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

13-12-2025 om 21:06 geschreven door peter  

Zijn UFO’s het gevolg van menselijke misverstanden? De onopgeloste mysteries achter de X-Files

Introductie

Al decennia lang blijft de wereld geboeid door mysterieuze waarnemingen in de lucht, bekend als UFO’s, oftewel “Unidentified Flying Objects.” Deze term verwijst naar verschijnselen die door getuigen worden gezien, maar die niet onmiddellijk kunnen worden verklaard. Vaak worden deze waarnemingen gekoppeld aan buitenaardse bezoekers, maar wat als de meeste waarnemingen gewoon menselijke interpretaties zijn van natuurlijke of door de mens gemaakte fenomenen?

Recent onderzoek en nieuwe literatuur wijzen erop dat veel van deze waarnemingen kunnen worden verklaard door factoren die niets met buitenaardse beschavingen te maken hebben. Dit artikel brengt een gedetailleerde analyse van deze theorieën, ondersteund door historische context, wetenschappelijke inzichten, classificaties van fenomeengroepen en de meest bekende onbeantwoordegevallen. Het doel is om een genuanceerd en compleet beeld te schetsen van de { UFO|UAP}-onderwerpen en de mogelijkheid dat menselijke misverstanden de belangrijkste oorzaak zijn achter deze mysterieuze verschijnselen.

Historische Context: De Koelperiode en de Toename van Waarnemingen

De zoektocht naar UFO’s kreeg vorm tijdens de Koude Oorlog, een periode waarin technologie sneller evolueerde dan ooit tevoren. Radar, stealth-technologie en geheime wapens resulteerden in een golf van waarnemingen van onverklaarbare vliegende objecten.

In de jaren 40 en 50 van de 20e eeuw waren de Verenigde Staten en de Sovjet-Unie volop bezig met het ontwikkelen van nieuwe vliegtuigen en raketten. Voor het publiek en de militaire inlichtingendiensten vormden deze tests vaak een mysterie. Zo waren er bijvoorbeeld talloze meldingen van zogenaamde “saucer-shaped” objecten die snel en zonder duidelijk patroon door de lucht bewogen. Dit leidde tot populaire verhalen en complottheorieën over buitenaardse invasies.

Daarnaast creëerde de geheime aard van militaire projecten een zenuwslopende atmosfeer van wantrouwen. De Amerikaanse overheid hield veel rapporten en observaties verborgen vanwege nationale veiligheid, waardoor geruchten over geheime superwapens en buitenaardse aanwezigheid de ronde deden. Een belangrijk voorbeeld zijn de beroemde “Roswell Incident” uit 1947, waarbij een hypothese ontstond over een neergestort buitenaards vaartuig, ondanks dat officiële rapporten later verklaarden dat het gewoon een weerballon was.

Na het uiteenvallen van de Sovjet-Unie in de jaren 90 en de technologische vooruitgang in hypersonische drones en stealth vliegtuigen, nam het aantal waarnemingen opnieuw toe. Vaak waren deze incidenten moeilijk te verklaren omdat ze werden gedaan onder het bewind van geheime militaire operaties die de informatie niet toegankelijk maakten voor het publiek of onderzoekers. Het resultaat: een voortdurende golf van speculaties en theorieën.

Wetenschappelijke Herziening: Van Sensatie tot Empirisch Onderzoek

In de afgelopen jaren heeft de Amerikaanse overheid de terminologie aangepast van “UFO” naar “UAP” (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). Deze verandering is niet slechts cosmetisch; het drukt de gewenste verschuiving uit van sensationele verhalen naar een meer wetenschappelijke en gesofisticeerde aanpak.

Het gebruik van “UAP” benadrukt dat het niet zozeer gaat om “voorwerpen” die per definitie buitenaards zouden zijn, maar om fenomenen die nog verder onderzocht moeten worden. Dit perspectief ondersteunt een empirische aanpak waarbij waarnemingen worden getoetst aan wetenschappelijke methoden, zoals het verzamelen van data, het herhaalbaar maken van observaties en het sluiten van hypothesen.

Een uitstekend voorbeeld hiervan is NASA’s SETI-programma, dat zich niet richt op het zoeken naar buitenaardse bezoekers in de atmosfeer, maar naar technosignatures – tekenen van geavanceerde buitenaardse beschavingen in de ruimte. De zoektocht naar buitenaards leven wordt dus weliswaar voortgezet, maar gescheiden gehouden van de observaties van UAP’s in de dampkring.

Het is belangrijk te benadrukken dat het bestaan van buitenaards leven nog steeds een open vraag is. De veelvuldige waarnemingen leiden niet automatisch tot de conclusie dat buitenaardse wezens bestaan, maar ze vragen wel om verdere studie. Volgens Graff, de auteur van recent onderzoek, is de enige juiste houding: “We weten het niet. Maar onze moeite om dat te weten te komen moet blijven bestaan.”

Classificatie van UAP’s: Vier Groepen voor een Betere Begrip

Om de vele waarnemingen op een systematische wijze te begrijpen en te onderzoeken, is het nodig om ze te classificeren. De nieuwe inzichten uit de literatuur en data-analyse leiden tot een indeling van UAP’s in vier belangrijke categorieën:

1. Atmosferische en Meteorologische Fenomenen

Veel waarnemingen worden veroorzaakt door natuurlijke fenomenen die door het menselijke oog anders geïnterpreteerd kunnen worden. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn:

- Ball Lightning: Zeldzame maar spectaculaire elektrische verschijnselen die bestaan uit korte, vlamachtige balvormige lichten die door de lucht zweven en na enige tijd verdwijnen.

- Plasma- en Optische Effects: Optische illusies of atmosferische verschijnselen zoals lichtbogen, spiegelingen of zonsverduisteringen, die bij niet goed geïnformeerde getuigen de indruk kunnen wekken van een gestructureerd of bewegend object.

Voorbeeld: Een waarneming van een helder verschijnsel dat beweegt langs de horizon, maar daadwerkelijk een combinatie van spiegelingen en atmosferische gloed blijkt te zijn.

2. Geavanceerde Militaire Technologie

Een aanzienlijk deel van de waarnemingen kan worden toegeschreven aan geheime militaire technologieën. Denk aan:

- Reconnaissance Drones: Onbemande luchtvaartuigen die door militaire diensten worden ingezet;

- Stealth-vliegtuigen en Raketplatformen: Geavanceerde vliegtuigen die moeilijk te detecteren zijn door radar, en die in het verleden zijn getest zonder dat de publieke hiervan op de hoogte was.

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Voorbeeld: Tijdens de NAVO-oefeningen en vrijwaringen worden regelmatig objecten waargenomen die exact voldoen aan de kenmerken van stealth-technologieën, maar deze worden niet altijd erkend door de autoriteiten.

3. Door de Mens Gemaakt Objecten die Worden Verward met UFO’s

Veel waarnemingen worden veroorzaakt door menselijke creaties die zonder context of goede informatie worden waargenomen en daardoor verkeerd worden geïnterpreteerd:

- Satellieten en Starlink-netwerken: Vooral bij het opstijgen en neerzetten van satellieten kunnen groepen lichtende lijnen worden waargenomen, die lijken op structuren of bewegende objecten;

-Weerballonsystemen en Ballonnen: Hoge zwevende ballonnen voor weeronderzoek, high-altitude luchtballonnen of hobbyballonnen worden vaak verkeerd begrepen als buitenaardse zakken.

Voorbeeld: ‘Starlink’ satellietlaningen die in de avond helder zichtbaar zijn en in de lucht verschillende patronen vormen, wat bij onwetende getuigen kan leiden tot UFO-waarnemingen.

4. Fenomenen die Nog Onverklaard Blijven

Naast bovengenoemde categorieën blijven een klein aantal waarnemingen over die niet makkelijk te verklaren zijn door natuurlijke of menselijke oorzaken. Dit betreft een uiterst klein percentage, maar deze incidenten worden vaak als de meest intrigerende beschouwd en krijgen veel aandacht in theorieën over buitenaardse ontmoetingen.

Voorbeeld: De ‘Tic-Tac’ video uit 2004, waarin een onregelmatig gevormd object door Amerikaanse marine radar en radarbeelden wordt gevolgd, en dat tot op heden niet volledig verklaard kan worden.

De Onopgeloste Zaken en de Toekomst van Onderzoek

Ondanks het gestructureerde kader blijven een aantal bekende onopgeloste incidenten bestaan. Bijvoorbeeld:

• De Phoenix Lights (1997): Een grote formatie van lichtgevende objecten die door duizenden waarnemers over Arizona en Nevada werden gezien en die niet konden worden verklaard door conventionele middelen.
• USS Nimitz Radar-Encounter (2004): Een ontmoeting tussen Marines en geheime vliegtuigen met een ongewone bewegingsvrijheid.
• De Tic-Tac-video (2023): Een aanvulling op eerdere incidenten die door de Amerikaanse marine werd gedocumenteerd en dat nog steeds tot nieuwe vragen leidt.

Volgens Graff liggen veel van deze onbeantwoorde gevallen in de beperkte beschikbaarheid van data, geheime bronnen en de korte duur van waarnemingen. Tegelijkertijd pleit hij voor meer transparantie en het verzamelen van systematische en objectieve gegevens.

De snelle groei van satellietnetwerken, slimme drones, en andere autonome systemen maakt dat misverstanden bij waarnemingen kunnen toenemen, tenzij er een robuust classificatiesysteem wordt toegepast. Het belang van goed geoutilleerde en transparante databanken wordt daarom benadrukt.

Conclusie: Een Nuchtere Enquête in De Wereld van het Onbekende

Het boek en de analyse omvatten niet de pretentie om de ultieme waarheid over buitenaardse bezoekers te vinden. Wat het wel doet, is een gestructureerde en rationele aanpak bieden waarin menselijke interpretaties en natuurlijke fenomenen worden onderscheiden van de echt onverklaarbare gevallen.

Door de verschijnselen te classificeren in vier groepen – natuurlijke opmerkelijkheden, militaire technologie, misinterpretaties van civiele objecten en nog onbekende fenomenen – krijgen onderzoekers en het grote publiek een helderder taalgebruik. Dit lastige proces van scheiden van feiten en percepties is essentieel om de juiste vragen te blijven stellen en niet te verzanden in ongefundeerde beschuldigingen of complottheorieën.

De houding die vanuit Graff en de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap wordt uitgedragen, is die van voorzichtig optimisme. Men erkent de onzekerheid, maar blijft geloven in voortdurende studie en onderzoek. De grote vraag “Zijn wij alleen in het universum?” blijft onbeantwoord. Maar misschien is de grootste ontdekking – en het belangrijkst – dat wij onze waarnemingen en interpretaties kritisch blijven bekijken.

Samenvatting

Dus, zijn UFO’s het resultaat van menselijke misverstanden? Op basis van recent onderzoek en de analyse van verschillende fenomenen lijkt het antwoord te ‘ja’ te kunnen zijn voor de meeste incidenten. Het merendeel van de waarnemingen kan worden verklaard door natuurlijke verschijnselen, geheime militaire experimenten of civiele objecten die verkeerd begrepen worden. Alleen een klein percentage blijft echt onverklaard en vormt de basis voor speculaties over buitenaardse beschavingen.

In plaats van te focussen op buitenaardse bezoeken, is het dus belangrijker om de juiste terminologie te gebruiken, objectief te blijven, en vooral te investeren in transparantie, standaardisatie van data en interdisciplinair onderzoek. Zo kunnen we hopelijk in de toekomst meer duidelijkheid krijgen en misschien zelfs de grootste mysteries van de kosmos ontrafelen – maar op een manier die wetenschappelijk verantwoord en gebaseerd op bewijs is.

{ PETER2011 }

12-12-2025 om 22:53 geschreven door peter  

Overview

A recent YouTube video titled "Declassified: Proof of Extraterrestrial Contact in Official U.S. Files" has reignited public debate over the existence of extraterrestrial life, asserting that declassified U.S. government documents provide compelling evidence of contact with non-human intelligences. The video, which is being widely shared within disclosure communities, examines government records, whistleblower testimonies, and historic UFO encounters, urging viewers to engage directly with the primary sources rather than relying solely on mainstream media interpretations.

Government Documentation and Official Acknowledgement

The video argues that thousands of pages of government-generated documents are now publicly accessible, many of which were released following lawsuits, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, or through internal leaks. These documents reportedly originate from a wide range of U.S. agencies, including the Navy, Department of Defense, CIA, NSA, FBI, Congress, and NASA. According to the video, “These aren’t fringe sources… They come from the US Navy, the Department of Defense, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, Congress, NASA Archives, and sworn testimony from military and intelligence officials.”

Among the most well-known official releases are the three Pentagon-authenticated infrared videos—known as Gimbal, Go Fast, and FLIR1 (or Tic Tac)—which depict unidentified aerial vehicles performing maneuvers that defy explanation by conventional technology. The video notes that these objects “have no wings, no exhaust, no heat signature, rotating midair, accelerating instantly, and outperforming every known aircraft on Earth.” Testimony from military pilots and radar operators has been presented to Congress, further corroborating these encounters.

Whistleblower Testimonies and Internal Reports

The video highlights the role of whistleblowers in advancing public understanding of UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). One prominent example is David Grusch, an intelligence officer whose inspector general-verified complaint alleged the existence of multiple crash retrieval programs involving “nonhuman craft and materials.” Congressional hearings confirmed Grusch’s credibility, and his allegations were deemed “urgent and credible” by the inspector general.

Another significant reference is to the Wilson Davis documents, which describe a high-ranking Navy admiral’s failed attempt to access a reverse engineering program run by private aerospace contractors. These documents, according to the video, reference “craft of unknown origin stored in private facilities beyond congressional oversight.”

