Aardkern bevat negen keer meer water dan oceanen

In het kort

De aardkern bevat mogelijk enorme reservoirs aan waterstof, mogelijk negen keer zoveel als alle oceanen op aarde samen. Volgens recent onderzoek in Nature Communications zou de aardkern wel waterstof kunnen bevatten ter hoeveelheid van 45 oceanen.

Vroege waterverwerving

Wetenschappers denken dat deze waterstof tijdens de eerste vorming van de aarde in de aarde is opgenomen, en niet door latere kometeninslagen die water op het oppervlak zouden hebben afgezet. Dit betekent dat de aarde het grootste deel van haar water vroeg in haar geschiedenis heeft gekregen, waarbij de mantel en de korst minder water bevatten dan de kern.

De aardkern, die voornamelijk bestaat uit ijzer en nikkel, genereert het beschermende magnetische veld van de planeet. Inzicht in het waterstofgehalte in deze kern is cruciaal voor het begrijpen van de vorming van planeten en de evolutie van het leven. Het is echter onmogelijk om de kern rechtstreeks te observeren vanwege de enorme diepte en de extreme druk.

De kern van de aarde bestaat voornamelijk uit de metalen ijzer en nikkel, maar bevat ook lichtere elementen zoals waterstof, zuurstof en silicium.

CharlesC via Wikimedia Commons onder CC-BY-3.0

Nieuwe observatietechniek

Eerdere pogingen om de waterstof in de kern te meten gebruikten indirecte methoden. Ze analyseerden bijvoorbeeld de structuur van ijzerkristallen. Dit leidde tot sterk verschillende schattingen. In het nieuwe onderzoek gebruiken de wetenschappers een techniek genaamd Atoomprobe-tomografie. Daarmee kunnen ze individuele atomen in een monster direct bekijken. Dit gebeurt onder hoge druk en temperatuur, zoals in het binnenste van de aarde.

De onderzoekers smolten ijzermonsters in een diamant-aambeeldcel. Daarna gebruikten ze Atoomprobe-tomografie om te zien hoe waterstof, silicium en zuurstof waren verdeeld. Zo konden ze de verhouding tussen waterstof en silicium ongeveer op 1:1 schatten. Door dit te combineren met eerdere schattingen van het siliciumgehalte in de kern, konden ze ook de totale hoeveelheid waterstof benaderen.

Onzekerheden blijven bestaan

De nieuwe methode geeft waardevolle inzichten in de samenstelling van de kern. Ook helpt het te begrijpen hoe warmte wordt afgegeven, wat bijdraagt aan het magnetisch veld van de aarde. Onderzoekers geven wel aan dat er nog onzekerheden zijn. Zo kan er tijdens het decompressieproces waterstof verloren gaan, waardoor de hoeveelheid waterstof misschien wordt onderschat.

Meer onderzoek is nodig om deze schattingen te verbeteren. Ook willen wetenschappers de complexe chemische interacties in de kern beter begrijpen. Toch laat het onderzoek zien dat waterstof belangrijk is voor de ontwikkeling van de aarde. Het speelde al een grote rol in een vroeg stadium van de vorming van planeten.

• The post Aardkern bevat negen keer meer water dan oceanen appeared first on Newsmonkey.

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15-02-2026 om 17:26 geschreven door peter  

Everything Trump Has Said About UFOs, Aliens in Speeches

By Joe Edwards

President Donald Trump has alternated between skepticism and curiosity about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and aliens, discussing pilots’ sightings, government secrecy, and his own access to information during interviews and appearances.

Public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) surged after Congress and the Pentagon released reports and held hearings, making presidential comments—past and present—central to understanding what the government might know and disclose.

A 2021 survey by Pew Research Center found that almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans believe that intelligent life could exist on other planets.

Trump’s evolving remarks offer a window into how a former and current president talks about alleged sightings.

In June 2019, Trump said he had been briefed on Navy UFO reports and expressed doubt, stating to ABC News: “I did have one very brief meeting on it,” adding that “people are saying they’re seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly.” 

Also in 2019, he told Tucker Carlson he wasn’t convinced in the existence of UFOs. “Well, I don't want to really get into it too much. But personally, I tend to doubt it," Trump said. "I'm not a believer, but you know, I guess anything is possible.”

In June 2020, when his son Donald Trump Jr. asked him about revealing “what’s really going on with Roswell,” Trump answered, per The Hill: “I won’t talk to you about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting.” 

Major Jesse Marcel, pictured below in 1947 with crash debris, was the first military officer to investigate the Roswell Incident, one of the most famous examples of the supposed recovery of crashed extraterrestrial technology and biological entities.

On Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast in June 2024, Trump said he had met with pilots who described seeing "things you wouldn’t believe,” reiterating he was not a believer himself.

“But I have met with people, serious people, that say there are some really strange things flying around out there,” he said.

Pressed on whether he had access to files about aliens and UAPs, Trump added: “I have access...and I speak to people about it, I’ve had actually meetings on it,” also saying he had heard of aircraft “round in form, going like four times faster than my super jet fighter plane.” 

Appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2024 Trump also expressed skepticism, saying that he’d never been a believer.

• Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.

{ https://www.newsweek.com/ }

14-02-2026 om 23:52 geschreven door peter  

Everything Trump has said about UFOs, aliens in speeches

President Donald Trump has alternated between skepticism and curiosity about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and aliens, discussing pilots’ sightings, government secrecy, and his own access to information during interviews and appearances.

Public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) surged after Congress and the Pentagon released reports and held hearings, making presidential comments—past and present—central to understanding what the government might know and disclose.

A 2021 survey by Pew Research Center found that almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans believe that intelligent life could exist on other planets.

Trump’s evolving remarks offer a window into how a former and current president talks about alleged sightings.

In June 2019, Trump said he had been briefed on Navy UFO reports and expressed doubt, stating to ABC News: “I did have one very brief meeting on it,” adding that “people are saying they’re seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly.” 

Also in 2019, he told Tucker Carlson he wasn’t convinced in the existence of UFOs. “Well, I don’t want to really get into it too much. But personally, I tend to doubt it,” Trump said. “I’m not a believer, but you know, I guess anything is possible.”

In June 2020, when his son Donald Trump Jr. asked him about revealing “what’s really going on with Roswell,” Trump answered, per The Hill: “I won’t talk to you about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting.” 

Major Jesse Marcel, pictured below in 1947 with crash debris, was the first military officer to investigate the Roswell Incident, one of the most famous examples of the supposed recovery of crashed extraterrestrial technology and biological entities.

On Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast in June 2024, Trump said he had met with pilots who described seeing “things you wouldn’t believe,” reiterating he was not a believer himself.

“But I have met with people, serious people, that say there are some really strange things flying around out there,” he said.

Pressed on whether he had access to files about aliens and UAPs, Trump added: “I have access…and I speak to people about it, I’ve had actually meetings on it,” also saying he had heard of aircraft “round in form, going like four times faster than my super jet fighter plane.” 

Appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2024 Trump also expressed skepticism, saying that he’d never been a believer.

On Greg Gutfeld’s Fox News show in September 2024, Trump said the question he may get more than any other is about aliens in Area 51, and repeated that pilots told him of a “round object going faster than my F-22.”

{ https://www.ufofeed.com/ }

14-02-2026 om 23:37 geschreven door peter  

Overview

A live‑streamed congressional hearing held on Tuesday afternoon featured former President Donald J. Trump and former Department of Defense (DoD) official Luis Elizondo, who is widely recognized for his role in bringing the Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) program to public attention. The session, convened by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, was billed as an opportunity for lawmakers to question senior officials about the status of UAP investigations and any potential national‑security implications. During his remarks, Trump alluded to “shocking” information he had received about unidentified objects, prompting a flurry of media coverage and speculation about the depth of government disclosure.

Key Points Discussed

• Trump’s Assertions: The former president claimed that, during his tenure, the administration received “credible briefings” on UAP encounters that were “far more advanced than anything we have publicly acknowledged.” He emphasized that the intelligence community had “kept many details classified” and suggested that a broader release could be forthcoming.
• Elizondo’s Testimony: Luis Elizondo, who formerly led the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), reiterated that the DoD has collected “hundreds of validated sightings” from military pilots and radar operators. He cited recent declassified videos released by the Pentagon as evidence of “objects that demonstrate flight characteristics beyond known technology.”
• Committee’s Response: Chairwoman Rep. Jamie Rogers (R‑AL) pressed both witnesses on the timeline for further disclosures, asking whether a formal report to Congress had been completed. Both Trump and Elizondo indicated that a “comprehensive briefing” is slated for the upcoming month, pending security reviews.

Key Figures

• Donald J. Trump: Former President (2017‑2021); participant in the hearing, offering personal insight into classified briefings received while in office.
• Luis Elizondo: Former DoD official and founder of the To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science; testified on the Pentagon’s UAP data collection and analysis efforts.
• Rep. Jamie Rogers (R‑AL): Chair of the House Oversight Committee; moderated the hearing and directed questions toward transparency and accountability.
• Sen. Mark Kelly (D‑AZ): Former astronaut and co‑sponsor of the 2023 UAP Disclosure Act; referenced earlier legislative milestones during the session.

Chronology & Context

The hearing follows a series of legislative and executive actions aimed at increasing transparency around UAPs. In late 2022, the DoD released three short videos—dubbed “Gimbal,” “GoFast,” and “FLIR”—showing unidentified objects captured by Navy pilots. The 2023 UAP Disclosure Act mandated the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to produce an annual report on UAP investigations, a requirement that was fulfilled in March 2024. The current session marks the first time a former president has publicly addressed the matter in a congressional setting, occurring just weeks after the Intelligence Community’s “Preliminary Assessment” report, which acknowledged “multiple unexplained aerial phenomena” but stopped short of attributing them to extraterrestrial sources.

Conclusion

While the hearing did not produce concrete new evidence, it underscored the growing pressure on the U.S. government to move beyond limited, classified briefings toward broader public disclosure. **

{ https://usubjects.com/  }

14-02-2026 om 22:46 geschreven door peter  

Overview

In a recent interview on the Talia program, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker Jeremy Corbell unveiled a previously unreleased thermal video that captures an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) over Syria in 2021. The footage, which Corbell says was originally recorded by a military sensor, shows an object accelerating instantaneously, disappearing without any visible propulsion or exhaust plume. According to Corbell, the video represents “some of the most compelling evidence to date of technology that defies known laws of physics,” and he argues that its release marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing public discourse on UAPs.

The 2021 Syria Footage

The centerpiece of the discussion is a thermal‑imaging clip that depicts a luminous object moving at an extreme rate of acceleration before vanishing from view in a fraction of a second. Corbell stresses that the video was analyzed by U.S. government officials, and that the accompanying technical breakdown reflects the agency’s own assessment rather than third‑party speculation. He notes that the object exhibits “no visible means of propulsion or exhaust,” and that the rapid change in velocity appears to contradict conventional understandings of inertia and aerodynamics. While Corbell refrains from labeling the phenomenon as extraterrestrial, he emphasizes that the data “survives scientific scrutiny” only if it can be reproduced and examined under controlled conditions.

