Over the past two thousand years, Christian theologians have been debating and speculating what the “Second Coming of Christ” described in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation truly signifies, and when it may occur. There have been no dearth of predictions regarding the date of the Second Coming, all of which, unfortunately, have missed the mark. Interestingly, the early Christians expected Jesus to return within a generation of his death, because there is a verse in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus tells his disciples:

Truly I tell you, this generation [Greek: genea] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.?(Matthew 24:34–35)

The term “generation” is a translation of the Greek term “genea”, which, according to the Danish linguist, Iver Larsen, had a wider meaning than it has today, and the correct translation of genea in the context of the Second Coming is “kind of people”.

So, Jesus was essentially referring to the “kind of people” who live in the current age of lies and deceit, discord and strife, known in the esoteric doctrines as the Iron Age or Kali Yuga. In other words, the Second Coming of Christ refers to a series of momentous events that could occur after the end of the Kali Yuga. This dovetails with the prophecies of many ancient cultures in which a Savior or Avatar will return at the close of this World Age to kill the unrighteous people, cleanse and heal the world, and establish a society based on elevated moral and spiritual principles.

In my book Yuga Shift, I have proposed that the Kali Yuga ends in the year 2025, which will initiate a period of global turmoil and upheavals, and by the year 2040 the Kali Yuga structures and ideologies may be entirely obliterated. The years from 2025 to 2040 are the end-times described in the sacred texts of many cultures, when the prophecies will get fulfilled and our worldview will be dramatically altered. I have explored a number of eschatological doctrines, including the Second Coming of Christ, which describes the return of Christ from the heavens to judge the unrighteous, reward the faithful and set up his Kingdom on earth for a thousand years. 

As per the Gospels, a period of great distress will precede the second coming of Christ, when humanity will be at war, the minds of men will be consumed by deceit and hatred, and environmental calamities such as famines and earthquakes will bring untold suffering. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that when Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, and his disciples asked him, “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”, Jesus replied:

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.(Matthew 24.4-8)

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24.10-13) 

For then there will be great tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Matthew 24.21)

Looking at the state of our world today, with the burgeoning wars and hatred everywhere, acute food shortages in many places, and with quite a few earthquakes occurring in the past one year, it almost seems like we are living in the times of the fulfillment of these prophecies. Once we cross the 2025 threshold, however, things are likely to slide further downhill.

As per the Gospel of Matthew, the Second Coming of Christ will be clearly visible to everyone, and there will be no need to believe rumors, or to consult scientists, astrologers or priests, “for as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24.27). This tells us that the appearance of Christ during the end-times will occur in a rather dramatic fashion, and one should trust one’s own judgment regarding this. However, certain celestial events will precede the arrival of Christ, which will make people realize that the end-times are drawing near. 

Immediately after the distress (tribulation) of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24.29-31)

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13.40-43)

The celestial events described in these verses could be precipitated by the passage of the earth through a dense swarm of comets and meteors. The “darkening of the sun and the moon” can be caused by voluminous quantities of meteor dust, while the “stars falling from the sky” are quite likely to be references to “shooting stars” or meteors, blazing a trail through the night sky. The imagery of the “Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”, could be a metaphor for a large, brilliant comet appearing in the skies during the end-times.

As to when this cometary apocalypse will come to pass, however, cannot be deduced from the descriptions in the Gospels. The early Christians used to believe that Jesus will return during their lifetime, but most Christian theologians have, since then, have advocated that the visible appearance of Christ may happen at any moment and that Christians should be ever ready for it. These beliefs were inspired by the Gospels for, as the Gospel of Matthew states:

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (Matthew 24.36 - 41)    

It is rather interesting how the Gospel accounts stress that the “angels” of God will save the righteous people before the tribulations of the end-times. This dovetails with the Hopi beliefs about the four previous Worlds, each of which ended with a cataclysm. The Hopi tell us that during the dissolution of the first two Worlds, some of the righteous people were guided to the subterranean homes of the “Ant People”, where they lived in comfort while the world above was destroyed and reconfigured by their god, Sotuknang. After the planet had been renewed, the Hopi were taken outside and given the necessary instructions of living in the new World.

The “Ant People” of the Hopi are similar to the race of dwarfs mentioned in the legends of many ancient cultures, where they are called gnomes, goblins, leprechauns, yakshas etc. In these accounts, the dwarfs were said to live in lavish comfort in subterranean caverns, which were lit up with precious jewels. They were said to be extremely proficient in mining and smithing and made various kinds of magical artifacts. In Celtic legends, the underground home of the dwarfs could be reached through hidden passages in hills and under water. In general, the dwarfs were said to exhibit a friendly and generous attitude towards humans, whom they sometimes conduct to their underground kingdom of riches.[1]

The dwarfs of the ancient traditions belong to an ensemble of magical beings who were collectively called the fairies or “faerie folk”. They were regarded as semi-divine beings, who possessed various supernatural abilities, including the powers of flying, invisibility, shape-shifting and clairvoyance. The faerie folk were depicted as human-like beings of extraordinary beauty, with wings and brilliant halos, similar to the manner in which the angels were depicted in Christian art. It appears from such accounts that survival during periods of transition between the World Ages is not a matter of luck and chance. Rather, it is a righteous few who are selected for survival by various inter-dimensional beings, and guided to safe locations. 

Even though the Gospels cannot give us a proper timeframe as to when the end-time tribulations might come to pass, some tantalizing clues can be found in the Book of Revelation composed by John of Patmos, who, many scholars believe, could be the Apostle John. As per the Revelation, a number of catastrophic events are due to occur before the final return of Christ from the heavens. Without going into too many details, I will focus on a specific part of the prophetic vision of John which describes what happened when the “Lamb of God” took a scroll from the hand of God and opened the seven seals. 

The opening of the first four seals released the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, who created the conditions for the onset of a global war, accompanied by much hatred and bloodshed, as well as a famine that led to the death of many people. (Rev 6.2-8). This dovetails with the Gospels, which tell us that wars, famines and earthquakes will occur prior to the Second Coming.

When the seventh seal was opened, the Seven Angels who stand before God blew the seven trumpets. This triggered a number of catastrophic events, all of which appear to be related to meteor and comet impacts.

“The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” (Rev 8:7) This verse seems to describe a particularly intense meteor shower.

“Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” (Rev 8:8-9) These verses probably describe an oceanic asteroid impact.

“Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” (Rev 8:10-11) This section describes a comet impact, since comets were described as long-tailed stars, and they release harmful gases including cyanide.

“Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.” (Rev 8:12-13) It is quite likely that the darkening of the sun, moon, and the stars was due to a dusting of the upper atmosphere by a meteor stream.

“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth.” (Rev 9:1-3) These verses describe a volcanic eruption triggered by a comet impact. It is very common for volcanic explosions to occur after cometary bombardments.

“Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.” (Rev 9:-13-19) This section describes a swarm of comets, striking the earth with fiery projectiles, and setting everything on fire with their ion tails.

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”...Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.” (Rev 11.15-19) These verses are describing the unveiling of the “heaven of the gods” which was known as Shambhala or Amaravati in the Hindu-Buddhist texts. This is the true meaning of apocalypse or unveiling, which will dispel the confusion and ignorance of the Kali Yuga and make us aware of a greater reality and of our role in the universal scheme of things.

There can be hardly any doubt that the catastrophic events described in the Revelation, following the opening of the seven seals, can only be precipitated by meteor dust, meteor showers, and devastating asteroid and comet impacts. In other words, our planet is due to experience a massive collision with a dense swarm of comets and asteroids sometime in the near future, which will pull down the curtains on our decadent and decaying civilization of the Kali Yuga. The question is, where is this comet swarm located, and when might this head-on collision occur? Have our astronomers found out anything? The answer is yes, and we shall get to it very soon.

As per the Revelation, Christ will arrive from the skies after these cataclysmic impact events have shaken humanity out of their stupor. The symbolisms associated with Christ are replete with cometary allusions. When John had seen the Son of Man in his vision for the first time, (before any of these catastrophic events had occurred), he said that,

“In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Rev 1.16)

When he saw Christ again in his vision after the opening of the Seven Seals, he was riding a white horse, a sharp sword emerged from his mouth, and he was accompanied by an army of horse-riding angels, in a manner reminiscent of the Savior figures of other cultures viz. Kalki, Rudra Chakrin and Saoshyant.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord or Lords. (Rev 19: 11-16)

The imagery of Christ riding a horse, with a sword coming out of his mouth, and followed by an army of horse-riding angels is unmistakably that of a giant, two-tailed, “horse comet” followed by a swarm of smaller comets! Surprised? Let me explain.

What could be the horse that Christ rides through the heavens, following the catastrophic events precipitated by a swarm of comets, meteors and asteroids? It can be nothing other than a “horse comet”. The Roman philosopher Pliny had mentioned a class of comets called “hippeus” or “horse comets”[2], having plumes much like horses’ mane in rapid motion. Hephaistion of Thebes tells us that the hippeus comet foretold the quick fall of kings and tyrants.[3] The earliest known depiction of a “horse comet” is found on the bronze coins issued by Mithridates VI of Pontus, which show the unusually bright comet that appeared sometime around c.135 BCE, coinciding with the year of birth of Mithridates. The coins depict a ten-pointed star with a long tail that resembles a horse’s mane.

And what about the sharp sword that comes out of the mouth of Christ? What might that represent? Once again, comets! That’s right. Many ancient writers described comets as “swords”, threatening nations with punishment. Tertullian (c.240 CE), the early Christian theologian, described comets as “God’s scythe using which he shears down the multitude of sinful creatures.” The 1st century CE historian, Josephus, was referring to a comet when he described a star, resembling a sword, which stood over the city of Jerusalem for an entire year, in 66 CE.[4] The Gond tribals, who live in the forests of Central India, believe that comets are, “the sword like weapon of the gods… the gods are protecting humans by cleaning up the mess created by bad events either by killing evil (when it is a sword) or by sweeping away the evil (when it is a broom).”[5]

I believe it is the long, straight, bluish, ion-tail of a comet, which has been described as a “sword” in the traditional beliefs of different cultures. Not only does the ion-tail actually resemble a sword, it is also filled with electrically charged particles, which can set the forests and grasslands ablaze if it sweeps over the surface of the earth.  

Evidently, the imagery of Christ in the Revelation and the Gospels bears an uncanny resemblance to a two-tailed “horse comet”, in which the white, curvy, dust tail has been visualized as a horse’s mane in motion, while the straight, bluish, ion tail has been imagined as a sword. The army of angels on horseback, who follow Christ, are a “swarm” of smaller horse comets. In other words, the Second Coming describes the arrival of an effulgent swarm of “horse comets” into the inner solar system resulting in a head-on collision with the earth. 