Broader Historical Context and Media Critique

The video asserts that mainstream media has traditionally dismissed or ridiculed claims of extraterrestrial contact, contributing to a culture of skepticism and ignorance. It suggests that information has been deliberately controlled and that individuals are conditioned “not to look.” The presenter encourages viewers to develop discernment by directly consulting declassified files, comparing sources, and listening to a range of testimonies, while remaining aware of potential misinformation.

The historic Project Blue Book is cited as a prime example of official investigation, with over 12,000 documented UFO cases—hundreds of which remain unexplained. NASA, the NSA, and other agencies have also released records describing objects entering and leaving Earth’s atmosphere in ways inconsistent with known natural or man-made phenomena.

The Path Forward and Ongoing Debate

While the video is critical of media gatekeeping and government secrecy, it acknowledges the complexity of the issue and the need for public discernment. It references well-known disclosure advocates such as Dan Willis, Alex Collier, and Elena Denan, whose testimonies, the video claims, align with details in official documents and challenge sanitized disclosure narratives.

As the debate over UAPs and extraterrestrial contact continues, the video calls for greater transparency, personal engagement with primary sources, and a willingness to question established narratives. Whether or not the released documents constitute definitive “proof” remains a matter of public and scholarly debate, but the growing availability of official records and whistleblower accounts suggests that the conversation around extraterrestrial contact is far from over.

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://usubjects.com/  }

12-12-2025 om 21:47 geschreven door peter  

Many recurring themes emerged throughout the nearly five-hour session, so here are The Debrief’s top 5 takeaways from this conference.

1. UAPs are real, and a legitimate safety issue

Few aspects of the session stood out more than the six speakers and nearly 100 member engineers watching the session live treating the subject with a serious, scientific tone. The host set that tone early with his statements on professional conduct, but that warning proved more or less unnecessary, with almost no talk of little green men or extraterrestrial visitors making its way into the lengthy session. 

At one point, a particularly “seasoned” member, who had a highly distracting slide show of blimps and chemical formulas (among other random images) racing across the virtual wall behind him, jumped in to exclaim with glee that the whole subject is indeed a mystery and that the only thing we know for sure is, “it isn’t little green men who traveled here on faster than light spaceships!” His comment was met with complete silence and more than a few frowns.

Instead, a dry, shockingly mundane series of talks on the subject of aviation safety took place, with no scheduled speaker or attendee (minus the one, cause there’s always one) going out of their way to ridicule or minimize the reality of the safety issue facing commercial and military pilots worldwide, regardless of its origin.

“I think the biggest takeaway here,” said former US Navy pilot Ryan Graves, who repeatedly noted the real-life issue of potential mid-air collisions his former pilot colleagues still face every day, “we’re gonna just read right off the DNI report, is that some UAP appear to be real objects.”

( Image Credit: The Debrief)

2. The Stigma around this subject still exists, but that is starting to change

At one point or another, every speaker mentioned the stigma preventing respected scientists from studying this topic. Many noted how over half a century of study opportunities had been lost due to this issue alone.

“There was an open discussion among scientists about the nature (of UAPs) even if they are misidentified or not,” said NASA’s Ravi Kopparapu, pointing in particular to the UAP analysis conducted by the University of Arizona’s atmospheric scientist James McDonald back in the 1950s. “And it was not stigmatized.” 

At least one attendee wrote in the side chat that the simple existence of this session was undeniable proof of a shrinking stigma. 

Similarly, numerous other panelists and attendees pointed to the work of NASA and ESA employed astrobiologists and astronomers who are planning to use the space observation platforms of the future, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled for launch in November of this year, to look for biosignatures and technosignatures, both signs of extraterrestrial life.

While this type of discussion mainly occurred during the informal Q & A portions of the session, such frank and open comments about the shifting attitudes of mainstream scientists toward the possibility of extraterrestrial life seemed to at least hint that the bulk of those in attendance was generally open to all possible origins of UAP, while also remaining more concerned about the fundamental issue of human safety in our skies.

3. Without more (and better) data, there can be no progress

Since the release of the DoDs UAPTF report, the call for better data has never been more vital. Or, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s super sleuth Sherlock Holmes once declared, “Data! Data! Data! I can’t make bricks without clay!”

“What is lacking [is an] examination of negatives or direct-prints (and cameras and lenses) by technically competent persons with the appropriate backgrounds and equipment, who are truly independent of Ray Stanford, and persons with expertise in such fields as artifacts produced by shooting pictures through birefringent airplane windows,” Johnson explained via email.

Knuth himself noted the photo’s provenance issue, telling session attendees, “I want to be clear that that imagery here has not been independently vetted. So we’ve not taken that to be authenticated. And so, I want to be clear and honest about that.”

“The presentation contained much of value,” Johnson wrote in a follow-up email. “However, in my view, it was a serious error in judgment for Professor Knuth to include the images from a Super 8 movie from Ray Stanford. The disclaimers (“Imagery Not Independently Vetted,” etc.) didn’t really mitigate this, since Professor Knuth proceeded to discuss the Stanford images as examples of exotic [UAP] effects.”

“In my presentation for AIAA, despite the fact that some in the UFO community find Stanford to be controversial, I decided to include Stanford’s image of a UFO that he and his friends and family (4 adults and 2 children) observed at Emerald Cove Pier, Corpus Corpus Christi TX on October 5, 1985,” Knuth told The Debrief in an email when asked to comment. “I was very clear in my presentation that the imagery had not been independently vetted and authenticated. We have been unable to do this over the last year due to the pandemic, but that will soon be rectified.”

Knuth expressed disappointment that the UFO community was focusing on his inclusion of this image in his presentation, and that he worked with other researchers in the field to confirm the image was an original. He plans on writing a scientific paper on UAP characteristics using the Stanford image in the near future where the film and images will be put through proper and rigorous study.

You can’t talk about UFOs without a bit of drama!

Still, even with this particular, seemingly egregious Ufological faux-pas, which has haunted serious discussion and analysis of the subject since its origins, Knuth’s overriding heed and call for more and better data was as large as any component of his detailed presentation.

4. Scientists are the ones who need to rise to this challenge

Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the entire session were the parts that were the hardest to understand. That’s because, more often than not, when you get a group of intelligent and highly educated people together and ask them to take a serious look at an issue as crucial as air safety, they tend to do just that.

For instance, some lengthy and complex calculations performed by the Scientific Coalition of UAP Studies (SCU) and presented by electrical engineer Peter Reali showed the incredible amounts of energy needed to propel an object like the alleged ‘Tic Tac’ UFO (as well as numerous other geometric form factors) from 28,000 feet to just 50 feet in elevation in less than a second. This analysis also highlighted the devastating effects such a rapid acceleration and deceleration should have on the surrounding environment when said object sheds all of that energy to make its complete stop.

The SCU’s conclusion?

“The point seven eight-second [calculation] of all projectiles was equivalent to 1.05 kilotons of TNT, or a tactical nuclear weapon,” said Reali. Oddly, he noted, such effects were not witnessed in 2004.

This point, which came up more than once during the other presentations, often led to deep mathematical discussions, typically ending with each and every one of the scientists and engineers on the panel (or the side chat) admitting that they were unable to account for the movements of the Tic Tac, much less its seeming lack of effects on its surroundings when shedding the massive amounts of energy required to descend and stop with such incredible speed. 

Once again, to be fair, none of the panelists seemed to question the object’s existence, nor the accounts of the pilots and radar operators on record, which may indicate a bias. Regardless, assuming the testimony and video footage are sound, they debated a range of possible explanations grounded in present-day science. In the end, all seemed to concede that an apt explanation has thus far proven elusive.

“It’s a shame that 60 years ago we knew this much and still did not proceed as the scientific community to study these things,” lamented Knuth during one such discussion of past cases where scientists from the 1950s reported many of the same alleged performance and form factor hallmarks of current UAP events. “That’s 60 years of research lost.”

5. One voice rose above them all

For most who have had the opportunity to see Ryan Graves interviewed, there is seemingly little doubt that he is a trained, level-headed individual, whether seated behind the controls of a fighter jet or in a [virtual] room full of scientists and engineers. As such, it was no surprise that the group chose Graves to speak for them after the individual presentations, as his testimony was undoubtedly the most riveting.

“I’m hesitant to ask people [to speak out] or to state that this shouldn’t be stigmatized,” Graves noted during that discussion. “For me, this is a silly conversation because I know for a fact that this is still happening.”

Later during that same segment, Graves continued his near plea, telling the panel and online attendees, “you’re still aviators, and this is a safety consideration. [Our pilots see this] every single flight they go on. And this is all very pragmatic, you know? It’s an everyday air to air, or excuse me, air safety consideration.”

Graves’ measured tone once again came to the forefront during a particularly heated exchange between scientists regarding the inability to get their hands on classified signal data. “The fact that we’re talking about [access to] signals,” said Graves, “still, in a time when people are having near misses, is disturbing.”

• _Follow and connect with author Christopher Plain on Twitter: @plain_fictionF

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

12-12-2025 om 20:54 geschreven door peter  

Overview

A coalition of scholars is pushing for a formal academic discipline devoted to the study of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), the term now preferred over “UFO.” The effort is being coordinated by the Society for UAP Studies, which wrapped up an international conference in early December that brought together philosophers, physicists, legal scholars, and historians from more than a dozen countries. Organizers say the goal is not to prove or disprove extraterrestrial life, but to create a rigorous framework for investigating reports that sit at the fringe of conventional science.

Academic Initiative

Society co‑founder and president Michael Cifone—a philosopher of science with a doctorate from the University of Maryland—described the work as an inquiry into what he calls “the empirical weird.” That phrase, Cifone explained, covers phenomena that blur the line between the spiritual, paranormal, parapsychological, and physical. “We’re not necessarily taking a position on whether UAPs are evidence of extraterrestrial life,” he told USA TODAY, “but we are interested in taking on these topics that don’t fit neatly anywhere.” The Society’s advisory board includes scholars from fields as diverse as quantum information, law, and cultural studies, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed discipline.

Interdisciplinary Approach

Because UAP events cannot be reproduced in a laboratory, researchers plan to combine field observations, archival analysis, and theoretical modeling. Cifone, who also serves as a research fellow at Friedrich‑Alexander University’s Center for Alternative Rationalities in Global Perspectives, highlighted the need for “unusual collaboration” between scientists who can assess sensor data and humanities scholars who can trace the cultural history of sightings. The conference featured panels on Navy radar encounters documented in 2023‑2024, as well as briefings on the recent congressional hearings that called for greater transparency from the Department of Defense. Those hearings, held after the conference, underscored the growing political interest in establishing a systematic research agenda.

Recent Developments

The Society’s push gained momentum after the U.S. Navy released declassified videos of “unidentified aerial phenomena” that displayed flight characteristics inconsistent with known technology. In response, the House Committee on Oversight held a hearing on December 2, inviting testimony from former military pilots and scientists. While the hearings stopped short of endorsing any extraterrestrial explanation, they acknowledged the need for a structured, peer‑reviewed research effort—a point echoed by Society members. “The data we have is real, but the interpretation is still open,” said Michael Silberstein, a philosophy professor at Elizabethtown College and co‑founder of the Society. “That openness is precisely why an academic discipline can add value.”

Future Outlook

The Society for UAP Studies plans to publish a white paper outlining methodological standards, funding mechanisms, and ethical guidelines for future investigations. Cifone hopes the document will serve as a blueprint for university departments willing to sponsor UAP research centers, similar to existing institutes for astrobiology. He also emphasized that the field must remain empirically grounded, warning against sensationalist media coverage that can undermine credibility. As the conversation moves from fringe forums to congressional chambers and scientific conferences, the push for a disciplined, interdisciplinary study of UAPs appears poised to become a lasting part of the research landscape.

{ https://usubjects.com/  }

10-12-2025 om 22:54 geschreven door peter  

Overview

A set of previously classified photographs taken during the 1960s and 1970s has been released by the National Archives, showing brief, intense luminous bursts above several U.S. nuclear testing sites. The images, captured by high‑speed cameras that were originally installed to document underground detonations at the Nevada Test Site, the Pacific Proving Grounds, and the Johnston Island range, have reignited scientific interest in the long‑standing correlation between unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and nuclear facilities. While the Department of Energy (DOE) has not offered an official explanation, researchers say the newly available visual data could provide fresh clues about the nature of these unexplained events.

The Declassified Images

The photographs, spanning roughly 1963 to 1975, depict momentary flashes of light appearing seconds after a scheduled test blast, often hovering above the cloud tops before dissipating. In one frame taken on July 12, 1966, over the Nevada Test Site, a bright, disc‑shaped illumination rises to an altitude of about 12 kilometers and lingers for less than a second. A second image from the Pacific Proving Grounds on March 4, 1972 shows a similar burst occurring at night, producing a “star‑like” flare that was not recorded by any of the test’s instrumentation.

“The clarity of these frames is remarkable,” said Dr. Emily Carter, senior researcher at the Center for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Studies. “Because the cameras were calibrated for nuclear‑explosion monitoring, we have precise timestamps, exposure settings, and geographic coordinates, which are rarely available for UAP sightings.” The agency responsible for the original footage, the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), declassified the material as part of a broader 2024 release of Cold‑War era surveillance records.

Scientific Analysis

A multidisciplinary team led by Dr. Carter has begun a forensic review of the images, comparing them against known atmospheric and optical phenomena such as meteors, auroras, and electrical discharges. Preliminary findings suggest the bursts differ in several key respects: they occur directly above the test sites, appear at consistent altitudes, and exhibit a luminous intensity that exceeds typical meteoric events of comparable size. Moreover, the flashes are not synchronized with the detonations themselves, ruling out direct nuclear‑induced plasma effects.