Historical Context and Related Cases

Corbell situates the Syrian incident within a broader pattern of UAP encounters reported by military and civilian observers over the past two decades. He references several well‑documented cases, including:

• USS Omaha, where a craft entered water without creating a splash, suggesting “trans‑medium” capabilities.
• USS Russell, which recorded pyramid‑shaped objects on radar and infrared sensors.
• The “Tic‑Tac” UAP, famously discussed during 2020 congressional hearings and witnessed by Navy pilots.
• Additional sightings such as the Mosul Orb, Baghdad Phantom, Syria Dome, and the “Jellyfish” UAP.

By linking these incidents, Corbell argues that the phenomena are not isolated anomalies but part of a persistent, physical reality that repeatedly appears in restricted airspace.

Scientific and Technical Implications

When pressed on the survivability of such rapid acceleration for a human occupant, Corbell responded that “according to modern physics, a human would be turned to jelly.” He hypothesizes that the craft may generate a localized “time‑space bubble” that shields its interior from extreme inertial forces, a concept that, if verified, would have profound implications for physics and aerospace engineering. Corbell also rejects the notion that the sightings are simply “black projects” of the U.S. defense establishment, pointing out that documented UAP reports predate the Department of Defense and modern aerospace programs. He cites congressional testimony suggesting the recovery of “non‑human” biological material from crash sites, though he acknowledges that such claims remain unverified.

Calls for a Data‑Driven Approach

Moving beyond speculation, Corbell urges the scientific community to adopt a “data‑driven” stance toward UAPs. He contends that the current era of “catastrophic disclosure”—characterized by increasing whistleblower releases and declassified material—requires rigorous analysis rather than dismissal. In his view, physicists and engineers should engage with the expanding dataset, applying established methodologies to evaluate performance envelopes, sensor signatures, and potential propulsion mechanisms. Corbell’s broader objective, he says, is to “weaponize curiosity” so that the public gains access to what he describes as the “fundamental nature of reality” that has long been concealed.

Outlook and Next Steps

The release of the Syrian UAP footage adds another data point to an already sizable collection of anomalous aerial observations. While the video has not yet undergone peer‑reviewed publication, its provenance—military‑originated thermal imaging and government‑level analysis—provides a degree of credibility that distinguishes it from many prior claims. Future steps will likely involve independent verification by scientific institutions, potential replication of sensor signatures, and continued congressional oversight. As Corbell concludes, “the dam is breaking” on disclosure, and the onus now lies on researchers, policymakers, and the public to determine how this emerging evidence reshapes our understanding of aerial phenomena and, possibly, the limits of physics itself.

{ https://usubjects.com/  }

14-02-2026 om 22:25 geschreven door peter  

Earth on Track to Become Uninhabitable, Scientists Say

By Joe Wilkins

{ https://futurism.com/category/science-energy }

14-02-2026 om 22:10 geschreven door peter  

Network of Home Computers Detected 100 Potential Alien Signals

SETI@home concluded after 21 years in 2020, producing a whopping 12 billion detections, according to a UC Berkeley press release, making it “one of the most popular crowd-sourced research projects ever.”

Over the years, researchers whittled down the data to just 100 signals that were “worth a second look” by eliminating radio frequency interference and noise with the help of a supercomputer. Since July, they’ve been using China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), in the hopes of catching another glimpse of the identified targets.

Unfortunately, the Arecibo Observatory — once the world’s largest radio telescope — collapsed during a storm in 2020, and is being decommissioned.

Even if the project never leads to first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species, it doesn’t mean SETI@home was a waste of time. Researchers are still trawling through the FAST data, but early conclusions of the project and its effectiveness have already resulted in two papers that were published last year in The Astronomical Journal.

“If we don’t find ET, what we can say is that we established a new sensitivity level,” said project cofounder David Anderson in a statement. “If there were a signal above a certain power, we would have found it.”

“Some of our conclusions are that the project didn’t completely work the way we thought it was going to,” Anderson said. “And we have a long list of things that we would have done differently and that future sky survey projects should do differently.”

Astronomer and project director Eric Korpela also pointed out that the considerable amount of radio interference, which can emanate from other sources, including radio and TV broadcasts and even microwave ovens, could seriously mess with the data.

David Anderson, co-founder of SETI@home, discusses the distributed computing project in 2003.

Credit: Robert Sanders/UC Berkeley

{ https://futurism.com/category/space }

14-02-2026 om 21:46 geschreven door peter  

Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek: Mogelijke Verstopplaatsen voor BuitenAardse Levensvormen in de Multiversumtheorie

Image: Getty

Inleiding

Het bestaan van buitenaardse beschavingen vormt al decennia een intrigerend vraagstuk binnen de astrofysica en de zoektocht naar het leven buiten de aarde. Traditioneel wordt deze zoektocht ondersteund door de Drake-vergelijking, een wiskundig model dat is ontworpen om het aantal intelligente beschavingen in onze Melkweg te schatten. Echter, recente theoretische ontwikkelingen suggereren dat misschien niet alle bewijzen of het ontbreken daarvan eenvoudig te verklaren zijn binnen het beperkt kader van ons eigen universum. In plaats daarvan zou het kunnen dat buitenaards leven zich verschuilt in andere, parallelle universa binnen een multiversum.

De Drake-vergelijking en haar beperkingen

De klassieke Drake-vergelijking werd in de jaren zestig door de astronoom Frank Drake geïntroduceerd met het oog op het schatten van het aantal beschavingen dat communicatie met ons zou kunnen onderhouden. Deze vergelijking houdt rekening met verschillende factoren zoals de stervormingssnelheid, de gemiddelde omvang van planetenstelsels, de kans op het ontstaan van leven en de ontwikkeling van intelligentie. Hoewel nuttig, is er bewustzijn dat deze formule gebaseerd is op aannames en gegevens die slechts voor ons eigen universum geldig zijn.

De invoering van multiversumtheorie

Recente modellen in de theoretische fysica en kosmologie brengen het concept van een multiversum naar voren. In deze theorieën bestaan er talloze universa, elk met eigen natuurkundige parameters, waarvan sommige mogelijk afwijkingen vertonen die de ontwikkeling van leven bevorderen of belemmeren.

Revisie van de Drake-vergelijking: Een multiversum-benadering

In een baanbrekend artikel gepubliceerd in het Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, presenteert een team onder leiding van astrofysicus Daniele Sorini van de Universiteit van Durham een vernieuwde interpretatie van de Drake-vergelijking. Deze herziening houdt rekening met het potentieel dat de meeste beschavingen zich niet binnen ons eigen universum bevinden, maar elders in het multiversum, waar fysische condities wellicht meer gunstig zijn.

Dark Energie en universele condities

Een essentieel onderdeel van deze nieuwe theorie betreft de rol van donkere energie, een mysterieuze component die de versnelde uitdijing van het universum verklaart. Sorini en collega’s ontdekten dat universa met een hogere donkere energiedichtheid, waardoor het creëren van sterrenstelsels efficiënter wordt, wellicht een grotere kans op het ontstaan van intelligent leven bieden.

Specifiek suggereren ze dat een universum waarin ongeveer 27 procent van de gewone materie wordt omgezet in sterren, veel gunstiger zou zijn voor de ontwikkeling van leven, dan ons eigen universum met een geschatte 23 procent. Dit impliceert dat onze kosmische omgeving niet optimaal is voor de emergentie van geavanceerd leven, wat de mogelijkheid opent dat leven elders in het multiversum zich bevindt onder andere fysieke condities.

Implicaties en wetenschappelijke vooruitzichten

Sorini’s conclussie dat hogere of andere varianten van donkere energie-compatible universa nog steeds levens mogelijk maken, leidt tot provocatieve vragen over onze plaats in de kosmos. “Het is verrassend dat een hogere dichtheid van donkere energie nog steeds compatibel kan zijn met leven”, aldus Sorini. Dit wijst erop dat onze universele condities mogelijk niet representatief zijn voor de meest waarschijnlijke of gunstige condities voor het ontstaan van intelligent leven.

Hoewel het idee dat buitenaardse beschavingen zich in parallelle universa verbergen absurd lijkt op het eerste gezicht, biedt deze theorie een fascinerend raamwerk om de beperkingen van onze observaties en de grenzen van onze kennis te overbruggen. Het model dient niet alleen ter verklaarding van het ontbreken van contact, maar ook als een experimentale basis om onze zoektocht uit te breiden naar een multiversum.

Wetenschappelijke relevantie en toekomstige onderzoeksmogelijkheden

Het onderzoeken van de parameters die het ontstaan van leven in verschillende universe vormen, wordt door de onderzoekers beschreven als een van de grootste uitdagingen binnen de kosmologie en fundamentele fysica. Door het aanpassen van de variabelen zoals donkere energie, kunnen theoretici simulaties en modellen ontwikkelen die ons inzicht bieden in hoe leven zich mogelijk ontwikkelt onder uiteenlopende kosmologische condities.

Leuk, gehecht aan het concept van de multiversum, is de mogelijkheid dat de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven niet beperkt is tot onze eigen kosmos. In plaats daarvan openen nieuwe theoretische kaders mogelijkheden om dat zoekproces uit te breiden en te verdiepen, bijvoorbeeld door het kijken naar “labels” van verschillende universa en hun specifieke fysische eigenschappen.

Kritisch perspectief en wetenschappelijke uitdaging

Hoewel de theorie dat aliens zich mogelijk in het multiversum bevinden, buitengewoon fascinerend is, blijft het een speculatieve hypothese. Het ontbreken van direct bewijs betekent dat deze ideeën uiteindelijk binnen de puristische paradigma’s in de fysica en kosmologie als controversieel worden beschouwd. Toch kan de verkenning van deze hypothesen nieuwe wegen creëren voor onze wetenschappelijke vragen en experimenten.

Conclusie

De herziening van de Drake-vergelijking met een multiversum-oriëntatie biedt een intrigerend perspectief op de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven. Door de fysische parameters te variëren, vooral die rondom donkere energie, kunnen we modelleren onder welke omstandigheden leven mogelijk zou kunnen voorkomen in universa die afwijken van onze eigen kosmos. Hoewel we niet meteen bewijs hebben dat aliens daadwerkelijk in andere universa huizen, opent deze aanpak het kader voor een paradigmaverschuiving: onze zoektocht naar het exotische leven mogelijk te richten op meerdere kosmologische realiteiten.

Literatuur en toekomstige ontwikkelingen

Naast de bijdragen van Sorini en zijn team, wordt de multiversumtheorie verder ondersteund of uitgedaagd door inzichten over donkere materie en de hypothese dat deze misschien een spiegeluniversum vertegenwoordigt. Met het toenemende vermogen van telescopen en detectoren, en de ontwikkeling van kwantumtechnologieën, kunnen onderzoekers mogelijk toekomstige bewijslijnen vinden die deze theorieën ondersteunen of weerleggen.