It is no secret that most ancient cultures dreaded comets and referred to them as the “harbingers of doom”. Comets were believed to bring all sorts of miseries in their wake such as wars, revolutions, earthquakes, disasters, famines and pestilences. The deeply ingrained belief that comets were the “portents of impending disaster sent directly from heaven for the warning of mankind”, was carried into early Christianity. In The Popular Science Monthly (1885), Andrew Dickson White, the Late President of Cornell University, wrote about the Christian beliefs about comets:

“The belief that every comet is ball of fire, flung from the right hand of an angry God to warn the groveling dwellers of earth, was received into the early Church…The great Fathers of the Church committed themselves unreservedly to this doctrine. Tertullian declared that ‘comets portend revolutions of kingdoms, pestilence, war, winds, or heat.’ Origen insisted that they indicate “catastrophes and the downfall of empires and worlds.’”[6]

Thus, it would be in keeping with the ancient belief systems if an effulgent swarm of comets were to be responsible for destruction of evil at the end of the Kali Yuga. The giant “horse comet”, which has been represented as Christ in the Revelation is not Christ himself but should be properly understood as a “messenger of Christ”, which has been empowered to carry out the divine will of cleansing the earth of evil and renewing it.

This brings us to the final question: from where does this swarm of comets originate, and when might we expect to encounter it?

The clue to this mystery is also contained in the Revelation. When John saw the Son of Man for the first time in his vision, he said that, “In his right hand he held seven stars….” What could the “seven stars” be, if not the seven prominent stars of the Pleiades asterism?

Now, of all the meteor streams that the earth crosses in course of its annual orbit around the Sun, there is only one meteor stream whose radiant (i.e. the point in the sky from where the meteors appear to originate) is very close to the Pleiades: it is the Taurid meteor stream.

Which means, the cometary apocalypse described in the Christian eschatological texts describe a swarm of comets emanating from the Taurid meteor stream. But does the Taurid meteor stream contain the kind of gigantic, effulgent, civilization-ending comets and comet swarms that have been described in these texts? If yes, why don’t we see them today? 

This is where we need to get ourselves acquainted with some very interesting details about the Taurid meteor stream. We know that the earth experiences a number of meteor showers every year in the course of its annual orbit. The meteor showers occur when the earth passes though a meteor stream that intersects its orbits. The meteor streams are “rivers of debris” left behind by a comet with an Earth-crossing orbit, composed mainly of dust and pebbles.  

The Taurid meteor stream is the largest stream of cosmic debris in the inner solar system. The earth crosses the Taurid stream twice in course of its orbit around the sun, once in summer and once in late autumn.

The first crossing of the Taurids takes place from June 5 – July 18, with peak activity on June 29. This is a daytime shower called the “Beta Taurids”. The next crossing of the Taurids occurs from Sep 10 – Nov 20, when the earth crosses the “Southern Taurids”, followed by the “Northern Taurids” from Oct 20 – Dec 10. These are two cross sections of the same meteor stream. The Southern Taurids peak on October 10, while the Northern Taurids peak on November 12. It is during a one-week time frame extending from November 5 through November 12 when the Taurids are most active. Since these meteor showers occur in late October and early November they are also called “Halloween fireballs”.

While most meteor streams contain small particles, not larger than a grain of sand or a pebble, the Taurid meteor stream contains some large chunks of rocks. The Beta Taurids, in particular, have been held responsible for generating Earth-impacting meteors in the recent past. Astronomers believe that the Beta Taurids, which have peak activity on June 29, probably caused the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908, when a large meteor exploded over Eastern Siberia with the force of a 1000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs and flattened over 2000 square kilometers of forest.[7] The meteor is believed to have been about 120 feet across and weighed a 100 million kilograms. 

British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier had postulated that the progenitor of the Taurid stream was a giant comet, around 50 - 100 km in diameter, which entered the inner solar system at least 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. The comet was tossed into a short-term orbit around the sun, and disintegrated in stages, leaving behind the trail of debris known as the Taurid Complex.[8] The faint Comet Encke, which is the only visible comet that circulates within the Taurid stream today, is probably a recently reactivated fragment of the progenitor comet. Napier found that at least 19 of the largest NEO’s (Near-Earth Objects) have orbits significantly close to that of Comet Encke and are likely to be the remnants of the giant Taurid progenitor.[9]

What is even more interesting, and quite ominous to say the least, is that the giant progenitor comet of the Taurids still remains hidden in the center of the Taurid stream, moving within a “tightly packed swarm” consisting of several minor comets (formed by the fragmentation of the progenitor) and dozens of full-size asteroids up to 1 km wide. This dense cluster of comets and asteroids within the Taurid meteor stream is called the “Taurid Resonant Swarm”. 

The Taurid Resonant Swarm is in an orbit similar to Comet Encke’s. It goes round the sun in an Earth-crossing orbit once every 3.39 years. The comets within the Taurid Resonant Swarm are in a dormant state right now, which makes it very difficult to spot them, but they could be reactivated as bright, outgassing comets at any point in the future. Dormant comets are quite common within the solar system. For instance, the centaurs are a class of small bodies which revolve around the sun in slightly elliptical orbits, between the outer planets. Many centaurs – such as Chiron and 29P - occasionally outburst and develop a comet-like coma, which is why they have been classified both as asteroids and comets. 

Recently, astronomers Ignacio Ferrin and Vincenzo Orofino examined dozens of previously published papers and identified 88 new asteroids in the Taurid stream. Using the secular light curve technique, which looks for changes in each member’s brightness along its orbit, they found evidence of cometary activity in 67 percent of the 51 new Taurid members they had good data on. The orbital alignment of these 88 bodies with Comet Encke, and the signs of outgassing, indicate that they have cometary origin, most likely from the fragmentation of the Taurid progenitor.[10]

Clube and Napier believe that large chunks of rock from the Taurid Resonant Swarm have struck us many times within the historical timeframe when the earth passed through this dense swarm and will continue to do so with catastrophic consequences in future. In an article in the National Geographic, Australian astronomer Duncan Steel provided a specific estimate of the periodicity of impact events originating from the Taurid swarm:

“Every 2,500 to 3,000 years or so, the core of the Taurid stream passes near Earth and produces much more intense meteor showers for a few centuries, said Steel. A gap of a few centuries separates the era of intensity between Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids.”[11]

This is a stunning piece of statistic for it perfectly explains why civilizations across the world seem to collapse in a heap every 2700 years, followed by a period of cataclysmic earth-changes that extends for roughly 300 years. The Taurid Resonant Swarm clearly seems to be playing a central role in the periodic collapse and re-emergence of civilization on our planet!

Quite alarmingly, the earth is scheduled to pass through the center of the Taurid Resonant Swarm very soon, which could spell doom for our civilization. 

Victor Clube and David Asher had published a paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, in which they said that, as per their computations, the earth will pass directly through the center of the Taurid Resonant Swarm in the years 2032 and 2036.[12] These two head-on collisions with the Taurid Resonant Swarm - which is densely packed with a large number massive dormant comets and full-size asteroid fragments - could set off a chain of global catastrophes that could finally wind up the Kali Yuga.

I suspect that, sometime prior to or during the passage of the earth through the center of the Taurid Resonant Swarm in the years 2032 and 2036, the giant “horse comet”, which has been described in the Revelation as Christ on a horse with a sword coming out of his mouth, and a “swarm" of smaller comets, which has been envisioned in the Revelation as the army of angels on horseback, will be activated as effulgent, outgassing comets, stunning us with their dazzling splendor, and making it obvious to everyone living at that time that the prophecies are being fulfilled. 

Needless to say, the energy balance of the solar system is likely to undergo drastic shifts at this time, affecting us deeply at a psychological level. On one hand, it could propel humanity to a new level of consciousness by activating the subtle energy centers within our body known as the chakras, while on the other, it could exacerbate the warlike and violent tendencies in men, causing more conflicts on a global scale. These comets, which our ancestors believed are divinely empowered to carry out the will of the gods, will cleanse, purify and renew the earth, so that an entirely new civilization can be forged by the survivors, which is built on a bedrock of peace and harmony, truth and justice, and a veritable paradise is once again established on earth.

References

[1] Vernon J. Harward Jr., The Dwarfs of Arthurian Romance and Celtic Tradition, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1958, pp. 6-20.
[2] Pliny, Natural History 2.22.
[3] M. R. Molnar, “New Numismatic Evidence about the Comets of Mithridates the Great of Pontus (134 and 119 BC)", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, December 1997, Vol.29, p.1262.
[4] Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.5.3, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2850/2850-h/2850-h.htm
[5] M N Vahia, Ganesh Halkare “Aspects of Gond Astronomy”, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 2011, p. 17, https://www.tifr.res.in/~archaeo/papers/Prehistoric%20astronomy/Astronomical%20ideas%20of%20the%20Gonds.pdf
[6] Andrew Dickson White, “New Chapters in the Warfare of Science: The Doctrine of Comets”, The Popular Science Monthly, 1885, p. 723.
[7] John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html
[8] D.I. Steel, D.J. Asher, S.V.M Clube, “The Taurid Complex: Giant Comet Origin?” International Astronomical Union Colloquium, 1991, Vol. 126, pp. 327-330, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0252921100067063 
[9] W. M. Napier, “Palaeolithic extinctions and the Taurid Complex”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.405, No.3, July 2010, pp. 1901–1906, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16579.x
[10] James Romero, "Swarm of Near-Earth Comets Linked to Recent Ice Giant Breakup", Discover Magazine, 30 Sep 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/swarm-of-near-earth-comets-linked-to-recent-ice-giant-breakup
[11] John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html
[12] D.J. Asher, S.V.M. Clube, “An Extraterrestrial Influence during the Current Glacial-Interglacial”,    Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1993, Vol.34, No.4, pp. 481-511.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

15-02-2024 om 01:04 geschreven door peter  

But life may not have originated here. Researchers question if there was enough time for life to appear spontaneously in early Earth conditions.

New research examines the idea that cosmic dust could be responsible for spreading life throughout the galaxy by panspermia. Life arose elsewhere, and was delivered to the young Earth. This is not a new idea, but in this work, the author calculates how quickly it could happen.

The research is titled “The Possibility of Panspermia in the Deep Cosmos by Means of the Planetary Dust Grains.” The sole author is Z.N. Osmanov, from the School of Physics at the Free University of Tbilisi in the country Georgia. The paper is in pre-print and hasn’t been published yet.

No matter how much we ponder and investigate the origins of life, we don’t know how it starts. We have an idea about the type of environment that could spawn it, but even that is an idea obscured by billions of years. “It is clear that the main problem is the origin of life or abiogenesis, the details of which are still unknown to us,” Osmanov writes.

