Buildings On Mars Google Map, And Yet, NASA Refuses To Admit Aliens Exist, UFO Sighting News.

Date of discovery: Dec 27, 2023 

Location of discovery: Mars 

URL Source: 

• http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=-2.253334&lon=-84.257239&zoom=10&map=infrared 

 

I was looking over the on-line Google Mars map and found an area of interest. In this location the photo is color and not infrared, and also NASA has not edited this area of the map very well. There are a lot of structures near the shadows of mountains and along the tops of craters. These structures are so well lit up that we can see they are solid objects on the surface. One such crater with a structure on the side shows a shadow that matches the buildings. This particular crater is 100% proof that these buildings are actually there and not mistakes in the photo development process. I open the video with that crater, so you will see it right away if you are interested in it. Remember this is not the downloaded Google Mars map, but the on-line smaller version. You must hit the infrared button on the far upper right of the screen to see it. SCW

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 22:27 geschreven door peter  

AI is going to change more than people ever expected, it's going to change the people themselves forever. UFO Sighting News.

You know, I've been thinking a lot about AI lately. It seems there are over 20 AI already developed and being tested by big corporations. How long until AI comes to the conclusion that 50% of the planet already knows? Alien evidence has been hidden from the public to keep humanity in the dark and keep the military at an advantage. 

You see, AI is kinda smart right now, it can write pages, even books one page at a time. It can do a kids homework, it can write news articles and calculate gravitational pulls of moons and planets at specific times of the year. But it can also surf the internet for knowledge as many of the AI will soon be cut loose to do. That is the only way AI can grow faster than its competitors AI. By suffering the net it can gather enough knowledge to confirm without a doubt that aliens exist and have existed for tens of thousands of years or more. The evidence is all around us, all there in black and white, carved in stone hieroglyphs across the planet, its not like its a coincidence that human civilizations all created pyramids at roughly the same moment in time. 

But the question is, if AI does conclude such things, when will aliens themselves come out for all to see? That is a harder question, because it does not follow the rules of our human culture, but follows rules of one or more alien cultures. How aliens will do things could be so opposite to how humans do it that it will see...well...alien. 

Some things to think about that may be different are: 

• Aliens might not have religion. They might view human religion as we now view archaic greek or mythology gods. 
• How the universe was created. Humans still cling to the big bang, because we have nothing else, but lets face it, its flawed in so many ways. 
• They might not have many countries, but instead have a planet ruled by a single form of gov, or have no need for a gov at all. 
• Aliens might not like wearing cloths, washing themselves or eating in front of others. 
• Aliens might want to eat humans more than socialize with them. 
• Aliens might view humans as we view monkeys. Do you want to hang out with the monkeys? It gets boring fast. 

Needless to say, AI is going to change not just what we know to be fact, but also change the way we see the world around us...our perceptual field. Its like we are going to put on some new glasses very soon and for a while its going to look blurry and confusing, then as we get use to it, it will be normal again, just different normal. 

Scott C. Waring 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 21:46 geschreven door peter  

Unveiling the Mysteries: America’s UFO Secrets and Sightings

For decades, the skies above the United States have been a canvas for the inexplicable and the unidentifiable. From the shimmering deserts of Nevada to the bustling streets of New York City, tales of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have woven themselves into the very fabric of American lore. These mysterious sightings, often dismissed and ridiculed, have nonetheless persisted, capturing the imagination of believers and skeptics alike. But what is the truth behind America’s UFO secrets, and why do these sightings continue to fascinate and perplex us?

Historical Echoes and Modern Mysteries

The history of UFO sightings in America is as old as the nation itself, with reports dating back to the early colonial days. However, the modern fascination began in earnest in the mid-20th century, when a flurry of sightings occurred post-World War II. This era birthed the term “flying saucers” and saw the infamous Roswell incident, which remains a touchstone for conspiracy theorists. As the Cold War deepened, so too did the mystery surrounding these aerial anomalies, with many attributing them to secret military technology or extraterrestrial visitors.

In recent years, the conversation has shifted from fringe conspiracy to a matter of legitimate inquiry. Declassified documents and high-profile testimonials have given credibility to the study of UFOs, now more commonly referred to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). The establishment of official investigative bodies, such as the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force, signifies a seismic shift in how seriously these sightings are taken.

Analyzing the Evidence: From Anecdotes to Analytics

The evidence for UFO sightings in America is as varied as it is compelling. Amateur footage and eyewitness accounts form the bulk of this, depicting erratic lights, impossible maneuvers, and speeds that defy known aviation technology. Skeptics argue that these are merely misidentifications of conventional objects or atmospheric phenomena, yet some cases remain stubbornly unexplainable.

Advanced technology has also played a role in capturing these enigmatic events. Military pilots equipped with state-of-the-art imaging systems have recorded encounters with objects that challenge our understanding of physics and flight. These accounts lend a credibility to the phenomenon that personal anecdotes cannot, suggesting that whatever is out there, it warrants scientific and governmental attention.

The Cultural Impact: From Fear to Fascination

America’s UFO sightings have had a profound impact on popular culture, inspiring movies, books, and television shows. They tap into our deepest fears and greatest hopes, embodying the unknown and the otherworldly. But beyond entertainment, these stories serve a deeper purpose. They challenge our perceptions of reality and our place in the cosmos. They remind us that, despite our advancements, there are still mysteries out there waiting to be solved.

VIDEO:

• America’s UFO Secrets | Full Alien UFO Documentary | Majestic 12 – Unsealed Alien Files

https://youtu.be/2VZ_VsKDfs0

As we stand on the brink of a new era of space exploration and scientific discovery, UFO sightings remain a captivating mystery. They prompt us to ask bigger questions about our universe and ourselves. With advances in technology and a growing openness among the scientific community, the next chapter in America’s UFO narrative is poised to be the most exciting yet. Perhaps, in time, the secrets of the skies will be revealed, and the truth behind these elusive phenomena will finally come to light.

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

28-12-2023 om 21:34 geschreven door peter  

Bestaat Nessie echt? Duik in het mysterie van het monster van Loch Ness

©Shutterstock

Bestaat Nessie echt? Duik in het mysterie van het monster van Loch Ness
In een verrassende gang van zaken hebben wetenschappers het bestaan ​​van Nessie als ‘plausibel’ bestempeld nadat ze gefossiliseerde plesiosaurusbeenderen in een Afrikaanse rivierbedding hadden ontdekt. Eerder werd aangenomen dat deze zeereptielen met lange nek, die lijken op het mythische monster van Loch Ness, uitsluitend in zout water leefden. Zou Nessie een levend overblijfsel uit het dinosaurustijdperk kunnen zijn? Voorlopig is er niets noemenswaardigs gevonden. Het mysterie rond het kolossale wezen van het meer blijft bestaan, en de twijfels over het bestaan ​​van het monster blijven bestaan.

Benieuwd naar de mythe rond het ‘monster van Loch Ness’? Klik dan op de galerij!

©Getty Images

De ontdekking
Een team van wetenschappers heeft gefossiliseerde overblijfselen van plesiosauriërs, kleine zeereptielen met lange nek, gevonden in een 100 miljoen jaar oud riviersysteem in de Sahara. Deze ontdekking heeft de speculatie doen herleven over de mogelijkheid dat het monster van Loch Ness meer is dan alleen een fictief verhaal.

©Getty Images

Sahara woestijn
De fossielen werden ontdekt in de Sahara-woestijn van Marokko. De bevinding suggereert dat deze reptielen niet alleen in zoutwater- maar ook in zoetwateromgevingen hebben gewoond, in tegenstelling tot eerdere opvattingen.

©Shutterstock

"Aannemelijk"
Britse wetenschappers hebben de mogelijkheid van het bestaan ​​van een monster van Loch Ness in het verleden als ‘plausibel’ beschouwd vanwege een verbazingwekkende ontdekking.

©Shutterstock

Wat zijn ze?
Plesiosaurussen, een groep zeereptielen, ontstonden ongeveer 230 miljoen jaar geleden. Deze opmerkelijke waterdinosaurussen floreerden tijdens het Jura-tijdperk en vertoonden zowel een enorme omvang als een indrukwekkende behendigheid.

©Shutterstock

Top roofdier
Plesiosaurussen zagen er intimiderend uit als een toproofdier in de oceanen, die snel grote prooien achtervolgden en verslonden. Hoewel de zoetwaterclassificatie niet eerder aan hen was toegewezen, trekt een recente ontdekking deze overtuiging in twijfel.

©Shutterstock

Een zoetwatermonster?
Wetenschappers heroverwegen de mogelijkheid van een 'monsterbewoner' in het zoetwater Loch Ness in Schotland vanwege recente Noord-Afrikaanse fossiele ontdekkingen.

©Shutterstock

Loch Ness
Loch Ness ligt in de Schotse Hooglanden, ten zuidwesten van Inverness. Het is een uitgestrekte watervlakte met een lengte van ongeveer 37 km, met een diepste punt van 230 m (755 ft). Legenden over een wezen dat in de diepte rondspookt, zijn terug te voeren op de oudheid en de verhalen die door de Pictische volkeren werden verteld.

©Shutterstock

Oorsprong van de ijstijd
De vorming van het meer vond plaats als gevolg van gletsjerprocessen in de Great Glen meer dan 10.000 jaar geleden, aan het einde van de laatste ijstijd. De Great Glen-breuk ontstond ongeveer 400 miljoen jaar geleden.

©Public Domain

Initiële skeletten van plesiosaurussen
De Engelse fossielenverzamelaar Mary Anning (1799–1847) deed in 1826 een baanbrekende vondst: ze ontdekte twee bijna complete skeletten van plesiosaurussen, de eerste die ooit werden aangetroffen! De afbeelding toont het waardevolle notitieboekje waarin Anning haar opmerkelijke ontdekkingen documenteerde.

©Shutterstock

Natuurlijk geschiedenismuseum
De opmerkelijke ontdekking van Mary Anning, een skelet van een plesiosaurus, wordt nu permanent tentoongesteld in het Natural History Museum in Londen.

©Shutterstock

Plesiosaurus-fossielen
Deskundigen zijn verbaasd over de bevindingen in Marokko. De indrukwekkende collectie omvat botten en tanden van volwassen individuen met een lengte van 3 meter, evenals een armbeen van een baby van 1,5 meter lang. De omstandigheden rond hun ontdekking op de rivierbedding in het Krijt-tijdperk blijven echter onverklaard.