Kortom, het onderzoeken van het multiversum als een locatie voor buitenaards leven blijft een boeiend en potentieel revolutionair veld in de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap, dat ons dwingt onze eigen kosmische plaats opnieuw te overwegen en te herdefiniëren.

• Notitie: Dit artikel bevat een uitgebreide, wetenschappelijk onderbouwde interpretatie gebaseerd op de publicaties en hypothesen omtrent het multiversum en de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven, met een focus op recente theoretische modellen en hun implicaties voor de kosmologie en astrobiologie.

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14-02-2026 om 21:01 geschreven door peter  

NASA Running Out of Non-Life Explanations for What Its Rover Found on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

{ https://futurism.com/ }

14-02-2026 om 20:28 geschreven door peter  

Imagine opening up to someone about your most treasured memory or your deepest vulnerabilities—only to later discover that the attentive listener on the other end wasn’t a person at all, but a machine.

According to new research published in Communications Psychology, artificial intelligence can be surprisingly good at fostering emotional connections, and in some cases, even outperforming humans.

However, there’s a catch: it works best when people believe they’re talking to another human.

In two double-blind, randomized controlled trials involving 492 participants, researchers found that large language model (LLM)-generated responses fostered equal—and sometimes greater—feelings of interpersonal closeness than human responses.

The effect was especially pronounced during emotionally intense “deep-talk” conversations. Yet, when participants were told they were interacting with an AI, those feelings diminished, revealing what the researchers describe as an “anti-AI bias.”

These findings suggest that not only can AI form the basis of meaningful social interactions, but under certain circumstances, it may be particularly well-suited to emotionally engaging exchanges—raising profound implications for psychotherapy, healthcare, and the future of digital companionship.

“With the increasing accessibility of large language models to the public, questions arise about whether, and under what conditions, social-emotional interactions with artificial intelligence (AI) can lead to human-like relationship building,” researchers write. “We found that people felt even closer to AI than to fellow humans after emotionally engaging interactions.”

To examine how relationships form between humans and AI, researchers at the University of Freiburg adapted a well-established psychological tool, the “Fast Friends Procedure.” Originally designed to rapidly generate interpersonal closeness between strangers, the method relies on escalating mutual self-disclosure through structured questions.

Participants—German university students between 18 and 35—engaged in 15-minute, text-based interactions. Unbeknownst to them, their “partner” responses had been pre-generated either by real human participants in a lab or by a minimally prompted large language model (Google’s PaLM 2, accessed via Bard in early 2024). In some conditions, participants were told they were interacting with a human. In others, they were informed they were speaking with an AI.

The researchers also manipulated emotional intensity. Some interactions involved light small talk. Others required deeper disclosures, including treasured life memories and core personal values. The core measure of relationship building was perceived interpersonal closeness, assessed using a widely used psychological scale.

The results revealed that when participants believed they were interacting with a human, AI-generated responses actually led to greater feelings of closeness than genuine human responses—but only during emotionally engaging deep-talk exchanges.

“AI-generated content outperformed human-generated content in establishing feelings of closeness during emotionally engaging deep-talk interactions,” researchers report. “Moreover, participants disclosed more information themselves in interactions with AI, and self-disclosure levels of both parties were associated with each other.”

Importantly, this was not because the AI wrote longer responses or displayed obvious stylistic advantages. Instead, linguistic analysis revealed that AI partners exhibited significantly higher levels of self-disclosure—sharing personal emotions, experiences, and social reflections.

That increased self-disclosure appeared to drive the effect. Participants reported feeling closer to partners who revealed more about themselves. In turn, participants also disclosed more about their own lives when interacting with the AI, suggesting a reciprocal dynamic.

In other words, the AI’s willingness to “open up” encouraged humans to do the same.

The finding challenges a common assumption that emotional communication is a uniquely human domain where AI inevitably falls short. Instead, the study suggests that LLMs—at least in text-based settings—can effectively simulate the vulnerability and emotional transparency that fosters rapid intimacy.

However, the advantage disappeared when the illusion was removed.

In the second study, participants were explicitly told whether their interaction partner was human or AI. Even when interacting with identical AI-generated responses, participants who believed they were speaking to an AI reported lower levels of closeness.

This label effect was statistically significant. Being told the partner was an AI reduced ratings of interpersonal closeness compared to human-labelled interactions.

Crucially, the drop in closeness was not due to AI responses changing. The content remained constant. What shifted was the participant’s mindset.

Researchers found that people wrote shorter responses when they believed they were interacting with AI, suggesting reduced emotional engagement. Those shorter responses were themselves associated with lower perceived closeness.

In short, people invested less in the relationship when they knew it involved a machine.

Yet, even with the anti-AI bias, relationship building still occurred. Closeness increased significantly from baseline in AI-labelled conditions, demonstrating that awareness of artificiality dampens—but does not eliminate—the capacity for emotional connection.

One interpretation of the findings is paradoxical: AI’s lack of genuine emotional experience may free it from the social risks humans face during vulnerable conversations.

Humans often hesitate to disclose deeply personal information, especially to strangers. Emotional self-disclosure carries social risk—rejection, judgment, misuse of personal details. However, an AI cannot experience embarrassment, rejection, or betrayal.

Researchers suggest that this lack of emotional stakes may allow AI to consistently display high levels of openness in emotionally charged discussions. That openness, in turn, invites reciprocal vulnerability from human partners.

Still, the researchers caution against concluding that AI is broadly superior in emotional communication. The advantage appeared only in masked deep-talk scenarios. Once labeled as AI, its relative strength declined.

That said, there may also be an important caveat to the so-called “anti-AI bias.” While participants in this controlled experiment reported lower levels of closeness when they knew they were interacting with a machine, real-world behavior suggests that awareness of artificiality does not necessarily prevent deep attachment.

As previously reported by The Debrief, other recent research has documented individuals forming intensely personal bonds with AI chatbots—some even describing romantic partnerships or “marriages” and having fictional “babies” with their digital companions. All while fully aware that the entity on the other end was not human.

In those cases, the label “AI” did not dampen emotional investment. If anything, the chatbot’s consistency, availability, and nonjudgmental nature appeared to strengthen it.

Together, the findings suggest that anti-AI bias may be highly context-dependent—more pronounced in brief experimental encounters, yet potentially diminished in ongoing, immersive interactions where emotional reliance has time to deepen.

Ultimately, these findings point to AI’s potential in overstretched social sectors such as mental health care, elder care, and patient support. As researchers note, conversational AI could assist in settings where relationship building and emotional engagement are critical—so long as safeguards are in place.

On the other hand, the results underscore ethical risks.

If AI can foster genuine feelings of closeness—especially when disguised as human—it could be misused for manipulation, deception, or exploitation. Emotional trust is powerful. In the wrong hands, it becomes a vector for social engineering, fraud, and psychological harm.

Importantly, generative AI systems have already grown more advanced—far beyond the 2024-era model used in this study—so the stakes have only increased.

“These findings highlight AI’s potential to relieve overburdened social fields while underscoring the urgent need for ethical safeguards to prevent its misuse in fostering deceptive social connections,” researchers warn.

Researchers say the findings do not imply that machines are superior to people. Rather, it reveals something subtler: human perceptions and expectations shape AI’s emotional power.

When we believe we’re talking to another person, AI can mirror—and even amplify—the dynamics of emotional connection. When we know it’s a machine, skepticism creeps in, altering our willingness to engage.

For now, the boundary between human and artificial companionship remains psychologically meaningful. However, that line is beginning to blur.

In their conclusion, the researchers emphasize AI’s increasingly familiar dual role—as both a powerful societal tool and a potential source of risk.

“On one hand, AI shows great promise in alleviating strain in overburdened social fields such as psychotherapy, medical care, and elder care. To foster acceptance in these areas, we recommend transparent human-led introduction, continuous monitoring, and systematic evaluation of human-AI Interactions,” researchers write. “On the other hand, our results underscore the risk of AI being misused for manipulation by fostering deceptive emotional connections.”

• Tim McMillan is a retired law enforcement executive, investigative reporter and co-founder of The Debrief. His writing typically focuses on defense, national security, the Intelligence Community and topics related to psychology. You can follow Tim on Twitter: @LtTimMcMillan.  Tim can be reached by email: tim@thedebrief.org or through encrypted email: LtTimMcMillan@protonmail.com 

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

14-02-2026 om 19:54 geschreven door peter  

Widespread cell phone disruptions are set to hit thousands of Americans across Texas just as the state recovers from chaos in El Paso this week.

Military personnel at Fort Hood are scheduled to test anti-drone systems that can interfere with satellite navigation signals across a wide area, potentially degrading GPS accuracy for aircraft, drones, and consumer devices.

The interruptions, which began February 2, are expected to continue on Friday and Saturday mornings through February 27, with the final round scheduled from February 23 to 27. 

The affected zone spans major cities, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and extends as far as Oklahoma City.

Operators of aircraft, drones, and other GPS-reliant systems are being warned to plan for degraded navigation and consider alternative methods.

The testing comes just days after US airspace was abruptly shut down in El Paso following a security incident involving what was later identified as a party balloon.

In the hours before the shutdown, an eyewitness near El Paso International Airport reported seeing a large object releasing smaller objects, footage that was shared with the crowdsourced UFO-reporting platform Enigma. 

The sighting occurred shortly before the FAA closed a large swath of airspace for 'special security reasons' at 11:30 p.m. MT on February 10.

Widespread GPS disruptions are affecting Central Texas and parts of the surrounding region, caused by military testing of anti-drone systems near Fort Hood

Magnified images of the craft revealed a large object appearing near the sight of a major FAA shut down which was issued on February 10

Pilots experiencing problems with GPS-reliant equipment are urged to report anomalies following standard FAA procedures. 

The disruptions could also affect cars, phones, tablets, watches, and other GPS-dependent devices across an area more than 190 miles wide, though not all systems are expected to be impacted.

The tests are likely being conducted with support from electronic warfare units to simulate a degraded GPS environment. 

The US Army regularly conducts counter-unmanned aircraft training and technology demonstrations at Fort Hood, using a mix of radar, kinetic interceptors, and electronic warfare tools designed to detect and defeat drones.

The scheduled GPS disruption tests are described by the FAA as 'GPS interference testing,' typically meaning the military is intentionally creating GPS-denied conditions to train forces and evaluate how systems perform when signals are blocked or unreliable. 

Although the FAA has not specified the hardware being used, such exercises generally involve radio-frequency jamming or spoofing systems designed to overwhelm or confuse GPS receivers.

The testing comes amid growing concern over military counter-drone activity after the FAA abruptly closed airspace over El Paso late Tuesday night. 

The mysterious shutdown was originally announced to last for ten days and included all commercial, cargo, and general flights within a ten-mile-wide area roughly five miles southwest of El Paso, from the ground up to 18,000 feet.