But it started somehow. Leaving life’s original appearance aside, for now, Osmanov moves on to how it could spread.

“By obtaining the assumption that planetary dust particles can escape from the gravitational attraction of a planet, we consider the possibility for the dust grains to leave the star’s system by means of the radiation pressure,” Osmanov writes.

The idea that life itself could travel through space on comets and asteroids is familiar to many people. When these objects crash into planets, the thinking goes, hitchhiking life is delivered, and if there’s a niche it can exploit, it will. But how could simple dust accomplish the same thing?

For dust to carry life, it must originate from a planet that hosts life. This can happen in specific circumstances. Research shows that dust particles from Earth in the planet’s high-altitude atmosphere can scatter against cosmic dust grains. A 2017 paper in the journal Astrobiology showed how hypervelocity space dust can interact with this Earth dust, creating powerful momentum flows. A small fraction of the planetary dust particles can be accelerated enough to escape the planet’s gravity.

Once free of its planet’s gravity, dust is then at the mercy of stellar radiation pressure. “If a similar scenario takes place in other systems, the planetary dust particles, being already free from the planet’s gravitational field, might escape from the star’s system by means of the radiation pressure and initial velocity, spreading life into the cosmos,” Osmanov explains.

Life would need to be very hardy to survive on a dust grain as it travels through interstellar space. It would have to avoid hazards like radiation and heat. If life itself couldn’t do it, maybe complex molecules that lead to life could. If we grant that it’s possible, the next question concerns how quickly it could spread.

“It has been shown that, during 5 billion years, the dust grains will reach 10⁵ stellar systems, and by taking the Drake equation into account, it has been shown that the whole galaxy will be full of planetary dust particles,” Osmanov explains.

Osmanov points to other research into panspermia and how it could happen in our neighbourhood of the galaxy. “In particular, it has been pointed out that, by means of the solar radiation pressure, small dust grains containing live organisms can travel to the nearest solar system, Alpha Centauri, in nine thousand years,” Osmanov writes. Our powerful rockets, like the Space Launch System and the Falcon Heavy, would take over 100,000 years to make the journey.

It’s an intriguing idea. Osmanov calculates that a significant number of dust grains will survive interstellar space with life or complex molecules intact. But his thinking hits a bit of a speed bump at one point. He takes a bold step beyond our current knowledge when he writes, “On the other hand, it is natural to assume that the number of planets with at least primitive life should be enormous.” It might be a natural assumption, but there’s little evidence that it’s true. It’s conjecture, stimulating conjecture, but conjecture nonetheless.

Working with a statistical approach to the Drake Equation, Osmanov writes that the number of planets that developed life is on “the order of 3×10⁷.

“This value is so huge that if dust particles can travel a distance of the order of several hundred light years, one can conclude that the MW, with a diameter of 100,000 light-years, should be full of complex molecules distributed throughout the whole galaxy,” Osmanov explains. “Even if we assume that life is destroyed during this time, the vast majority of complex molecules will remain intact.”

It’s very interesting work. But the frustrating thing about this entire topic is that we still don’t know how life appears or how often it appears. So, all of our thought experiments and calculations, including Osmanov’s, have a stubborn nugget of the unknown at the centre.

If we’re fortunate to find solid evidence of life on Mars, for instance, then this type of research and the conversations it spawns will take on a new lustre. But for now, Osmanov’s work and similar work by other researchers leaves us in a funny spot: we can imagine and calculate how life can spread and how far and how fast.

Osmanov claims that the number of planets with primitive life is enormous. We don’t know that. Planets are extraordinarily complex, and there are a bewildering number of variables. Even if there are an enormous number of planets with primitive life, many of them will be more massive than Earth. Will dust particles carrying life or complex organic molecules be able to escape the gravitational grasp of super-Earths, for example?

This research shows how life, or at least its building blocks, could escape from planets and survive the interstellar journey to another world. If it’s true, and panspermia can account for life appearing on Earth so soon after it formed and cooled, then it changes our understanding of our origins and even the rest of the Universe.

But we don’t know how true it is, and we still don’t know how it starts.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 21:57 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 21:19 geschreven door peter  

Dr. Tobie continues by telling Universe Today, “It was initially thought that Mimas remained frozen since its formation and that the conditions to initiate ice melting in its interior were never met. This new finding we report in this study shows that Mimas in fact is not that different than Enceladus. It also has a global ocean, but in contrast to Enceladus, such an ocean was formed very recently, explaining the lack of surface activity.”

After analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini, the researchers concluded that an internal ocean exists on the heavily cratered Mimas approximately 20-30 kilometers (12-18 miles) beneath its surface, forming less than 25 million years ago, which is young in geologic terms. Additionally, the team concluded the juncture where the internal ocean and ice interact reached less than 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the surface only 2-3 million years ago, indicating the ocean is potentially still developing and growing. Therefore, what implications does finding an ocean on Mimas have for other potential ocean worlds in our solar system?

Dr. Alyssa Rhoden, who is a Principal Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado and co-authored an article in Nature discussing the groundbreaking discovery, tells Universe Today, “As far as stealth ocean moons go, Mimas pretty much takes the cake. Its surface betrays nothing of the ocean underneath. Icy moons around Uranus, for example, do show some geologic activity on their surfaces that have (in absence of other options) have been attributed to oceans enabling tidal stresses and/or enhanced heating to drive processes like convection. More importantly, Mimas is showing us that it’s not too late for moons to undergo massive changes. Maybe triggering ocean formation later in a moon’s lifetime is more common in this size range of moons than we initially considered.”

As noted, an internal ocean on Mimas indicates it could possess habitable conditions for life as we know it like Europa and Enceladus. This is because scientists have hypothesized that internal oceans are created from internal heat generated from the moons being tugged and pulled as they orbit their respective planets, also known as tidal heating. While such internal oceans are completely absent from receiving sunlight due to their outer surfaces, scientists hypothesize that the internal heat that creates the ocean could also harbor hydrothermal vents where life has been observed to exist here on Earth. Therefore, what implications does finding an ocean on Mimas have for finding life beyond Earth?

“Finding an ocean on Mimas demonstrates that habitable environments may be found even in small objects far from the Sun, which is already a great discovery,” Dr. Tobie tells Universe Today. “However, the chance to detect any sign of life on such objects is extremely low, as there is no direct communication between the subsurface ocean and the surface.  Enceladus, with its very active jets, is a much better target to address the question of life beyond Earth. Mimas, however, provides an opportunity to study the first stage of ocean formation and potentially chemical complexification before life emerged, a fundamental stage which is still unknown on Earth.”

In terms of follow-up studies, Dr. Tobie tells Universe Today that the methods used for this recent study could also be applied for other moons in the solar system, specifically moons orbiting Uranus, along with providing an opportunity to use Cassini data to re-evaluate not only Mimas, but other mid-sized moons orbiting Saturn, including Enceladus.

With this groundbreaking discovery, Mimas joins several other planetary bodies within the solar system that can be called ocean worlds, which include the aforementioned Europa and Enceladus, but also the dwarf planets, Ceres and Pluto; Jupiter’s moons, Ganymede and Callisto; Saturn’s largest moon, Titan; and Neptune’s moon, Triton. It is through these fantastic and mysterious worlds that scientists from around the world are studying to better understand the conditions for life to exist, both here on Earth and beyond.2

“The main take-away from Mimas is that we ought to test ideas, even if they seem unlikely,” Dr. Rhoden tells Universe Today. “Mimas’ surface doesn’t show evidence of an ocean, so it was easy to dismiss the ocean hypothesis when it was first proposed. But to come to a scientific conclusion, we have to back up inferences with tests. Sometimes, we find that the tests confirm our expectations, and sometimes, we get to be surprised.”

What new discoveries will scientists make about Mimas and other ocean worlds in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers Employ Novel Technique for Searching for Alien Technosignatures

Technosignatures are any measurable property that may provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a branch of astrobiology that focuses on finding technosignatures, as their detection would provide evidence for intelligent life beyond Earth. Traditionally, targeted radio surveys have been the mainstay of SETI research, and many SETI projects currently underway still take place in the radio band. The newly-proposed technique, the SETI Ellipsoid, is a strategy for technosignature candidate selection that assumes that extraterrestrial civilizations who have observed a galactic-scale event — such as supernova SN 1987A — may use it as a point to broadcast synchronized signals indicating their presence.

Using improved 3D locations for stars from Gaia Early Data Release 3, Cabrales et al. identified 32 SN 1987A SETI Ellipsoid targets in the TESS continuous viewing zone with uncertainties better than 0.5 light-years.

Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Alexandra Angelich, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Dr. Bárbara Cabrales from the SETI Institute and the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues show the SETI Ellipsoid method can leverage continuous, wide-field sky surveys, significantly enhancing our ability to detect potential technosignatures.

By compensating for the uncertainties in the estimated time-of-arrival of such signals using observations that span up to a year, they implement the SETI Ellipsoid strategy in an innovative way using state-of-the-arc technology.

“New surveys of the sky provide groundbreaking opportunities to search for technosignatures coordinated with supernovae,” Dr. Cabrales said.

“The typical timing uncertainties involved are of a couple months, so we want to cover our bases by finding targets that are well-documented over the course of about a year.”

“In addition to that, it’s important to have as many observations as possible for each target of interest, so that we can determine what looks like normal behavior and what might look like a potential technosignature.”

In examining data from the continuous viewing zone of NASA’s TESS mission, covering 5% of all TESS data from the first three years of the mission, the authors utilized the advanced 3D location data from Gaia Early Data Release 3.

This analysis identified 32 prime targets within the SETI Ellipsoid in the southern TESS continuous viewing zone, all with uncertainties refined to better than 0.5 light-years.

While the initial examination of TESS light curves during the Ellipsoid crossing event revealed no anomalies, the groundwork laid by this initiative paves the way for expanding the search to other surveys, a broader array of targets, and exploring diverse potential signal types.

Applying the SETI Ellipsoid technique to scrutinize large archival databases signifies a monumental step forward in the search for technosignatures.

Utilizing Gaia’s highly precise distance estimates, the study demonstrates the feasibility of cross-matching these distances with other time-domain surveys like TESS to enhance monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities in SETI research.

The SETI Ellipsoid method, combined with Gaia’s distance measurements, offers a robust and adaptable framework for future SETI searches.

Astronomers can retrospectively apply it to sift through archival data for potential signals, proactively select targets, and schedule future monitoring campaigns.

“The SETI Ellipsoid method, jointly with Gaia distances, provides a straightforward and flexible method for SETI searches that can be adapted to fit different modern surveys and source events,” the researchers said.