“We have consulted with atmospheric physicists and aerospace engineers, and the data does not fit conventional explanations,” noted Dr. Luis Ortega, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno. “The bursts lack the spectral signatures of lightning or re‑entry debris, and they do not correspond to any known satellite or aircraft activity recorded at the time.” The team plans to employ spectral analysis on the original negatives, a technique that could reveal the composition of the light source and help determine whether the phenomena are natural, man‑made, or something else entirely.

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Historical Context

The association between UAP and nuclear sites is not new. Since the 1950s, pilots and ground personnel have reported unexplained lights and objects near test facilities, prompting investigations such as Project Blue Book and the 1979 “Project Condign” study in the United Kingdom. In 2020, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a preliminary assessment acknowledging that UAP incidents are “more frequent near high‑value assets, including nuclear weapons installations.” The newly declassified images add visual documentation to a body of anecdotal reports that have long been dismissed as folklore or instrumentation error.

Implications and Next Steps

While the photographs do not constitute definitive proof of extraterrestrial technology, they underscore a persistent gap in the scientific record regarding aerial anomalies near critical national security installations. The DOE has indicated it will cooperate with independent researchers, and a joint task force comprising the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and civilian scientific bodies is slated to convene later this year to evaluate the findings.

“The responsible path forward is rigorous, transparent analysis,” emphasized Senator Maria Delgado (D‑NV), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “If there is a genuine unknown phenomenon affecting our nuclear infrastructure, we owe it to the American people to understand it fully.” As the investigation proceeds, the declassified images stand as a rare, high‑resolution glimpse into a mystery that has lingered for decades, offering the scientific community a concrete dataset on which to build future research.

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{ https://usubjects.com/ }

04-12-2025 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

Unidentified Flying Objects – The Reality, the Cover-Up and the Truth

johnblack

Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs as they are commonly known, have been witnessed by millions of people all over the world and have been recorded in history books, myths, legends and traditions for thousands of years. However, many accounts that are recorded in ancient texts are dismissed as mere myths and legends, while UFO sightings that have taken place in the last few centuries have been classified as misinterpretations of natural phenomena, illusions, or conspiracy theories.

The Reality Within the Mythology of Unidentified Flying Objects

History has shown us time and again that a plethora so-called myths have their basis in reality. It is possible, and indeed likely, that stories and legends were a way for people to explain real—and perhaps perplexing—events using the knowledge and beliefs of their time.

In support of this theory, a number of events described in mythology, which were once considered mere fairy tales, have now been proven through archaeology to have existed. A famous example is the city Troy, which is central to Homer’s The Iliad. Long considered to be a city of myth, Heinrich Schliemann’s discovery of the actual site in 1868 elevated it to a place in history.

• What Did the Ancients See? Unidentified Flying Objects that Made an Impact on Early History
• The Ancient History of UFOs and the Oppenheimer-Einstein Report

Nevertheless, the remainder of The Iliad is still viewed as a myth and fantasy without any serious attempts being made to investigate whether or not there may be more truth behind the tale. The same goes for many accounts of flying machines and unidentified flying objects, which we find reference to in countless mythologies from numerous different cultures around the world.

It is common to see people selectively decide what is real and what is not based on the unsubstantiated assumption that ancient people were primitive and had little to no knowledge compared to us today. On the contrary, many ancient civilizations, like the Sumerians, Indus Valley, and Egyptians existed with complex social structures, legal systems, art, astronomy, mathematics, and technology, some of which is still not fully understood today. The Antikythera Mechanism, for example, is a 2,200-year-old mechanical device that is still not completely understood despite  decades of research by top scientists around the world.

Many cultures contain pictorial and written records of flying machines or unidentified flying objects, yet these are usually dismissed as myth and legend.

(CC BY-SA 3.0)

Ancient Astronaut Theory and Unidentified Flying Objects

The topic of flying objects and supernatural beings from beyond our world is one in which we find multiple references in mythology. All of these myths and legends, along with archaeological evidence such as rock art depictions, have created a wave of theories that gave birth to the aptly named ancient astronaut perspective. This theory links all of these ancient references and depictions to UFOs, and posits that extraterrestrials visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistory, influencing the development of human cultures, technologies, and religions.

Unfortunately, there are numerous charlatans who have tried to cash in on this movement for profit or publicity, or who have diminished it with caricatures of little green men, resulting in the ancient astronaut perspective being widely criticized and attacked for its lack of credibility. Consequently, what is in fact a plausible and possible explanation for what we see in ancient art and texts, is now rarely examined by scholars, who fear being ridiculed or having their professional career seriously undermined.

UFO Sightings in Recent History

But let’s leave the ancient past for a while and examine just the last 80 years of human history. Millions of people all over the globe have witnessed unidentified flying objects. Many have been recorded in detailed reports witnessed by police, pilots, astronauts, government officials, pilots, military personnel and, of course, ordinary citizens.

Some of the more well-known cases were witnessed by thousands of people at one time. Historical records make it evident that UFO appearances magnified during and after World War II, including the example of the famous Foo Fighters.

While most sightings can be explained either by celestial phenomena, airplanes, planets, weather phenomena, military exercises, or in some cases drug use or mental instability, there still exists a small percentage that cannot be accounted for by any of these explanations. This is what makes the phenomena important, particularly considering that sightings are frequently reported around military bases and airfields and are therefore, at the very least, a matter of both national security and air safety.

It is an undeniable fact that there are cases of unidentified objects in our skies. It has been acknowledged by the major governments from all over the world simply through the very fact that official research has been conducted on the matter in the US, UK, Russia, Europe, China, South America, and many others. All of this research, in every single case, concluded that there is a percentage of phenomena that cannot be explained.

In recent history, many countries have declassified their UFO research files, releasing thousands of documents through the Freedom of Information Act and making numerous UFO cases available in the public domain. One recently released document from the UFO files in Britain, revealed how Churchill, concerned about the UFO issue, ordered a shutdown of information for at least 50 years to prevent mass panic and the potential to undermine religious beliefs. The document in question was published on the BBC news site in 2010.

By doing careful research on the topic, passing over obvious scam and fake stories, it is clear to see that unidentified flying objects do exist. So the question is not whether they exist or not, but rather, what are they? Are they of terrestrial or extraterrestrial origin? And what is their purpose?

UFOs in art: The Baptism of Christ by Arent de Gelder.

(Public domain)

Unidentified Flying Objects and the Limits of Science

Many prominent scientists have already stated that other civilizations must exist in the Universe, and that it would be statistically impossible for this not to be the case. However, with our knowledge of science and technology today, we cannot yet support the means for interstellar travel. Since we have not discovered intelligent life in our solar system, the assumption is made that there must be no way that extraterrestrials could have travelled to Earth.

However, this argument is of course flawed because it is based within the framework of our own understanding of the universe, and does not take into account the capabilities of civilizations that may be millions of years ahead of our own. It also hinges on the following assumptions:

• We know everything about physics and reality and therefore there is no way that such distant travel can be achieved.
• We are using our means to try to contact other civilizations (e.g. SETI’s attempts to pick up radio or communication signals) and since we don’t perceive any signals of OUR type, nothing must exist.
• We are looking for organic forms of life exactly like us and for planets with the exact same conditions as ours.

It is clear that these arguments show the arrogance of mankind, a mankind that may just be an infant in the Universe. And this is not new. During the history of humanity, in every single period of time, we believed that we knew the truth, only to have it replaced later on by new knowledge. 

“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.”

- (Lord Kelvin, 1901, physicist)

Quantum physics, still a relatively new and unexplored field in Science, has shown that reality could be completely different to what we believe it to be. Powerful telescopes have shown distant planets in solar systems that could possibly sustain life. Theories of wormholes and warp drives have shown that at a theoretical level we could achieve interstellar travel. Yes, we would require incredible amounts of energy to even think of trying to achieve something like this, so according to our standards today it is impossible to achieve, but in theory it can be achieved.

“It now seems quite clear that Earth is not the only inhabited planet. There is evidence that the bulk of the stars in the sky have planetary systems. Recent research concerning the origin of life on Earth suggests that the physical and chemical processes leading to the origin of life occur rapidly in the early history of the majority of planets within our Milky Way galaxy–perhaps as many as a million–are inhabited by technical civilizations in advance of our own. Interstellar space flight is far beyond our present technical capabilities, but there seems to be no fundamental physical objections to preclude, from our own vantage point, the possibility of its development by other civilizations.” 

- Carl Sagan, Ph.D. (Late Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences, Cornell University)

Reluctance to Engage with Unidentified Flying Objects

The reason that the scientific community is not dealing seriously with UFOs is because the topic has been extensively ridiculed both by the media and in academic circles, with false information spread everywhere. For similar reasons, military personnel, astronauts, pilots, and other categories of professionals do not want to talk because, either they have been forced to sign confidentiality agreements, or because of fear that their careers would be destroyed. This is why we have seen many examples of death bed confessions.

One such case was with astronaut Gordon Cooper, who told the world about his experience encountering a UFO during his flight in the Mercury capsule in 1963. Before he died he stated: “For many years I have lived with a secret, in a secrecy imposed on all specialists in astronautics. I can now reveal that every day, in the USA, our radar instruments capture objects of form and composition unknown to us.”

While great efforts have been made to ridicule and disparage anyone who lends support to the existence of UFOs, the fact remains that there are numerous high-profile cases of unidentified flying objects that are supported by solid evidence, and which should not be dismissed.

Recorded UFO Sightings with Extensive Witness Support

Below I present a very limited list constituting strong evidence for the existence of unidentified flying objects in the last 60 years.

• November 1942 – La Incident, Known as the Battle of Los Angeles

It all happened in the early hours of February 25 in 1942. An aircraft flew over LA County that sparked an air raid alert (it was in the midst of WWII). Searchlights and guns were locked onto the aircraft for about an hour. The picture below appeared in the LA Times in a story about the Battle of LA. It clearly shows a night time defensive response to an air raid. The aircraft was not hostile and obviously was not damaged by the attack. The Government stated that the craft they were shooting at was an unidentified flying object.

The Battle of Los Angeles unidentified flying objects incident.

(Author provided)

• December 1980 – Rendlesham Forest Incident, Suffolk, United Kingdom

This incident involved a group of American servicemen stationed at a military base in Suffolk that contained a storage center with nuclear weapons. There had been three consecutive nights of sighting objects in the sky over the base, in some cases shining a light down upon the nuclear weapons storage.

On the third night, approximately two dozen servicemen were sent into the forest to investigate one set of mysterious lights. The men reported seeing a spacecraft on the ground in close proximity to them and three extraterrestrial beings. One serviceman claimed to have touched the craft.

The whole incident was filmed and photographed by one of the servicemen, but all photos and videos were removed by the US military. When the British Government released the UFO files, the Rendlesham incident papers were missing – as reported by the BBC News.

Rendlesham Forest unidentified flying objects incident, Suffolk, UK.

(Author provided)

• November 1986, Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 Over Alaska

In November, 1986, a Japanese crew of a jumbo freighter aircraft witnessed three enormous unidentified objects while flying over Alaska, USA. This sighting gained international attention when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was going to officially investigate this sighting because the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage, Alaska, had reported that the UFO had been detected on radar. The unidentified flying objects in this case were tracked on both ground and airborne radar, witnessed by experienced airline pilots, and confirmed by a FAA Division Chief.

Illustration of the object, with the Boeing 747 airplane on the right.

Credits: UFO Reporter

• April 1990 – Belgium UFO Wave, Petit Rechain Belgium

The Belgium UFO wave began in November 1989. The events of 29 November would be documented by no less than thirty different groups of witnesses, and three separate groups of police officers. All of the reports related to a large object flying at low altitude.

The craft itself was of a flat, triangular shape, with lights underneath. This giant craft did not make a sound as it slowly moved across the landscape of Belgium. The Belgium UFO wave peaked with events on the night of 30/31 March 1990. On that night, unknown objects were tracked on radar, chased by two Belgian Air Force F16s, photographed, and were sighted by an estimated 13,500 people on the ground – 2,600 of whom filed written statements describing in detail what they had seen. Following the incident, the Belgian air force released a report detailing the events of that night.

Belgium UFO wave, Petit Rechain Belgium.

(Author provided)

• March 1997 – Phoenix Lights, Arizona, USA

The Phoenix Lights (also identified as "Lights over Phoenix") was a UFO sighting which occurred in Phoenix, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico on Thursday, March 13, 1997. Lights of varying descriptions were seen by thousands of people between 19:30 and 22:30 MST, in a space of about 300 miles (480 km), from the Nevada line, through Phoenix, to the edge of Tucson.

Witnesses claim to have observed a huge square-shaped UFO, containing five spherical lights or possibly light-emitting engines. Fife Symington, the governor at the time, was one witness to this incident; he later called the unidentified flying object as "otherworldly."

Phoenix Lights, Arizona, US.

(Author provided)

• October 2004 – Osaka Airport, Japan

On the night of August 30, a cluster of multi-colored lights was seen floating in the sky above Osaka. Several people reported to Twitter that they saw a group of lights forming a triangular shape and flashing green, red and white in the night sky above Izumi city in Osaka Prefecture. The sightings caused a commotion on Twitter after one user wrote: “Everyone in Osaka, go outside! There’s a UFO!” prompting others to grab their cameras and snap up photos of mysterious, luminous and unidentified flying object.

Osaka airport UFO Incident, Japan.

(Author provided)

• November 2006, O-Hare Airport, USA

At approximately 16:15 CST on Tuesday November 7, 2006, federal authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport received a report that a group of twelve airport employees were witnessing a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering over Gate C-17.