©Shutterstock

Zoetwater- en zeewatertolerant?
Nieuwe bevindingen uit de Sahara hebben paleontologen ertoe aangezet de habitat van bepaalde soorten waarvan voorheen werd aangenomen dat ze uitsluitend marien waren, te heroverwegen. Er wordt nu verondersteld dat plesiosauriërs het opmerkelijke vermogen hadden om te overleven in zowel zoet- als zoutwateromgevingen.

©Getty Images

Aquatische dinosaurussen
Onderzoekers geven aan dat de plesiosaurus in zoet water leefde en zich voedde, naast kikkers, krokodillen, schildpadden, vissen en andere waterdinosaurussen.

©Shutterstock

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus leefde ongeveer 99 miljoen jaar geleden in het huidige Noord-Afrika. Ondanks dat het een enorm landroofdier was, bezat het semi-aquatische neigingen en dook hij in het ondiepe water om vissen en andere zeedieren te vangen als aanvulling op zijn dieet.

©Shutterstock

Nothosaurus
Nothosaurus, een zwemmend reptiel uit het Trias, leefde van vis en inktvis. Zodra de Nothosaurus zijn prooi onder water had gevangen, kwam hij weer boven water om stenen en kustlijnen te verslinden.

©Shutterstock

Ceratosaurus
Ceratosaurus, een vleesetende dinosaurus uit het Jura-tijdperk, staat bekend om zijn snuithoorns. Op deze afbeelding zien we er een die in een rivier waadt terwijl hij op waterdieren zoals vissen jaagt.

©Shutterstock

Zouden Plesiosauriërs in Loch Ness kunnen overleven?
Wetenschappers geloven dat het mogelijk is dat plesiosauriërs in zoet water hebben bestaan, wat de vraag doet rijzen of men in Loch Ness had kunnen gedijen.

©Getty Images

Massale sterfte
De theorie verliest enige geloofwaardigheid als gevolg van het uitsterven van plesiosaurussen, dat samenviel met de ondergang van dinosauriërs 66 miljoen jaar geleden. De recente fossiele ontdekking in Afrika heeft echter onverwachts de discussie over ‘Nessie’ weer doen oplaaien.

©Getty Images

Waarnemingen
Tijdens de jaren 1870 en 1880 waren er meerdere meldingen van een object dat het water bewoog en verstoorde, evenals de waarneming van een groot dier met korte poten dat uit Loch Ness tevoorschijn kwam. Deze observaties werden echter niet algemeen erkend. Niettemin begon in 1933 de legende van het monster van Loch Ness aan kracht te winnen.

©Getty Images

Nessie op de foto?
Op 2 Mei 1933 meldde de Inverness Courier dat een echtpaar beweerde "een groot wezen te hebben zien bewegen en duiken in het water" van het meer. Het was echter de foto die zogenaamd door Robert Kenneth Wilson was gemaakt en op 21 April 1934 in de Daily Mail werd gepubliceerd, die mensen echt fascineerde. Deze foto wordt algemeen erkend als de beroemdste afbeelding van het wezen dat bekend staat als het monster van Loch Ness.

©Getty Images

Nessiemania
In het begin van de jaren dertig verspreidde een rage genaamd Nessiemania zich over Groot-Brittannië. Op deze foto uit 1933 wordt een replica van het monster van Loch Ness voor de kerstperiode per aanhanger vervoerd naar Bertram Mills Circus in Olympia, Londen.

©Getty Images

Aanvullend fotografisch bewijsmateriaal
Het ongeïdentificeerde wezen kreeg al snel het label ‘Nessie’, wat leidde tot wijdverbreide fascinatie. Op deze foto uit 1954 voegt Urquhart Castle context toe, terwijl het vermeende monster in de buurt van het belangrijke monument lijkt te zwemmen.

©Getty Images

Beroemdheidsstatus
Nessie's bekendheid zorgde ervoor dat ze een beroemdheid werd. Deze foto uit 1969 toont een lid van het Loch Ness Monster Investigation Team dat ijverig het oppervlak van Loch Ness in de gaten houdt op tekenen van leven.

©Getty Images

Wat ligt eronder?
In 1969 bouwde een Amerikaan genaamd Dan Scott Taylor Jr. zijn eigen gele onderzeeër genaamd de "Viperfish" en maakte meerdere duiken naar de bodem van Loch Ness. Zijn doel was om te ontdekken welke mysteries eronder lagen, maar helaas heeft hij tijdens zijn expedities niets gevonden.

©Getty Images

'Loch Ness' (1996)
De televisieserie 'Loch Ness' concentreert zich op het familiedrama en bevat Ted Danson en Joely Richardson. De plot volgt Dr. Jonathan Dempsey (Danson), een wetenschapper die ernaar streeft bewijs te leveren voor het bestaan ​​van het wezen.

©Getty Images

Zinspelend als altijd
Hier is de echte wetenschapper Thayne Smith Lowrance, in 1999 afgebeeld met een sonarapparaat tijdens een van zijn vele pogingen om het legendarische wezen te vinden. Maar Nessie bleek even zinspelend als altijd.

©Getty Images

Werd Nessie gelokt door een paling?
In 2019 was er een aankondiging die erop wees dat Nessie misschien wel een kolossale paling zou kunnen zijn. Onderzoek uitgevoerd naar het omgevings-DNA gevonden in Loch Ness bracht een aanzienlijke hoeveelheid paling-DNA aan het licht, zoals professor Neil Gemmell, een geneticus van de Universiteit van Otago (foto) beweert. Niettemin werd er geen bewijs voor het bestaan ​​van een monster ontdekt.

©Getty Images

Nessie gevonden!
In het jaar 2016 werd een interessante ontdekking gedaan: de overblijfselen van een model dat het monster van Loch Ness afbeeldt uit de film 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes', gemaakt in 1970. Ingenieur John Haig, op de foto te zien, vond deze overblijfselen met behulp van een onderwaterrobot die kan worden ondergedompeld in Loch Ness.

©Shutterstock

Centrum en tentoonstelling van Loch Ness
Toeristen die hopen op een Nessie-waarneming bij Loch Ness worden misschien teleurgesteld, maar ze kunnen nog steeds genieten van het unieke Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition in Drumnadrochit. Verrassend genoeg kun je zelfs een glimp opvangen van het legendarische wezen, dat gracieus poseert voor foto's!

Bronnen:  

• (Newsweek)
• (Cretaceous Research)
• (BBC)
• (The Independent)
• (UOL)
• (The Guardian)

{ http://starsinsider.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 21:16 geschreven door peter  

De vier voorspellingen van Nostradamus voor 2024

Nostradamus, de bekende Franse apotheker, fysicus en ziener, schreef in 1555 zijn boek "De Profetieën", vol voorspellingen die nog altijd fel worden besproken. Die hebben ook betrekking op 2024.

De moord op John F. Kennedy, de opkomst van Adolf Hitler, de terreuraanvallen van 9/11 en zelfs de coronacrisis zouden tot zijn voorspellingen kunnen worden teruggebracht. 

Ook voor het jaar 2024 heeft hij ook een aantal voorspellingen in zijn boek vermeld. Die gaan over China, paus Franciscus, de klimaatcrisis en koning Charles III, zo schrijft de New York Post.

Volgens de Britse auteur en Nostradamuskenner Mario Reading zal koning Charles III aftreden en worden opgevolgd door zijn zoon Harry (en dus niet door William).

De astroloog voorspelde ook een veldslag en een zeeslag. Hij sprak in het bijzonder over een "rode tegenstander die bleek zal worden van angst en de grote oceaan zal terroriseren". Volgens kenners zou deze "rode tegenstander" China kunnen zijn.

Een andere voorspelling van Nostradamus verwijst naar de benoeming van een nieuwe paus na de dood van paus Franciscus, die in 2024 88 jaar oud wordt. "Door de dood van een zeer oude paus, zal een Romein van goede leeftijd worden gekozen", schrijft de astroloog.

Tot slot de klimaatcrisis die de afgelopen jaren fel is verergerd, met meer droogte, hogere temperaturen en extreme weerfenomenen. Volgens Nostradamus zal deze situatie in 2024 nog erger worden. "Het droge land zal droger worden en er zullen grote overstromingen zijn."

• (HL met FM/ Source: New York Post /Illustration picture: Itto Ogami ~ CC BY 3.0)

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

28-12-2023 om 20:19 geschreven door peter  

NASA's Perseverance Rover Deciphers Ancient History of Martian Lake

{ https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/# }

28-12-2023 om 01:53 geschreven door peter  

Jacques Vallee On Footage Of UFO Landing At Holloman AFB: Occupant Carried Vertical Staff With Spiral Antenna

Holloman Air Force Base is infamous for the most debated UFO landing footage that was in the possession of the United States Air Force as claimed by Robert Emmenegger and Allan Sandler. The director of “Moment of Contact” James Fox has recently discussed the Holloman AFB UFO/alien controversy on a podcast, adding valuable information to the legendary case.

Interestingly, there are other credible people in the UFO community who have given credence to the authenticity of this case. There is more to the Holloman AFB UFO story. Joe Murgia, an avid UFO researcher revealed that Dr. Eric Davis (a former Pentagon physicist) met with George Bush Sr. to talk about Holloman AFB Incident.

The UFO phenomenon has long been a subject of fascination and controversy, with countless reports of sightings and encounters over the years. However, the truth behind these mysterious incidents has remained elusive, with government agencies often accused of covering up information and discrediting witnesses.

According to Murgia, on March 26, 2004, he met Hal Putoff (an American physicist who has co-authored several books on gravitational and paranormal research) at the Fiesta Rancho Casino Hotel, Las Vegas after taking an early flight to the airport. Upon meeting, Hal wasted no time and shared with him the story of Dr. Eric Davis. It turns out that Dr. Davis was the one who conducted the interview with Wilson at the EG&G parking lot. Dr. Davis had reached out to the admiral about his project to revive a local chapter of AFIO (Association of Former Intelligence Officers) in Las Vegas, but the conversation eventually shifted to the topic of ufology.(Source)

Murgia stated that Former President George Bush Sr. had taken an interest in Dr. Davis’ discussion and spoke to him twice on the phone, expressing his belief that the German secrets had been filed away and not used as a cover for anything else. However, he did show interest in pursuing the topic and requested Dr. Davis’ recent physics papers.

During the second phone call, Bush revealed that he was aware of the Holloman film, which Hal, Dr. Davis, and Murgia were fixated on. “The former President was aware of it. Was it a training film, a special ops exercise? No, he replied, ‘it was “the real thing.”’ There was a secret project, and the security was obscene,” writes Joe Murgia.