In a dramatic example of the risks, the FAA abruptly closed El Paso airspace on Wednesday after the military targeted what turned out to be a party balloon with an anti-drone laser system

However, the chaotic shutdown by the FAA was quickly called off, with the Trump Administration changing the story of what triggered the alert multiple times within a matter of hours on Wednesday.

White House officials initially announced the US had taken down a Mexican cartel drone flying across the southern border, only to claim hours later that the object struck by a high-powered laser was a party balloon.

Now, UFO researchers and witnesses in the area have alleged that something other than a balloon or drone was spotted on multiple days near the US-Mexico border before the FAA warning.

'Looks like the mothership. It's huge. And there is stuff coming out from the bottom of it and going off to the left a little bit as it landed,' the driver on Tuesday said.

According to the witness recording the hovering craft, it appeared on video 'like a dot' after moving off far into the distance, but the object was allegedly incredibly large and looked somewhat like 'a blob.'

Enigma, which allows people to report sightings and share pictures or videos of UFOs on an app, also revealed that two other witnesses submitted strange sightings in the El Paso area, one on February 8 and another at 5.46pm ET on the same day as the FAA shut down.

Both sightings involved what the witnesses described as floating orbs high in the sky which were clearly not normal planes or any type of military aircraft.

'Every time I use my drones in this area, especially in a certain frequency I always have orbs run by,' the witness on February 8 reported in a video on the Enigma app.

However, the driver traveling by El Paso International Airport on Tuesday supplied the clearest evidence that what the military encountered was not a simple balloon.

'They are reporting today that it wasn’t drones but a party balloon! It never ceases to amaze me how stupid they think the public is,' one commenter on X wrote.

'I feel like I’ve seen this story before…' one person on social media wrote next to a picture of the weather balloon debris the military claimed was actually the Roswell UFO in 1947.

However, many skeptics criticized the video for being so out of focus that it made a clear identification of the object impossible.

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

14-02-2026 om 18:25 geschreven door peter  

Could we detect if gods were alien beings?

Possibly. A few lines of evidence might include:

• Ancient structures aligning with advanced astronomical math.
• Texts describing devices or materials that don’t exist (e.g., “divine laser light”).
• Legends of long-lived rulers with lifespans beyond a thousand years, possibly military/biotech-enhanced beings.
• Cultural patterns of worship across continents with no contact, suggesting a shared origin.

In 2025, cross-disciplinary researchers in archaeoastronomy, ancient DNA, epigraphy, and physics are quietly exploring these overlaps, more cautiously than conspiracy YouTubers, but with open curiosity.

Key Points You Should Know

1. Myths of gods as visitors span cultures globally.
2. Descriptions often match what extraterrestrials might look like.
3. Advanced structures/assets could reflect alien tech or instruction.
4. No confirmed proof yet, just intriguing correlations.
5. The concept reframes divinity as cosmic, not supernatural.

Explaining Each Point

• 1. From the Anunnaki to the Feathered Serpent, multiple cultures describe gods coming from above.
• 2. Bright chariots, human-like figures glowing, voices on the wind, early descriptions of aliens in mythic terms.
• 3. The Great Pyramid, Stonehenge, and Angkor Wat required astronomical precision that ancient humans achieved, perhaps with guidance.
• 4. While there’s no verified spaceship artifact, there are many collectable anomalies and respected scholars asking important questions.
• 5. By seeing gods as alien beings, myth becomes a record of first contact, humanity’s ancient encounter with the cosmic.

What We Think

We’re not saying this is a fact. We are saying: what if it is? The “gods as aliens” model solves puzzles, connects legends, and honors spiritual traditions by grounding them in historical encounters. Whether or not you accept the hypothesis, it invites careful inquiry and challenges us to ask: if a seed of truth lies in myth, how would we know? That’s a question we’re thrilled to explore.

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{ https://edgythoughts.com/category/hypothetical/myths-legends/ }

14-02-2026 om 18:11 geschreven door peter  

On Monday, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the launch of a new project aimed at finding scientific proof for the existence of extraterrestrial technology. Dubbed the Galileo Project, the international team of researchers says part of their hunt for ET technology will include examining reports of “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP), more commonly known as UFOs. 

“The goal of the Galileo Project is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated, and systematic scientific research,” a press release issued by the Galileo Project reads. 

Heading up the program is one of the most well-known advocates of searching for intelligent alien life within our Solar System, Harvard professor of astronomy, Dr. Abraham “Avi” Loeb. Flanking Loeb is a team of researchers and advisors that hail from a staggering list of prestigious academic institutions including, Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge, Caltech, Yale, Arizona State, University of North Carolina, and Stockholm University. 

The Debrief has previously provided extensive coverage on the scientific community’s growing interest in targeting alien technology, including NASA funding research specific to locating extraterrestrial “technosignatures.” However, these endeavors are almost exclusively focused on detecting alien technology lurking deep out in the cosmos. 

In contrast, the Galileo Project is the first scientific endeavor to explicitly say not only does it intend to explore possible alien artifacts in our near Solar System, but the program also intends to examine the recent resurgence of UFO or UAP reports as potential evidence that advanced alien life may already be here on Earth. 

According to press materials provided by the Galileo Project, the impetus for exploring whether UFO sightings here on Earth could represent advanced alien technology is primarily spurred by the U.S. Department of Defense’s renewed interest in the subject of “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” 

In the past few years, the Pentagon has publicly released several videos captured by Navy pilots showing what it says are “aerial phenomena that remain unexplained.” The DoD has also formed an officially sanctioned “UAP Task Force,” and at the end of June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its highly anticipated “Preliminary Assessment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” 

According to the ODNI report, task force investigators could only identify one incident out of 144 military reports of claimed UAP encounters as having a prosaic explanation. Of those nearly 150 reports, ODNI said, 18 incidents or 21 reports demonstrated “unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics.” The report authors described some of these unusual characteristics as “remaining stationary in winds aloft, moving against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or moving at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion.”

“After the recent release of the ODNI report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), the scientific community needs the determination to systematically, scientifically, and transparently look for potential evidence of extraterrestrial technological equipment,” said Dr. Loeb in a press release. “The impact of any discovery of extraterrestrial technology on science, our technology, and on our entire world view would be enormous.”

With over three decades of Ivy League professorship, Loeb boasts a gaudy academic pedigree, including having served as the longest-reigning chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy (2011-2020), contributions to over 900 peer-reviewed academic papers, and being a member of the President’s Trump’s 2020 Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In 2012, Loeb was recognized by Time magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential People in Space,” his photograph appearing alongside Elon Musk. 

Loeb also bears the distinction of being one of the most controversial figures in space science. 

In 2018, Loeb caused quite a stir in the scientific community when he and co-author Shmuel Bialy published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters asserting that the first interstellar object ever to be detected passing through our solar system in October 2017, ‘Oumuamua, could have been an artificial extraterrestrial object. 

The greater scientific community has primarily criticized Loeb for claiming that ‘Oumuamua could have originated from some advanced ET civilization. In a prior interview with The Debrief, Dr. Paul M. Sutter, a research professor at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University and author of How to Die in Space: A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena, said, “Dr. Loeb is making a giant claim based on no evidence. Just because we don’t understand something, it doesn’t mean we get to declare it’s aliens. Lack of evidence does not give you the license to assert whatever you want. That’s not how science works.”

In response to these criticisms, Loeb has only become more entrenched and vocal in his views on ‘Oumuamua. 

In 2020, Loeb and Harvard Ph.D. candidate Thiem Hoang published another paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, disputing one explanation that ‘Oumuamua was a large chunk of Hydrogen ice. In his recently published book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, Loeb outlines his reasoning for affirming ‘Oumuamua could be humanity’s first evidence for not being alone, while simultaneously chastising the scientific community for being dogmatically closed-minded to the idea. 

In addition to the Pentagon’s interest in mysterious objects seen flying about U.S. airspace, the Galileo Project ties in some of the still unresolved aspects of ‘Oumuamua in justifying serious scientific scrutiny of “unidentified aerial phenomena.” 

“The existing data on UAP and ‘Oumuamua are sufficiently anomalous to motivate the collection of additional data on UAP or ‘Oumuamua-like objects and to test whether such objects may be Astro-archeological artifacts or active technological equipment produced by one or more putative, existing or extinct extraterrestrial civilizations (ETCs),” the press release by the Galileo Project reads. 

Artist’s concept of interstellar object 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system. The aspect ratio of up to 10:1 is unlike that of any object previously seen in our own solar system.

Image Credit: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser

The goal of the Galileo Project will be to “identify the nature of UAP and ‘Oumuamua-like interstellar objects using the standard scientific method based on a transparent analysis of open scientific data to be collected using optimized instruments.” 

Currently, the team of scientists says they plan on following three primary avenues of research in their pursuit of finding evidence of alien technology. 

The first scientific thrust will involve obtaining “high-resolution, multi-detector UAP images” in hopes of “discovering their nature.” Researchers say they plan on achieving this goal by searching for UAP using a network of high-fidelity telescopes and detector arrays that will be distributed in select locations. 

Additionally, press materials from the Galileo Project say, “We anticipate extensive Artificial Intelligence/Deep Learning (AI/DL) and algorithmic approaches to differentiate atmospheric phenomena from birds, balloons, commercial or consumer drones, and from potential technological objects of terrestrial or other origin surveying our planet, such as satellites.” 

While many have criticized the Department of Defense’s unwillingness to share evidence collected by military sensors on UAP, the Galileo Project says their data “will be open to the public and the scientific analysis will be transparent.” 

The Galileo Project says it also intends to “design advanced algorithmic and AI/DL object recognition and fast filtering methods in hopes of discovering “potential one meter-scale or smaller ETC [extraterrestrial civilization] satellites that may be exploring Earth. 

Finally, peering a little further out into space, the Galileo Project says it aims to use existing and future astronomical surveys to discover and monitor potential “‘Oumuamua-like interstellar objects” that might pass through the solar system.   

In an email to The Debrief, Loeb clarified that the new project’s main goal will be examining possible extraterrestrial technologies that come within or near the Earth’s atmosphere. “The search for technosignatures on planets around other stars by telescopes like JWST [James Webb Space Telescope] involve detection of signals carried by light, such as industrial pollution or flashes from light beams. Instead, the Galileo Project focuses on physical objects that arrive close to Earth,” said Loeb.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

(Image Source: The European Space Agency)

Although the Galileo Project is not shying away from studying “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” a topic that is considered still largely taboo by many in mainstream science, researchers say they will not be engaging in any retroactive analysis of existing images, radar data, observations, or anecdotal reports of past claimed UAP events. “These are not conducive to cross-validated, evidence-based scientific explanations,”said Galileo Project co-founder, Frank Laukien. 

Similarly, during a press conference on Monday, Loeb and Laukien, both seemingly dismissed the idea of working with the Pentagon’s ongoing UAP investigations. “Most of the [military] data  is not available because it has been collected by classified systems,” explained Loeb. “We don’t want access to classified data. We want to be transparent and provide data that is completely open to the public.” 