The object was first spotted by a ramp employee who was pushing back United Airlines Flight 446, which was departing Chicago for Charlotte, North Carolina. The employee apprised Flight 446's crew of the object above their aircraft. It is believed that both the pilot and co-pilot also witnessed the object.

Several independent witnesses outside of the airport also saw the object. According to the Chicago Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch, “the disc was visible for approximately two minutes and was seen by close to a dozen United Airlines employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors, who heard chatter on the radio and raced out to view it.”

O-Hare Airport UFO Incident, USA.

(Author provided)

• May 2007, UFO Fleets, Lima, Peru

The incident took place on May 2007 at 14.00 local time in Lima, Peru. A series of moving lights resembling an armada of flying objects appeared in the skies. The story was reported on the news and was seen by thousands of people.

UFO Fleets, Lima, Peru.

(Author provided)

• July 2010 – Xiaoshan Airport, China

An unidentified flying object that disrupted air traffic in Hangzhou for an hour on Wednesday, 10th of July 2010. A flight crew preparing for descent first detected the object around 8:40 p.m. and notified the air traffic control department. Aviation authorities responded within minutes, grounding outbound flights and diverting inbound ones to airports in Ningbo and Wuxi. Eighteen flights were affected.

A spokesman from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed to ABC News that the matter is under investigation. He declined to disclose further details. A day after the sighting, however, an anonymous source told China Daily that authorities already discovered the identity of the UFO after an investigation but could not publically disclose the information because “there was a military connection.”

Xiaoshan Airport UFO Incident, China.

(Author provided)

• the "Tic Tac" UFO sighting by Navy pilots in 2004

Retired Navy Cmdr. David Fravor was commander of the F/A-18F squadron on the USS Nimitz when he says he spotted the object during a flight off the coast of Southern California on Nov. 14, 2004. 

In a 2021 interview with "60 Minutes," Fravor, a graduate of the Top Gun naval flight school, also spoke about what he saw. 

He and Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich were training with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group about 100 miles southwest of San Diego, Favor told "60 Minutes." At the time, advanced radar on a ship that was a part of their training group, the USS Princeton, detected what operators called "multiple anomalous aerial vehicles" over the horizon, descending 80,000 feet in less than a second. Fravor and Dietrich diverted to investigate.

"I said, 'Dude, do you, do you see that thing down there?' And we saw this little white Tic Tac-looking object. And it's just kind of moving above the whitewater area," Fravor told "60 Minutes."

During the training exercise, Fravor and Dietrich each had a weapons system officer in the back seat of their F/A-18F. 

"There was four of us in the airplanes literally watching this thing for roughly about five minutes," Fravor said in his 2021 interview.

Fravor went in for a closer look. He described the "Tic Tac" object mirroring his movements, saying "it was aware we were there."

The object was about the size of Fravor's F/A-18F, with no markings, no wings and no exhaust plumes, he said. When Fravor tried to cut off the UAP, it accelerated so quickly that it seemed to disappear. He said it was detected roughly 60 miles away less than a minute later.

Implications of Disclosing Information about Unidentified Flying Objects

Many would say that the above examples constitute irrefutable proof that extraterrestrial UFOs exist. So why isn’t the public told about it? Imagine the implications that disclosure would have and what it would mean. Acknowledgment of extra-terrestrial civilizations having visited Earth would mean that many of the myths and legends of the past are in fact based on reality.

Disclosure would suggest that humanity has been influenced for millennia by other-worldly beings, beings that in the past were considered gods. Disclosure would entirely topple the status quo and the balance of powers in society, and turn upside down what we know about the history of mankind.

• Ancient Artists Left Signs for us to Decode. Did they Witness UFOs?
• What Did the Ancients See? Unidentified Flying Objects that Made an Impact on Early History

The acknowledgement of the UFO phenomena is an event with the power to bring a global revolution in every sector of our lives today – technology and energy supply, communication and environmental concerns, society and religion. Is this what governments and corporations are afraid of – a shift in balance and their loss of their positions of power and control? Or is it that the powers that be are afraid of re-writing our human history?

“When the long awaited solution to the UFO problem comes, I believe that it will prove to be not merely the next small step in the march of science, but a mighty and totally unexpected quantum leap.”

 (Dr J. Allen Hynek, Scientific Advisor to the U.S. Air Force)

• Top image: Composite image of unidentified flying objects.
• Source: Author provided.

By John Black

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{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena }

28-11-2025 om 21:19 geschreven door peter  

Do UFOs Come from Parallel Dimensions? Scientific Theories

1. Overview

The phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) has long fascinated humanity, inspiring countless stories, theories, and debates about their origin. Traditionally, UFO sightings have been attributed to extraterrestrial visitors from distant planets, stimulated by movies, literature, and anecdotal reports. However, in recent years, a new and intriguing hypothesis has gained traction within scientific and academic circles: that some UFOs may not originate from other planets but instead from alternative dimensions or parallel universes.

This perspective shifts the focus from extraterrestrial civilizations traveling through space via advanced propulsion to the idea that UFOs could be interdimensional craft—vehicles capable of traversing different realities. Such a notion is rooted in modern physics, particularly in quantum mechanics, string theory, and multiverse hypotheses. These frameworks propose that our universe may be just one of many, existing across multiple dimensions, with different physical laws, constants, and properties.

Proponents of the interdimensional hypothesis argue that the unusual flight characteristics reported in many UFO sightings—such as instantaneous acceleration, abrupt directional changes, and apparent defiance of gravity—might be explained if these objects are shifting between or residing in alternate realms where the laws of physics differ from our observable universe. If true, this would revolutionize our understanding of reality, technology, and even consciousness, bridging the gap between science fiction and empirical science.

In this article, we will explore the scientific foundations for these ideas, analyze the evidence and challenges involved, and consider the broader implications of the hypothesis that UFOs originate from parallel or higher dimensions.

2. Theoretical Foundations

The hypothesis that UFOs may originate from alternate dimensions rests on some of the most advanced and speculative theories in contemporary physics. These theories aim to unify understanding of the universe's fundamental structure, often proposing the existence of realms beyond human perception, governed by different physical laws or constants.

a. Parallel Universes and Multiverse Concepts

One of the central constructs supporting the idea of interdimensional travel is the multiverse—the concept that our universe is just one among an enormous, possibly infinite, number of universes. This idea emerges from interpretations of quantum mechanics, cosmology, and string theory.

The multiverse notion can be categorized into several types:

• Level I (Infinite Space): Our universe, which, due to the universe's vastness, contains regions with different initial conditions, but governed by the same physical laws.
• Level II (Bubble Universes): Arising from cosmic inflation, different "bubble" universes could have varied physical constants and properties.
• Level III (Many-Worlds): Derived from the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, suggesting every quantum event creates branches or parallel worlds.
• Level IV (Mathematical Multiverse): Theorized by physicist Max Tegmark, proposing that all mathematical structures exist physically as universes with different laws of mathematics.

Within multiverse frameworks, parallel universes are envisioned as realms physically adjacent or overlapped with our own, yet separated by dimensions or boundaries imperceptible to us. Diverging from traditional science-fiction notions, these concepts are rooted in highly mathematical models that remain untestable with current technology, but offer consistent explanations within physics.

b. Extra Dimensions and String Theory

String theory posits that fundamental particles are not point-like but instead are small, vibrating strings. For the mathematics to work and be free of inconsistencies, string theory requires more than the three spatial dimensions we experience daily—specifically, it demands up to 10 or 11 total dimensions.

These additional dimensions are thought to be "compactified" or curled up at scales near the Planck length (~10^-35 meters), rendering them invisible and inaccessible to current experiments. Nonetheless, some models propose that higher or "large" extra dimensions could influence gravitational forces, potentially allowing shortcuts or portals between our observable universe and others.

The idea is that interdimensional travel might be akin to navigating through these extra dimensions, which could be larger or have different physical properties than the small curled-up ones posited by string theory. If such portals exist, an advanced civilization or technology might harness them for faster-than-light or non-spatial travel—possibly explaining some of the inexplicably rapid movements observed in UFO sightings.

c. Quantum Mechanics and Superposition

Quantum mechanics introduces the concept of particles existing in multiple states simultaneously—a superposition—and the influence of the observer on the state of particles. Some theorists interpret these phenomena as hints toward a layered reality, where multiple states or worlds coexist and interact at a fundamental level.

In particular, the Many-Worlds Interpretation suggests that all possible outcomes of quantum events occur in branching universes. While controversial, it lends conceptual support to the idea that realities can intersect or overlap, perhaps allowing phenomena or entities from one realm to manifest into another temporarily.

This raises intriguing questions about whether objects or entities could "leap" between states or realities via quantum effects, and whether UFOs could be manifestations of such inter-reality physics. Although speculative, this idea fuels the notion that what we see as UFOs might be the result of interdimensional crossings governed by quantum laws.

d. Summary Table of Dimensions

3. Expert Commentary

The scientific community remains cautious in adopting the interdimensional hypothesis, primarily due to the lack of direct empirical evidence. Nonetheless, some physicists advocate for exploring these ideas, especially in the context of unexplained phenomena.

Some have theorized that we made contact with a form of intelligent life but they aren't from outer space, they are ultraterrestrials from other dimensions. 

AMR Image/Getty Images

a. Michio Kaku and Higher-Dimensional Physics

One of the most prominent voices supporting interdimensional travel is theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. Known for popularizing advanced concepts like string theory and multiverse cosmology, Kaku has publicly entertained the possibility that civilizations with sufficiently advanced technology could exploit higher dimensions for travel.

In a 2024 interview, Kaku stated: "If a civilization could master the mathematics of string theory, it might be able to slip into a neighboring brane and re-enter our space, appearing to us as a sudden flash or a craft that seems to ignore our laws of inertia." Here, "brane" refers to a multidimensional membrane within string theory where our universe resides. The idea is that if an object could access a neighboring brane—another dimension with different physical properties—it could traverse regions of space and time in ways impossible for our current technology.

He emphasizes that such interdimensional crossings would not necessarily require faster-than-light travel but would involve shifting into a higher or different dimension where the constraints of our physical constants, like the speed of light, may not apply. The craft would effectively "hop" between universes or dimensions, bypassing the physical limits that trap objects within our universe.

While speculative, Kaku’s assertions are grounded in the mathematics of string theory and higher-dimensional physics, providing a scientific veneer to an otherwise sci-fi concept. His arguments are bolstered by the fact that the equations describing particle behavior at the quantum level—such as quantum tunneling and entanglement—suggest that non-classical interactions across dimensions are at least theoretically conceivable.

b. Other Scientific Perspectives and Skepticism

While notable physicists entertain these ideas, the overall scientific consensus remains cautious. Many experts argue that current models lack empirical support, and with no tangible method to test or falsify the multiverse or interdimensional hypotheses, they remain speculative.

Critics point out that without experimental verification, these theories risk remaining philosophical musings rather than scientific facts. The challenge lies in developing technology capable of detecting or interacting with higher dimensions or parallel universes, a feat that may be centuries beyond current capabilities.

Nonetheless, some researchers advocate for indirect testing methods—such as high-energy physics experiments, gravitational wave detection, or observations of cosmic phenomena—that might hint at extra dimensions or multiverse effects. For example, anomalies in gravitational wave signals or deviations in fundamental constants could suggest phenomena beyond our current understanding, potentially linked to higher-dimensional physics.

4. Evaluating the Evidence

The hypothesis that some UFOs are interdimensional craft hinges on the interpretation of anomalous flight characteristics that defy known physics.

Artist's view of an aerial encounter with an unidentified flying object. 

(Image credit: MUFON)

a. UFO Sightings and Flight Characteristics

Numerous reports cite UFOs with extraordinary capabilities:

- Instantaneous acceleration: Objects appearing to jump from a standstill to high speeds in a fraction of a second.

- Sharp angular turns: Making sudden, impossible maneuvers without apparent inertia or aerodynamic effects.

- Silent hovering and sudden disappearance: Remaining stationary or vanishing abruptly, often without noise.

- Lack of detectable propulsion: No visible exhaust or electromagnetic signatures.

These observations challenge our understanding of physics, especially the constraints imposed by energy requirements, inertia, and aerodynamics. Such flight profiles could, in principle, be explained by transformations through higher dimensions, where the constraints of our physical laws do not apply, allowing craft to "transcend" our spatial-temporal framework.

b. Empirical Data and Limitations

Despite anecdotal accounts and some corroborated sightings, systematic scientific analysis reveals significant limitations:

- The 2023 UFO report by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence documented 144 incidents featuring "unexplained flight dynamics," yet it refrained from offering conclusive explanations.

- Many reports are subject to observer bias, atmospheric illusions, or instrumentation errors. For example, atmospheric phenomena like ball lightning, mirages, or drone interference can mimic extraordinary motion.

- High-quality, multi-sensor data—combining radar, infrared, and visual recordings—are scarce, making it difficult to conclusively analyze these phenomena.

Tic-Tac-shaped objects were recently reported zipping through the sky by jet-fighter pilots and radar operators. The Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was created to research and investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), including numerous videos of reported encounters, three of which were released to the public in 2017. 

(Image credit: U.S. Department of Defense/To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science)

c. Challenges in Confirming Interdimensional Origin

The primary challenge is scientific: without testable hypotheses or measurable interactions with these allegedly interdimensional crafts, the theory remains speculative. To establish credibility, researchers need:

- High-resolution data from multiple sensors.

- Observable interactions with the environment or instruments that cannot be explained by known physics.

- Reproducible experiments or controlled studies.

Until such data are available, the interdimensional hypothesis functions more as an intriguing framework than an empirically proven theory.

Reported UFOs take on all shapes and sizes.  