Moreover, the Holloman AFB UFO landing incident was also discussed by Dr. Jacques Vallée in his book “Forbidden Science – Volume II.” He writes:

Kit [Green] just left, along with Hal, Russell and two of his kids. We had a long discussion after a demo of my landing catalogue. Kit has dropped out of Sams’ covert “Group of Twelve.”

Emenegger tells me that Colonel Bill Coleman, who represented the Air Force in the film, had been retired for three weeks when he got the job. For nine years he’d served as the Air Force’s spokesman and had been intimately linked to the UFO question. More games: One of his men, a Captain Horner, confiscated the Holloman movie just before Sandler could get his hands on it.

The Holloman sequence is based on a bluff by Emenegger. He couldn’t find anyone on the Base who recalled such an event. There was only a rumor that in 1971 a helicopter had filmed three objects, one of which landed.

Three occupants had supposedly come out. They had Assyrian noses, a rope twisted on their head for a hat, bluegreen skin, eyes like ping-pong balls with a hole in the middle. One of them had a wire in one ear and carried a vertical staff with a spiral antenna. The Aliens were taken to Building 830, then to building 930 on Mars Avenue. They remained there two or three years, allegedly “helping the United States decode space messages from another Alien civilization.”

A biologist named Alfred Lorenzo is supposed to have worked with them. None of this makes any sense. When Allan was here I asked him if he still had his clearance. He said yes, theoretically he did, but he didn’t think it was active, yet Kit has found Allan’s clearances active. “Do you know there are 800 reports of foreign UFOs in the CIRCOL files?” he asked. “Why didn’t Hynek ever look into that?”

He warned me that a new experimental device was being tested. It is known lovingly as a “flying bathtub.” It is a flying triangle with a rounded front, but it could look strikingly like a saucer when seen from the side, and will surely be mistaken for one.

On Julian Dorey Podcast, Mr. Fox recounted a phone call from Allan Sandler, who claimed to have seen three unidentified flying objects (UFOs) escorted by a military jet. Sandler said that two of the UFOs peeled away while one wobbled to the ground, and he witnessed the beings with unique features emerge from the grounded UFO before the footage abruptly cut off.

Read also:

• Man Who Ran Area 51 Claimed They Had Alien Crafts & Non-Human Beings: So Bob Lazar Is telling Truth
• Footage Of UFO Landing At Holloman AFB With Aliens Walking Out Exists, Producer Told James Fox
• James Fox On Brazil 1996 UFO Crash: Creature Contacted Telepathically & Left Message
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

Paul Shartle, an official at Norton Air Force Base, allegedly confirmed that the object was not of Earth origin. Mr. Fox did not make any claims about the veracity of the story, only reporting what he had been told.

During a recent Reddit AMA, journalist Christopher Sharp expressed interest in finding more information about the number of alien species visiting Earth. He mentioned that he had heard from multiple sources that the visitation at Holloman Air Force Base was real, but was unsure if the beings were extraterrestrial, interdimensional, or ultra-terrestrial. Sharp shared a link to the interview with Grant Cameron for further information.

In 1974, Robert Emenegger released his documentary “UFOs: Past, Present, and Future,” which was nominated for a Golden Globe. While he had originally been granted permission to use real footage, the Department of Defense later withdrew that permission.

Emenegger was forced to add animated footage of the alleged Holloman UFO landing. He claimed that some frames from the original footage were used in the reconstruction during editing, which was authorized by the USAF. Viewers spotted a genuine bright disc coming down slowly in the distance against the backdrop of Holloman’s surrounding landscape.

The documentary was re-released in 1979, with additional footage and narration by Dr. Vallée, who discussed ancient astronaut theory.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 01:32 geschreven door peter  

Artemis 2 moon crew invited to visit SpaceX to talk Starship (exclusive)

Wiseman spoke with Space.com not only about SpaceX, but what his crew plans to take along with them on the mission, the outreach he has been doing, and how his crew is dealing with developmental uncertainty. Riding to the moon with him (and back) are NASA pilot Victor Glover (who will become the first person of color to leave low Earth orbit), NASA mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman) and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen (the first non-American).

Related: 

• NASA's Artemis 3 astronaut moon landing unlikely before 2027, GAO report finds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvTlHDlBFTI

{ https://www.space.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 01:01 geschreven door peter  

Helicity Space, a startup founded in 2018, is developing a fusion drive poised to transform space travel. With a fresh round of investment, the company is developing a proof-of-concept for a fusion-powered propulsion system that can get from Earth to Mars in two months.

In a recent press release, the space-based startup recently secured $5 million in seed funding from Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures, and Gaingels. 

Unlike traditional rockets that rely on chemical reactions, Helicity’s fusion drive operates on a magneto-inertial fusion method. This involves fusing two hydrogen isotopes into helium, releasing immense energy – ten million times more per unit mass than chemical fuels​​.

According to Helicity, the core technology behind their fusion drive efficiently converts electricity into plasma heating, using a unique approach to scale fusion conditions and directly produce thrust​​. Their method, distinct from conventional magnetic or inertial (laser) fusion, employs self-organized Taylor relaxation and magnetic reconnection physics, combined with a peristaltic magnetic compression scheme.

In very simple terms, the engine uses hot ionized plasma gas heated by magnetic fields that are constantly forced together to the point where they must then break apart. It is this seesaw of magnetic forces that generates vast amounts of energy, heating the plasma to the point where fusion occurs, forcing the nuclei so close that they overcome their electrostatic repulsion and fuse together. To simplify this even more, the energy created by that fusion is aimed out of the tailpipe of the Helicity Drive, and you generate a helluva lot of thrust.

So much so that it cuts the current seven or eight-month trip to Mars down to two, or the six-year trip to Jupiter down to just one.

One of the key advantages of Helicity’s fusion drive is its fuel and propellant efficiency. It enables faster travel over interplanetary distances, with less exposure to space radiation and the agility to alter trajectories or abort missions if necessary​​. The Helicity Drive creates short bursts of fusion conditions in a design optimized for propulsive plasma exhaust, thus providing acceleration with each pulse. You proverbially slam on the gas pedal, accelerate, and then take your foot off the gas letting momentum do the work. This propulsion method can be deployed before achieving continuous power generation, significantly advancing the feasibility of fusion propulsion in space​​.

Helicity’s efforts are part of a larger movement to leverage fusion technology in space exploration. Fusion power, unlike fission, merges atoms together, releasing vast energy amounts with safer byproducts. This contrasts starkly with fission’s splitting of atoms, which leads to radiation issues and the complex disposal of irradiated waste​​. Helicity’s fusion engines use multiple magnetically-controlled, super-heated plasma jets to propel spacecraft, marking a substantial shift from conventional rocket technology, which requires large amounts of super-cold or highly explosive fuel​​.

“Fusion propulsion can contribute to Earth’s environmental goals indirectly by enabling offworld mining and industry, reducing terrestrial resource consumption and ecological impact,” explained Helicity co-founder Dr. Setthivoine You in an interview. “Ultimately, we see our technology playing a significant role in both space exploration and Earth’s sustainable future.”

The company’s vision extends to catalyzing humanity’s spacefaring ambitions, boosting both human and robotic exploration, and possibly leading to ventures like asteroid mining​​. The technology’s scalability and practical use in space, even before establishing self-sustaining reactors, demonstrate its potential for early testing and gradual scaling up​​.

Helicity Space collaborates with top scientific institutes globally, including the California Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo. Supported by entities like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy, these partnerships underscore the scientific community’s interest in and support for Helicity’s groundbreaking work​​.

“We’re currently focused on proving the technology for space propulsion. Once we achieve this, we anticipate drawing more substantial interest and investment, including from energy companies, for broader applications,” said Dr. You.

While building a working fusion drive will require more than their current $5 million dollar investment, the fact that there was funding clearly shows there is a hard push for novel space technology. While still in development, the potential applications of this technology in enhancing human and robotic space exploration are immense. 

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

27-12-2023 om 23:52 geschreven door peter  

Journalist Said 2023 Alaska Object Was ‘Anomalous’; It Looked Like A Giant Tic-Tac

The series of events involving the US military shooting down multiple Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) in February 2023 has been staggering, particularly concerning the incident with an object detected over Alaska. When this object was intercepted above Alaska, the administration of the US president promptly ordered its takedown without hesitation.

LINKS RELATED VIDEOS

https://youtu.be/-BwQ0gpW0Ew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqIzm19ajNo

So, on February 10, 2023, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet successfully brought down the object, which was flying at an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet over Alaska. “We don’t know who owns this object,” said the White House spokesperson John Kirby, adding that it was unclear where its flight originated. The object fell inside the United States Territorial Waters. Mr. Kirby explained that those waters were frozen but still within American territory, implying that the recovery of the debris would be much easier.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, indicated that it was the size of a small car. According to him, the pilots who had been observing the object before it was shot down confirmed that there was no human presence on board. He further remarked that it lacked the ability to change direction and did not resemble any conventional aircraft. “It wasn’t an aircraft per se,” Ryder informed the media.

Interestingly, the pilots involved in the sighting gave inconsistent reports. Some stated that the object interfered with their plane’s sensors, while others did not experience this. Some also claimed that they could not discern any recognizable source of propulsion on the object and were unable to explain how it was able to remain afloat while cruising at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

Alaska Object was “Anomalous”

On August 12, 2023, investigative journalist Ross Coulthart shared his thoughts at the Victorian State Library as part of an event called “Close Encounters Australia.” He talked for around two hours, including an hour-long Q&A session where he told the audience some interesting things he had learned about the Alaska shootdowns. (Source)

Coulthart wanted to be clear about something. He was not completely sure about the things he talked about. He thinks they are true, but he was not completely confident. He said: “I’m happy to be proved wrong, but it would be very very interesting to see an explanation from the White House.” What he found interesting is that some of the people he talked to, who know about defense and secrets, said that something weird happened in Alaska.

“Can you update us on the sphere and the US shootdowns from February?” This question was asked by someone in the audience, to which Coulthart replied, “On the balloons, we’re talking here about the balloons here in February, the February shoot downs. Now, to give you some official response to this, I think a very senior defense official was just recently quoted in the newspapers as saying there’s nothing alien or extraterrestrial about these shootdowns, about the objects that were shot down.”