Another prominent advocate for the serious study of UAP, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Christopher Mellon, told The Debrief  there was benefit to seeing coordination between the U.S. Government and independent scientific groups like the Galileo Project. 

“Although this is first and foremost a national security issue,” said Mellon in a text message, “ an independent scientific panel should be formed and given access to the classified information to help broaden the discussion and overcome the unfortunate but inevitable distrust many people have of information supplied by the USG on this issue” 

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

13-02-2026 om 23:55 geschreven door peter  

On Monday, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the launch of a new project aimed at finding scientific proof for the existence of extraterrestrial technology. Dubbed the Galileo Project, the international team of researchers says part of their hunt for ET technology will include examining reports of “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP), more commonly known as UFOs. 

“The goal of the Galileo Project is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated, and systematic scientific research,” a press release issued by the Galileo Project reads. 

Heading up the program is one of the most well-known advocates of searching for intelligent alien life within our Solar System, Harvard professor of astronomy, Dr. Abraham “Avi” Loeb. Flanking Loeb is a team of researchers and advisors that hail from a staggering list of prestigious academic institutions including, Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge, Caltech, Yale, Arizona State, University of North Carolina, and Stockholm University. 

The Debrief has previously provided extensive coverage on the scientific community’s growing interest in targeting alien technology, including NASA funding research specific to locating extraterrestrial “technosignatures.” However, these endeavors are almost exclusively focused on detecting alien technology lurking deep out in the cosmos. 

In contrast, the Galileo Project is the first scientific endeavor to explicitly say not only does it intend to explore possible alien artifacts in our near Solar System, but the program also intends to examine the recent resurgence of UFO or UAP reports as potential evidence that advanced alien life may already be here on Earth. 

According to press materials provided by the Galileo Project, the impetus for exploring whether UFO sightings here on Earth could represent advanced alien technology is primarily spurred by the U.S. Department of Defense’s renewed interest in the subject of “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” 

In the past few years, the Pentagon has publicly released several videos captured by Navy pilots showing what it says are “aerial phenomena that remain unexplained.” The DoD has also formed an officially sanctioned “UAP Task Force,” and at the end of June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its highly anticipated “Preliminary Assessment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” 

According to the ODNI report, task force investigators could only identify one incident out of 144 military reports of claimed UAP encounters as having a prosaic explanation. Of those nearly 150 reports, ODNI said, 18 incidents or 21 reports demonstrated “unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics.” The report authors described some of these unusual characteristics as “remaining stationary in winds aloft, moving against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or moving at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion.”

“After the recent release of the ODNI report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), the scientific community needs the determination to systematically, scientifically, and transparently look for potential evidence of extraterrestrial technological equipment,” said Dr. Loeb in a press release. “The impact of any discovery of extraterrestrial technology on science, our technology, and on our entire world view would be enormous.”

With over three decades of Ivy League professorship, Loeb boasts a gaudy academic pedigree, including having served as the longest-reigning chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy (2011-2020), contributions to over 900 peer-reviewed academic papers, and being a member of the President’s Trump’s 2020 Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In 2012, Loeb was recognized by Time magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential People in Space,” his photograph appearing alongside Elon Musk. 

Loeb also bears the distinction of being one of the most controversial figures in space science. 

In 2018, Loeb caused quite a stir in the scientific community when he and co-author Shmuel Bialy published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters asserting that the first interstellar object ever to be detected passing through our solar system in October 2017, ‘Oumuamua, could have been an artificial extraterrestrial object. 

The greater scientific community has primarily criticized Loeb for claiming that ‘Oumuamua could have originated from some advanced ET civilization. In a prior interview with The Debrief, Dr. Paul M. Sutter, a research professor at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University and author of How to Die in Space: A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena, said, “Dr. Loeb is making a giant claim based on no evidence. Just because we don’t understand something, it doesn’t mean we get to declare it’s aliens. Lack of evidence does not give you the license to assert whatever you want. That’s not how science works.”

In response to these criticisms, Loeb has only become more entrenched and vocal in his views on ‘Oumuamua. 

In 2020, Loeb and Harvard Ph.D. candidate Thiem Hoang published another paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, disputing one explanation that ‘Oumuamua was a large chunk of Hydrogen ice. In his recently published book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, Loeb outlines his reasoning for affirming ‘Oumuamua could be humanity’s first evidence for not being alone, while simultaneously chastising the scientific community for being dogmatically closed-minded to the idea. 

In addition to the Pentagon’s interest in mysterious objects seen flying about U.S. airspace, the Galileo Project ties in some of the still unresolved aspects of ‘Oumuamua in justifying serious scientific scrutiny of “unidentified aerial phenomena.” 

“The existing data on UAP and ‘Oumuamua are sufficiently anomalous to motivate the collection of additional data on UAP or ‘Oumuamua-like objects and to test whether such objects may be Astro-archeological artifacts or active technological equipment produced by one or more putative, existing or extinct extraterrestrial civilizations (ETCs),” the press release by the Galileo Project reads. 

Artist’s concept of interstellar object 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system. The aspect ratio of up to 10:1 is unlike that of any object previously seen in our own solar system.

Image Credit: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser

The goal of the Galileo Project will be to “identify the nature of UAP and ‘Oumuamua-like interstellar objects using the standard scientific method based on a transparent analysis of open scientific data to be collected using optimized instruments.” 

Currently, the team of scientists says they plan on following three primary avenues of research in their pursuit of finding evidence of alien technology. 

The first scientific thrust will involve obtaining “high-resolution, multi-detector UAP images” in hopes of “discovering their nature.” Researchers say they plan on achieving this goal by searching for UAP using a network of high-fidelity telescopes and detector arrays that will be distributed in select locations. 

Additionally, press materials from the Galileo Project say, “We anticipate extensive Artificial Intelligence/Deep Learning (AI/DL) and algorithmic approaches to differentiate atmospheric phenomena from birds, balloons, commercial or consumer drones, and from potential technological objects of terrestrial or other origin surveying our planet, such as satellites.” 

While many have criticized the Department of Defense’s unwillingness to share evidence collected by military sensors on UAP, the Galileo Project says their data “will be open to the public and the scientific analysis will be transparent.” 

The Galileo Project says it also intends to “design advanced algorithmic and AI/DL object recognition and fast filtering methods in hopes of discovering “potential one meter-scale or smaller ETC [extraterrestrial civilization] satellites that may be exploring Earth. 

Finally, peering a little further out into space, the Galileo Project says it aims to use existing and future astronomical surveys to discover and monitor potential “‘Oumuamua-like interstellar objects” that might pass through the solar system.   

In an email to The Debrief, Loeb clarified that the new project’s main goal will be examining possible extraterrestrial technologies that come within or near the Earth’s atmosphere. “The search for technosignatures on planets around other stars by telescopes like JWST [James Webb Space Telescope] involve detection of signals carried by light, such as industrial pollution or flashes from light beams. Instead, the Galileo Project focuses on physical objects that arrive close to Earth,” said Loeb.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

(Image Source: The European Space Agency)

Although the Galileo Project is not shying away from studying “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” a topic that is considered still largely taboo by many in mainstream science, researchers say they will not be engaging in any retroactive analysis of existing images, radar data, observations, or anecdotal reports of past claimed UAP events. “These are not conducive to cross-validated, evidence-based scientific explanations,”said Galileo Project co-founder, Frank Laukien. 

Similarly, during a press conference on Monday, Loeb and Laukien, both seemingly dismissed the idea of working with the Pentagon’s ongoing UAP investigations. “Most of the [military] data  is not available because it has been collected by classified systems,” explained Loeb. “We don’t want access to classified data. We want to be transparent and provide data that is completely open to the public.” 

Another prominent advocate for the serious study of UAP, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Christopher Mellon, told The Debrief  there was benefit to seeing coordination between the U.S. Government and independent scientific groups like the Galileo Project. 

“Although this is first and foremost a national security issue,” said Mellon in a text message, “ an independent scientific panel should be formed and given access to the classified information to help broaden the discussion and overcome the unfortunate but inevitable distrust many people have of information supplied by the USG on this issue” 

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

13-02-2026 om 23:55 geschreven door peter  

In 1966, the Soviet Union made history when its Luna 9 mission placed the first object built by humans on the surface of the Moon, broadcasting imagery back to Earth following its successful soft landing.

Despite the safe touchdown of Luna 9’s lander capsule, some questions have lingered about the Soviet spacecraft’s historic mission: namely, its final resting place, which remains unknown.

That could be about to change, however. With the help of artificial intelligence, an international team of researchers has identified several locations on the Moon they believe could finally reveal the location of the “lost” spacecraft.

Among these possible landing sites, one location near lunar N latitude 7.02907° and longitude -64.32867° is particularly promising, revealing a large crater with a bright area near one of its edges, which is surrounded by several other impact features, which researchers say may represent “potential spacecraft hardware objects” left behind by the 1966 mission. The team’s findings were published in npj Space Exploration.

A Cold War-Era Mystery

Luna 9’s historic 1966 lunar landing marked the first instance where a piece of human-built hardware had been placed on the surface of a celestial body beyond Earth.

By modern standards, the Luna 9 landing was hectic, with the spacecraft tumbling along the lunar surface on built-in shock absorbers before finally settling in its final resting place, where it remained operational for only a matter of days. During that roughly 36-hour window, the spacecraft successfully transmitted important information back to Earth, setting the pace for space exploration in the coming years that would eventually bring the first humans to the Moon.

Above: A replica of the Luna 9 spacecraft, as seen in the Museum of Air and Space in Paris, France

(Image Credit: Wikimedia/Pline/CC 3.0)

Despite high-resolution imagery of the lunar surface that has been readily available since the deployment of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) in 2009, no confirmed detection of the Luna 9 landing site has been made. One reason for this involves the original calculations made about the spacecraft’s 1966 landing, which were far from exact. By some estimates, the location of Luna 9 could be as much as several dozen kilometers away from the general area where the spacecraft is believed to have landed.

Rediscovering a Lost Soviet Spacecraft

In recent research led by Lewis Pinault at University College London, along with colleagues Hajime Yano and Ian Crawford, artificial intelligence was used to narrow down possible locations of the “missing” Luna 9 lander.

Enter the intriguingly-named “You-Only-Look-Once – Extraterrestrial Artefact” (YOLO-ETA), which the researchers describe as a lightweight computer imaging system adapted from TinyYOLOv2, an architecture designed to detect human-built objects, such as spacecraft, in high-resolution LROC images.

Above: possible locations where artificial objects, detected using YOLO-ETA, may indicate the landing site of the Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft

(Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/npj Space Exploration, Pinault, et al)

“Applying the model to a 5 × 5 km region surrounding the historically uncertain Luna 9 landing area yielded several high-confidence detections of artificial objects near 7.03° N, –64.33° E,” the researchers report. “Topographic analysis indicates that the candidate site’s horizon geometry is potentially consistent with Luna 9 surface panoramas.”