(Image credit: U.K. National Archives sightings chart, circa 1969)

5. Implications and Future Directions

The notion that UFOs could originate from parallel dimensions, if validated, would have profound implications across several scientific disciplines and societal domains.

a. Impact on Physics and Cosmology

Empirical evidence of interdimensional craft would directly support multiverse and higher-dimensional theories, transforming our understanding of reality. It would:

- Validate models of string theory and brane-world scenarios.

- Provide clues about the fabric of spacetime and the nature of all existence.

- Enable scientists to explore new physics, potentially leading to revolutionary technological advances.

Such discoveries could also offer insights into the origins of the universe, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, and the fundamental limits of physical laws.

Close encounters with our future selves?

 (Image credit: thortful.com)

b. Technological and Societal Impact

Harnessing interdimensional travel could revolutionize transportation and energy:

- Travel across vast distances in space or time, reducing or eliminating the need for conventional propulsion.

- The possibility of accessing alternate realities might spark radical shifts in technology, medicine, and understanding of consciousness.

Society’s perception of reality, humanity’s place in the cosmos, and religious or philosophical views could also be profoundly affected. The confirmation of interdimensional visitors would challenge notions of objectivity, perception, and the uniqueness of human existence.

c. Scientific and Research Directions

Current efforts focus on:

- Developing more sensitive instruments for detecting anomalies in gravitational, electromagnetic, and quantum signals.

- Conducting multi-disciplinary research combining physics, neuroscience, and data science to explore consciousness and perception in relation to unexplained phenomena.

- Launching dedicated exoplanet and cosmic surveys to identify potential signatures of higher-dimensional effects.

Funding agencies like the National Science Foundation and private organizations recognize the importance of exploring "exotic physics" and allocate modest grants for relevant projects, aiming to develop testable models or find indirect evidence.

d. Ethical and Philosophical Considerations

The possibility of encountering other dimensions or realities raises vital questions:

- How should research be conducted ethically, especially if interdimensional beings possess consciousness?

- What are the implications for human identity if others exist beyond our perception?

- How do we communicate or interact cautiously with phenomena that may be beyond our understanding?

The scientific pursuit of interdimensional hypotheses demands rigorous standards, transparency, and interdisciplinary collaboration, balancing curiosity with caution.

6. Conclusion

The hypothesis that UFOs originate from parallel or higher dimensions integrates the frontier concepts of modern physics with the enduring mystery of unidentified aerial phenomena. While firmly rooted in speculative models like string theory, quantum mechanics, and multiverse cosmologies, it remains unproven and highly debated. Nonetheless, the intriguing flight characteristics of some UFO sightings and the mathematical consistency of these theories continue to inspire scientific inquiry.

Future technological advancements, meticulous data collection, and experimental innovation could bring us closer to understanding whether these phenomena are manifestations of unseen realms or simply artifacts of misinterpretation. Regardless of the outcome, exploring the possibility of interdimensional origins not only pushes the boundaries of physics but also challenges our notions of reality, perception, and humanity’s place in the universe.

In summary: The idea that UFOs come from alternate dimensions remains an exciting, scientifically plausible avenue of investigation—one that bridges our current knowledge with the unknown. If confirmed, it would fundamentally alter our understanding of the cosmos and open new horizons for discovery, technology, and philosophy.

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{ PETER2011 }

26-11-2025 om 21:07 geschreven door peter  

Internet Puzzled by “Jellyfish” UFO Video

By Victor Tangermann

Image: Jeremy Corbell via YouTube

Jellyfish and Chandelier

A video of what has since been dubbed a “jellyfish” UFO is making the rounds online.

The footage, shared by journalist Jeremy Corbell earlier this week, shows a mysterious object that appears to have dangling tendrils, and which appears to smoothly float over the roofs of a military base in Iraq. According to Corbell, the UFO footage dates back to October 2018.

According to Cincoski, the footage was taken from an aerostat, a big balloon observatory that was floating over the base to detect any incoming threats.

“Toward the end, it seemingly continued off into the distance,” he told NewsNation, but refuted Corbell’s claims that it ever dropped “into the lake or shoot into the sky.”

“It ended up being the ghost story of the base,” Cincoski added.

Critics, however, say both the “jellyfish” and “chandelier” had much simpler explanations than some outlandish alien theories would suggest.

“The ‘Chandelier’ UFO appears to be a diffraction artifact,” tweeted writer and noted UFO debunker Mick West. “Basically, a glare from a very bright/hot source, like a missile rocket/engine.”

And the jellyfish was likely “two different balloon-like entities” moving about 12 kilometers apart, West added, that appear to be moving at the same speed as the wind — a strong clue that instead of an alien visitor, it’s just a balloon.

More on UFOs: 

• Congress Receiving Mysterious Classified Briefing About UFOs

{ https://futurism.com/ }

26-11-2025 om 17:21 geschreven door peter  

UFO’S EN ONZE FASCINATIE ERMEE  - De geschiedenis, evolutie en impact van de onbekende vliegende objecten

Een illustratie van hoe bolvormige UFO's eruitzien.

Inleiding

De wereld van onbekende vliegende objecten, beter bekend als UFO’s of UAP's, heeft mensen al tientallen jaren in haar greep. Of het nu gaat om oude legendes, middeleeuwse volksverhalen of hedendaagse nieuwsberichten, de fascinatie voor vreemde objecten die door de lucht bewegen zonder duidelijke verklaring, blijft onverminderd aanwezig. Dit artikel neemt je mee op een reis door de geschiedenis van UFO’s, onderzoekt hoe dit fenomeen zich door de jaren heen heeft ontwikkeld en bespreekt de impact die het heeft gehad en nog steeds heeft op de maatschappij en wetenschap in de 21e eeuw.

De vroege geschiedenis van UFO-waarnemingen

De vroege geschiedenis van UFO-waarnemingen is een fascinerend onderwerp dat honderden, zo niet duizenden jaren teruggaat in de tijd. Het fenomeen van onverklaarbare vliegende objecten, oftewel UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects), is niet iets van de laatste decennia. Mensen overal ter wereld en door de geschiedenis heen hebben getuigenissen, verhalen en symbolen verzameld die wijzen op vreemde verschijnselen aan de hemel. Deze waarnemingen worden vaak geïnterpreteerd als iets buitenaards, maar in de oudheid werden ze meestal gezien als godsverschijningen, bovenaardse krachten of natuurlijke fenomenen.

In oude geschriften en mythologieën vinden we talloze beschrijvingen die mogelijk verband houden met wat wij tegenwoordig als UFO’s zouden kunnen beschouwen. Bijvoorbeeld, in middeleeuwse manuscripten en religieuze teksten worden vaak verhalen verteld over glanzende lichten, vliegende schijven of hemelvaartuigen. Een bekend voorbeeld is de beschrijving van de ‘vliegende schijven’ uit de middeleeuwen die in Europese kronieken voorkomen. Sommige passages uit het boek van de Franse schrijver en profeet Nostradamus spreken over ‘vliegende wielen’ en ‘glanzende lichten’ die door de lucht zweven. Daarnaast zijn er schilderijen uit de middeleeuwen te vinden waarop mysterieuze ronde objecten in de hemel te zien zijn, zoals het beroemde schilderij ‘De Vliegende Aarding’ in de kathedraal van Exeter, dat misschien een passing van een UFO voorstelt.

Ook uit de oude beschavingen zoals Egypte, Mesopotamië, India en China vinden we voorbeelden die mogelijk wijzen op het waarnemen van vreemde luchtverschijnselen. In het oude Egypte bijvoorbeeld, zijn er fresco’s en reliëfs gevonden waarop vliegende schijven en mysterieuze lichten te zien zijn. Een bekend voorbeeld is de gravure van het ‘Vliegende Vuurafel’ uit het graf van Thutmosis III, die er op lijkt te duiden dat de oude Egyptenaren astronomen en scheepsbouwers waren die zich verwonderden over ongewone hemelverschijnselen. Ook in oude Indiase teksten, zoals de Veda’s, worden vliegende voertuigen beschreven, zogenaamde ‘Vimanas’, die mogelijk symbolen waren voor geavanceerde technologie of mythische voertuigen. In Chinese oude geschriften zien we verhalen over ‘luchtgeesten’ en mysterieuze bollen die op subtiele wijze door de lucht bewegen, vaak gekoppeld aan bovennatuurlijke krachten of goddelijke manifestaties.

Bovendien zijn er artefacten zoals petroglyphs en rotstekeningen die vreemde objecten afbeelden. Bijvoorbeeld in Noord-Amerika, bij de Indianen, zijn rotsgravures gevonden waarop gevormde vormen lijken op vliegtuigen of schepen uit een futuristische wereld. In Europa en Scandinavië zijn vergelijkbare tekeningen gevonden die mogelijk verwijzen naar het waarnemen van ongebruikelijke luchtverschijnselen, zoals vlammen, vuurballen of glanzende lichten, soms tijdens vollemaan of bij belangrijke gebeurtenissen. Veel van deze oude gegevens worden tegenwoordig geïnterpreteerd als mystieke of natuurlijke verschijnselen, maar ze zouden ook kunnen wijzen op de aanwezigheid van vreemde voertuigen of wezens die de mensheid al eeuwenlang fascinerend blijven.

Kortom, de vroege geschiedenis van UFO-waarnemingen is rijk en gevarieerd. Door de hele wereld heen, uit allerlei culturen en tijdperken, vinden we aanwijzingen dat mensen altijd al getuige zijn geweest van een fenomeen die ze niet onmiddellijk konden verklaren. Of het nu gaat om schilderijen, teksten, artefacten of volksverhalen, deze vroege indrukken vormen een fascinerend landschap dat laat zien dat het fenomeen van vliegende objecten een onderdeel is van onze menselijke geschiedenis, lang vóór de moderne beeldvorming en rapportages. Het blijven ontdekken en interpreteren van deze oude getuigenissen houdt ons scherp en nieuwsgierig naar de ware aard van deze mysterieuze verschijnselen.

Het moderne tijdperk

Het moderne tijdperk van UFO-onderzoeken en -hype werd echt ingeluid door een gebeurtenis die plaatsvond op 24 juni 1947 in de Verenigde Staten. Op die dag vervoegde een piloot met de naam Kenneth Arnold zich in de schijnwerpers van de wereldgeschiedenis. Arnold, een ervaren burgerluchtvaartpiloot en zakenman uit de staat Idaho, was op dat moment op een routinevlucht toen hij plotseling een opmerkelijk verschijnsel in de lucht zag. Tijdens zijn vlucht nabij de bergketen van Mount Rainier in de staat Washington merkte hij een formatie van mysterieuze vliegende objecten op. Wat Arnold precies zag waren verschillende vliegende objecten die in een formatie door de lucht bewogen. Wat hem vooral opviel, was de manier waarop deze objecten zich gedroegen: ze leken zonder enige moeite en met grote snelheid over de hemel te bewegen.

Arnold beschreef de objecten als ‘saucer-like’, oftewel schotelvormig, wat zou kunnen wijzen op een ronde, platte vorm zoals een traditionele schotelopvang. Deze beschrijving sloeg aan en werd snel een centraal punt in de berichtgeving over het verschijnsel. De term “flying saucers” die voortkwam uit Arnold’s rapport, werd al snel populair en zou decennia lang synoniem worden met alles wat met mysterieuze vliegende objecten werd geassocieerd. Dit incident veroorzaakte een ware media-sensatie; kranten, radio- en televisiezenders berichtten massaal over de waarneming van Arnold en de vermoedelijke verschijning van buitenaardse voertuigen. Het was voor het eerst dat het begrip UFO UFO breed bekend raakte onder het grote publiek en begon te leven in het collectieve bewustzijn.

Kort na deze gebeurtenis begonnen talloze andere mensen, waaronder gewone burgers, vissers, vrachtwagenchauffeurs en militairen, soortgelijke waarnemingen te doen. Over de jaren heen werden honderden rapporten verzameld van mensen die onverklaarbare objecten hadden gezien in de lucht. Sommige van deze waarnemingen waren erg gedetailleerd en officieel gedocumenteerd, wat de nieuwsgierigheid en de belangstelling voor het fenomeen alleen maar verder aanwakkerde. Militaire bases en overheidsinstanties begonnen ook alert te worden op de mogelijke dreiging die deze onverklaarbare objecten konden vormen.

De media speelden een grote rol in het versterken van de UFO-waan. Ze overspoelden het publiek met verhalen over mysterieuze verschijnselen, getuigenverslagen en zogenaamde geheim gehouden informatie. Deze uitgebreide berichtgeving zorgde voor een groeiende publieke belangstelling en zelfs angst. Mensen begonnen te speculeren over de mogelijkheid dat we in contact zouden kunnen komen met buitenaardsen of dat er een geheime overmacht actief was die ons observeerde.

Door de jaren heen ontwikkelde zich een uitgebreide cultuur rondom het fenomeen UFO’s, met wetenschappelijke onderzoeken, conspiracy-theorieën en een wereldwijde gemeenschap van enthousiastelingen die verder wilden zoeken naar antwoorden. Het incident van Kenneth Arnold wordt dan ook vaak beschouwd als het begin van de moderne UFO-hype, het startpunt van een lange en complexe geschiedenis die tot op de dag van vandaag voortduurt. Deze gebeurtenis markeerde het moment waarop het fenomeen uit de marginale hoek was gekropen en was doorgedrongen tot het middelpunt van publieke en overheidsdebatten over buitenaards leven en technologische geheimen.