He continued, “And I thought that was a very interesting comment because… the information I have is that two of the objects were indeed prosaic, they were just mundane objects. Probably weather balloons. But there is an abundance now of sources, including a guy who… heh… literally lives at the end of the road in Alaska where this object was encountered by an F-22 jet.”

Read also:

• This Footage of Airplane Teleporting With UFOs Appeared After Malaysia Airlines MH370 Disappeared
• UFO With Entities Did Land In Rendlesham Forest & Filmed On Cine Camera, Revealed In New USAF Airman Testimony
• U.S. Congressman Says UFOs May Be Machines of a Hidden ‘Ancient Earth Civilization’
• Ex-CIA Pilot Said US Buried Huge UFO That Was Too Big To Move, Corroborating Coulthart Claim

Coulthart talked about one of the things that got shot down in Alaska. He said it was not like the other two things; it was different, or “anomalous.” He mentioned he could be wrong, but this is what he had heard. According to what he learned, the Alaska object looked like a big “tic-tac.”  When the F-22 hit the objectwith missile, something fell off, but it kept going despite being hit.

“There was definitely a missile fired at an object which was described as… looking a little bit like a giant tic-tac, funnily enough. That something was seen to fall off that object. That even though it was hit with an AIM missile, which is a top of the line air-to-air missile, that the object kept on going. And uh… I’ve put this to different people in defense and intelligence, and I’ve been told yes… the Alaska object was anomalous. And um, anytime I try to get a response from anybody on an official basis they run 100 miles an hour,” Coulthart said.

He spoke to other individuals who were knowledgeable about military matters and secrets. They confirmed that the Alaska incident was strange indeed. He wanted to learn more from those in charge of defense, but they were unwilling to discuss it. When he asked them, they declined to provide an answer.

Coulthart explained, “But you might notice, that nobody has given a report back to the American public or the world about what it was that the U.S., for the first time in the history of NORAD, they shot down something over North America. That’s a historic event. And yet we haven’t been told, neither has America, the full story of what those shoot downs involved.”

Some people find Coulthart’s statement convincing because if the Alaska object was indeed anomalous, that would explain why the Department of Defense (DOD) responded to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about the object by referring the request to Advanced Aerial Research Organization (AARO).

Below is a response from the Department of Defense about a FOIA request submitted on February 11, 2023, asking for several data presumably collected during the Alaska object shot-down on February 10, 2023.

“This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request # [ ] requesting “all available visual data (photographs in visual and Infra-Red spectrum, films in visible and Infra-Red spectrum, drawing and all related visual information) and tracking data (radar data, sonar data, timer data) that were presumably gathered about the object that was shot down at 1:45PM EST on 2/10/2022 over Alaska.”

We are providing a no records response in subject to your request. After a lengthy and exhaustive search through multiple offices on Elmendorf Air Force Base it has been determined that this request should be sent to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) which falls under the Defense Intelligence Agency. You can send a request to their office through the contact below.”

It’s intriguing to mention that there seem to be “no records” at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska about this case. This is puzzling because the base should have been involved in the mission to recover whatever was related to this case.

Even more fascinating, the request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is being sent to the “All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which is a part of the Defense Intelligence Agency.” This is happening even though officials described the objects in question as “likely mundane.” (Click to read the DIA resposne)

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 23:40 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious green lasers caught on camera belong to NASA satellite (video)

{ https://www.space.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 23:08 geschreven door peter  

James Fox Big Reveal: Deadly Bacteria From Varginha Creature Killed Brazilian Military Officer

Filmmaker James Fox has recently released a documentary called “Moment of Contact,” which details an alleged UFO crash in Varginha, Brazil in 1996. Despite the level of skepticism surrounding the incident, Mr. Fox asks people to suspend judgment and listen to the first-hand eyewitness testimony from military officers, firemen, doctors, civilians, and lawyers.

The documentary shows how many of the witnesses were just regular Brazilian people, not UFO buffs or individuals deep in space. The film also shows the extraordinary level of international coordination between the Brazilian and US military, which has left many viewers questioning its accuracy.

Mr. Fox investigated the case for 12 years, and during his numerous trips to Brazil, he was completely unaware of any American involvement until his last visits. While in Brazil, Mr. Fox discovered the American military’s involvement in the crash. The documentary features military personnel on the ground, civilians, doctors, and lawyers giving testimony about the incident.

Mr. Fox reveals that Carlos Feres, a flight radar control officer claimed that he was in charge the night of the crash and saw the United States Air Force plane come in without authorization from the Brazilian government. The US military reportedly landed in Campinas (a city in the northwest of São Paulo) without any Brazilian authorization. Mr. Fox also claimed that there are testimonials from military personnel and civilians who witnessed the transportation of the creatures to Campinas on the same date.

Fox’s new documentary sheds light on a story that has been widely regarded as the “Roswell of Brazil.” While there is still skepticism surrounding the incident, his documentary provides ample evidence from first-hand witnesses, showing something truly extraordinary that took place on January 20, 1996.

“Two 14-year-old twin girls, Liliane and Valquíria Fátima Silva, and 22-year-old Kátia Andrade Xavier were among the eyewitnesses who personally saw these creatures. According to them, one of the creatures was very thin with brown skin, big red eyes, and had three horns on its head. It was about 160 cm high and had feet in a V-shape.

The claimed encounter, according to the legend, occurred around three hours later, when two military police officers were traveling along a road next to the empty lot. Suddenly, a creature ran in front of their vehicle. As per Brazilian UFO Magazine editor A.J. Gevaerd, one of the officers, Marco Chereze, captured the creature with his “bare hands” and took it to a local hospital. He said, “After he captured the creature he was smelly – he had this strange feeling of something greasy or sticky over his body that came from the creature. He developed this infection that wouldn’t go away, and for two or three weeks it was getting worse and worse and worse… and that infection killed him.””

UFOlogist Ubirajara Rodrigues wrote about the Varginha incident, where a strange being was arrested in January 1996. The arresting officer, Corporal Marco underwent minor surgery to remove an abscess caused by a physical injury sustained during the arrest. He later fell ill with a fever and was hospitalized, ultimately passing away from sepsis, but the cause of the infection was never identified.

Mr. Fox further revealed that there are two forensic pathologists who conducted the autopsy on the deceased military officer and provided a detailed long-form autopsy report. He said they came forward for the first time to share their findings and brief statements about the case. Their expertise in forensic pathology is necessary to determine the cause and manner of death, which can be crucial in investigations and legal proceedings.

A short clip played by Breaking Points, shared to them by Mr. Fox, shows pathologists’ statements first time translated into English. Mr. Fox has recently spoken with pathologists who describe a new type of bacteria that killed a healthy 23-year-old Brazilian military police officer in 1996. Here are their statements:

• [Pathologist 1] This is my first statement on the Chereze case which may have actually involved an extraterrestrial being. It causes strangeness due to the distinct way he describes this bacteria.
• Pathologist 2, Dr. João B.M. Janini] This alien brought the bacteria in from outside. There is the character “ET” and there is the character “bacteria from the ET’s fingernails.” The real story is about the bacteria I found in the deceased military officer’s body. It was like a lethal weapon to his immune system.

Read also:

• Huge Cylindrical UFO Captured Over New York: Alien Mothership That Avi Loeb Discussed?
• UFO Footage With Holy Grail Of Evidence Shot Over Area 51 Soon To Be Released, Filmmaker Claims
• Harvard Professor Is Right: Some UFOs Are Aliens, Govt. Officials From D.C. Told Him
• Jacques Vallee On Footage Of UFO Landing At Holloman AFB: Occupant Carried Vertical Staff With Spiral Antenna

Mr. Fox says the bacteria was said to be unlike anything seen before and even survived the “kitchen sink” of treatments thrown at it by one of the doctors who treated Chereze. This bacterial infection arose after a UFO incident in the area, leading Fox to believe that the bacteria could have been caused by an alien craft or escaped from a biological laboratory.

He said: “This is an ongoing investigation I’m not going to put this in another film I’m going to put it out to the general public immediately because I think that this is this is a story that could prove once and for all could settle the debate once and for all whether these things are real or not because we have a case, unlike Roswell that’s so recent that the vast majority of people and Witnesses are still alive and they’re coming forward right now.”

On Julian Dorey’s podcast, Mr. Fox disclosed that the Varginha creature had supposedly established telepathic contact with two doctors who treated its injuries at Humanitas Hospital in Brazil. He could not include this in his documentary because he needed testimony on it. But he referred to Dr. Roger K. Leir’s book “UFO Crash in Brazil: A Genuine UFO Crash with Surviving ETs” to know more about it.

In Chapter 6, “The Medical Testimony,” Lier mentioned his conversation with a doctor who had treated one of the recovered alien entities. The being, which did not appear to have a gender, telepathically communicated to him that humans were “totally detached” from their spiritual selves, and it felt sorry for them. (Click here to read the full article)

In addition to discussing the investigation with Breaking Points, Mr. Fox also talks about the recently passed UAP legislation. He reads a bit of the text from the legislation, which discusses programs relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, including material retrieval, analysis, research and development, and detection and tracking. The legislation also provides protections for whistleblowers.

Fox notes that the passing of recent UAP legislation by Senators Gillibrand and Rubio may provide whistleblowers the opportunity to bring forward more information on this topic. Fox is hopeful that the increased transparency will force the government’s hand and release more information on the phenomenon. Fox has met with insiders who have already testified to the UAP task force and is providing information to the public, even if the government is unwilling to do so. He notes that there is a lot of photographic evidence behind the wall of classified information.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 22:13 geschreven door peter  

Former NASA Scientist Says UFO Pilots Could Be Living Beneath Earth’s Oceans In Secret Bases

For years, NASA whistleblowers have been claiming that they saw evidence of extraterrestrials. They believe Earth is in regular contact with intelligent beings of other worlds. How true are these claims? Are there really artificial structures on Moon, secret colonies on Mars, Apollo 11 alleged UFO encounter, etc.? Well, these conspiracies shaped the field of UFOlogy which have come to an extent that now NASA officially joined hands in the UFO investigation. The agency finally admitted the gravity of the situation.

Moreover, a big revelation on UFOs and extraterrestrial life was made by former NASA research scientist Kevin Knuth in 2018 on his personal blog that probably went unnoticed. Knuth shared the UFO evidence he collected in his professional career that intentionally was covered by the government around the world.

Note: 

• Kevin Knuth is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University at Albany. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Entropy. He is a former NASA research scientist having worked for four years at NASA Ames Research Center in the Intelligent Systems Division.