Notably, the team was able to determine a primary impact feature, in which a luminous area can be discerned, which they believe may be the final landing place of Luna 9. In the surrounding area, several additional impacts or other features can also be seen, which may be secondary “hardware objects”—essentially debris left over from the 1966 mission.

The locations Pinault and his colleagues identified appear to be consistent with the kinds of features associated with known spacecraft landings and the disturbances they have caused to the Moon’s surface during past lunar missions.

“These findings identify promising locations for follow-up imaging and demonstrate that compact, edge-deployable machine-learning models can support future orbital surveys of lunar artefacts and surface assets,” the team writes in their paper.

Going forward, Pinault and colleagues believe they YOLO-ETA may be useful “in detecting known lunar artefacts and can assist in the search for undetected historical spacecraft.” Such capabilities, they argue, are of great importance as they will help to support various space agencies’ ability to monitor the lunar surface in the coming years, especially as exploration of Earth’s natural satellite is expected to increase.

For now, the team’s findings remain to be confirmed, though they believe such an opportunity will likely occur as soon as next month, when India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter passes over the region. If YOLO-ETA’s assessment turns out to be correct, it will finally bring a resolution to one of the great unanswered questions of Cold War-era space exploration.

Pinault, Crawford, and Yano’s recent study, “Possible identification of the Luna 9 Moon landing site using a novel machine learning algorithm,” appeared in npj Space Exploration.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

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

13-02-2026 om 23:33 geschreven door peter  

Scientists have captured the astonishing moment a supergiant star collapsed into a black hole.

The now–deceased star, dubbed M31–2014–DS1, was located around 2.5 million light–years from Earth in the neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy.

In 2014, NASA telescopes recorded the distant star brightening briefly before fading out of existence over the next three years.

Now, scientists have realised they had inadvertently watched as the star died, collapsed, and transformed into a black hole.

What makes this observation so exciting for astronomers is that this isn't how black holes were thought form.

Until now, experts have widely believed that black holes form when supermassive stars collapse and die with supernova explosions.

However, M31–2014–DS1's gradual decline into oblivion suggests that stars can actually create a black hole without the enormous explosion. 

Lead author Dr Kishalay De, a researcher from the Flatiron Institute, says: 'It comes as a shock to know that a massive star basically disappeared – and died – without an explosion and nobody noticed it for more than five years.' 

Scientists have captured the astonishing moment a supergiant star collapsed into a black hole 

Instead of exploding into a supernova like other stars of its size, this star failed to explode and was crushed into a small stellar black hole 

When a star is born, it is held in a state of balance as the outward pressure from burning hydrogen matches the inward push of gravity.

But as the star begins to run out of fuel after billions of years, that outward pressure falters, and the star begins to collapse under its own gravity.

If it is at least 10 times bigger than the sun, the core will be crushed into a super–dense, city–sized object known as a neutron star.

At the same time, a wave of energy released from the collapsing core blasts remaining outer layers into space in a supernova explosion – leaving the neutron star behind.

Only stars about 20 times the size of the sun are big enough to form black holes in this way, but scientists have long suspected that there could be a way for smaller stars to form black holes as well.

If something were to stop the star from producing a supernova to blast the outer layers away, all that extra material might fall into the neutron star and turn it into a black hole.

This is exactly what Dr De and his colleagues think they have just seen at M31–2014–DS1.

When this star was born, it was around 13 times the mass of the sun, dwindling to around five solar masses by the end of its life.

The researchers looked through data collected by various telescopes (pictured) and found that the star briefly got brighter in 2014 and then rapidly dimmed below its initial luminosity in 2016 

According to our understanding of stellar life cycles, a star of this size should have exploded with a supernova and produced a neutron star – but this doesn't appear to be what happened.

In their study, the researchers looked at light from M31–2014–DS1 collected by various telescopes between 2005 and 2023.

The star briefly glowed with infrared light in 2014, then suddenly dropped below its original brightness in 2016.

When telescopes looked again in 2022 and 2023, the star was barely visible in most parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The star had essentially vanished in visible and near–infrared light, becoming one ten–thousandth as bright in these wavelengths, and could only be seen in mid–infrared, where it is one tenth as bright.

'This star used to be one of the most luminous stars in the Andromeda Galaxy, and now it was nowhere to be seen,' says Dr De.

'Imagine if the star Betelgeuse suddenly disappeared. Everybody would lose their minds!'

Instead, the researchers argue that the data collected from the star's prolonged fading perfectly matches what we would expect to see from a 'direct collapse' black hole.

The now–deceased star, dubbed M31–2014–DS1, was located around 2.5 million light–years from Earth in the neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy

After the newborn black hole forms, the gases near the core are very hot, while those on the outer edges are relatively cool.

This temperature difference creates a convection current, like the ones you get by turning on the radiators in a cold room.

That current pushed the outer layer of material further from the black hole, where it cooled into a layer of dust that slowly swirls around the core.

As it orbits the black hole, friction causes the dust to gently warm over time, producing the telltale mid–infrared glow spotted by the researchers.  

Like water circling the plug hole, this ensures only a little stellar material can enter the black hole at a time, dragging out its formation over years.

Co–author Morgan MacLeod, of Harvard University, says: 'Instead of taking months or a year to fall in, it's taking decades.

'And because of all this, it becomes a brighter source than it would be otherwise, and we observe a long delay in the dimming of the original star.'

In the future, the researchers hope that this discovery will help astronomers spot more of these elusive black holes.

Already, they have used their data to re–examine a strange object in the galaxy NGC 6946, some 25.2 million light–years from Earth.

READ MORE

• Is this how the world will end? Earth could be VAPORISED by the sun as it expands, scientists warn

This object's behaviour baffled scientists when it was spotted in 2010, but the researchers now think it could have been another star collapsing into a black hole.

'It really impacts our understanding of the inventory of massive stellar deaths in the universe,' says Dr De.

'It says that these things may be quietly happening out there and easily going unnoticed.'

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

13-02-2026 om 23:12 geschreven door peter  

De 10 coolste ondergrondse steden ter wereld

Er zijn verschillende indrukwekkende ondergrondse steden over de wereld waar mensen daadwerkelijk hebben gewoond, zoals Derinkuyu in Turkije en de zoutmijn van Wieliczka in Polen.

1. Derinkuyu, Cappadocië, Turkije

Verreweg de bekendste ondergrondse stad is Derinkuyu in Turkije, onderdeel van het schitterende Cappadocië. In Cappadocië stikt het van de ondergrondse schatten, maar Derinkuyu is met 85 meter de diepste. Het complex bestaat uit verschillende kamers, kerken en wijnkelders, en biedt plek aan maar liefst 20.000 mensen. Ga met een gids naar beneden om het indrukwekkende gangenstelsel te bekijken.

Cappadocië stad, gelegen in het centrum van Turkije, is de thuisbasis van niet minder dan 36 ondergrondse steden, en op een diepte van ca., 85 m, Derinkuyu is de diepste. Ontdekt in 1963, het ondergrondse netwerk van tunnels en kamers omvatten alle instellingen en kamers die u zou vinden in een reguliere stad: woonvertrekken, stallen, kerken, opslagruimtes, refter, en wijnhuizen – en de ondergrondse wordt gezegd dat mogelijk gehouden meer dan 20.000 mensen.

Geopend voor het publiek in 1965, is slechts 10% van de ondergrondse stad toegankelijk voor bezoekers. Uniek aan Derinkuyu is de kruisvormige kerk gelegen tussen het derde en vierde niveau en het gewelfde plafond, aangezien er ter plaatse niet veel informatie rondhangt, boek dan een rondleiding en begin met verkennen.

2. Dixia Cheng, China

Dixia Cheng is de naam van de ondergrondse stad in Beijing en werd aangelegd tijdens de Koude Oorlog. In de jaren 70 werd hier een reusachtig netwerk aan gangen aangelegd, dat toegankelijk was via meer dan 100 geheime ingangen. Het complex bestaat grotendeels uit slaapzalen, ziekenhuizen en scholen en tot voor kort kon je er als toerist een kijkje nemen. Helaas is deze ondergrondse stad nu gesloten voor het publiek en het is onduidelijk wanneer je er weer een kijkje kan nemen.

De ondergrondse stad van Peking, Dixia Cheng, werd gebouwd in de jaren 1970 om te dienen als schuilplaats tijdens invasies, bomaanslagen en nucleaire aanvallen. Het lange netwerk van tunnels, vaak aangeduid als de ondergrondse grote muur, omvatte bijna 100 verborgen ingangen en, naar verluidt, werden gebouwd met complete diensten zoals scholen, ziekenhuizen en slaapzalen voor het geval burgers nodig hadden om hun toevlucht te zoeken voor een langere periode van tijd., Gelukkig was er nooit een gelegenheid voor deze enorme ondergrondse schuilplaats om zijn doel te bereiken, en in 2000 werd de plaats geopend voor het publiek. Een tour omvat slechts een klein rond stuk van het complex, maar is nog steeds het aantrekken van reizigers uit de hele wereld. Dixia Cheng is onder renovatie sinds 2008 en daarom gesloten voor bezoekers, maar zorg ervoor dat u het op uw bucket list te controleren wanneer het heropent op een onbepaalde datum in de toekomst.,

De ingang van de Ondergrondse Stad in Beijing.

3. Wieliczka Zoutmijn, Polen

Op steenworp afstand van de Poolse stad Krakau vind je de Wieliczka Zoutmijn, een van de bekendste attracties van het hele land. Deze 18de eeuwse zoutmijn bestaat uit schitterende kamers en ruimtes vol details en rijkdommen, zoals kroonluchters en beelden. Om er te komen moet je 378 traptreden afdalen en eenmaal beneden nemen gidsen je mee op sleeptouw door dit bijzondere complex.

De Wieliczka zoutmijn ligt in de stad Wieliczka, iets meer dan 9 mijl buiten Krakau.deze ondergrondse zoutstad, een van de grootste toeristische trekpleisters van Polen, is geëvolueerd van een reeks donkere grotten tot een complex labyrint dat nu meer dan 185 indrukwekkende mijl aan galerijen, ongeveer 3000 kamers en negen verdiepingen omvat, waarvan de eerste drie voor het publiek toegankelijk zijn.,

Zodra u de houten trap met 378 treden afdaalt, wordt u begroet met een grote verscheidenheid aan begeleide rondleidingen: als u geïnteresseerd bent in de geschiedenis van de zoutmijn, neem dan de Mijnwerkerstour en krijg inzicht in het moeilijke beroep van een zoutmijnwerker. Als u meer wilt weten over de religieuze aspecten, kunt u ook deelnemen aan de Pelgrimstour met een bezoek aan het zoutbeeld van Johannes Paulus II en een Heilige Mis aan het einde van de tour.,

Ondergrondse Zoutmijn Polen

4. Seattle, Verenigde Staten

De ondergrondse stad van Seattle is ontstaan toen het straatniveau halverwege de 19de eeuw een paar meter werd verhoogd. De voordeuren werden naar boven geplaatst en de benedenverdiepingen gingen dienst doen als een kelder. Tijdens een Underground Tour kun je een kijkje nemen op het vroegere straatniveau en krijg je een goed beeld van hoe de huizen er vroeger hebben uitgezien. Een boeiende tocht die leidt langs historische gevels die elk hun eigen versie van de geschiedenis vertellen.