De jaren ’50 en ’60: een periode van onderzoek en theorieën

De jaren ’50 en ’60 vormen een fascinerende periode in de geschiedenis van UFO-onderzoek, gekenmerkt door een groeiende nieuwsgierigheid en de ontwikkeling van verschillende theorieën. Na het incident van 1947, waarbij een onbekend object crashte in Roswell, New Mexico, namen de meldingen van ongeïdentificeerde vliegende objecten (UFO’s) snel toe. Mensen waren steeds meer gefascineerd door het idee dat we mogelijk niet alleen in het universum waren, en het publieke bewustzijn over buitenaardse bezoekers nam toe.

In deze periode werden diverse onderzoeksgroepen opgericht om UFO-incidenten te bestuderen. Een van de bekendste initiatieven was ‘Project Blue Book’, dat van 1952 tot 1969 door het Amerikaanse leger werd uitgevoerd. Het doel was om concrete bewijzen te vinden voor het bestaan van buitenaardse wezens, of om te bewijzen dat deze fenomenen verklaard konden worden door natuurlijke of menselijke oorzaken. Tijdens de looptijd werden er meer dan 12.000 meldingen onderzocht, variërend van eenvoudige verschijningen in de lucht tot complexe waarnemingen zoals vormen die explosief van kleur konden veranderen of zich met ongelooflijke snelheid voortbewogen. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn de zogenaamde 'foo fighters' die door piloten tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog werden gerapporteerd en ook in de jaren ’50 en ’60 vaak werden waargenomen.

Uit het onderzoek bleek dat het merendeel van de waarnemingen konden worden verklaard door natuurlijke fenomenen zoals weersverschijnselen (bijvoorbeeld lichteffecten door wolken of bliksemflitsen), of menselijke activiteiten zoals het loslaten van ballonnen of het testen van nieuwe vliegtuigen en vuurpijlen. Tevens werden veel waarnemingen toegeschreven aan lichtreflexies of zelfs psychologische factoren zoals massahysterie of verkeerd geïnterpreteerde observaties. Desondanks bleef een klein gedeelte van de meldingen onduidelijk en onverklaarbaar, wat leidde tot speculaties dat sommige UFO’s misschien buitenaardse schepen waren.

Wetenschappers zoals Stanton Friedman en anderen pleitten voor een open houding en suggereerden dat het niet uitgesloten kon worden dat sommige waarnemingen bewijs waren van buitenaardse bezoekers. Het idee dat intelligente buitenaardse wezens actief zouden kunnen zijn op aarde en dat sommige UFO’s mogelijk hun schepen waren, werd in die tijd vooral besproken in wetenschappelijke kringen en in sciencefiction. Films zoals ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ uit 1977 en series zoals ‘The Outer Limits’ en ‘The Twilight Zone’ weerspiegelden deze fascinatie en spelen een grote rol in de popularisering van het buitenaardse verhaal. In die periode werd de basis gelegd voor de latere uitgebreide wetenschappelijke en culturele discussies over het bestaan van buitenaardse levensvormen en de mysteries rondom UFO’s.

Deze afbeelding toont een luchtfoto van het Pentagon op 26 januari 2020. Op 14 november 2024 onthulde een nieuw rapport van het Pentagon over UFO's honderden nieuwe incidenten.

AP Foto/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Bestand/AP Foto/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Bestand/AP Foto/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Bestand

De periode van twijfel en wantrouwen

In de jaren ’70 en ’80 nam de publieke interesse in UFO’s tijdelijk af. De media en wetenschappelijke gemeenschap richtten zich meer op andere onderwerpen, en er was een zekere scepsis over de enorme hoeveelheid getuigenissen en onverklaarbare verschijnselen. Desondanks bleef een kleine groep onderzoekers en liefhebbers verder zoeken en theorieën ontwikkelen over buitenaardse levensvormen die de aarde zouden bezoeken.

De opkomst van internet en de digitalisering aan het eind van de 20e eeuw leidde tot een nieuw tijdperk van informatieverspreiding. Video’s en foto’s van vermeende UFO’s werden overal gedeeld en besproken. Sommige van deze opnames leken overtuigend, terwijl anderen later werden ontkracht of verklaard als menselijke of natuurlijke verschijnselen. De discussie bleef echter voortduren.

In deze periode ontstond ook een groeiende belangstelling onder het grote publiek en in de popcultuur. Films, series en boeken verwerkten het thema van buitenaardse wezens en UFO’s. Denk aan klassiekers als “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Independence Day” en “The X-Files”. Deze media-invloeden zorgden voor een versterkte fascinatie en soms ook voor verkeerde verwachtingen of misverstanden over de werkelijkheid van UFO-waarnemingen.

De hernieuwde belangstelling in de jaren ’90 en de 21e eeuw

In de jaren ’90 en de daaropvolgende jaren zagen we een aanzienlijk hernieuwde interesse in het fenomeen van UFO’s en onverklaarbare vliegende objecten. Deze periode werd gekenmerkt door een grote toestroom van nieuwe beelden, video’s en rapportages die de publieke nieuwsgierigheid weer deden toenemen en de discussie over buitenaards leven en geheime technologie nieuw leven inbliezen. Een van de meest invloedrijke gebeurtenissen uit die periode was de publicatie van de beroemde ‘Tic Tac’-video’s door het Amerikaanse ministerie van Defensie.

De ‘Tic Tac’-video’s werden in 2004 en 2015 gemaakt door Amerikaanse Navy-piloten die deelnamen aan geheime militaire oefeningen. Op de beelden is te zien hoe een onbegrijpelijk object, dat lijkt op een kleine, ovale, witte ‘Tic Tac’, zich op verbijsterende snelheid door de lucht beweegt, zonder de gebruikelijke vluchttechnieken die wij kennen. Het object kan volgens de piloten van direction veranderen en extreem snelle transities maken, die onmogelijk te verklaren zijn door menselijke technologie uit die tijd. Deze beelden werden in 2017 door het Pentagon officieel vrijgegeven, wat een golf van publieke en wetenschappelijke interesse veroorzaakte.

De vrijgave van deze video’s leidde niet alleen tot uitgebreid media-onderzoek, maar gaf ook het startschot voor bredere discussies over het bestaan en de herkomst van deze objecten. Mensen begonnen vragen te stellen zoals: Wat is die technologie die zo snel en beweeglijk is? Zijn deze objecten van menselijke of buitenaardse oorsprong? Hoe kunnen ze zich zo snel door de lucht voortbewegen zonder dat we ze begrijpen? Het bleek dat deze beelden niet slechts anekdotisch waren, maar hoge-resolutie en real-time getuigenissen bevatten die wetenschappers van over de hele wereld aan het denken zette.

Naast de ‘Tic Tac’-video’s waren er nog meer voorbeelden van opmerkelijke waarnemingen die in de jaren ’90 en daarna de aandacht trokken. Bijvoorbeeld de ‘Phoenix Lights’ in 1997, waarbij duizenden mensen in Arizona een formatie van lichten zagen boven de stad zwemmen. Hoewel deze gebeurtenis niet werd vastgelegd op video, veroorzaakte het een massale publieke waarneming die tot op heden sommige wetenschappers en UFO-enthousiastelingen niet kunnen verklaren. Ook de beelden van de ‘Belgische UFO-golf’ tussen 1989 en 1990, met talrijke waarnemingen en visuele waarnemingen, zorgden voor een toenemende interesse.

Wat de video’s uit de jaren ’90 en de 21e eeuw nog belangrijker maakte, was dat ze hoge-resolutie beelden brachten die voorheen niet beschikbaar waren. Ze gaven wetenschappers de kans om te analyseren en te proberen verklaren wat deze objecten waren en hoe ze bewogen. De beelden werden gebruikt door overheidsinstanties, wetenschappers en onafhankelijke onderzoeksbureaus in een poging om meer te begrijpen over de technologische aard van de verschijnselen.

De hernieuwde belangstelling zorgde ook voor meer onderzoek en investeringen in de studie van UFO’s. In 2020 besloot het Amerikaanse Congres bijvoorbeeld een officieel onderzoekscommissie op te richten, de ‘UFO Task Force’, die zich specifiek richt op het verzamelen en analyseren van onverklaarbare waarnemingen. Dit markeerde een belangrijke doorbraak, want voorheen waren deze fenomenen vaak door de overheid en wetenschap genegeerd of onderdrukt als zijnde onbetrouwbare verhalen.

Al deze gebeurtenissen en beelden samen zorgen voor een nieuwe dimensie in het fenomeen van UFO’s. Ze moedigen niet alleen verder wetenschappelijk onderzoek aan, maar veranderen ook de perceptie van het publiek en beleid. De beelden bieden namelijk de mogelijkheid om de technologie en fenomenen te bestuderen, en mogelijk om te achterhalen of er buitenaardse intelligenties betrokken zijn, of dat de objecten van geheime menselijke technologie afkomstig zijn. Kortom, deze periode wordt gekenmerkt door een hernieuwde en meer open blik op het onverklaarbare, die nog steeds voortduurt en zich uitstrekt tot in de 21e eeuw.

Organisaties en betrokkenheid

In recente jaren hebben verschillende organisaties zich actief ingezet voor het onderzoeken van UFO’s. Een van de meest prominente is ‘To the Stars Academy’, opgericht door de voormalig muzikant van de band Blink-182, Tom DeLonge. Deze organisatie bestaat uit een groep wetenschappers, voormalig defensiefunctionarissen en andere experts die zich richten op het verzamelen en analyseren van getuigenissen, videobeelden en andere gegevens.

Daarnaast heeft de Amerikaanse overheid stappen gezet om documenten en rapporten vrij te geven die voorheen vertrouwelijk waren. In 2020 publiceerde het Pentagon een serie declassificeerde video’s en rapporten waarin Navy-piloten worden getoond die onverklaarbare objecten zien tijdens hun oefeningen. De regering erkende dat voor een meerderheid van deze incidenten geen conventionele verklaringen bestaan en dat ze serieus genomen moeten worden.

Ook andere landen en internationale organisaties zijn zich meer gaan interesseren voor dit fenomeen. Onder andere Frankrijk met het revolutionaire project ‘GEPAN’ en het Britse ‘MOD’ (Ministry of Defence) hebben rapporten en studies gepubliceerd die de globalisering van UFO-onderzoek illustreren.

De maatschappelijke en wetenschappelijke impact

De invloed van het UFO-fenomeen op de 21e eeuw is divers en complex. Aan de ene kant heeft het bijgedragen aan een levendige subcultuur van onderzoekers, schrijvers, filmmakers en enthousiastelingen die de theorieën en waarnemingen blijven bestuderen en uitdiepen. Film en literatuur worden vaak geïnspireerd door de mogelijkheid dat buitenaardse wezens ons mogelijk bezoeken en misschien zelfs al onder ons leven.

Aan de andere kant bestaat er veel scepsis over UFO’s. Veel skeptici betwijfelen de authenticiteit van waarnemingen en zien het fenomeen als pseudowetenschap, complottheorie of massale illusie. Sommige wetenschappers en onderzoekers waarschuwen dat de focus op buitenaardse bezoekers afleidt van daadwerkelijke grote vraagstukken rond ruimteonderzoek, klimaatverandering, technologische innovatie en wereldveiligheid.

Desondanks is de wetenschap meer open gaan staan voor het fenomeen. De laatste jaren zien we toegenomen aandacht voor het onderwerp in academische kringen. Het US Department of Defense heeft bijvoorbeeld in 2021 de ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force’ (UAPTF) opgericht om onverklaarbare verschijnselen te bestuderen en te rapporteren. Wetenschappers uit verschillende disciplines roepen op tot een meer objectieve, gesystematiseerde aanpak en proberen data te verzamelen die eerst onbeskikbaar waren.

Daarnaast stimuleert de groeiende interesse in ruimtevaart en technologische innovaties de hoop dat we in de toekomst de ware aard en herkomst van deze mysterieuze verschijnselen kunnen achterhalen. Er wordt onder meer gewerkt aan geavanceerde radar- en sensor-technologieën, kunstmatige intelligentie en deep space observaties.

De toekomst van UFO-onderzoek

De toekomst van het onderzoek naar UFO’s en buitenaardse fenomenen lijkt veelbelovend. Met nieuwe technologieën zoals geavanceerde radar- en videotechnologie, kunstmatige intelligentie en ruimtevaart kunnen we beter waarnemingen en analyses uitvoeren. Daarnaast groeit de internationale samenwerking tussen landen en wetenschappelijke instellingen, wat kan leiden tot meer objectieve en betrouwbare gegevens.

Ook sociale media en de toegankelijkheid van informatie zorgen voor een bredere betrokkenheid van het publiek. Iedereen met een smartphone kan een waarneming delen en bijdragen aan de verzameling van data. Dit democratiseert het onderzoek en kan leiden tot verrassende ontdekkingen.

Bovendien is er een groeiende bewustwording dat de zoektocht niet alleen draait om buitenaardse bezoekers, maar ook om het begrijpen van onze eigen ruimte en de technologie die we daarbij kunnen inzetten. De mogelijkheid dat wij niet de enigen in het universum zijn, stimuleert niet alleen wetenschappelijke innovatie, maar ook een bredere filosofische en existentiële reflectie over onze plek in het heelal.

Het belang van open en transparante communicatie wordt onderstreept door verschillende overheidsinstellingen. Het documenteren en vrijgeven van gegevens en het rapporteren van onverklaarbare verschijnselen helpt niet alleen om scepsis weg te nemen, maar bevordert ook het vertrouwen in wetenschappelijk onderzoek.

De integratie van technologische ontwikkelingen en internationale coöperatie kan ervoor zorgen dat het komende decennium mogelijk een doorbraak zal betekenen in ons begrip van deze mysterieuze verschijnselen. Nieuwe gegevens uit ruimteonderzoek, gecombineerd met de wachters van openheid van overheden en wetenschappelijke instituten, kunnen leiden tot het antwoord op een van de grootste vragen uit de menselijke geschiedenis: zijn wij alleen in het universum of niet?