Kevin Knuth described two personal stories about the speculation of extraterrestrials. The first one came at a 2002 NASA Contact Conference, which focused on serious speculation about extraterrestrials. During the meeting, a concerned participant said loudly in a sinister tone, “You have absolutely no idea what is out there!” The silence was palpable as the truth of this statement sunk in.

His second story is from 1988. During his graduation from Montana State University, his physics professor told the class that he had colleagues working at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, where they were having problems with UFOs shutting down nuclear missiles. This very news was later confirmed when Knuth saw a recording of the press conference featuring several former US Air Force personnel, with a couple from Malmstrom AFB, describing similar occurrences in the 1960s

Professor Knuth firmly believes in the alien life and non-terrestrial nature of UFOs. He is inspired by the theory given by nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi about contact with intelligent civilizations. Fermi estimated there were about 300 billion stars in the galaxy, many of them billions of years older than the Sun, with a large percentage of them likely to host habitable planets. Even if intelligent life developed on a very small percentage of these planets, then there should be a number of intelligent civilizations in the galaxy. Depending on the assumptions, one should expect anywhere from tens to tens of thousands of civilizations.

In 1961, American scientist Frank Drake took the first steps to quantify the field by developing the now-famous “Drake Equation,” a simple algebraic expression that provides an estimate for the number of communicating civilizations in the Milky Way.

Professor Knuth estimated that it would take somewhere around 5 and 50 million years for a civilization like us to colonize the Milky Way. According to him, this should have happened in the history of our galaxy. But where is the evidence? This discrepancy between the expectation that there should be evidence of alien civilizations or visitations and the presumption that no visitations have been observed has been dubbed the Fermi Paradox.

Governments’ cover-up

Professor Knuth said that the topic of UFOs is considered taboo in the scientific community, with many organizations finding excuses for various UFO sightings. For example, there are times when the weather or human activities are excuses for alien sightings. The result is that UFOs are largely not included as a possibility for scientific study and discussions.

Further, he stated, the situation is worsened by the fact that many governments around the world have covered up and classified information about such encounters. But there are enough scraps of evidence that suggest that the problem needs to be open to scientific study (which has already begun).

Strong UFO evidence from the past

Professor Knuth says there have been documented cases of UFO sightings, including through telescopes. He said that sightings go all the way back to the 1700s which are well-documented in the book “Wonders in the Sky” by Jacques Vallée. He discussed one study performed by an astrophysicist at Stanford University named Peter Sturrock, when the professor found out that 5 percent of UFO sightings were never explained.

He also said that numerous countries had declassified UFO files, including Canada, France, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom. There are cases when the United States even funded alien probes, but some findings have not been declassified yet. Knuth argues that these cases should encourage scientific research.

Read also:

• This Woman Saw a UFO Landing & Three Aliens Abducted Calvin Parker & Charles Hickson
• Lue Elizondo’s Attorney Discloses We Have Working Teleportation & Anti-Gravity Technology

He considered the footage released by the Chilean government in 2017 as the most convincing observations that came from government officials. Former NASA research scientists asked the scientific community to begin investigation on UFOs four years earlier, which hints at how much the scientists lost as the UFO topic was taboo for them.

Alien life underwater

Professor Knuth believes the pilots of UFOs could be living underneath our oceans. In 2021, he provided a logical reason behind this theory in this informative interview on Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal.

Curt asked Professor Knuth if he thought aliens might be hiding in places like our oceans. Knuth thought it could be possible. He said that oceans cover most of Earth, making them a good hiding spot. Kevin also said that if aliens came from a place with lots of water, living in Earth’s oceans would be easy for them.

“If you live in an ocean, going to another planet with an ocean is actually a pretty good thing,” Knuth explained. He detailed how water, being non-compressible, would provide consistent pressure, and the temperature variations in aquatic environments on different planets would be relatively moderate compared to the extreme conditions on planetary surfaces.

“If you come from an aquatic environment, aquatic environments on planets are going to be much better to live in than atmospheric environments. Atmospheres have a low heat capacity, so the temperature varies a lot …you get huge temperature variations…And then going from planet to planet, you have huge temperature variations in the atmosphere: go to Mars, and you’re looking at 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. You go to Venus, and you’re looking at 800 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s dramatic. And the air pressure is dramatically different, too, from planet to planet.”

The interview got even more interesting when they talked about where these aliens might live. Curt wondered if they were hiding underground or in small spaceships. Knuth thought it depended on how many aliens there were. He said, “Depends on how many people you have in there.”

Curt shared that he wasn’t usually into wild stories or mysteries. But this topic was too interesting to ignore. He wondered if maybe humans are just an experiment by these aliens. Knuth had a thought about this. He said, “If they’re DNA-based… then it’s hard to imagine that we’re not related in some way.” He meant that if aliens are like us in some biological ways, then maybe we’re connected somehow.

What if these aliens are so different from us that meeting them could be dangerous? Knuth mentioned a scientist named Stuart Kaufman who had ideas about this. He said, “You wouldn’t want to come in contact with their organic molecules because you don’t know what kind of reactions you’d have.” In simpler terms, if aliens have different chemicals in their bodies, touching them might not be safe for us.

Considering Professor Knuth’s speculations on underwater alien life. There are numerous recorded incidents of spotting UFOs going in and out of oceans.

In 2021, a retired British police officer Gary Heseltine who is the vice president of the new International Coalition for Extraterrestrial Research (ICER) told The Sun that UFOs may not be coming from space – but rather from beneath the sea amid a string of strange encounters involving US warships.

“That sounds crazy but if you think about it we only know 5 percent of the ocean, we know more about the surface of the moon or Mars than our own oceans – so that would seem to me why UFOs are seen regularly coming in and out of water.”

Drawing together the nuclear and underwater theories, Mr Heseltine said: “If you think about it if there was World War 3 and we made toxic all the water then that would affect their habitat. “That’s why I think there’s a correlation with water – they have bases and we only know 5% of the ocean.”

Scientist Bob McGwier has provided great insight into underwater UFO sightings. He disclosed two incidents about underwater UFOs or USOs, that he saw while performing covert operations. This claim was made several months after a video had been made public by the United States military, in which it appeared to show an unidentified flying object moving from the sky into the water in the year 2019. (Click here to read the full article)

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 21:51 geschreven door peter  

Ancient Mesopotamian Bricks Record 3,000-Year-Old Geomagnetic Anomaly

A geomagnetic anomaly that occurred between 3,000 and 2,500 years ago has shed light on ancient Mesopotamia in a way that has never been explored before. Analysis of ancient bricks from Mesopotamia, specifically modern-day Iraq, point to a dramatic spike in the Earth’s magnetic field roughly 3,000 years ago. It is now the subject of a fascinating new study, which relies on archaeomagnetic techniques, i.e., extracting information about the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field from ancient objects, and offers an alternative method of artifact dating.

Heating and Cooling: Firing the Bricks

These ancient Mesopotamian bricks, containing iron oxide, were employed to investigate the strength of the Earth's magnetic field during the firing period. Scientists systematically erased the ancient magnetic signature from small fragments of the bricks through a process of heating and cooling, according to the study published in The Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.

The bricks were then reheated, and the original magnetic field was replaced with one generated in the laboratory. This process enabled the researchers to establish a ratio between the object's magnetic charge in the past and under controlled laboratory conditions.

• Uncovering Ancient Pyramid Science at Teotihuacan, Where Men Become Gods
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Brick dates to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 604 to 562 BCE) based on the interpretation of the inscription. This object was looted from its original context before being acquired by the Slemani Museum and stored in that museum with agreement from the central government.

(Image courtesy of the Slemani Museum)

Professor Mark Altaweel of University College London is studying the exceptional strength of the magnetic field in the Middle East around 3,000 years ago, known as the Levantine Iron Age Geomagnetic Anomaly: a point of high magnetic intensity between 1050-550 BC in modern-day Iraq.

“We often depend on dating methods such as radiocarbon dates to get a sense of chronology in ancient Mesopotamia. However, some of the most common cultural remains, such as bricks and ceramics, cannot typically be easily dated because they don’t contain organic material,” Altaweel said in a statement.

The findings revealed that these bricks were fired at a time when the Earth's magnetic field was more than one and a half times stronger than its present intensity. This time period corresponds to the Levantine Iron Age geomagnetic anomaly.

The anomaly, initially identified in 2009 by members of the same research team in a nearby region, was investigated using similar methods but on layers of rock material. History was literally baked into the bricks of cities through Iron Age Babylonia, reports The Hill.

• Magnetic Fields Reveal the Truth Behind Biblical Battle Narratives
• The Magnificent Constructions of King Nebuchadnezzar II

Another of the 32Mesopotamian clay bricks which bear names of 12 kings helped with the chronology.

(MIT License)

Altaweel and his colleagues identified a set of 32 Mesopotamian clay bricks, each bearing inscriptions with the names of 12 different kings. It is presumed that these inscriptions were associated with the rulers during the time when the bricks were created. What makes these bricks particularly valuable for scientific analysis is the presence of iron oxide grains within them.

These grains have the unique ability to preserve the direction and strength of the magnetic field that existed when the bricks were initially fired. By examining the inscriptions and measuring the magnetic properties of the iron oxide grains, researchers gained insights into the Earth's magnetic field during the respective reigns of the kings.

Lead author Professor Matthew Howland of Wichita State University said, "By comparing ancient artifacts to what we know about ancient conditions of the magnetic field, we can estimate the dates of any artifacts that were heated up in ancient times."

Precise Dating Method: More than Just Carbon Dating

Carbon dating, which essentially measures the decay process from the moment of death, offers a highly accurate means of determining the time elapsed since the death of a being buried in a tomb or the cutting down of a tree used to fashion tools such as spear- or hoe-handles. This method plays a crucial role in pinpointing the chronological age of organic materials and contributes to the precision of archaeological dating.

However, despite the significance of the ruins of ancient cities, archaeologists face a significant challenge related to dating. The most dependable method for establishing the age of organic artifacts, ranging from cloth to wood to bones, involves tracking the systematic decay of radioactive carbon atoms within them, which is not always present.

Study co-author Professor Lisa Tauxe of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography explains the potential of the new approach:

"The geomagnetic field is one of the most enigmatic phenomena in Earth sciences. The well-dated archaeological remains of the rich Mesopotamian cultures, especially bricks inscribed with names of specific kings, provide an unprecedented opportunity to study changes in the field strength in high time resolution, tracking changes that occurred over several decades or even less."