“It can be applied retroactively to look for signals in archival data, as well as propagated forward in time to select targets and schedule monitoring campaigns.”

• Their paper appears in the Astronomical Journal.
• Bárbara Cabrales et al. 2024. Searching the SN 1987A SETI Ellipsoid with TESS. AJ 167, 101; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad2064

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

14-02-2024 om 20:25 geschreven door peter  

Composite image of the lunar farside taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June 2009

© Nasa

China’s Chang’e-4 mission rover has helped scientists visualise “hidden” structures deep below the surface of the moon’s far side – an advance that reveals billions of years of lunar history.

The Yutu-2 rover helped make the discovery through its Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) that imaged deep into the moon’s surface by listening to echoes of sound that bounced back off structures under the lunar surface and hidden from view.

The same rover and the mission’s lander had made history in 2019 as the first human objects to land on the far side of the moon – the side that faces away from the Earth.

Scientists had previously used the rover’s ground penetrating radar (GPR), but those earlier efforts could help map only the top 40m, or about 130ft, of the moon’s surface. This new discovery has found the “hidden” structures at depths of about 300m (984ft).

The new data suggests the first 130ft under the lunar surface is made up of layers of dust, soil, and rocks.

Radar analysis also revealed the presence of a buried crater that formed when a large object slammed into the lunar surface as well as helped map ancient lava flows under the moon.

“The GPR sends electromagnetic pulses into the lunar interior and receives echoes from subsurface layers. We use the high-frequency channel data to detect the structure of the upper 40 m along the rover’s path, primarily consisting of rock debris and soil,” researchers explained in the study.

Scientists speculate that the broken rocks surrounding this formation was likely debris produced by the impact.

“Through this investigation, we have discovered multiple layers in the upper 300 m, which likely indicate a series of basalt eruptions that occurred billions of years ago,” they wrote.

The new study, published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, revealed lunar lava likely flowed across the landscape in this part of the moon billions of years ago.

Researchers found volcanic rock layers are thinner the closer they are to the lunar surface.

“The thickness variation of these lava flows suggests a decrease in eruption scale over time,” they noted.

Based on this evidence, they said the lunar volcanic activity cooled gradually since the moon’s formation over 4.5 billion years ago, when a Mars-sized object slammed onto Earth and broke off a chunk that eventually coalesced into the moon.

“The thickness of the strata decreases with the decreasing depth, suggesting a progressively smaller lava effusion rate over time,” scientists concluded.

From news to politics, travel to sport, culture to climate – The Independent has a host of free newsletters to suit your interests. To find the stories you want to read, and more, in your inbox, click here.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnV08J7Fec
• https://youtu.be/9RE8xPWkiiU

{ https://www.msn.com/en- }

14-02-2024 om 18:34 geschreven door peter  

Scientists map 1,000 feet of hidden 'structures' deep below the dark side of the moon

Related:

• Scientists discover huge, heat-emitting blob on the far side of the moon

These new data suggest the top 130 feet of the lunar surface are made up of multiple layers of dust, soil, and broken rocks, Feng said.  Hidden within these materials was a crater, formed when a large object slammed into the moon. Feng and his colleagues hypothesized that the rubble surrounding this formation was ejecta — debris from the impact. Farther down, the scientists discovered five distinct layers of lunar lava that seeped across the landscape billions of years ago.

Scientists think our moon formed 4.51 billion years ago, not long after the solar system itself, when a Mars-size object slammed into Earth and broke off a chunk of our planet The moon then continued to be bombarded by objects from space for roughly 200 million years. Some impacts cracked the moon's surface. Like Earth, the moon’s mantle at that time contained pockets of molten material called magma, which seeped out through the newly formed cracks in a series of volcanic eruptions, Feng said. 

The new data from Chang'e-4 shows that process slowing down over time: Feng and his colleagues found that the layers of volcanic rock grew thinner the closer they were to the moon's surface. This suggests that less lava flowed in later eruptions compared with earlier ones. "[The moon] was slowly cooling down and running out of steam in its later volcanic stage," Feng said. "Its energy became weak over time."

Volcanic activity on the moon is thought to have petered out about 1 billion years ago (though scientists have discovered some evidence of younger volcanic activity as recently as 100 million years ago). For this reason, the moon is often considered "geologically dead." However, there could still be magma deep underneath the lunar surface, Feng said. 

Chang'e-4 isn't done with its work on the moon yet. Feng hopes that in the future, the craft will give us insight into different, unexpected geological formations. 

Editor's note: 

• This story was updated on Aug. 22 to correct the date of Chang'e-4's lunar touchdown to 2019, rather than 2018. Chang'e-4 launched on Dec. 7, 2018 and landed on the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 18:13 geschreven door peter  

I found a rectangle structure or alien ship on Earths moon in a NASA photo. UFO Sighting News.

I thought this structure was very interesting and just wanted to share it with you all. Some of my readers on X are telling me it's not a building at all, but a spaceship. Indeed it could be. The object is half a mile across making it something very special since it's loaded with alien technology. It would be cool if someone like Elon Musk actually tried to retrieve this alien craft. 

Scott C. Waring 

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

14-02-2024 om 18:00 geschreven door peter  

UFO Sighting Astonishes Chinese Authorities

In an event that caught the attention of the world, an unprecedented aerial phenomenon brought one of China’s busiest airports to an unexpected halt, igniting widespread curiosity and concern among both the public and government officials. This incident, occurring on July 7th, 2010, at Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan International Airport, not only disrupted air traffic but also propelled China into a new era of engagement with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

The Incident That Shook the Skies

On a seemingly ordinary day, the routine flow of flights at Xiaoshan International Airport was abruptly interrupted when pilots and air traffic controllers reported the sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering above the runway. The appearance of this enigmatic object was so alarming that it led to the temporary shutdown of the airport, affecting 18 flights and diverting them to alternative locations. The maneuverability and unusual shape of the UFO sparked a wave of speculation and intrigue, with neither civilian observers nor military experts able to offer a definitive explanation for what was witnessed.

The Ripple Effect

The impact of the sighting extended far beyond the immediate disruption of air traffic. Behind the scenes, it set off a wave of concern among Chinese officials, prompting an investigation into the nature and origins of the phenomenon. This event marked a turning point for China, a nation known for its reticence on matters of national security and unidentified aerial phenomena. The incident at Xiaoshan International Airport became a catalyst for a broader reconsideration of China’s stance on UFOs and UAPs.

China’s Evolving Approach to UAP Investigation

Historically shrouded in secrecy, China’s approach to UAP research has been as enigmatic as the phenomena themselves. However, the incident served as a wake-up call, revealing the necessity for a more open and systematic investigation into these unidentified aerial conditions. By June 2019, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s Early Warning Academy publicly acknowledged the increasing frequency of such phenomena and announced the establishment of a new task force dedicated to their study.

This acknowledgment represented a significant shift in policy, showcasing China’s readiness to engage more transparently with the global community on the issue of UAPs. Furthermore, China’s strategy for investigating UFO reports involves close collaboration with independent UFO organizations across the nation. These groups, boasting memberships in the millions, operate with the understanding that their activities are monitored by Chinese authorities, ensuring a controlled yet surprisingly open platform for UFO research.

Pioneering the Use of AI in UAP Analysis

Perhaps most notably, China has declared its intention to become the world’s first country to employ artificial intelligence (AI) in the analysis of UAP-related data. This innovative approach aims to uncover patterns and insights that may elude human researchers, representing a leap forward in the methodical study of UAPs. By harnessing AI, China is positioning itself at the forefront of UAP research, seeking to understand the phenomena in a way that could redefine the global conversation on UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

VIDEO:

• Ancient Aliens: UFO Incident SHOCKS Chinese Officials (Special)
• https://youtu.be/tI9L6s2hcsA

The UFO incident at Xiaoshan International Airport has undeniably propelled China into a new phase of openness and innovation in the realm of UAP research. By breaking away from decades of secrecy and embracing collaboration and advanced technology, China is not only challenging its own historical stance but also encouraging a global reevaluation of how societies approach the mystery of UFOs. As the world watches, the journey of unraveling the enigma of unidentified aerial phenomena continues, with China now playing a pivotal role in this global quest for understanding.

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

14-02-2024 om 17:28 geschreven door peter  

Atlantic current shutdown is a real danger, suggests simulation

The most detailed computer model run so far shows that melting ice sheets could cause the collapse of the major ocean current that warms Europe, but it's still unclear how likely this is to happen

By Michael Le Page

Is there a serious risk of the Atlantic current that warms Europe slowing to a halt as the planet heats up? Yes, according to the most detailed computer simulation run so far – but the likelihood of this scenario is still very uncertain.

“We’ve demonstrated with our current setup that it is indeed possible,” says René van Westen at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

At present, warm water that is extra salty due to evaporation flows north from the tropics along the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, keeping Europe much warmer than it would otherwise be. As this water cools, it sinks because its high salinity increases its density. It then flows back to the tropics and into the southern hemisphere along the ocean bottom.

This is known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC. Studies of past climate suggest that episodes of dramatic cooling around Europe during the past 100,000 years or so are linked to a slowdown or complete shutdown of the overturning current – a so-called tipping point, where small changes can make a system flip into a different state.

The cause is thought to be the melting of ice sheets. If lots of fresh water enters the North Atlantic, it reduces the salinity and thus density of surface water, meaning less of it sinks.

But modelling this has proved tricky. Most simulations of a shutdown involve adding unrealistically large quantities of fresh water all at once. And in some recent simulations with more advanced models, no shutdown has occurred, leading some to doubt whether this is a potential tipping point at all.

Now van Westen’s team has done the most sophisticated simulation so far, requiring a total of six months on the Netherlands’ national supercomputer, called Snellius. That was very expensive, he says.

Unlike in previous simulations, the team added fresh water gradually, rather than in one go. This produced a positive feedback that amplified the effect: as less water sank because of the reduced salinity, less salty water flowed north, reducing salinity still further.

This eventually shut down the overturning circulation, causing temperatures to rise in the southern hemisphere, but plummet in Europe. For instance, in the model, London cools by 10°C (18°F) on average and Bergen in Norway by 15°C (27°F). Other consequences include local sea level rises in places such the US East Coast.

What’s more, some of the changes seen in the model ahead of the collapse correspond with changes being seen in the real Atlantic in recent decades.

However, to produce this collapse, the researchers had to run the model for 2500 years. And they had to add a huge amount of freshwater – less than in previous simulations, but still around 80 times more than is currently entering the ocean as Greenland’s ice sheet melts. “So that is absurd and not very realistic,” says van Westen.

Moreover, the simulation didn’t involve any global warming. The team now plans to rerun the simulation to include it.