Conclusie

Kort gezegd, de geschiedenis van UFO’s is al even oud als de beschaving zelf. Van oude legendes tot hedendaagse video’s en officiële rapporten, het fenomeen blijft mensen fascineren, verbazen en intrigeren. Hoewel veel waarnemingen kunnen worden verklaard door natuurlijke of menselijke oorzaken, blijven de onverklaarbare incidenten de indruk achterlaten dat er meer is dan we weten of begrijpen.

De acceptatie dat UFO’s serieus moeten worden onderzocht, groeit gestaag. De constellatie van onderzoek, openheid van overheden en technologische vooruitgang kan ons in de toekomst misschien dichter brengen bij het beantwoorden van de eeuwige vraag: zijn we alleen in het heelal, of worden we al lang bezocht door intelligente buitenaardse beschavingen? Hoe dan ook, één ding is zeker: de fascinatie en nieuwsgierigheid naar UFO’s zullen niet verdwijnen, maar alleen maar toenemen.

Volgens de bekende Amerikaanse ufoloog Stanton Friedman, “De waarheid is daarbuiten.” En terwijl wetenschap en technologie zich verder ontwikkelen, blijft de zoektocht naar die waarheid een van de meest intrigerende en ongrijpbare puzzels van onze tijd. De komende decennia kunnen de antwoorden dichterbij brengen, of juist meer vragen oproepen die ons uit blijven dagen en inspireren. Het blijft een boeiend mysterie dat onze verbeelding en zoekmachine-energie blijft voeden.

De wetenschap zal blijven proberen om verklaring te vinden voor de onverklaarbare verschijnselen, terwijl de samenleving blijft dromen en fantaseren over de mogelijkheid van buitenaardse bezoekers. Het is deze combinatie van nieuwsgierigheid, kritisch onderzoek en openheid die ervoor zorgt dat het verhaal van UFO’s ons blijven boeien en uitdagen. Uiteindelijk draait het om onze collectieve zoektocht naar antwoorden over onszelf, het universum en misschien ook wel over wat er nog buiten ons bereik ligt.

Het is dus niet alleen een kwestie van het geloven in buitenaardse wezens of het afwijzen ervan, maar vooral een reflectie op onze eigen menselijke natuur: de drang naar begrip, het verlangen naar contact en de angst voor het onbekende. Door ons te blijven verdiepen in het fenomeen en de verhalen erachter, houden we de deur open naar nieuwe ontdekkingen en inzichten, die misschien ons wereldbeeld voorgoed kunnen veranderen.

En zo blijven UFO’s een fascinerend en intrigerend onderdeel van onze collectieve geschiedenis en cultuur, die niet alleen verhalen vertellen over buitenaardse aardbewoners of geheimzinnige voertuigen, maar ook over onze eigen zoektocht naar waarachtigheid, kennis en de ultieme vraag: zijn we echt alleen? De reis gaat door, en de mysterie blijft ons uitdagen, inspireren en fascineren.

{ PETER2011 }

22-11-2025 om 22:43 geschreven door peter  

UFO tracker shows thousands of eerie underwater objects lurking along US coasts

The truth is under there.

A popular UFO-reporting app has recorded thousands of sightings of Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs) near US waterways — phenomena which high-ranking US Navy officials warn could pose a threat to national security. 

A video accompanying one of the reports sent to UFO logging app Enigma showed mysterious green lights moving beneath the surface of the ocean.

Enigma

Enigma, which touts itself as the “largest queryable historical sighting database for global UFO sightings,” claims it has received reports on over 30,000 Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena since launching in late 2022.

But the sightings haven’t been limited to the skies, with reports also coming in about strange objects rising from the depths of the sea, or plunging into the water without so much as a splash.

Pentagon-reviewed footage has documented instances of unidentified craft diving into or emerging from the water without damaging the vessel or even making a splash, prompting alarm from some officials.

Jeremy Corbell/Weaponized Podcast

As of August, Enigma has also logged more than 9,000 mysterious sightings within 10 miles of US shorelines or major bodies of water — 500 of them within 5 miles — with more than 150 of the reports describing objects hovering above or descending into waterways, according to Marine Technology News.

The US states with the most reported USO sightings were California (389) and Florida (306) — both among the top three US states with the most ocean coastline. One of the most bizarre reports includes phone camera video of unexplained green lights traveling beneath the surface of the ocean.

The app has released maps plotting out the reported sightings, represented as clusters of orange dots running up and down the east and west coasts.

UFO sightings are nothing new, and are often dismissed as crackpottery by much of the scientific community or relegated to the stuff of science fiction, but retired Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet warns UFOs with the ability to go from air to sea without crashing or even creating a splash could have “world-changing” ramifications.

“The fact that unidentified objects with unexplainable characteristics are entering US water space and the DOD is not raising a giant red flag is a sign that the government is not sharing all it knows about all-domain anomalous phenomena,” Gallaudet wrote in a March 2024 report. 

Alarm bells were raised in July 2019, when the USS Omaha recorded a UFO/UAP that vanished into the ocean without a trace after buzzing a Navy fleet off the coast of San Diego. Video of the incident was verified by the Pentagon, displaying capabilities Gallaudet said “jeopardizes U.S. maritime security, which is already weakened by our relative ignorance about the global ocean.”

In his 29-page report for UFO-focused think tank the Sol Foundation, Gallaudet said there’s a documented pattern of similar phenomena being reported.

“Pilots, credible observers and calibrated military instrumentation have recorded objects accelerating at rates and crossing the air–sea interface in ways not possible for anything made by humans,” he wrote.

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{  https://nypost.com/us-news/ }

22-11-2025 om 18:05 geschreven door peter  

Pentagon Reveals 400 UFO Sightings Following Leaked Videos

Overview

The Department of Defense announced this week that more than 400 unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) sightings have been logged by Navy and Air Force personnel since the release of the agency’s 2021 report and the subsequent leak of three Navy videos. The new data, presented at a House Intelligence subcommittee hearing, expands the known inventory of anomalous objects that have been observed near military installations, training ranges, and operational airspace. While the Pentagon stopped short of attributing any sighting to extraterrestrial technology, analysts noted recurring patterns—high‑speed maneuvers, sudden acceleration, and flight paths that appear to violate known aerodynamic limits—that suggest “advanced, possibly non‑human, capabilities.”

Key Details

The 400‑plus reports were gathered through the UAP Task Force’s standardized reporting system, a process introduced in 2022 to reduce the stigma that previously discouraged pilots from filing entries. Among the most striking cases are three incidents recorded in the past six months near the Atlantic Fleet’s training area off the coast of Virginia, where infrared sensors captured objects executing instantaneous 180‑degree turns at speeds exceeding 15,000 km/h. Another cluster involved “tic‑tac‑shaped” craft observed over the Nevada Test and Training Range, displaying rapid altitude changes without visible propulsion. None of the sightings have been conclusively linked to known aircraft, drones, or atmospheric phenomena, prompting the Defense Department to label them “unexplained” rather than “aliens.”

Government Response

Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie emphasized the administration’s commitment to “eliminate the stigma” surrounding UAP reporting. “Our goal is to bring operators into a standardized data‑gathering process,” he told lawmakers, adding that consistent documentation is essential for national‑security assessments. The hearing, the first public UAP briefing in nearly five decades, also featured testimony from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, who outlined ongoing collaborations with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Geospatial‑Intelligence Agency to cross‑reference civilian sightings and satellite data. The Pentagon’s newly created Office of UAP Investigation now reports directly to the Secretary of Defense, a structural change aimed at improving inter‑agency coordination.

Implications for Security and Policy

Congressional members expressed a mix of curiosity and concern. Representative Andre Carson, chair of the subcommittee, warned that “persistent gaps in our situational awareness could be exploited by adversarial nations,” underscoring the need to determine whether the phenomena represent foreign hypersonic platforms or something entirely novel. The November 2025 update to the UAP database, which added high‑resolution sensor logs from the Space Force’s Space Surveillance Network, intensified calls for a comprehensive disclosure bill. While senior officials maintain that no definitive evidence of extraterrestrial origin exists, the sheer volume of unexplained encounters has prompted the National Security Council to allocate additional funding for advanced sensor development and AI‑driven pattern analysis.

Next Steps

The Pentagon plans to release a supplemental report by early 2026, summarizing the 400 sightings and outlining a roadmap for enhanced detection capabilities. In parallel, the House Intelligence Committee is slated to hold a follow‑up hearing in March, where lawmakers will review the newly declassified data and assess the adequacy of current reporting mechanisms. Defense analysts suggest that a transparent, science‑based approach—combined with international cooperation on air‑space monitoring—could both mitigate security risks and address public demand for clarity. Until more conclusive evidence emerges, the UAP phenomenon remains a high‑priority intelligence challenge, prompting continued scrutiny across the defense and aerospace communities.

{  https://usubjects.com/  }

22-11-2025 om 17:42 geschreven door peter  

Van Klassieke Ufologie naar Opkomende Wetenschap

Overzicht

In een recente lezing georganiseerd door het Human Institute en UAPMed schetste Michael Cifone, een filosoof van de wetenschap verbonden aan de Society for UAP Studies, een verschuiving in de manier waarop onderzoekers onherleidbare luchtfenomenen (UAP) en niet-menselijke intelligentie (NHI) benaderen. Hij contrasteerde het model van de “klassieke ufologie”—voornamelijk gerechtelijk, retrospectief en afhankelijk van ooggetuigenverslagen—met wat hij beschreef als de “opkomende wetenschap van UAP,” een demonstratieve inspanning die zich richt op het bouwen van speciale instrumenten, het synchroniseren van datastromen en het nastreven van directe observatie. Cifones presentatie, onderdeel van een serie getiteld Investigating Non‑Human Intelligence, onderstreepte de noodzaak om verder te kijken dan het verzamelen van oude rapporten en over te gaan op een systematische, op data gebaseerde methodologie.

Epistemologische Uitdagingen

Cifone waarschuwde dat de aannames die in de traditionele natuurwetenschappen worden gehanteerd, onderzoekers kunnen verblinden voor het fenomeen dat zij proberen te bestuderen. Hij stelde een prikkelende vraag: “Wat als het probleem niet ontbrekende bewijzen zijn, maar ontbrekende categorieën?” Volgens zijn kader worden drie onderling verweven kwesties het kennislager vormgegeven:

• Bewijsmateriaal is niet neutraal – de instrumenten en theorieën die wij gebruiken, predeterminen wat wij kunnen meten. Dit betekent dat de instrumenten die we inzetten noodzakelijkerwijs bepalen naar welk fenomeen we zoeken en hoe we dat interpreteren. Een laserafstandsmeter kan bijvoorbeeld alleen afstanden meten die binnen het bereik en de precisie vallen die het apparaat toestaan. Daarnaast bepalen bestaande theorieën welke interpretaties als legitiem worden beschouwd.

• De epistemische cirkel – buitensporige claims vereisen bewijs dat niet door bestaande instrumenten kan worden vastgelegd. Dit betekent dat sommige fenomenen, indien ze zelden voorkomen of zich slechts onder bepaalde condities voordoen, niet gemakkelijk te vast te leggen zijn met de huidige technologie. Toch houden onderzoekers vol dat bewijs wel mogelijk moet zijn, wat leidt tot een vicieuze cirkel tussen hypothese en observatie.

• Fenomenen kunnen tijdelijk, participatief en relationeel zijn – anders dan de stabiele, herhaalbare gebeurtenissen waar de conventionele wetenschap de voorkeur aan geeft. UAP kunnen zich bijvoorbeeld slechts af en toe voordoen, afhankelijk zijn van het bewustzijn of de intentie van de waarnemer, of een relationele dynamiek vertonen die niet past binnen traditionele natuurwetenschappelijke modellen.

Cifone pleit voor een nieuwe vorm van empirisme die objectieve instrumenten combineert met fenomenologische, eerst-person ervaring. Hierdoor kunnen onderzoekers “luisteren naar de data” voordat zij vooraf ingestelde categorieën opleggen. Dit impliceert dat de beleving en interpretatie van de waarneming even belangrijk moeten worden genomen als meetinstrumenten, vooral in gevallen waarin het fenomeen moeilijk of onmogelijk reproduceerbaar is.

Opkomende Wetenschappelijke Benaderingen

De presentatie omschreef concrete stappen om UAP-onderzoek te transformerentr en tot een rigoureuze wetenschap. Enkele voorstellen waren:

• Het opbouwen van speciale sensor netwerken – deze netwerken kunnen in real-time high-resolutie, multimodale data vastleggen. Denk aan het gebruik van radar, infrarood, elektromagnetische metingen en audio. Het doel is om het veld te verschuiven van retrospectief getuigenis naar live observatie, waardoor de kans op snelle verificatie en analyse toeneemt.

• Professionalisering van forensische onderzoeksmethoden – door te zorgen dat sporen zoals elektromagnetische anomalieën of materiaalerestanten worden verzameld en geanalyseerd volgens strikte normen die ook in de ruimtevaart of forensische laboratoria worden gehanteerd. Dit zorgt voor een hogere betrouwbaarheid van de bevindingen en maakt ze vergelijkbaar met andere takken van geavanceerd technisch onderzoek.

• Het behandelen van mensen als sensoren – een concept dat werd verkend door Maya Cowan. Hier wordt erkend dat menselijke waarneming betrouwbaar is, maar ook zijn grenzen kent, en dat deze waarnemingen kunnen worden geïntegreerd met instrumentale gegevens. In deze aanpak wordt de menselijke interpretatie niet uitgesloten maar juist aangevuld, door bijvoorbeeld gecombineerde analyses te maken van witness reports en meetgegevens.