“During…the first three millennia BC, you see the development of cities for the first time, the development of these incredibly complex societies like the Babylonians, and the development of agriculture for the first time in this region,” explained Howland in a Vice report. 

This approach offered a more precise chronological record compared to traditional methods like carbon dating, which often comes with uncertainties spanning decades or centuries. The length of a king's reign and the accuracy of historical timelines play crucial roles in enhancing the precision of this magnetic field-based dating method.

Traditionally, historical inscriptions have been used to corroborate archaeological research, but specifics are never clear, and can be hit and miss. A scientific method like this one provides a basis for future archaeologists to apply archaeomagnetic techniques to date previously un-dateable material at archaeological sites, like ceramics. This is because radiocarbon dating doesn’t work on ancient artifacts that don’t contain the C-14 carbon isotope.

In the future, even geologists desperate to understand the Earth’s geomagnetic behaviors can benefit from this method. Since scientists only began taking measurements from specific locations around the world 400 years ago, and only recently globally with the advent of satellites, the field can now be expanded across time and space.

• Top image: Sulimaniya brick B318, part of the collection holding the signature of the geomagnetic anomaly.        
• Source: MIT License

By Sahir Pandey

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

27-12-2023 om 21:27 geschreven door peter  

At The Debrief, we cover a lot of science and technology news that feels like it’s being ripped from the script of a science fiction movie. So, here is a quick top 5 list of some of our favorite stories, scientific movements, and technological developments from 2023. 

1. ADVANCEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The year saw explosive growth in generative AI (gen AI) tools. 2023 was very much the year of AI. Entire companies and jobs have shifted to an AI-based model. AI high performers, defined as organizations attributing at least 20% of their EBIT to AI adoption, were at the forefront of adopting gen AI tools. The business disruption from gen AI was significant, leading to workforce changes and large reskilling efforts. With their nearly human-like creativity or their ability to decode ancient long-lost text, AI has altered how we live and work. And while the dystopian hell world where machines take over and murder all of us in our sleep is still a ways away, there are definitely security risks with this new technology whether it is from errors in the system and cybersecurity. Suffice it to say, we have crossed a threshold and we will just have to see how far this rabbit hole goes (A Matrix pun…AI…get it?).

2. EXOPLANETS, EXOPLANETS EVERYWHERE…

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope confirmed its first exoplanet, LHS 475 b, an Earth-sized planet in January of this year, and the hunt for planets in the cosmos has not slowed down. This discovery opens the door to studying rocky planet atmospheres and brings us closer to understanding Earth-like worlds outside our solar system. A few months later, the James Webb spotted another planet called GJ 1214 b and then another, TOI 1680 b, and then K2 18 b …well, the list keeps going. Hunting new distant planets aside, some spectacular discoveries around the Trappist-1 solar system have also been made, including some curious “ghost signals” that made headlines. We even discovered “exomoons” that didn’t turn out to be moons at all! If space is the final frontier, we are only getting closer to it, and learning what’s out there.

This illustration shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light years from Earth.
(Image Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI))

3. A QUANTUM LEAP IN COMPUTING

IBM announced a breakthrough with its quantum computer, which for the first time produced accurate results at a scale of 100+ qubits, outperforming leading classical simulations. But this wasn’t all. Google made some claims that it had achieved “quantum supremacy,” though critics point out it still has a way to go. A lab at the University of Bristol says that it created a mini-wormhole using quantum computers, and even DARPA says it is developing some novel synthetic materials that will make quantum computers not only faster, but cooler…so you don’t need giant freezers to keep your quantum computer from making the leap into some other dimension (that’s a joke, they just break).

4. FUSION ENERGY IS SO HOT RIGHT NOW

The US Department of Energy’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved a significant milestone by compressing atoms to initiate nuclear fusion, generating more energy than consumed at the very end of 2022. This was a major step towards developing nuclear fusion as a clean energy source. The NIF, costing $3.5 billion and located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, conducted successful ignition shots, producing record amounts of fusion energy. Things did not slow down in 2023. The Department of Energy began testing new materials for fusion reactors, and a global network of nations completed the construction of the largest fusion reactor in Japan. And while the public is still unsure about the technology, the safe and very environmentally friendly fusion energy may just be our next handhold up the Kardashev Scale. Level 1…here we come!

5. THE EXISTENTIAL CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT

Global conflicts, war, and disease are tragic concepts that humans have to face on a daily basis, and when it comes to our future on this planet, climate change is our greatest challenge. Now, while humans often act like tribal monkeys fighting over power or land or wealth, there are a few shining beacons of hope. Whether it is a plan to de-extinct some species to restore ancient ecosystems, or to develop novel technology like artificial photosynthesis or rain panels, our drive to survive has made 2023 a benchmark year. 

The year 2023 marked a watershed moment in science and technology, characterized by groundbreaking achievements across multiple domains. From the rapid evolution and adoption of generative AI to the pivotal discoveries of exoplanets, each advancement has contributed to a profound shift in our understanding and capabilities. Quantum computing breakthroughs brought us closer to solving complex problems that were once beyond our grasp, while strides in fusion energy research signaled a promising future for sustainable power. Ongoing research into climate change continued to shed light on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Collectively, these developments not only epitomize the ingenuity and perseverance of the scientific community but also underscore the potential of technology to reshape our world, offering hope and new possibilities for the years ahead.

As we enter into 2024, The Debrief will be here to cover all the groundbreaking science and technology news from the frontiers of knowledge. 

• MJ Banias is a journalist who covers security and technology. He is the host of The Debrief Weekly Report. You can email MJ at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

 { https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

27-12-2023 om 21:11 geschreven door peter  

This Is Clearest UFO Photo Ever Released That Shows Typical Alien Craft

On September 4, 1971, members of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (National Geographic Institute) took photographs above Lake Cote for the Costa Rican governmental company that provides electricity and telecommunication services. The photographs were taken for the construction of a hydroelectric dam near lake Arenal, when the mapping agency members accidentally captured a UFO in their high-resolution camera that was mounted on the plane, pointing downwards. The photograph is considered to be the clearest and best UFO photograph ever taken.

Sergio Loaiza, Juan Bravo and Francisco Reyes were flying in a Canadian-made Areo-Commander model F680 piloted by Omar Arias, and Loaiza was in charge of aerial photography that day. They were flying above Costa Rica with a 100-pound map-making camera when Loaiza captured a photograph of a metallic disc like a typical alien “flying saucer” that can be seen flying between the F680 aircraft and the ground.

They were flying at 10,000 feet, mapping the landscape beneath with the high-resolution camera that was programmed to take photos every 20 seconds. While reviewing the negatives, Loaiza could not believe his eyes. He even said that they were completely banned from talking about it. According to UFO researcher Oscar Sierra, the photographs were analyzed in the USA and France and found to be 100% real. (Source)

The object can only be seen in the photograph in frame number #300 in the sequence, and there is no indication of it in either the frame of film that came before it or the one that was taken immediately after it. Due to the film stock and the quality of the camera, the image was incredibly clear. This object was not in either the frame before it (#299) or the frame after it (#301).

During the actual flight, the captain and his three crew members did not witness anything, and neither did the other passengers. It is estimated that the UFO was anywhere between 120 and 220 feet across, but the actual width would have depended on the object’s exact altitude.

New York Times writer and author Leslie Kean revealed that she has a framed copy of the photo taken at Lake Cote in the May 10, 2021 issue of The New Yorker by Gideon Lewis-Kraus. The article states, “…On the wall behind her desk, there is a framed black-and-white image that looks like a sonogram of a Frisbee. The photograph was given to her, along with chain-of-custody documentation, by contacts in the Costa Rican government; in her estimation, it is the finest image of a U.F.O. ever made public.”

On the New Yorker Radio Hour, she said: “I love this photo. It’s probably the best photograph of a UFO ever taken. It was taken in the 70s from a government mapping plane in Costa Rica which had a camera strapped on the bottom of the plane and it was like going over the terrain. There was this disc object and you clearly see the sun reflecting off this round object that’s got a little dot on the top and what’s important about it is that it was a government photo. There’s a clear chain of custody. It’s always been in possession of the Costa Rican government so you know it’s authentic and it’s completely unexplained.” (Source)

Read also:

• Ex-NASA Astronaut: ‘We have Contact With Alien Cultures & Their Appearance Is Bizarre’
• Famous 19-Sec UFO Footage Could Be Greatest Leak: CGI Experts Say It Is Real Deal
• Einstein’s Student Claimed US Govt. Re-Engineered UFO & Studied Alien Bodies
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

In 1985, computer scientist and astronomer Dr. Jacques Vallee obtained a copy of the negative and circulated it to his contacts in the United States government and at a California tech company. However, none of them helped Dr. Vallee in analyzing the negative.

Eventually, in December 1987, Vallee took it to Dr. Richard Haines in San Francisco. Haines was a retired aerospace engineer who had worked for NASA, and Vallee knew him. The photo was scanned, blown up, and looked at. Haines’ first focus was on the lighting. In 1989, Vallee and Haines wrote a “Photo Analysis of an Aerial Disc Over Costa Rica” for the Journal of Scientific Exploration. The 19-page report concluded: (Source)

“In summary, our analyses have suggested that an unidentified, opaque, aerial object was captured on film at a maximum distance of 10,000 feet. There are no visible means of lift or propulsion and no surface markings other than dark regions that appear to be nonrandom… There is no indication that the image is the product of a double exposure or a deliberate fabrication.”

There has always been speculation as to whether the craft had just emerged from or was about to enter Lake Cote. There are numerous local stories concerning UFOs emerging from the water. But it is impossible to understand the path of the craft because it only appeared in one frame #300. The original negative has been kept by the Costa Rican government, and it may be found in the country’s National Archive. There are copies available, such as the one that Vallee and Haines analyzed.

Loaiza’s UFO photograph has never been explained, despite the fact that UFO skeptics have thoroughly examined it. UAP Media, a UK-based UFO research company has got a brand fresh ultra-high resolution drum scan of the original photograph.