“This is the most state-of-the-art model where such an experiment has been done,” says Peter Ditlevsen at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, who was co-author of a 2023 study that forecast that the Atlantic overturning current could collapse between 2025 and 2095 based on how sea surface temperatures are changing.

While the model suggests it will take a lot of fresh water and many centuries to halt the overturning circulation, there are several reasons to think climate models underestimate the risk of non-linear changes like the Atlantic tipping point, says Ditlevsen.

Climate models have to divide the world into large cubes to make computations feasible, which has a smoothing effect, he says. The models are also tuned based on how well they simulate the 20th-century climate, when there was a linear relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting changes, which might not hold true in the future.

“We should expect the models to be less sensitive than the real world,” says Ditlevsen.

• Journal reference

  Science Advances DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk1189

{ https://www.newscientist.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 16:41 geschreven door peter  

Artikel door Dominique Dewitte

Instorting AMOC zou Europa in zeer koud weer dompelen

© Aangeboden door Business AM

Samengevat. Wetenschappers van de Universiteit Utrecht hebben een kritiek klimaatkeerpunt gemodelleerd dat grote delen van Europa in een diepe vrieskou zou kunnen dompelen, veel eerder dan gedacht. Dit keerpunt betreft de instorting van de AMOC, een belangrijke stroming in de Atlantische Oceaan, die warm water naar het noorden brengt en het weer in Europa mild houdt.

De ineenstorting van deze stroming zou wereldwijd het weer veranderen, met Europa als zwaarst getroffen regio. Het scenario benadrukt de urgentie van klimaatonderzoek en de noodzaak voor proactieve aanpassingen om potentiële catastrofale gevolgen te beperken.

In het nieuws. Onderzoekers hebben een complex klimaatmodel gebruikt om de ineenstorting van de Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) te simuleren, een cruciaal systeem van oceaanstromingen dat Europa warm houdt.

• Op dit moment stroomt warm water dat extra zout is door verdamping vanuit de tropen langs het oppervlak van de Atlantische Oceaan naar het noorden, waardoor Europa veel warmer blijft dan het anders zou zijn.
• Men schat dat de AMOC nu al 15% zwakker is dan in 1950. Volgens het Britse Met Office “suggereren klimaatmodellen dat de AMOC in de 21e eeuw zal verzwakken naarmate de broeikasgassen toenemen.

• De studie wijst op smeltende ijskappen als mogelijke oorzaak voor deze ineenstorting door veranderingen in zoutgehalte en temperatuur, wat de dichtheid van water beïnvloedt.
• De langzame afname van de AMOC zou in minder dan een eeuw kunnen leiden tot een plotselinge instorting, iets wat voorheen als een theoretisch concept werd beschouwd.

Mogelijke totale instorting tussen 2025 en 2095

Zoom in. Recent onderzoek suggereert dat klimaatverandering de stroming van de AMOC vertraagt, met een mogelijke totale instorting tussen 2025 en 2095.

• Het Nederlandse team heeft geavanceerde modellering gebruikt om vroege waarschuwingssignalen van dit kantelpunt te identificeren. Dat leidt tot nieuwe inzichten in de stabiliteit van de AMOC.

Zoom out. Een ineenstorting zou leiden tot bijna onomkeerbare klimaateffecten op menselijke tijdschalen, met name voor Europa, waar temperaturen drastisch kunnen dalen.

• Er is een dringende behoefte aan meer onderzoek om een duidelijker tijdsbestek vast te stellen, inclusief modellen die toenemende niveaus van CO2 en globale opwarming omvatten.
• De auteurs roepen op tot “het beste hopen maar op het ergste voorbereid zijn” door te investeren in onderzoek voor betere schattingen van kantelpunten, het beoordelen van potentiële impact en het ontwikkelen van aanpassingsstrategieën

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

14-02-2024 om 16:28 geschreven door peter  

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

14-02-2024 om 01:35 geschreven door peter  

The invitation-only event was the first public manifestation of the Sol Foundation and its objectives since the think tank’s official launch on August 15, 2023.

“Welcome to Stanford,” said Garry Nolan, Ph.D., the Sol Foundation’s Executive Director of the Board, as the symposium commenced. “The objective here is to legitimize and professionalize and then to seek from you your ideas.”

Over the course of the next two days, speakers that included Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, Ph.D., computer scientist and venture capitalist Jacques Vallée, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Wilmington religious studies professor Diana Walsh Pasulka, Ph.D., Canadian House of Commons member Larry Maguire MP, former NOAA Administrator Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., U.S. Army Colonel Karl Nell, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon, and many others presented papers and short talks on various approaches toward the study and resolution of UAP, as well as what the impact of these phenomena could represent across various sectors of society

At the event’s conclusion on Saturday, November 18, a surprise appearance was also made by David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence officer who first came forward publicly last June with allegations about the existence of a secret program involving UAP and craft of non-human origin acquired by the U.S. government that has been illegally withheld from Congress for decades.

“This is why we have the Sol Foundation,” said Grusch, who it has since been revealed was also a co-founder of the California-based foundation, while joining the event remotely from Washington DC. “We need to basically create a parallel track of research and independent discovery that aren’t necessarily dependent on the U.S. government to provide us all the answers.”

Now, for the first time, videos of presentations featured during the November 2023 symposium will be made available to the public and can be viewed on the Sol Foundation’s official YouTube channel.

“The objective of that is to show openly what it is that the Sol Foundation wants to talk about,” Garry Nolan told The Debrief in advance of the videos appearing online

“That’s an all-of-society approach. Everything from science to religion, to sociology, to government. We represented aspects of that in all of these talks.”

“Those will all be going public,” Nolan said, adding that the foundation “will welcome now the engagement that comes from that.”

Sociocultural anthropologist Peter Skafish, the Sol Foundation’s Director of Research, told The Debrief that one of the uniting goals he and Nolan shared in launching the Sol Foundation and selecting the speakers for its first symposium involved their acknowledgment of the different approaches toward understanding UAP and that providing an academic floor where they could all be discussed would be a necessity.

“We understood the different parts,” Skafish said. “The intellectual, and social, and political, and I would say ontological quandary of UAP. We both had experience with interacting with people out of federal government on this. We both understood the complexities of the kinds of experience with this that experiencers have.”

“We both understood the need to do this—to study this—in a way that is rigorously and normatively academic and intellectual,” Skafish said, “and adheres to all the standards and takes place within the institution.”

“Yet we also understand that you’re going to have to break some rules,” Skafish added, “and transform some things to pull this off because we don’t actually know that our existing frameworks fit here.”

Drawing from his personal background in the social sciences, Skafish emphasized that information gleaned from those who have had firsthand experiences with UAP, while being viewed as lacking in substance for professionals in the physical sciences, are of great value to sociologists, historians, psychologists, and others in similar disciplines.

“We need to listen to people,” Skafish said. “We wanted to make sure that people, both in attendance but also looking at this from the outside, would understand that it’s not just going to be a matter of having certain kinds of hard data, whether it’s from the government or from astronomical projects.”

“It’s gonna be about the testimony that human beings have to offer about this,” Skafish told The Debrief, “and learning to listen to that in both an open and a responsible manner.”

In the months since the event, an ongoing series of controversies have peppered the UAP landscape, which include an effort to stifle a U.S. Senate-sponsored bill designed to facilitate UAP disclosure, as well as the resignation of Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and subsequent assertions by the scientist about a pro-UAP stratagem that he says has advanced the UAP narrative from within various areas of government for more than a decade.

The Sol Foundation, too, has become the target of some of the recent controversy and at least a few of the disparaging appraisals that seem to be inescapable artifacts of modern social media culture. Asked about these criticisms and the recent statements made by the former AARO director, Skafish told The Debrief that he is sympathetic to both sides of the current debate. However, he sees his and Nolan’s work as attempting to navigate beyond the discord that often preoccupies those who follow the UAP topic.

“Rather than weigh in on which perspective is true and which is false,” Skafish says, “I’m sympathetic to, actually, all parties here, including very skeptical parties.”

Skafish told The Debrief that the Sol Foundation works to remain focused on how it can provide guidance and make research-oriented contributions to the field.

“I would say what we’re trying to do is really take, ourselves, an evidence-based approach about matters of fact which are social, historical, political [and] legal in nature, and get to the bottom of things to the extent that can be done,” Skafish said.

“If there’s not a ‘there’ there, fine. If there is a ‘there’ there, and we have credible testimony coming from a lot of people in federal government about that, then Congress certainly should pursue that. And academics as well, and journalists should also be pursuing that, asking questions about it, and we’ll eventually settle the matter that way.”

“There is so much emotion in the discussion,” Nolan added, also acknowledging recent commentary featured in Scientific American and from those in the broader scientific community who do not seem to reflect the Sol Foundation’s willingness to engage with the UAP topic.

“I don’t want to get distracted by that,” Nolan said. “Let’s actually now start talking about the data.”

Nolan said that while there has been an obvious effort toward reaching a renewed degree of government transparency on the UAP issue in recent years, he also believes there has been enough pushback from officials to elicit a renewed effort by academics like himself in properly engaging with the topic and interpreting the available data.

“If there’s nothing there to see, let me see the data,” Nolan argues. “And if the remaining five percent you can’t classify yet—and I mean classify in the terms of a scientific classification—then don’t say that there’s no evidence of anything. Don’t conclude that there’s no evidence of anything if in the remaining five percent the evidence exists.”

Reflecting on the November symposium and the lectures the Sol Foundation has now made available for viewing online, Skafish told The Debrief that he felt those in attendance at the event were as important as the speakers it featured.

“That audience was as important to me in organizing as the lineup of speakers was,” Skafish said, “and we were very deliberately careful in evaluating the requests for invitations to make sure that we had people from a broad swath of professions and institutions present.”

“We want the Sol Foundation to be a kind of nerve center in which serious professionals across academia, across government, within investment and technology communities, within civil society institutions such as religious bodies, to be able to come together and be able to network, to listen to cutting-edge research on this, and to be able to incubate their own projects while they’re in a space with a lot of other like-minded individuals.”

“We really see ourselves as being in service to people who are serious about this,” Skafish said.

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

14-02-2024 om 01:22 geschreven door peter  

Tall Aliens Made A Russian Teenager Disappear In Front of Several People In 1989

A few minutes later, another UFO appeared in the same place, and the people saw a giant alien. It was looking around, dressed in a silver suit and bronze shoes. The alien did not have a real head, only something like a hump between its shoulders.

Three eyes could be seen on this hump, and the eye in the center was intensely turning forward and backward. When the creature disappeared into the ship again, the hatch closed, and the craft descended and approached with a loud hum.

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The brightly-glowing ship stopped one meter above the ground, rocking back and forth. Four landing pillars emerged from the base of the object and sank to the ground.