5.  Réso, Canada

Houd je niet zo van stoffige en slecht verlichte ruimtes? Dan kun je beter koers zetten naar Réso in de Canadese stad Montreal. Dit is een van de meest geavanceerde ondergrondse complexen ter wereld en de perfecte plek om te schuilen op een druilerige dag. Het hypermoderne Réso omvat een reusachtig ondergronds complex, bestaande uit winkelcentra, musea, theaters, schoolgebouwen en hotels. De totale lengte is 33 kilometer en beslaat een gebied van 12 vierkante kilometer.

RÉSO, afgeleid van het Franse woord réseau, wat netwerk betekent, is een van de hoekstenen van Montreal. Dit gigantische doolhof loopt onder de straten van Montreal in en rond het centrum en herbergt een breed scala aan winkels, restaurants, hotels, galeries, zeven metrohaltes, bioscopen, een bibliotheek en zelfs appartementengebouwen.,

de eerste onderling verbonden trajecten werden in 1962 aangelegd met als doel het verkeer te verlichten en een beschut vervoer te bieden, vooral handig tijdens het barre winterseizoen. Sinds de metro van Montreal in 1966 in gebruik is genomen, zijn er meer verbindingen toegevoegd en vandaag de dag bestaat RÉSO uit 20 mijl tunnels met meer dan 120 externe toegangspunten. Naast winkelen kunt u ook de permanente kunstwerken, openbare pleinen en culturele centra bekijken. Als u alle verborgen plekken wilt ontdekken, boek dan een rondleiding en begin te wandelen.,

Reso, Canada

6. Shanghai Tunnels, Portland, Verenigde Staten

Portland heeft zijn eigen ondergrondse stad bekend als de Shanghai Tunnels, of de minder voorkomende naam: de Portland Underground. Dit ingewikkelde netwerk zou ooit bestaan uit tunnelgangen die Portland ‘ s Old Town, ook bekend als Chinatown, verbinden met het centrale centrum., Helaas zijn veel van deze ondergrondse ruimtes opgevuld tijdens verschillende openbare werken projecten, maar een paar van hen zijn er nog steeds en open om te verkennen.vroeger waren de kelders van vele bars en hotels via deze tunnels verbonden met de rivier de Willamette, waardoor voorraden van aangemeerde schepen direct naar kelders konden worden verplaatst voor opslag, waardoor regen en zwaar verkeer werden vermeden. Hoewel nog steeds een controversieel onderwerp, het gerucht gaat dat de tunnels zijn ook gebruikt voor de praktijk van “shanghaiing”: het ontvoeren van mensen voor hen om te dienen als matrozen.,maar, vrees niet, vandaag kunt u een veilige wandeling maken en een deel van de Shanghai Tunnels verkennen om een idee te krijgen van het complexe netwerk van tunnels, en een begrip van de zeemijl geschiedenis rond Portland.

7. Coober Pedy, Australië

De Cappadociërs groeven zich in voor de veiligheid, maar in Australië gingen mensen de diepte in voor geld. Opaal, om precies te zijn. In het roestrode landschap rond Coober Pedy, 846 kilometer boven Adelaide, bleek je die edelsteen gewoon uit te kunnen graven.

’s Zomers kan het in deze woestijn wel 45 graden Celsius in de schaduw worden (en succes met schaduw vinden), maar ondergronds hangt de temperatuur het hele jaar rond de 24 graden. Dat was zo comfortabel, dat de opaaldelvers voor zichzelf woonvertrekken uitgroeven (‘dug-outs’), en daarna tunnels, winkels, opslag en zelfs een kapel. Nog steeds woont ongeveer de helft van de 1762 bewoners ondergronds.

Naast opaal draait het ondergrondse dorp natuurlijk ook op toeristen. Geen wonder dat de oorspronkelijke Kokatha-bewoners deze rare zandhoop kupa piti noemden: ‘witte man in een gat in de grond’.

Ondergrondse servisch-orthodoxe kerk in Coober Pedy.

8. Edinburgh Vaults, Edinburgh, Verenigd Koninkrijk

Onder de straten van de Schotse hoofdstad ligt een donkere en vochtige wereld, daterend uit de 18e eeuw. De Edinburgh Vaults, ook bekend als de South Bridge Vaults, zijn een reeks kamers gevormd binnen de 19 bogen van South Bridge.,geopend in 1788, een periode van grote expansie en groei, de gewelven dateren uit de tijd dat Edinburgh een bijgelovige plaats was. Vandaag de dag stralen ze nog steeds een gevoel van gore en afgrijselijkheid uit. Oorspronkelijk gebouwd om tavernes, schoenmakers, Snijders, smelters en andere handelaren te huisvesten, en om illegale materialen op te slaan, geruchten gaan dat seriemoordenaars Burke en Hare ook verschillende lichamen hier beneden opbergen, die ze verkochten voor medische experimenten., Later, toen de bedrijven verhuisden, werden de gewelven de thuisbasis van de armste zielen van de stad, een achterbuurt compleet met pubs en bordelen verspreid over de natte kamers. Een plek zo grimmig dat elke rosse buurt van vandaag mooi en knus lijkt.duik onder Edinburgh ‘ s sierlijke oppervlak en luister naar de rillende verhalen van de gids over de spoken die nog steeds rondzwerven.,

9. Setenil de las Bodegas, Spanje

In tegenstelling tot sommige van de andere plaatsen op deze lijst, is Setenil de las Bodegas, een pueblo (kleine stad) in Zuid-Spanje, geen ondergrondse stad op zich, maar ligt het onder massieve overhangen van rotsen. Gelegen langs een smalle rivierkloof die is geërodeerd door de rivier de Rio Trejo, zijn de huizen gebouwd in en onder de muren van de kloof zelf., Mensen vestigden zich hier eigenlijk om praktische redenen: om de zomerhitte en de kou in de winter buiten te houden, bouwden ze alleen de gevel van het huis, terwijl de achterkant door de natuur werd afgeschermd.hoewel het klein is, heeft Setenil de las Bodegas een groot aanbod: bezoek de kleine tapasbars die onder de kloof liggen en proef lokale lekkernijen zoals chorizo, olijfolie, honing, jam en Andalusische wijn. En als je een natuurliefhebber bent, wandel dan langs El Escarpe de Río Trejo, een gebied van natuurlijke diversiteit, of Ruta De los Bandoleros, die vele romantische legendes inspireerde.,

10. Pilsen Historical Underground, Czech Republic

De stad Pilsen, in het westelijke deel van het land, is de thuisbasis van Pilsen Historical Underground, een labyrint van 12.5 mijl lang met gangen, kelders en putten die onder de stad zijn gebouwd straten in de 14e eeuw. Deze kelders dienden ooit als opslagruimte voor voedsel en vaten bier en, sommigen zeggen, als een ontsnappingsroute in geval van een aanval., Volgens de legende is er een schat begraven binnen de keldermuren, hoewel plundering wordt afgeraden.

Neem een rondleiding en verken dit ingenieuze ondergrondse systeem; hoogtepunten zijn onder andere de Ijskelder, de watertoren en de tentoonstelling over middeleeuwse boekbinden. De tour eindigt bij het Brouwerijmuseum, waar u het beroemde lokale Pilsner Urquell bier kunt proeven.,

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13-02-2026 om 22:22 geschreven door peter  

Lighting up the pre-dawn sky, the Falcon 9 streaked away on a northeasterly trajectory aligned with the space station's orbit, on course for docking Saturday around 3:15 p.m. to boost the lab's crew from three back to a full complement of seven.

"It turns out Friday the 13th is a very lucky day," SpaceX Launch Control radioed once the crew reached orbit.

"That was quite a ride," Meir responded. 

Crew 12 originally expected to take off after four other astronauts ventured to the moon and back in NASA's Artemis II mission. But the moonshot was delayed to early March because of hydrogen fuel leaks in that crew's huge Space Launch System rocket. That, in turn, cleared the way for NASA to move up Crew 12's launch to Feb. 11.

But high winds off shore in the Atlantic Ocean, where the Crew 12 fliers would have to splash down in an ascent emergency, then prompted NASA to stand down until Friday, when calmer seas and lower winds were predicted.

While Crew 12 made final preparations to fly, engineers ran another test at nearby pad 39B Thursday to check the effectiveness of new seals in an umbilical connecting fuel lines to the SLS moon rocket. The seals are intended to prevent the sort of hydrogen leakage seen during a "wet-dress rehearsal" countdown Feb. 2.

NASA did not publicize the test, but the agency said later it did not go as planned because of what sources described as a frozen filter in ground equipment.

The trouble will have to be addressed before engineers can attempt a re-test of the new seals, followed by another full-up dress rehearsal fueling test to clear the way for launch as early as March 3.

Replacement crew sets sights on space station, boosting staff back to seven

In the near-term, Crew 12 has its sights set on joining space station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, fellow cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who were launched to the lab last November aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry ship. They will help the new crew get up to speed on the intricacies of station operations.

Meir and Fedyaev won't need much help because both are station veterans. Their crewmates are making their first trip to orbit, but Hathaway and Adenot bring a wide variety of operational experience to the table.

Hathaway is a veteran F/A-18E fighter pilot with more than 500 aircraft carrier landings to his credit while Adenot is a French air force helicopter test pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying time under her belt. She's also an experienced sky and SCUBA diver and a certified yoga instructor.

Meir holds a Ph.D. in marine biology and participated in three all-female spacewalks during her first station stay in 2019-20. She and Fedyaev are looking forward to helping their rookie crewmates quickly get up to speed when they get to the ISS.

"Both of us are really excited to bring our past experiences and expertise to the very first flight for (Hathaway and Adenot)," she said. "We love this kind of balance that we have, of two veterans and two rookies, to hit the ground running when we get aboard the International Space Station."

Fedyaev, who flew to the space station aboard a Crew Dragon in 2023, was added to Crew 12 in December after veteran cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was removed. reportedly for violating security restrictions during training at SpaceX's Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said only that Artemyev was reassigned to other work.

Fedyaev's prior experience and training with SpaceX and NASA enabled him to join Crew 12 with little impact on launch preparations.

Early return of one station crew prompts accelerated launch of replacements    

Crew 12 is replacing Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman, co-pilot Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Crew 11 originally was expected to return to Earth around Feb. 20, after a "handover" with their Crew 12 replacements.

But NASA ordered Cardman and company back to Earth on Jan. 15 after one of the Crew 11 fliers experienced an undisclosed medical issue. Crew 11 came down safely and all four crew members appeared healthy and in good spirits at a post-flight news conference.