• Graeme Rendall – Author of UFOs Before Roswell and Flying Saucer Fever: “It’s a really intriguing photograph, and one which totally captures the imagination. I’m always impressed as to how “right” it looks. As to its veracity, though, I can’t say, but I’d love it to be true. It definitely looks a lot more convincing than a lot of other images I’ve seen over the years. I’d have to leave it to the photo analysis experts to pronounce sentence on it though.”
• Vinnie Adams – member of UAP Media: “After looking into the case, reading about the circumstances surrounding what was seen from that aeroplane that day, and reading the analysis done previously by Dr. Jacques Vallée, it does come across as a very compelling case. The fact that after 50 years it still hasn’t been conclusively proven or debunked is very interesting. Now that we have this high-resolution drum scanned version of the image, hopefully it might reignite interest in the case and lead to further analysis and some sort of conclusion.”
• Luis Elizondo – Former director of AATIP: “Although I was not around during this incident, pilot reports of smooth, shiny, lenticular craft are not new. In fact, even to this day, pilots, both civilian and military, along with their aircrew, continue to witness these types of craft and oftentimes displaying performance capabilities well beyond state of the art. Thankfully, some of these newer incidents are finding their way to Congress due to the courage of our fine men and women in uniform. During my time in AATIP, these incidents were surprisingly common.”
• Jeremy Corbell – Filmmaker: “As we search for meaning behind the UFO presence, it’s important that we remember we are more effective collectively when perusing analysis. Historic images like this one from Costa Rica still have stories to tell, and new insights are sometimes just around the corner. If we can socially democratize and crowdsource our search for answers – we will arrive closer to the truth than if we simply wait for further confirmation from our governments. I’m elated higher fidelity imagery continues to emerge, especially when it allows us to get a glimpse into our UFO past. Makes one wonder what other UFO evidence is lurking in boxes or files that have remained elusive until now. I’m confident that more and more people will be coming forward with valuable insight and evidence in the near future.”

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 20:56 geschreven door peter  

It’s never aliens... until it is.

THE INVERSE AWARDS 2023

There’s nothing like a little trouble at home to make you look for greener pastures. And green or not, aliens were everywhere in 2023. Well, at least in the news.

From Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP, the classy new way to talk about UFOs) to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and all the way to tiny molecules clinging to frozen dust grains in interstellar space, the eyes of experts and the public were looking for life elsewhere.

The biggest alien stories — at least the most popular — came from military releases of data, hinting at cover-ups (or just ill-prepared government officials). But the most important — at least by our reckoning — were those that were steeped in science, offering hints of what life might look like outside of our planet, and where to find it. If you really do want to turn over that rock, that is.

Here, ranked from 11 to 1 by their chances of introducing us to real alien life, are the top alien and UAP events of 2023 that remind us the truth really is out there.

11. NASA RELEASED A GRIPPING REPORT ON UAPS

In September, ASA released its much-anticipated report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, and the agency says some of the sightings — between 16 and 40 out of roughly 800 — just can’t be explained — but Inverse spoke to experts, and it turns out the problem might just be that we don't have enough information. Most UAP reports come from sensors designed to guide weapons to objects, not gather detailed data about them, so it’s easy for fairly mundane objects to look bizarre when viewed through these sensors — or so says NASA.

Meanwhile, Inverse argues that the agency still needs a dedicated UAP office to take the investigation mainstream.

10. ... AND SO DID THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

The Department of Defense also published its own UAP report in January 2023, admitting that it has investigated more than 500 cases of possible UAP. Of those, more than a quarter were (of course) weather balloons; to be fair to DoD, weather stations in the U.S. alone launch 240 balloons every day. But according to a Pentagon spokesperson, “Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis.”

But don’t worry; experts tell Inverse that the military probably couldn’t pull off an alien cover-up. Swarms of commercial satellites, along with ubiquitous smartphones and social media — not to mention political pressure — would make it almost impossible to keep the cat in the bag for long.

“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,” wrote SETI researcher Seth Shostak in a July 2023 essay for the SETI Institute.

9. THE MYSTERIES OF OUMUAMUA WERE UNVEILED.

Speaking of UAP, a chunk of interstellar debris called ‘Oumuamua caused a stir when it passed through our Solar system a few years ago — and an even bigger uproar when it seemed to accelerate under its own power, without leaving a tail like a comet. This year, a study suggested a possible explanation. Spoiler alert: It’s definitely not aliens.

8. WE CRAFTED A DECENT IDEA OF WHAT ALIEN SPACECRAFT COULD LOOK LIKE

One team of SETI researchers did some math and suggested that if an alien probe ever does visit our Solar System, it’s likely to be a zippy high-tech model, not an alien version of the Voyager probes.

7. ... AND ALSO WHAT CELESTIAL SIGNS MIGHT POINT US TO ALIEN CIVILIZATIONS.

SETI researchers also proposed some ways we might be able to spot high-tech alien civilizations from a distance — and some really wild ways the aliens might make themselves known to the rest of the universe, such as rearranging an entire star system into a cosmic “Kilroy Was Here” sign.

Other telltale signs to look for around distant stars include giant megastructures, built to siphon off mass and prolong the life of a dying star or the gleam of starlight on sprawling alien cities. But it may be easier to just look for pollution in a distant world’s atmosphere.

6. WE RULED OUT A WHOLE LOT OF HABITABLE PLANETS FOR INTELLIGENT LIFE

None of that advanced alien technology is likely to happen in a world without a lot of oxygen in its atmosphere, though. One study this year pointed out that unless about sixteen percent of the atmosphere is made of oxygen, you can’t start a fire. And without fire, you can’t work metals, cook food, or signal to distant alien civilizations.

5. ... AND LEARNED ALIENS PROBABLY WON’T THINK TOO FONDLY OF OUR INTELLIGENCE.

If intelligent, technologically advanced aliens are out there, they may not recognize us as intelligent. That could be good news because it means they may not see us as a threat — and they may even think we need protection, according to one 2023 study. If the first aliens we contact are vastly more advanced than we are — or just very different — they may not realize we're sentient. That means they probably won't see us as a threat to galactic peace, which needs to be eliminated posthaste. But the jury's out on whether these hypothetical aliens might turn Earth into a nature preserve or treat us with callous indifference.

4. ALIEN LIFE, INTELLIGENT OR NOT, IS PROBABLY QUITE COMMON

Alien encounters may be worth thinking about. It turns out that the basic ingredients for life are everywhere.

This year, astronomers found water vapor amid the rocky building blocks of a planetary system. Another team found some important chemical building blocks of organic chemistry clinging to dust grains in a cold cloud of interstellar gas. Elsewhere in the universe, astronomers found the amino acid tryptophan in one star-forming nebula, and a chemical essential for kickstarting the growth of complex organic molecules in another.

A few decades ago, we thought the chemicals involved in building cells and making them work might be rare in the universe, but now it looks like many of those ingredients could be part of the standard starter pack for new star systems. And that means life may — eventually — turn out to be more common than we ever dared to hope.

3. ... AND K2-18B IS A GREAT PLACE TO LOOK FOR IT.

One team of astronomers says they’ve found an ocean world orbiting a distant star, called K2-18b — and its atmosphere may contain evidence of life somewhere in that alien ocean. Even the researchers who studied the planet with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) aren’t convinced, though. It’s going to take more data to settle the debate, but the possibility is intriguing.

2. TRAPPIST-1 OFFERS EXPERTS HOPE AND FRUSTRATION.

Another swirl of debate, also fueled by JWST observations, is centered on the TRAPPIST-1 system. Home to at least seven rocky planets, three of which are in the habitable zone, TRAPPIST-1 is a hotspot for hopeful astrobiologists.

Earlier this year, JWST revealed that the system’s innermost two worlds — TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c — look like airless rocks, although it’s possible they just have really thin atmospheres. Neither of those planets is in the habitable zone, but many astronomers took the news as a discouraging sign that the star TRAPPIST-1 might have swept away the atmospheres of all its closest planets, including the potentially habitable ones. But others say it’s too soon to give up hope.

1. BUT DO WE NEED TO LOOK THAT FAR? ALIEN LIFE MIGHT BE RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD.

Closer to home, several studies this year show that Jupiter’s icy moons look extremely promising for alien life, or at least habitability, in a part of our Solar System that we used to consider totally uninhabitable.

NASA’s JUNO spacecraft spotted salt and organic molecules splattered across the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, and JWST revealed frozen carbon dioxide on the surface of Europa. Both moons are hiding vast, dark oceans beneath their thick, icy exteriors, and finding those chemicals on the surface suggests two important things: one, material from the ocean can reach the surface, where it might be easier for us to study. And two, those ice-covered alien oceans seem to have chemistry that could support life as we know it.

Meanwhile, another study suggested that every star system could host at least one Europa-like planet with an ocean hidden beneath an icy outer layer.

The truth is out there, all right — and it may be closer than we ever thought.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 20:34 geschreven door peter  

• Scientists described a slew of new species this past year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squid, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons.
• Experts estimate less than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science.
• Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to local and Indigenous people and have a common name.
• Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction as soon as they are found, and many species may go extinct before they are named, experts say.

Scientists named hundreds of new to science species this year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squids, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons. These newly uncovered creatures give us just a glimpse into the immense biodiversity yet to be found across the planet.

“I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth’s species,” Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay in a March 2021 interview.

Experts estimate only 10-20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science.

This year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 153 new plant, animal and fungi species. Since 2020 alone, researchers have classified 100,000 new plant and fungus species. However, at this pace, researchers say documenting all life could take centuries, and many species may go extinct before they’re even named.

More than a million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, suggests the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as vulnerable or critically endangered with extinction as soon as they’re found.

“There is something immensely unethical and troubling about humans driving species extinct without ever even having appreciated their existence and given them consideration,” Walter Jetz, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, told Mongabay,

It’s important to note that although a species may be newly described by science, Indigenous people often know about species long before they’re “discovered” by Western science.

“Many species that are new to science are already known and used by people in the region of origin — people who have been their primary custodians and often hold unparalleled local knowledge,” writes Alexandre Antonelli, director of science at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Here’s a look at our top new-to-science species from 2023

A new electric-blue tarantula species is the first to be found in Thailand’s mangroves

A new electric-blue tarantula species has been described by scientists in Thailand, making it the first known tarantula species from Thai mangroves. The spider’s vivid blue coloration is created not by pigments but by nanostructures on the tarantula’s hairs that manipulate light and produce an iridescent effect.

Researchers from Khon Kaen University and wildlife YouTuber JoCho Sippawa found these vibrant blue tarantulas in the muddy conditions of Phang Nga province’s mangrove forest. The researchers have raised concerns about the tarantulas’ mangrove habitats being cleared for oil palm cultivation.

Six newly described chameleon species reflect Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains’ fragility and richness

Six new species of tiny, threatened pygmy chameleons have been discovered in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot where rapid deforestation threatens endemic wildlife. The chameleons, which can fit on a thumb, reflect the exceptional yet fragile diversity of the mountains’ isolated forests that scientists are still documenting.