According to eyewitnesses, the object was oval, egg-shaped, approximately 15 meters long and 6 meters high.

After the landing, a hatch slowly opened, and two grim humanlike figures (one of them was 3-4 meters high) came out.

The aliens were moving like robots. The shape of the aliens was described as boxes with arms and legs, and buttons were glowing on their chests.

At that very moment, a boy from the group of children playing nearby screamed in fear. The tall alien cast his gaze at him with his central eye, without moving his head. A light came out of his eye and hit the boy, which made him motionless for several minutes.

The two creatures returned to their flying machine, and the witnesses thought the aliens were about to disappear. But after a few minutes, they returned, and now, the giant was holding a silver 1.2-meter long pipe in his hand, which it pointed at a 16-year-old boy who dared to get too close to a flying object.

To the horror of witnesses, the boy suddenly disappeared without a trace. Then the creatures turned around and slowly climbed the ladder into their flying machine, entered it, and closed the hatch. The ship rose above the ground, soared into the air, and flew away at an ever-increasing speed.

It dodged to the side, passed over a tall residential building, and disappeared into the sky very quickly. The witnesses said that exactly at the moment when the spacecraft disappeared, the 16-year-old boy appeared in the park again.

Russian News Agency TASS was the first one to announce this shocking UFO landing incident happened in Voronezh on October 9, 1989.

Russian journalist Vladimir Lebedev said he had talked with many witnesses, including three children (Zhenya Blinov, Vasya Surin, and Yulia Sholokhova).

When the children were asked to draw the UFO, their sketches were the same, and the object had a banana shape.

Journalist Lebedev also claimed that there had been three landings between September 23 and 29 during that time. This meant that the Voronezh UFO incident was the second landing.

Many media houses called the “Voronezh UFO incident” a hoax because of the lack of photographic and medical evidence. Nevertheless, other news agencies like The Washington Post showed some interest in the incident.

• https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19891011&id=-xQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y-AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1042,2604606
• https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/11/world/ufo-landing-is-fact-not-fantasy-the-russians-insist.html

 { https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

14-02-2024 om 00:36 geschreven door peter  

THE US military is in possession of video footage showing a UFO intercepting and disabling a nuclear missile with laser beams, according to whistleblowers.

Retired US Air Force officers say the disc-shaped object circled an unarmed dummy warhead during a routine test after it detached from an Atlas missile booster.

 

Lieutenant Bob Jacobs and Major Florenze Mansmann say they saw the recording of the 1964 encounter before the tape mysteriously disappeared.

The former officials were part of a team responsible for capturing footage of missile test launches in California with telescopic photography and videography equipment. 

Two days after they recorded the video, they say that two plain-clothed CIA agents confiscated the clip and ordered them to keep schtum.

Some UFO experts have identified a pattern where UFOs seem to interfere with nuclear weapons. 

US weapons officer Robert Salas previously claimed a UFO shut down ten missiles in a bizarre incident in 1967.

And now the new whistleblowers have revealed another UFO encounter which they claim happened on September 15, 1964.

It has now been thrown into the spotlight due to an investigation by author Robert Hastings.

According to a post made by Hastings on The UFO Chronicles website earlier this month, former intelligence officer, Luis Elizondo, claimed to have also seen the video.

Rep. Tim Burchett attended the meeting after shocking testimony was given by whistleblower and former US intelligence officer David Grusch.

{ https://www.the-sun.com/news/ }

13-02-2024 om 23:27 geschreven door peter  

Multiple US military whistleblowers reveal how a disc-shaped UFO intercepted nuclear missile and disabled it with 'laser-beams' in mid-air over California

• Multiple former military officials report seeing video of a UFO disabling warhead 
• The video was taken on September 15, 1964, but has gone missing in years since
• READ MORE: UFOs seem to disable warheads and blast missiles out of the sky 

By PETER HESS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The US military is in possession of a video of a UFO apparently disabling a nuclear warhead during a routine test, according to multiple former officials.

They claim the video in question captured a saucer-shaped craft circling the unarmed, dummy warhead shortly after it detached from the Atlas missile booster, then shooting four beams of light at the warhead, disabling it.

Retired US Air Force officers Lieutenant Bob Jacobs and Major Florenze Mansmann claim to have viewed the recording of the 1964 encounter before the tape went missing.  

The former officials were part of a team responsible for capturing video of missile test launches in California with telescopic photography and videography equipment. 

Two days later, after they screened the video, they claim that two plain-clothed CIA agents confiscated the footage and swore them to secrecy.

The incredible account is part of a pattern that some UFO experts have identified, where UFOs seem to interfere with nuclear weapons. 

Retired Air Force Major Florenze Mansmann claimed he saw a flying saucer disable a dummy nuclear warhead during a missile test. He was ordered not to breathe a word of what he had seen

The alleged incident occurred nearly six decades ago, on September 15, 1964, but it has more recently come into public knowledge due to author Robert Hastings investigating it.

Luis Elizondo acknowledged the existence of the video and claimed he has seen it, according to a February 10 post by Hastings on The UFO Chronicles website. 

Elizondo says he was the former director of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) program to study UFOs, and he has been involved in several high-profile leaks of military footage purporting to show UFOs.

Graphic re-creation of what happened in the 1964 video when a UFO allegedly intercepted the Atlas rocket over the Pacific Ocean

An unnamed source revealed to Hastings that Elizondo confirmed the details of the event in internal interviews.

Back in the 1960s, Jacobs was in charge of a military telescopic photography site in Big Sur, California, which captured the video as the missile traveled several thousand miles per hour in its planned flight path over the Pacific Ocean.

At the time, Mansmann was the chief photographic imagery analyst at Vandenberg Air Force Base - now called Vandenberg Space Force Base - in Santa Barbara County, California.

The Cold War was progressing apace, including lots of black ops programs testing sophisticated and secret military hardware. Some UFO skeptics have claimed that reports of UFOs provided cover for these programs. 

Lieutenant Bob Jacobs, at the middle and bottom, pictured with his crew. Jacobs reported his sighting in the press in 1982 but was ridiculed and threatened for his claims

The craft inadvertently caught on film was domed and disc-shaped, according to Jacobs and Mansmann.

It was a 'classic disc, the center seemed to be a raised bubble...the entire lower saucer shape was glowing and seemed to be rotating slowly,' according to a letter Mansmann wrote about the incident in 1983.

'At the point of beam release...the object turned like an object required to be in a position to fire from a platform...but again this could be my own assumption from being in aerial combat.'

Forty years later, a US Senate investigator told Hastings that Elizondo had confirmed this description in an official interview last year.

'During that briefing, the former AATIP director confirmed the existence of the video, the details regarding what it showed, and the location of a copy of it in AATIP’s workspaces,' Hastings wrote in the new post. 

Despite Mansmann telling Jacobs not to discuss what they had seen, Jacobs began to talk about the event in 1982, thinking enough time had passed since the event that he could speak freely about what he saw. 

But his claims were dismissed by skeptics, and he was even subjected to harassment and anonymous death threats.

Hastings' new report appears to match up with Elizondo's recollection of the video.

Luis Elizondo, former director of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) told a Senate investigator that he had seen the 1964 video

When investigators went to look for the DVD recording of the video, where Elizondo had told them it was, it was not there, Hastings reported. 

And although the recording is missing and the story of Elizondo viewing the recording comes secondhand from an investigator, Hastings reported that he has additional evidence to support it:

'On November 10, 2023, a highly-reliable source - who I am not at liberty to identify - told me that UAP [unidentified anomalous phenomena] whistleblower David Grusch has privately confirmed that Elizondo also told him about having screened the Big Sur film, and that it did indeed capture an amazing, UFO-related, dummy warhead-interference event.'

It seems that the video may have been lost when the Pentagon destroyed Elizondo's files and emails, Hastings wrote. This would have occurred in 2017 after he resigned as AATIP director, which he claimed was in protest of the Pentagon covering up UFO matters. 

'This highly unusual move by the Pentagon is in direct violation of a legal Preservation Order that was mandated based on Elizondo’s other duties at the time,' Hastings wrote. 'The order requires all of Elizondo’s electronic and hard copy files to be preserved indefinitely, including email and correspondence.'

Beyond the video, there is some limited evidence supporting the story. 

A declassified but unreleased set of radar data of the September 15, 1964 event apparently confirmed that an unidentified aerial object was observed near the dummy warhead during the missile test, a source told Hastings. 

The analysis of the radar data at the time suggested that the unidentified object could have been debris. It's also possible that it was 'chaff,' metallic objects meant to confuse radar to prevent enemies from pinpointing the exact location of a warhead.

'So, perhaps the mysterious target tracked on radar near the warhead was merely the chaff,' Hastings wrote. 'On the other hand, it may have indeed been the actual UFO, whose presence the author of the radar data report would probably not have known about, given the incident’s Top Secret status.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

13-02-2024 om 22:59 geschreven door peter  

Are there aliens in YOUR neighborhood? Fascinating map reveals the UFO hotspots across the US

• Nearly 113,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the National UFO Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023 
• Currently, the national average of alien sightings is 34.3 per 100,000 residents
• A highly classified air force base is within the county that has had the most alien sightings between 2000 and 2023

By EMMA SALETTA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Individuals hoping to find aliens and UFOs in the US will likely have the best luck in spotting them out west.

According to data submitted by the National UFO Reporting Center and the US Census Bureau, more than 100,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023.

Unveiling America’s UFO Hotspots: A Journey from Coast to Coast

Today, the national average of alien sightings between those years nationwide is 34.3 per 100,000 residents. 

But, one county that is known for being home to maybe the most famous alien landmark ranks on top of the list. Lincoln County, Nevada, home to Area 51, is the county with the most of the list. 

The county is home to a whopping 820.9 sightings per 100,000 residents.

Other areas that have all had nearly 500-600 alien sightings between 2003 and 2023 are Alpine County, California, Petroleum County, Montana, and La Paz County, Arizona. 

According to data submitted by the National UFO Reporting Center and US Census Bureau, more than 100,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023.  Lincoln County, Nevada , home to Area 51, is the county with the most of the list.

Area 51 is one of the most famous classified air force bases that has been full of urban legends regarding aliens and UFOs

Area 51 is one of the most famous classified air force bases that has been full of urban legends regarding aliens and UFOs.

Eric Taber has been a defense aerospace contractor for 13 years and has held a security clearance to work on military aircraft. 

In a recent interview with DailyMail.com, he revealed the story his late great uncle Sam Urquhart, an Area 51 contractor, told him about a UFO at the mysterious desert base. 

Taber testified in May to the Pentagon's UFO investigation unit, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), who are collecting accounts of alleged government possession of non-human craft.

