look.”

With nearly 300 research universities in the U.S. alone, not to mention the private sector, there would be a lot of researchers clamoring for dibs on alien autopsies and analyzing the metals in the flying saucer’s hull. Sorting out who should get access to study which pieces of the evidence would quickly become a sticky, and highly politicized, problem.

“One thing I think you can expect absolutely right away is this would turn political,” says Eghigian.

Of course, this story has focused on what would happen if an alien spaceship crashed somewhere in the U.S., but there’s no reason — other than nationalism — to think the U.S. is any more likely to be a UFO crash site than any other country in the world.

“There is a kind of national hubris operating here: If extraterrestrial beings are going to come to Earth, they’re going to visit us!” writes Shostak.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

03-08-2023 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

BY ANDY TOMASWICK

In such a collision, the energy isn’t transferred to the atom’s nucleus but its electrons, or even photons, if they happen to be present. And there are two main ways they could potentially have such a collision.

One is called Bremsstrahlung radiation, meaning “braking radiation” in German. In this case, while the dark matter particle would still hit a nucleus, some energy would be transferred directly into a photon. Detectors at the SuperCDMS would then be able to pick up the increased energy of that photon and deduce that an inelastic dark matter collision could have caused it.

Bremsstrahlung radiation has been experimentally observed before, but the other potential inelastic collision method, known as the Migdal effect, has not yet. In this case, the dark matter particle again hits the nucleus, but the nucleus itself shifts ever so slightly, and the cloud of electrons surrounding it must shift as well. This shift should theoretically be detectable by experiments such as SuperCDMS, and indeed other theorists have calculated what that shift might look like in an experiment.

Unfortunately, after reanalyzing data previously collected by SuperCDMS, Dr. Kurinsky and his colleagues found no evidence of dark matter. However, they added some additional constraints by showing that a dark matter particle’s total “mass” (equivalent to the energy in high-end physics) is less than one-fifth the mass of a proton.

But they didn’t stop there. Another way the detector might not see the results they expect based on these new interaction theories is if the dark matter particles don’t make it all the way to the detector in the first place and get swallowed up by Earth’s ground or even the atmosphere beforehand. That would help to put an upper bound on the minimum level of mass dark matter to reach the detector.

To do this calculation, the physicists collaborated with another group of scientists not well-known for their interest in particle physics – geologists. That collaboration allows the physicists to calculate how much energy a dark matter particle would lose depending on which direction through the Earth it was passing. Calculations show a dramatic difference in lost energy as it passed the entire way through the Earth and its core to reach the mine in Minnesota where SuperCDMS is located finally, and another dark matter particles that might come from straight overhead and meet the path of least resistance into the detector.

Again, these calculations didn’t turn up any smoking gun of dark matter, so the search continued. However, they were able to say that dark matter must be below the energy limit that would allow the particles (if that is indeed what they are) to pass through to the detector, even via the most direct route. They can also confidently say that if it has enough energy to make it to the detector, it must have a mass of less than 1/5th of a proton.

Now the search continues, with more and more scientists joining it every year. And with more and more detectors coming online every year, maybe there is some hint of dark matter’s existence hiding in the data sets of other detectors just waiting to be analyzed using this new framework. But until then, details of this most mysterious of materials will continue to elude us.

Learn More:

• SLAC – New analysis of SuperCDMS data sets tighter detection limits for dark matter
• UT – The Evidence is Building that Dark Matter is Made of Axions
• UT – Dark Matter Might Interact in a Totally Unexpected Way With the Universe
• UT – If dark matter is a particle, it should get inside red giant stars and change the way they behave

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

02-08-2023 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

• Wereldrecord: Siberische worm ontwaakt na 46.000 jaar uit gesmolten permafrost

Paleontologist Mario Urbina poses for a photo next to the vertebrae of a newly found species named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal  whale from Peru”, during a presentation in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.  Show less 

MARTIN MEJIA, AP

In this 2023 artist illustration by Alberto Gennari, Perucetus colossus is reconstructed in its coastal habitat, with an estimated body length: ~20 meters. Researchers describe the new species named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru," in the journal Nature on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.  Show less 

ALBERTO GENNARI, NATURE

In this June 2017, photo provided by Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, a single vertebra collected within a plaster jacked of Perucetus colossus is transported from the site of origin in the Ica desert in Ica Province, southern Peru, to the Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor San Marcos, in Lima.  Show less 

GIOVANNI BIANUCCI/DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF PISA

In this June 2017, photo provided by Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, disarticulated vertebrae of the skeleton of Perucetus colossus is excavated by Eusebio Diaz, from left, Alfredo Martinez and Walter Aguirre, in the Ica Province, southern Peru.  Show less 

GIOVANNI BIANUCCI/DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF PISA

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

02-08-2023 om 22:54 geschreven door peter