Agricultural expansion driven by population growth and government initiatives to increase food production continue to drive montane forest loss at an alarming rate, shrinking the habitat these new chameleon species depend on. While some forests have been upgraded to higher protection status recently, lack of enforcement and resources enable ongoing encroachment.

Conservationists say they hope flagship species like the colorful chameleons can boost the global profile of the Eastern Arc Mountains to promote tourism and secure funding for protection programs involving local communities.

It had to be a snake: New species from Peru named after Harrison Ford

Scientists have described a new-to-science snake species from Peru’s Otishi National Park and named it after the actor Harrison Ford for his conservation advocacy. The pale yellowish-brown snake with black blotches was found in high-elevation wetlands and identified using genetic techniques. Satellite data and imagery show several areas of forest loss throughout the park, which appear to have been caused by natural landslides. Still, some bear the hallmarks of human-caused clearing likely linked to coca cultivation and drug trafficking.

A growing number of researchers also argue that species should not be named after people, as such names may perpetuate a negative legacy associated with imperialism and racism.

New gecko species from Timor-Leste hints at island’s unknown diversity

Scientists have described a new species of bent-toed gecko from a remote cave in Timor-Leste. The new species was confirmed through DNA analysis and further examination of collected specimens and is named after the young nation’s first national park, Nino Konis Santana National Park. Timor-Leste, in Southeast Asia’s Wallacea region, has high levels of biodiversity, including numerous endemic species of birds and other animals. Continued research and exploration in Timor-Leste is expected to uncover many more new plant and animal species, possibly from the same cave where the new gecko was found.

Two new pygmy squid species found on Japanese coral

Researchers found two new species of tiny, reddish pygmy squid in the biodiverse coral reefs and seagrass beds near the Japanese island of Okinawa. The Ryukyuan pygmy squid (Idiosepius kijimuna) and Hannan’s Pygmy Squid (Kodama jujutsu), which measure less than 12 millimeters (0.5 inches), are nocturnal and difficult to spot, but were documented through collaboration between scientists and underwater photographers. Their whimsical names connect them to Japanese folktales, matching their elusive nature and coastal forest habitats, which are threatened by climate change and human activity.

No croak: New silent frog species described from Tanzania’s ‘sky island’ forests

Scientists have described a new-to-science species of frog from Tanzania’s Ukaguru Mountains with a unique trait: it’s silent. The males of this species have tiny spines on their throats, which may serve as a means of species recognition for the females.

Researchers encountered the species during an expedition in search of another species, the elusive Churamiti maridadi tree toad, which has only been spotted twice in the wild and is feared to be extinct. The Ukaguru Mountains have a high degree of endemism, and describing this new species highlights the vast amount of knowledge still to be gained about this biodiversity-rich area.

An Australian spider named after Marvel character Venom

A new genus and species of spider found in Tasmania has been named Venomius tomhardyi after actor Tom Hardy and his Marvel character Venom, due to the distinctive black spots on the spider’s abdomen resembling Venom’s head. The orb-weaving spider belongs to the Araneidae family and builds circular webs to catch prey, but unlike related spiders, it doesn’t have tubercles on its abdomen and creates silk shelters inside tree branches. Researchers found the spider on an expedition across multiple Australian states by researchers who aim to fully document the continent’s spider diversity to aid conservation efforts.

‘They’re everywhere out there’: Three new nautilus species described

Researchers have described three new species of nautilus found in the Coral Sea and the South Pacific. The three species differ in genetic structure, shell size and coloration, and geographic location. Scientists generally know little about nautiluses but are working to fill in the data gaps to understand how to protect them. Nautiluses are highly threatened by the shell trade, as well as pollution and the impacts of climate change.

Newly described gecko from Madagascar a master of disguise

A new species of leaf-tailed gecko, Uroplatus garamaso, has been described from northern Madagascar. Like other geckos in its genus, U. garamaso is a master of camouflage due to skin flaps that allow it to resemble tree bark during the daytime when it presses against branches. At 8-14 centimeters (3-5.5 inches) long, it’s a relatively large gecko for Madagascar. The forest where the gecko lives face threats from logging and fires, endangering U. garamaso which, like many endemic Madagascan species, has a restricted range that makes it vulnerable to habitat loss. More geckos are still being uncovered in Madagascar’s exceptionally biodiverse ecosystems.

Newly described leafless orchid in Sri Lanka named after a precious yellow sapphire

A new leafless ground orchid found in a lowland wet-zone forest in Sri Lanka has been named after a precious yellow sapphire, a gemstone commonly extracted from the same district. The plant grows in Walankanda, a forest frontier in the island’s intermediate zone with unique characteristics that will likely make these plants susceptible to future climate change impacts earlier than other wet-zone rainforest plants.

Tea plantations are the main driver of forest fragmentation in the area. However, an ambitious project aims to create an ecological land corridor through neglected tea estates, linking the forest where the orchid was first found with another fragmented forest patch.

New species of ‘Tolkien frog’ emerges from Middle Earth of Ecuadoran Andes

A new species of frog has been described from the tropical Andes of Ecuador and named after J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of famous works of fantasy literature. Only one individual of the species was found, within the bounds of Río Negro-Sopladora National Park.

Río Negro-Sopladora was declared a protected area in 2018 and serves as a critical link in the highly diverse Sangay-Podocarpus Corridor, home to many rare and endemic plants and animals. The scientists who described the frog say research and monitoring are urgently needed to better understand this unique species and assess potential threats to its survival, such as invasive species, emerging diseases, and climate change.

Newly described DiCaprio’s snake and others threatened by mining in Ecuador and Panama

Researchers have described five new species of snail-eating snakes from the upper Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador and Colombia and the Chocó-Darién forests of Panama. Three of the new species were named by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, conservationist Brian Sheth, and the NGO Nature and Culture International to raise awareness about the threats these snakes face due to mining and deforestation.

Ecuador and Colombia saw an increase in illegal gold mining along rivers and streams during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected populations of these fragile snakes and has led to conflict and division within communities. Snail-eating snakes are arboreal and depend on wet environments to survive, so deforestation and mining pollution, including illegal gold mining, affect both the snakes and the snails and slugs that they rely on for food.

New ‘snug,’ a snail with a too-small shell, described from Brunei rainforest

A group of researchers and citizen scientists have identified a new semi-slug species. The so-called “snug,” a snail whose external shell is too small to house its entire body, can be found in the lowland rainforests of northern Borneo Island. The researchers suggest there may be some half a dozen other species from the same genus waiting to be described, highlighting the rich biodiversity of this region.

Banner image: One of the six newly described chameleons from Tanzania, which are already at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, according to researchers. Image courtesy of Michele Menegon.

• Liz Kimbrough is a staff writer for Mongabay and holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Tulane University, where she studied the microbiomes of trees. View more of her reporting here.

27-12-2023 om 18:20 geschreven door peter  

Japan is on track to become the fifth country to land a probe on the Moon, after its SLIM spacecraft successfully entered lunar orbit on Dec. 24. The $100m mission, dubbed the “moon sniper”, aims to demonstrate Tokyo’s ability to land a lightweight, low-cost spacecraft on the Moon with high precision.

The SLIM spacecraft is expected to land within 100m of a location near the Shioli crater, on the near side of the Moon. The landing attempt is scheduled for Jan. 19, after the spacecraft spends a month circling the Moon. This would mark a historic moment for Japan, as a successful touchdown would join the ranks of the United States, Russia, China, and India, who have previously achieved the feat of landing a probe on the Moon.

The SLIM mission is part of Japan’s ambitious space exploration efforts, which include sending a rover to explore the lunar surface, collecting samples from an asteroid, and participating in the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon. The mission also showcases Japan’s technological prowess and innovation, as the SLIM spacecraft is designed to be smaller, lighter, and cheaper than previous lunar landers.

The SLIM spacecraft weighs only 130kg, compared to the 1,500kg of China’s Chang’e-4 lander, which landed on the far side of the Moon in 2019. The SLIM spacecraft also costs only $100m, a fraction of the $1.3bn budget of India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission, which failed to land on the Moon in 2019. The SLIM spacecraft is equipped with advanced navigation and guidance systems, which allow it to autonomously adjust its trajectory and attitude during the landing process.

The launch of SLIM was carried out by a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-2A rocket, which also carried the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite. The XRISM is a joint project between the Japanese, American, and European space agencies. The satellite, containing a telescope the size of a bus, has parted ways with the lunar lander to orbit around the Earth. It will now begin studying space phenomena such as black holes.

The successful launch and lunar orbit entry of SLIM follow a series of failures over the past year. Last November, JAXA lost contact with its OMOTENASHI spacecraft and aborted the Moon landing mission. More recently in April, a private Japanese start-up, iSpace, failed to land its Hakuto-R lander after it too lost contact with the spacecraft. Two test rocket launches have also failed this year.

The SLIM mission represents a significant step forward in Japan’s space exploration efforts. The mission’s success so far demonstrates the country’s resilience and determination in the face of previous setbacks. As the world watches, the upcoming moon landing attempt is set to be a pivotal moment in space exploration history.

Artist's impression of the lunar explorer on the Moon. 

(JAXA)

Relevant articles:

• Japan spacecraft enters lunar orbit for Moon landing on Jan. 20
• Japan’s SLIM ‘moon sniper’ lander arrives in lunar orbit for Christmas
• Japan’s SLIM successfully enters lunar orbit, gears up for precision moon landing
• After Chandrayaan 3, Japan eyes lunar landing as SLIM lander enters Moon orbit

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27-12-2023 om 17:42 geschreven door peter  

Japan Probe Enters Lunar Orbit Ahead of Historic Moon Landing

By AFP

If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have successfully landed a probe on the Moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.

On Monday, SLIM "successfully entered the moon's orbit at 04:51 pm Japan time" (0751 GMT), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement released Monday evening.

"Its trajectory shift was achieved as originally planned, and there is nothing out of the ordinary about the probe's conditions," the agency said.

The lander's descent towards the moon is expected to start around 12:00 am Japan time on January 20, with its landing on the surface scheduled for 20 minutes later, JAXA said.

The H-IIA rocket lifted off in September from the southern island of Tanegashima carrying the lander, after three postponements linked to bad weather.

JAXA said this month that the mission would be an "unprecedentedly high precision landing" on the Moon.

The lander is equipped with a spherical probe that was developed with a toy company.

{ https://www.sciencealert.com/ }

27-12-2023 om 17:23 geschreven door peter