The claim – though an unverified story from a now-deceased witness – is part of a long history of rumors about potential extraterrestrial craft or futuristic spaceships stored at the Nevada desert airbase near Groom Lake, north of Las Vegas.

Urquhart began his job at Area 51 working for defense contractor EG&G, which later partnered with Raytheon to become JT3 LLC and subsequently JT4 LLC.

'He was head of security for his engineering group, and a data configuration specialist. His group did radar cross-section testing.

'I kept asking him about UFOs. He said 'I know nothing'. Then one day we were on his back porch and he said 'Ok, I'll tell you about one craft that I knew of.'

'He said, 'When I first got there in 1997, I had a personal conversation with a senior EG&G engineer whose group was tasked with trying to reverse-engineer an object that was brought there by some CIA people in the 1980s.'

'It was supposedly just found in a remote desert location fully intact.

'The senior EG&G engineer described to my great uncle that it was egg-shaped, about the size of an SUV, smooth and seamless, metallic-looking, silverish gray in color, with no control surfaces, no flaps, no inlet, and no exhaust, and no writing or symbols on the outside.

'These are the best and brightest engineers you can think of. They tried to no avail to figure out what the power source was, how to activate it, and how it works. They tried to induce electricity to it.

'X-rays couldn't penetrate it; it showed up on X-ray as a solid object. They tried to open it and penetrate its hull; they couldn't.

'They said that they were able to take some very small samples of the material. And I'm not an expert in chemistry, but I guess from the isotope ratio or the mixture of elements, they concluded it was not made on Earth.'

But, Area 51 and Nevada aren't the only places where UFO sightings are common. Arthur County, Nebraska, placed second on the list  with 618.6 sightings. The tiny county is home to just 434 people.

Third on the list  was Alpine County, California, which is home to 1,204 people and the population votes entirely by mail.

Petroleum County, Montana, was fourth on the list and was the last of the state's 56 countries to be organized. It is home to just 524 people and two rivers.  

Fifth on the list was La Paz County, Arizona, which is home to about 16,557 people. The county is located in rural western Arizona and home to several ghost towns.

La Paz County in Arizona (pictured) also ranked high on UFO sightings. The county is home to about 16,557 people.

According to veteran scientist and intelligence officer Sean Kirkpatrick, individuals who believe in aliens may hold a position in the US government.

'True believers are not just outside of government; many of them are inside government,' said Kirkpatrick.

Nevada's late US Senator Harry Reid was one such believe of extra terrestrial life.

'Senator Harry Reid was a true believer and thought that 'Hey, the government is hiding this from congressional oversight,'' the scientist stated.

More discussions have occurred over the years from individuals looking to get answers on the existence of aliens and UFOs.

US representative Robert Garcia even voiced an opinion about unidentified aerial phenomena last year.

'UAPs, whatever they may be, may pose a serious threat to our military and our civilian aircraft, and that must be understood,' he stated.

'We should encourage more reporting, not less on UAPs. The more we understand, the safer we will be.'

Mysterious footage shows a group of UFOs flying above Philadelphia - with two of the crafts even strangely merging together

Late last year, President Joe Biden's December visit to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser caused such a hullaballoo even aliens may have wanted to see what all the fuss was about 

At about 4:14 PM on November 7, 2006, a ramp employee at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky. Pictured: An image of the UFO believed to be taken on an airport employee's phone

There have been countless UFO sightings across America in recent years. Earlier this year, mysterious footage shows a group of UFOs flying above Philadelphia - with two of the crafts even strangely merging together.

A witness uploaded the bizarre video of the sighting on Reddit and described the large cluster of lights as 'spinning and darting back and forth.'

The user said the multicolored lights were flying 'very high' above Philadelphia.

Late last year, President Joe Biden's December visit to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser caused such a hullaballoo even aliens may have wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

Planespotters caught a UFO on camera hovering above Air Force 1 in Los Angeles during Biden's December 10 trip, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The spherical white or silver object was filmed several times over LAX airport and spotted by multiple witnesses.

In 2006, a ramp employee at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky. 

The sighting, which lasted for five minutes and was witnessed by at least 12 United Airlines staffers, made international headlines thanks to a tape of Federal Aviation Administration radio communications released via the Freedom of Information Act.

Although the FAA attributed the incident to a 'hole-punch cloud' and astronomer Mark Hammergren, then with Chicago's Adler Planetarium, agreed, the case has remained unresolved — and tantalizing to UFO researchers ever since. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

13-02-2024 om 22:39 geschreven door peter  

Andrew McAuley Disappears In Middle of Ocean, Leaving Behind Terrifying Video

Andrew McAuley was born on August 7, 1968, in Gurn, Australia. Growing up, McAuley and his brother engaged in various outdoor activities, such as swimming, climbing trees, and diving from cliffs, fostering a fearless and adventurous spirit. This early exposure to the great outdoors laid the foundation for McAuley’s extraordinary exploits in the years to come.

McAuley’s journey into kayaking began during a trip to South America in the late 1990s. Encountering a severe storm while mountaineering, McAuley and his friends navigated through mountain gorges using kayaks. This experience revealed the raw power and freedom of kayaking, leaving a lasting impact on McAuley.

In the early 2000s, McAuley’s kayaking exploits gained momentum. In 2003, he achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first person to kayak solo across the notorious Bass Strait, a treacherous 250 km stretch of water between mainland Australia and Tasmania. This journey, completed in 35 hours, showcased McAuley’s skill, determination, and meticulous planning.

Not content with this accomplishment, McAuley embarked on a nearly 600 km journey across the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia in the following years. This week-long expedition tested his endurance, resilience, and ability to sleep in his kayak – preparing him for even greater challenges.

Antarctic Expedition and Recognition

McAuley’s reputation as an adventurer was solidified in 2005 when the Australian Geographic Society awarded him the Adventurer of the Year. His journeys were not merely about personal achievement; they were about venturing into the unknown and facing life-threatening situations.

In 2006, McAuley led an Antarctic expedition where kayakers covered an 800 km stretch along the Antarctic coast. This experience further honed McAuley’s skills and deepened his expertise in navigating through perilous conditions.

The Ultimate Challenge – Tasman Sea Crossing

McAuley’s ultimate challenge lay in the Tasman Sea, a vast and volatile stretch of water between Australia and New Zealand. Considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable oceans globally, the Tasman Sea presented a daunting challenge that had defeated many before him. Undeterred, McAuley aimed to be the first to cross it solo in a kayak.

The preparation for the Tasman Sea crossing was exhaustive. McAuley worked closely with engineers to design a kayak capable of withstanding the sea’s worst conditions. The resulting kayak, named Mirage, featured a specially designed capsule known as Casper. This capsule, made from fiberglass, was watertight and buoyant, providing McAuley with shelter during storms and allowing him to sleep relatively comfortably.

The Voyage Across the Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea crossing was not just another expedition for McAuley; it was the ultimate test of his mettle. Stretching approximately 2,000 km, the Tasman Sea was notorious for its rough conditions, including treacherous waves, unpredictable weather, and strong currents.

McAuley’s meticulous planning included researching weather patterns, studying previous attempts, and understanding the sea’s behavior. Physical fitness was paramount, and McAuley underwent a rigorous training regimen to prepare his body for the continuous strain of paddling and the challenges of being confined to a small space.

Andrew McAuley’s solo sea kayak journey across the Tasman Sea was a monumental undertaking. The stormy southern ocean proved to be a formidable adversary, with relentless waves transforming it into a tumultuous sea of mercury. Amidst this chaos, McAuley found himself battling the elements, struggling to keep his touring kayak afloat. The howling wind whipped the waves into a stinging spray, creating a hostile environment for the intrepid adventurer.

“I GUESS I’M REALLY DRAWN TO A JOURNEY LIKE THIS—IT’S A REAL PERSONAL CHALLENGE. THERE’S A GREAT DEAL OF SATISFACTION IN COMING UP WITH AN ADVENTURE THAT’S UNLIKELY AND IMPROBABLE.”

– Andrew McAuley

As McAuley pressed on with his journey, one night in January 2007, he found himself in the midst of a ferocious storm. He was two-thirds through the 1,600-kilometer open ocean crossing from the east coast of Tasmania to New Zealand’s South Island. Locked up in his kayak for 28 hours, McAuley faced the relentless fury of the storm, both external and internal battles raging simultaneously.

“THIS REALLY IS EXTREME. IT’S FULL ON. I REALLY COULD DIE.”

– Andrew McAuley

Days later, with the storm behind him and the seas relatively calm, McAuley vanished. The mountaintops of New Zealand’s southern Alps loomed on the horizon, and the paddling community, along with his family and friends, was left grappling with a perplexing mystery. What had happened to the experienced adventurer so close to completing such a challenging journey?

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

– André Gide

Andrew McAuley had been drawn to this adventure by a deeply felt inner voice, seeking personal challenge and satisfaction in the face of the unlikely and improbable. He was no stranger to risk, having spent nearly a decade preparing for the journey. McAuley, an IT consultant from suburban Sydney, had a diverse adventurous background, previously dedicating his energies to mountaineering and making first ascents in challenging terrains like Pakistan, Patagonia, and Australia.

“When you do [a trip like this], you are exposing yourself to criticism. I take risks, but they are calculated risks, and I want to be beyond criticism.”

– Andrew McAuley

The solo sea kayak crossing was not taken lightly by authorities. Both Tasmanian police and Australia’s search and rescue service had cautioned against the inherently dangerous trip. McAuley’s kayak, a standard 19-foot Mirage modified for sleeping inside the cockpit, underwent thorough testing to ensure its seaworthiness. A yellow fiberglass canopy, humorously named “Casper,” provided self-righting capability and protection during storms.

“We had strongly advised against the trip to start with because we believed it was inherently dangerous.”

– AusSAR spokesperson

McAuley’s journey took him below the 40th parallel, known as the Roaring Forties, a region feared by sailors for its treacherous weather and storms. Two-thirds into his voyage, he faced a 40-knot gale that knocked out his spare satellite phone and tracking beacon. Surviving the storm, McAuley sent a triumphant text message to his family when he was just 120 kilometers away from his destination.

“See you 9 a.m. Sunday!”

– Andrew McAuley

Tragically, McAuley disappeared shortly after this message. A scrambled radio call with distressing words led to a search that uncovered his upturned kayak in near-perfect condition, just offshore of Milford Sound. The cockpit canopy was missing, but the paddle, satellite phone, GPS, and emergency beacon were inside and functional. Despite extensive search efforts, McAuley was not found.