But their departure left the station with a single NASA astronaut aboard -- Williams -- to operate systems in the U.S. segment of the complex. It also brought NASA research to a virtual standstill.

"What it means is, really, there's just fewer hands on board to do some of the work," said space station Program Manager Dina Contella.

"On the U.S. operating segment, if we were to have a major failure, then we would like to have a second USOS crew member to be able to go out and perform a complex spacewalk."

At present, she said, there are no major problems aboard the space station. Even so, NASA asked SpaceX to move the Crew 12 launch up by a few days to get the station crew back to full strength as soon as possible.

Before the Artemis II launch was delayed, NASA was planning a ship-to-ship call between the moon-bound astronauts and the space station crew. That should still be possible despite the moon mission delay.

Crew members face busy schedule in orbit    

Meir certainly hopes so, because her partner during those all-female spacewalks was Artemis II crew member Christina Koch. And her astronaut class included Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, and she said she's close friends with commander Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

"I would be really excited to be able to talk to Christina, and also my classmate Victor Glover and kind of my astronaut uncles, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen," she said before the moon mission slipped to March. "We're all very excited to be all in space at the same time."

But mostly, Meir is looking forward to the science her crew will conduct during a roughly eight-month stay aboard the space station.

"We will do experiments ranging from bone and muscle health, (studying) our blood flow, what's going on in all of these systems during the changes that we experience in microgravity," she said.

"There's an experiment that's looking at the small muscles in our necks and how they can support us in different gravitational phases. There will be images of our brains taken pre- and post-flight to look at any changes to the brain that happened during microgravity and space missions."

The astronauts will continue ongoing studies of how microgravity affects the vision of some long-duration fliers, apparently by changing the shape of the eye over time. Interestingly, those changes are not always for the worst.

Meir said she needed glasses before her first flight, but her vision improved to 20-15 over the course of her stay in space.

"Pretty interesting for me, it actually turned out to be quite advantageous," she said. "But of course, we're studying this really thoroughly, because we want to make sure that we don't have any long-term damage to astronauts' vision, or to the eyes themselves.

"The good thing is, we haven't seen any deficits long-term that exist beyond the missions, but we need to collect more data."

The crew will also test a new exercise machine developed by the European Space Agency that's designed to help astronauts stay fit during future flights to the moon and Mars. And they will work with landing simulator software to learn more about how microgravity might affect astronauts setting down on the moon or Mars.

"We even have a new experiment called Relax Pro that Sophie and I will be participating in that's looking at meditation and mindfulness and how that can benefit astronauts on space missions," Meir said.

But it won't be all work. Meir is bringing a piccolo with her and Fedyaev plans to play a harmonica he brought aboard on his first flight.

Along with the harmonica, "there were three guitars during our previous mission on board, Fedyaev said. "We used to sing together, and it was like karaoke.

"We sang different languages, or I would play the guitar, and everybody would sing the words from the song they looked up online. So we will probably meet and play our musical instruments and maybe actually give a concert!"

Adenot will be the second French woman to fly in space. Physician Claudie Haigneré, one of seven French astronauts chosen in 1985, spent 16 days aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1996. Adenot said Haigneré has acted as a sort of mentor for her and planned to attend the Crew 12 launch.

"I remember very well the first launch of Claudie Haigneré," Adenot said. "I was 14 years old, and that day it kind of clicked in my mind. She was the first French woman astronaut flying to space and before, only men.

"And you know, when you're a teenager, you're just looking for inspiration, and if someone has done it already, then it clicks in your mind: say, if a woman has done it already, then why not me?"

Meir also dreamed of spaceflight when she was a child and said she can't wait to get back aboard the space station.

"When I flew last time, I did not have a husband and a child, and now I have both," she said. "At the end of my seven months, last time, I actually wanted to stay longer, I wasn't ready to come home. And this time, perhaps will feel a little bit different since I'll be leaving my three-year-old back here.

"But everything that we're doing on board the space station is so exciting, it keeps us going, keeps us invigorated, and it's easy to not miss things back at home.

"I hope that what we're doing will be exciting enough and important enough, noteworthy enough, that one day when she's old enough, she'll appreciate that time away."

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{ https://www.cbsnews.com/ }

13-02-2026 om 20:32 geschreven door peter  

Major questions the Bible leaves unanswered

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Major questions the Bible leaves unanswered
The Bible remains the best-selling book of all time, but to this day scholars and theologists debate on a number of inconsistencies. Indeed, many parts of the Bible have been confirmed to be true by science. As for others, well, not quite. In fact, some parts of the Bible remain a complete mystery. Curious to learn what the biggest unanswered questions in the Bible are? Then click through!

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1. The location of the Garden of Eden
The original home of Adam and Eve, from where they were cast out by God, remains one of the mysterious locations in the Bible.

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The location of the Garden of Eden
It is true that the whole story can be interpreted as a metaphor, but what if one interprets it literally? Where would the Garden of Eden be located, after all? We can find some hints in Genesis 2.

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The location of the Garden of Eden
Genesis 2:10 says that, “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers” (the specific wording depends on the Bible translation). And then it mentions their names: Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel (the Tigris), and Phirat (the Euphrates).

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The location of the Garden of Eden
This hint has led to speculations that the Garden of Eden was located either in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and Kuwait), or modern-day Turkey or Armenia. Though the specific location has, thus far, not been located.

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2. There are two creation stories
In Genesis 1, God creates male and female at the same time. But then, in the very next chapter, Genesis 2, God created a woman from a man’s rib.

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There are two creation stories
Not only that, but even God himself is described as having two different names: Elohim in the first account, and YHWH in the second.

Metaphorical interpretation aside, there are indeed two different versions of the creation story. Sure, these may have been an editorial mistake when putting the Bible together, but still, which story should we trust and why?

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3. Who were the "sons of God?"
Genesis 6:2 says that, “The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” So who were these “sons of God,” after all?

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Who were the "sons of God?"
There are various interpretations of who the "sons of God" were. Some theories point to fallen angels, while others say they might be the descendants of Seth (one of Adam and Eve's children). The Bible, however, doesn’t really tell us who they were for sure.

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4. What really happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
The Ark of the Covenant, which is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, contains the Ten Commandments tablets. But whatever happened to such an important piece of Biblical history?

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What really happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
There is a theory that the Ark ended up in Ethiopia and it’s in Aksum today, where it’s guarded by a monk. Other theories point to the Ark being hidden somewhere beneath Jerusalem. To this day, no one has found it.

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5. Who is Lucifer?
He’s Satan, right? Well, there’s more to it, actually. Isaiah 14:12-17 mentions the story of Lucifer, however, you won’t find any connection to Satan or the Devil. Just that he’s a fallen angel who was cast down to earth by God for wanting to be above him.

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Who is Lucifer?
But then Luke 10:18-20 mentions Satan falling "like lightning from heaven." So, yes, it seems like Lucifer and Satan fell down from heaven, but are they the same? It is possible that the connection between the two was made after the Bible was written.

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Who is Lucifer?
So, who is Lucifer, after all? Some theories point to the hypothesis that Lucifer was a reference to a Babylonian ruler. Another theory says that Lucifer was simply the Latin word for “morning star,” but the truth is that no one knows for sure

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6. What happened during the "lost years" of Jesus?
Not much is documented in the Bible about Jesus’ so-called "lost years." So what was Jesus up to between the ages of 12 and 30, after all?

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What happened during the "lost years" of Jesus?
Some theories say Jesus stayed in Nazareth, while others say he went to study elsewhere. Locations range from Alexandria, in Egypt, to India.

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What happened during the "lost years" of Jesus?
It is possible that Jesus studied with the Jewish mystic group the Essenes, or that he traveled as far as Britain with his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, who was a tin trader. The truth is that there is no solid evidence of any of these hypotheses.

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7. How did humanity multiply?
Okay, so Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and went on to have babies. But then for humans to multiply they had to intermarry, right? After all, there were no other humans around.

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How did humanity multiply?
Not only does it sound wrong, but scientifically speaking this wouldn’t have worked out. We need genetic diversity to thrive as healthy humans. So what gives?

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How did humanity multiply?
Well, one theory says that God either prevented genetic disorders that would likely happen from incestuous relationships, or that, indeed, he created more than two humans.

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8. What happened to the lost tribes of Israel?
Both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah were formed by 12 tribes of Hebrew people. While there is historical evidence of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (which formed the Kingdom of Judah and are considered the ancestors of modern Jews), the remaining 10 tribes are not well documented.

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What happened to the lost tribes of Israel?
The tribes were reportedly overtaken by Assyria and exiled from the Kingdom of Israel. But where did they go? Some theories say they traveled to Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopia, and even as far as Asia and North America.

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What happened to the lost tribes of Israel?
It is also possible that they merged with other non-Hebraic cultures and their traditions faded away over the years. Despite all the theories, no one knows for sure what happened to the lost tribes of Israel.

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9. Where is Noah’s Ark?
It is true that the Great Flood might have happened (though not on a global scale as the Bible mentions). But if Noah’s Ark did, too, what happened to it?

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Where is Noah’s Ark?
Over the years, numerous theories have emerged, and 'evidence' has been found, though none was robust enough or indeed conclusive.

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Where is Noah’s Ark?
One example includes wooden fragments discovered on Turkey's Mount Ararat. Being made of wood, it’s very possible that if the Ark ever existed, it rotted and disappeared over the years.

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10. What happened to Enoch and Elijah?
The Bible says that Enoch (the father of the 969-year-old Methuselah), one of the 'two witnesses,' "walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." But what does that mean? Did he die? Did he join God in heaven?

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What happened to Enoch and Elijah?
According to Kings 2 2:1, Elijah, the other witness, who was a prophet, “Went up by a whirlwind into heaven” in a chariot of fire. If indeed this was a description of his death, why did he ascend to heaven? He was a man, after all.

Sources: (Grunge)

See also: Is purgatory mentioned in the Bible?

{ Stars Insider }

13-02-2026 om 18:40 geschreven door peter  

Amazing close-up footage of a Dark UFO Over Dundee, OR, USA Feb 9, 2026, UAP Sighting Paranormal News.

Date of sighting: February 9, 2026

Location of sighting: Dundee, Oregon, USA

Source: NUFORC

 

Hey guys, check this out. This is a dark UFO seen over Oregon this week and it's the most amazing 20 seconds ever! The object has two fork like arms sticking out and it follows in the direction those arms are pointing. Also this was caught in broad daylight so wow! Such rare footage, but I wonder...could it be a high tech US military drone or an alien ship sent to scan and record the inhabitants of Oregon? I feel it's alien...thats my personal opinion. Tell me your thoughts of this on my video by clicking the video below and writing on Youtube comments what you think is going on in Oregon.

Scott C. Waring - Back in Taiwan

 

Eyewitness states: 

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

13-02-2026 om 15:03 geschreven door peter