“The EPIRB is a last resort. It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

Speculation arose about McAuley’s fate, with the kayak’s designer suggesting that he may have capsized without the cockpit cover and became separated from his kayak. The mystery of Andrew McAuley’s disappearance continues to perplex, leaving the paddling community and McAuley’s loved ones with unanswered questions about the fate of this adventurous soul.

McAuley’s past experiences of capsizing twice, coupled with the complicated re-entry procedure due to the cockpit cover, video camera, and other deck-mounted gear, made him cautious about a potential capsize during his Tasman Sea journey. His kayak had an oversized cockpit and lacked a standard seat, making rolling impossible. Modifications, such as removing the seat for sleeping and accessing gear, were necessary. He sat on a beanbag, doubling as a pillow, and retrieved gear from the rear compartment by lying down and rolling onto his stomach, using strings to pull his gear forward.

“Responsible adventure is character-building and good for people, but I felt that to continue on this occasion was not on.”

– Andrew McAuley

Paul Hewitson, the kayak’s designer, speculated that McAuley, with the mountains in sight, might have been eager to reach land and pushed too hard. Facing a small cold front, he might not have worn his drysuit, a decision he planned to make in rough weather. Disaster often strikes those nearing safety, and McAuley, possibly fatigued, may have prioritized making miles over seeking shelter beneath the canopy.

“Andrew thinks the same as I do on this subject… The EPIRB is a last resort. It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

After a possible capsize, McAuley might have unscrewed the rear hatch to access his VHF radio and drysuit. During the struggle into the drysuit, he could have become separated from the kayak, along with the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). McAuley’s decision not to trigger the EPIRB immediately raised questions, but Tasmanian kayaker Laurie Ford suggested that McAuley, like himself, considered the EPIRB a last resort. McAuley may have intended to use it once he was in the drysuit, but the kayak’s separation thwarted his plans.

“It was the separation from the kayak that brought him undone.”

– Laurie Ford

Tragically, McAuley had overlooked a crucial detail—attaching the EPIRB to himself, not the boat. Ford speculated that a strobe light might have increased the chances of being spotted by rescuers on the first night of the search.

“Andrew thinks the same as I do on this subject… It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

In McAuley’s final days, he acknowledged the possibility of miscalculations, pushing boundaries too far, and the extreme nature of his adventure. A self-portrait taken near the end of his journey revealed a stark contrast to the confident athlete seen in earlier photographs. At a memorial service, a haunting message recovered from McAuley’s kayak emphasized the severity of his endeavor:

“THIS REALLY IS EXTREME. IT’S FULL ON. I REALLY COULD DIE.”

– Andrew McAuley

Despite the public criticism of extreme adventuring, McAuley’s family, especially his wife Vicki, emphasized that it was Andrew’s drive to explore his limits that defined him. In the face of inevitable questions about the perceived selfishness or imprudence of his adventure, Vicki highlighted a quote from André Gide on McAuley’s website:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

– André Gide

Andrew McAuley’s attempt to cross the Tasman Sea solo in a kayak was an epic journey that left an indelible mark on the world of adventure. McAuley’s story became a beacon for discussions on safety, preparedness, and the spirit of exploration within the kayaking community and among solo adventurers worldwide.

The legacy of McAuley’s journey extended beyond his final voyage. It prompted discussions on safety protocols, risk management, and the importance of advanced preparation for solo expeditions. McAuley’s story inspired innovations in kayaking equipment and technology, leading to improved safety measures and communication devices.

His disappearance remains a profound mystery, fueling continued speculation and intrigue within the adventure community. McAuley’s enduring impact is reflected in the changes and conversations sparked within the kayaking community, emphasizing the delicate balance between the human spirit’s desire to explore and the respect owed to the unpredictable forces of nature.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

13-02-2024 om 22:18 geschreven door peter  

After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends 

Perseverance Checks Out Ingenuity: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen Aug. 2, 2023, in an enhanced-color image captured by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover.

Credits: JPL/Caltech-ASU/MSSS. Download image ›

NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing and it is no longer capable of flight.

Originally designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, performed 72 flights, and flew more than 14 times farther than planned while logging more than two hours of total flight time.

“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.”

NASA to Discuss Ingenuity Mission in Media Call Today

In addition to video comments shared from Nelson about the mission’s conclusion, NASA will host a media teleconference at 5 p.m. EST today, Thursday, Jan. 25, to provide an update on Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

• Audio of the call will stream live on the agency’s website.

Participants in the call are expected to include:

• Lori Glaze, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington
• Laurie Leshin, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
• Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager, NASA JPL

Ingenuity landed on Mars Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover and first lifted off the Martian surface on April 19, proving that powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible. After notching another four flights, it embarked on a new mission as an operations demonstration, serving as an aerial scout for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers. In 2023, the helicopter executed two successful flight tests that further expanded the team’s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits.

“At NASA JPL, innovation is at the heart of what we do,” said Leshin. “Ingenuity is an exemplar of the way we push the boundaries of what’s possible every day. I’m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and eager to see what they’ll invent next.”

Ingenuity’s team planned for the helicopter to make a short vertical flight on Jan. 18 to determine its location after executing an emergency landing on its previous flight. Data shows that, as planned, the helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters) and hovered for 4.5 seconds before starting its descent at a velocity of 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second).

However, about 3 feet (1 meter) above the surface, Ingenuity lost contact with the rover, which serves as a communications relay for the rotorcraft. The following day, communications were reestablished and more information about the flight was relayed to ground controllers at NASA JPL. Imagery revealing damage to the rotor blade arrived several days later. The cause of the communications dropout and the helicopter’s orientation at time of touchdown are still being investigated.

Triumphs, Challenges

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days, more than 33 times longer than originally planned, Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, cleaned itself after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Designed to operate in spring, Ingenuity was unable to power its heaters throughout the night during the coldest parts of winter, resulting in the flight computer periodically freezing and resetting. These power “brownouts” required the team to redesign Ingenuity’s winter operations in order to keep flying.

With flight operations now concluded, the Ingenuity team will perform final tests on helicopter systems and download the remaining imagery and data in Ingenuity’s onboard memory. The Perseverance rover is currently too far away to attempt to image the helicopter at its final airfield.

“It’s humbling Ingenuity not only carries onboard a swatch from the original Wright Flyer, but also this helicopter followed in its footsteps and proved flight is possible on another world,” said Ingenuity’s project manager, Teddy Tzanetos of NASA JPL. “The Mars helicopter would have never flown once, much less 72 times, if it were not for the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. History’s first Mars helicopter will leave behind an indelible mark on the future of space exploration and will inspire fleets of aircraft on Mars – and other worlds – for decades to come.”

More About Ingenuity

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.

For more information about Ingenuity:

• https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter

News Media Contacts

• Alise Fisher / Alana Johnson
  NASA Headquarters, Washington
  202-358-2546 / 202-358-1501
  alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov
• DC Agle
  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
  818-393-9011
  agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Perseverance Spots Ingenuity at Its Final Airfield

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

13-02-2024 om 21:42 geschreven door peter  

A ‘Very Rare’ Kind of Space Rock Fell in Germany—and Scientists Recovered the Pieces

Analyses revealed the asteroid was an “aubrite,” a classification that applies to only 80 of 70,000 previously found meteorite fragments

 Tara Wu

Reporter

Researchers pose with a fragment of asteroid 2024 BX1 they found in Germany. The rock is a very rare type of meteorite called an aubrite. 

Cevin Dettlaff

Just after midnight on January 21, a roughly three-foot-long asteroid fell through Earth’s atmosphere—burning up in a blazing fireball seen across much of Europe and crashing to the ground as fragments of meteorite near Berlin, Germany.

“Currently, there isn't an agreed-upon origin of aubrites, and several candidates have been put forward: the Nysa asteroid family, asteroid 3103 Eger and even the planet Mercury,” Denis Vida, a meteor physics researcher at Western University in Canada, tells Robert Lea of Space.com. “They make up only 1 percent of all known meteorites, making it very rare indeed.”

Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky first spotted the asteroid, named 2024 BX1, about three hours before impact, and NASA tracked its trajectory to predict where it would fall—in itself a rare feat. The object did not harm any people.

As news of the impact spread to the public, meteorite hunters began scouring Ribbeck, a village near Berlin, for fragments of the rock. But the search proved particularly challenging. Unlike most meteorites, which have a thin crust of black glass, aubrites do not appear glossy or dark in color.

“Aubrites look more like a gray granite,” Christopher Hamann from Berlin’s Natural History Museum says in the statement. “It looks completely different than most other meteorites. Aubrites are therefore difficult to detect in the field.”

Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, flew to Germany from California hours after he heard about the 2024 BX1 impact, reports Jonathan O’Callaghan of the New York Times. Though he had participated in three other meteorite searches in the past, it took several days for Jenniskens and a team of students and volunteers to come across these fragments about the size of a walnut.

“They were devilishly difficult to find, because from a distance, they look like other rocks on Earth. Close up, not so much,” Jenniskens says in the statement. “We only spotted the meteorites after a Polish team of meteorite hunters had identified the first find and could show us what to look for.”

The advice proved valuable—two hours after receiving the pointers, Jenniskens’ team found their first fragment. By the time they stopped looking, their search had revealed more than 20 meteorite pieces.

The official classification as an aubrite, following a mineralogy assessment conducted with an electron beam microprobe, came from Berlin’s Natural History Museum. Then, the International Nomenclature Commission of the Meteoritical Society confirmed it, reports Kelly Kizer Whitt for EarthSky. The museum collection contains a fragment from the first known aubrite meteorite that fell in 1836 near the village of Aubrés in France, which became the type’s namesake.

“Based on this evidence, we were able to make a rough classification relatively quickly,” Ansgar Greshake, scientific head of the museum's meteorite collection, says in the statement. “This underlines the immense importance of collections for research. So far, there is only material from 11 other observed falls of this type in meteorite collections worldwide.”

A meteorite that fell near Berlin on Jan. 21 was found be an aubrite, a rare class with unknown origins that some scientists argue may be pieces of the planet Mercury.

Credit...Peter Jenniskens/The SETI Institute

While Mercury remains a potential origin of aubrite meteorites, some astronomers find it unlikely in this case. The initial calculated orbit of 2024 BX1 appears wider, suggesting it came from outside of Earth’s orbit, per the Times.

“Therefore, this object could not have come to us directly from Mercury,” Marc Fries, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, tells the publication.

In a way, though, it might have come indirectly from Mercury, since the inner planet may have projected aubrites to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter long ago. One of these might have just made its way to Earth, and that could account for the wide orbit. But Fries remains doubtful, per the Times.

Despite the uncertainty regarding the meteorite’s origin, its fragments hold information that can help scientists better understand the universe.

{ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ }

13-02-2024 om 21:16 geschreven door peter