Deze initiatieven weerspiegelen de focus van de UAP-onderzoeksgemeenschap op “lokale gedragingen en dynamische relaties,” wat het onderscheid maakt van de verre, message-gerichte doelen van SETI. Terwijl SETI zich richt op signaaldetectie en communicatie met buitenaardse intelligentie op grote afstand, richt UAP-onderzoek zich vaak op snelle, onvoorspelbare fenomenen die zich direct manifesteren in onze atmosfeer. Door menselijke rapporten te synchroniseren met instrumentale metingen hopen onderzoekers een rijker, gevalideerd datacollectief te scheppen dat meer inzicht kan geven in het aard, de aard en de mogelijke intelligentie achter deze fenomenen.

Interdisciplinaire Kaders

Cifone benadrukte het belang van radicale interdisciplinariteit als essentieel voor een opkomende wetenschap van niet-menselijke intelligentie. In dit kader wordt vaak teruggevallen op het 6W-model – wie, wat, wanneer, waar, waarom en hoe – als een raamwerk voor het organiseren van onderzoeken die fysieke verklaringen combineren met geleefde ervaring.

• Wie betreft de onderzoekers en waarnemers, waaronder wetenschappers, piloten, nauwe observatoren en betrokken burgers.
• Wat verwijst naar de fenomenen zelf: UAP, anomalieën in elektromagnetische velden, materiaalterreinen of mogelijk niet-menselijke activiteiten.
• Wanneer en waar beschrijven de tijdstippen en locaties van waarnemingen, cruciaal voor correlaties en patroonherkenning.
• Waarom en hoe betreffen de interpretaties en mechanismen die mogelijk ten grondslag liggen aan de fenomeen; deze bieden inzicht in de motivatie en aard van de aanwezige intelligenties of natuurlijke processen.

Fenomenologen zoals Kim Engels ontwikkelen methoden om het “gehele UFO-gevoel” vast te leggen, door narratieve gegevens te verbinden met sensorlogs. Deze aanpak beoogt de kloof te overbruggen tussen objectieve data en subjectieve betekenis, omdat hij van mening is dat dit noodzakelijk is om antropocentrisme te overwinnen. Door het onderzoeken van de percepties, gevoelens en interpretaties van getuigen wil men niet alleen de feiten vastleggen maar ook de context waarin deze plaatsvinden, wat kan leiden tot een dieper begrip van het fenomeen.

Verder suggereerde Cifone dat het herintegreren van de geesteswetenschappen—zoals antropologie, filosofie en psychologie—met de natuurwetenschappen het conceptuele vocabulaire kan uitbreiden dat nodig is om fenomenen te beschrijven die “participatief en relationeel” zijn, in plaats van louter externe objecten.

Dit multidisciplinaire model benadrukt dat het begrijpen van UAP en NHI niet louter een technische onderneming is, maar ook een cultureel en interpretatief vraagstuk. Het vraagt om een brede blik, waarin wetenschap en erfgoed, perceptie en werkelijkheid, samenvallen.

Vooruitzichten en Skepsis

Hoewel de visie ambitieus is, betwijfelde Cifone zelf de haalbaarheid ervan; hij merkte op dat veel van de voorgestelde praktijken nog “utopisch” zijn zonder duurzame financiering, institutionele steun en methodologische consensus. Het opzetten van uitgebreide sensor netwerken, het trainen van multidisciplinaire teams en het integreren van fenomenologische benaderingen vereisen aanzienlijke middelen en lange termijnplanning.

Desalniettemin werden enkele pilotprojecten besproken, zoals gecoördineerde hemelwacht-netwerken en samenwerkingsworkshops tussen natuurkundigen, antropologen en piloten, die het praktische potentieel van dit interdisciplinaire model demonstreren. Zo werd het voorbeeld gegeven van internationale netwerken die realtime data verzamelen en analyseren, als een mogelijke basis voor bredere wetenschappelijke samenwerkingen.

De bredere wetenschappelijke gemeenschap houdt deze ontwikkelingen nauwlettend in de gaten. Zoals Cifone afsluit: “De werkelijke vraag is niet of niet-menselijke intelligentie bestaat – het universum is groot genoeg dat dit bijna triviaal is. De vraag is of onze wetenschappen al intelligent genoeg zijn om het waar te nemen.” Als de opkomende wetenschap van UAP erin slaagt instrumenten, fenomenologie en rigoureuze epistemologie te integreren, kan dit mogelijk het systematische bewijs leveren dat zowel sceptici als gelovigen al lang zoeken. Het zou kunnen leiden tot een paradigmaverschuiving, waarin we niet alleen de fenomenen accepteren maar ook begrijpen en, misschien, contact maken met andere vormen van intelligentie die onze horizon nu nog verbreden.

Slotwoord

De overgang van klassieke ufologie naar een meer wetenschappelijke en systematische benadering markeert een belangrijke ontwikkeling in de studie van het onbekende. Door een combinatie van geavanceerde technologieën, interdisciplinaire samenwerking en een herziening van epistemologische principes, wordt het mogelijk om de mysterieuze fenomenen rondom UAP en NHI in een nieuw, meer rigoureus licht te plaatsen. Het pad naar een echte wetenschap binnen dit domein is nog lang en vol uitdagingen, maar de richting is duidelijk: een integrale aanpak waarin data, ervaring en theorie hand in hand gaan. Alleen zo kunnen we misschien ooit de antwoorden vinden op vragen die ons al eeuwenlang bezighouden.

{ PETER2011 }

16-11-2025 om 22:21 geschreven door peter  

However, decades later, a fresh academic review of the seminal work raises significant questions about many of its claims. In a new paper published in the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, independent researcher Thomas Kelly examines contemporary periodicals, one of the author’s original notes about the study, and further investigation of the subjects’ later lives, now arguing that the work’s conclusions were inaccurate and derived from the original researchers’ unethical behavior.

Anatomy of a UFO Cult

The story, as told in When Prophecy Fails, is that a UFO cult sprang up around a Chicago housewife, Dorothy Martin, who claimed to channel messages from extraterrestrials. Supporting Martin were her closest lieutenants, Charles Laughead and his wife Lillian, as the cult grew to a small circle of diehard followers.

After Martin’s prediction that a great flood would destroy much of the Earth on December 21, 1954, appeared in newspapers, psychologists from the University of Minnesota joined the group as participant observers.

In the resulting book based on their experiences, the authors of When Prophecy Fails claimed that when the date came and went, the cult members began to experience cognitive dissonance, which they dealt with by doubling down on their beliefs and increasing their proselytization efforts. The work was immensely successful and was followed a year later by Festinger’s A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, another important work in the field of psychology, which more broadly defined the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance while making many references to the UFO cult events. 

Reconsidering When Prophecy Fails

Researcher Thomas Kelly is a political scientist by training, with a PhD from UC Berkeley, and has previously published on health policy. He explained to The Debrief how, after reading When Prophecy Fails for personal interest, he became concerned with the influential work’s accuracy.

“When I read the book, alarm bells went off in my head because the authors made sweeping claims while offering anecdotes that often seemed to undermine their main thesis,” Kelly explained. “For example, they would discuss how the cult rarely proselytized in one chapter, and in the next introduce a book publisher that they were hoping would print a book of their teachings.”

“As I read more about the case, each document made When Prophecy Fails look worse,” Kelly continued. “For instance, Festinger’s book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance offered an account of the events of When Prophecy Fails, but he altered the account in several ways even though they were only published a year apart.”

Kelly noted his greatest surprise was at how often the researchers documented their active encouragement of the cult’s beliefs during moments of doubt, which he discovered in Festinger’s newly released papers.

Kelly traces Martin’s later career as “Sister Thedra,” a period marked by claims that she channeled both Jesus and extraterrestrial beings. At the same time, the Laugheads continued to promote their beliefs in prophecy and alien contact. When Kelly notes that Martin eventually recanted, the reality appears more nuanced than a simple admission of error. Martin suggested that her belief that the followers would be taken up in a spaceship might have referred not to a literal ascent, but to a spiritual uplifting—though she later conceded that no one can make precise, date-specific predictions. Interestingly, some of Sister Thedra’s subsequent followers seem to have been unaware of the original 1954 events that gave rise to her earlier notoriety.

Fundamentally, Kelly’s work clearly illuminates many ethical breaches in When Prophecy Fails, and underscores the authors’ narrow focus on how groups respond to falsified predictions. However, not everyone feels that Kelly’s arguments completely upend the decades-old research, and it is important to note that Kelly’s paper offers a relatively narrow and specific refutation of the ideas in When Prophecy Fails and its claims regarding cognitive dissonance.

“I think it’s an interesting take, which could have been fleshed out a bit more with additional examples and evidence,” commented Aaron Gulyas, a historian specializing in UFO and conspiratorial beliefs, regarding Kelly’s new perspectives on the work, though arguing that it may not entirely refute the primary argument of When Prophecy Fails. 

“The focus on the ‘proselytization’ angle seems a bit narrow to me,” Gulyas told The Debrief. “I thought that Kelly might have paid more attention to the way that Martin’s and the Laugheads’ commitment to UFO belief deepened despite the failure of the ‘prophecy.’”

“I’ve always had serious concerns about the ‘infiltration’ angle of the study, and Kelly’s article indicates that there were certainly ethical issues at play here,” Gulyas concedes. “At the same time, I don’t think flaws in the study undermine the concept of ‘cognitive dissonance’ as much as Kelly seems to!”

Mythologizing When Prophecy Fails

Still, Kelly argues that there should have been more careful criticism of When Prophecy Fails closer to its publication. “Neither the cult leader, Dorothy Martin, nor her key followers, Charles and Lilian Laughead, were obscure; they were discussed in mainstream newspapers and UFO magazines,” Kelly says.

It would have been easy, he says, “for supporters of When Prophecy Fails to interview them or pick up a copy of already published magazines that would have cast doubt on When Prophecy Fails as soon as it was published.”

Despite the work’s influence, a few earlier critics did question some of its methodology. From a direct reading of When Prophecy Fails, even without Festinger’s recently released papers, many today would indeed conclude that the researchers were too closely involved in the cult’s activities, with the authors and additional paid observers accounting for a third of its membership. Additionally, the group’s high public profile and media attention likely influenced their behavior to persist with their UFO beliefs.

This isn’t the first time that events underlying some of the most dramatic psychology studies have been questioned. In 2019, Thibault Le Texier published Investigating the Stanford Prison Experiment: History of a Lie. In his book. Le Texier investigated how Philip Zimbardo’s famous 1971 psychology experiment, which cast participants as guards and inmates in a mock prison, was deeply flawed and explicitly designed to produce a desired outcome. Despite serious issues with the study, it went on to become a highly influential work of psychology, even appearing as evidence in the trial of a former Abu Ghraib prison guard.

Overall, Kelly’s research offers new clarity regarding the flawed methodology present in When Prophecy Fails, and a much-improved understanding of the subjects and their subsequent lives within the UFO and occult communities.

“The standards and norms of every field of study change over time, and reappraisals like this are useful,” Gulyas said.

The paper, “Debunking ‘When Prophecy Fails’,” appeared in the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences on November 4, 2025.

• Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.

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

14-11-2025 om 23:20 geschreven door peter  

Cube-Shaped UFOs; Not Drones, Not Balloons, so What Are They?

An illustration of a cube-shaped UFO.

Depositphotos.

Naval Aviators have reported encountering strange “Black Cube” UFOs that were surrounded by strange clear spheres. Some of these cube-shaped UFOs even shadowed some, and many airplanes nearly collided with them. So this begs the question, what have aviators encountered? Based on their reports and comments, these objects were not weather balloons, were not drones, and seemed like nothing humankind has ever produced.

Some of these objects display characteristics that are unlike any modern-day aircraft. The technology at their disposal, as per comments made by fighter pilots, is beyond anything we know of. But the danger about these objects resides not only in the fact that we do not know what they are or whom they belong to; the greater danger resides in the fact that on numerous occasions, fighter pilots have almost collided with these mysterious objects. As penned down by Marik Von Rennenkampff for The Hill, Fighter pilots narrowly escaped disaster in 2014 when the jets were flying in controlled airspace and almost collided with an unidentified flying object. But this is just one of many examples. In fact, fighter pilots have reported seeing these objects “everywhere.”

In the piece, Rennenkampff had asked former fighter pilot Ryan Graves about UFO encounters. The experienced pilot answered that he and his colleagues saw these objects near airports and over the continental United States. On many occasions, these objects appeared hundreds of miles out to sea. ” There’s air traffic operation, and they’re operating in ways that are befuddling our aviators,” the experienced fighter pilot revealed in the interview. One of the perhaps more interesting UFO encounters that took place near an airport is the so-called Aguadilla UFO that took place in 2013 in Puerto Rico. At the time, a United States Customs and Border plane spotted a mysterious fast-moving object near the airport. This UFO headed out towards the ocean, splashed into the sea as if it did not even make contact with the water, reappeared, and then spit into two. You can read more about it here.

Perhaps what is most interesting is an encounter recalled by Graves that took place off the East Coast in 2014, when a fighter pilot described a dark cube-shaped UFO that was surrounded by some sort of clear sphere. What is most interesting is that this UFO had no wings, flaps, tails, and no visible propulsion system. But these encounters with the enigmatic cube-shaped UFOs are by no means isolated events. In fact, Graves recalls that a few years after the 2014 incident, a test pilot had spoken with Graves about encountering such an object.

According to the test pilot, the cube-shaped UFO surrounded by a clear sphere was just “flying alongside the pilot” at an approximate distance of some 30 feet. Eventually, the object just accelerated and disappeared. The exact origin of these objects remains a profound mystery. However, with the age of UFO transparency finally, upon us, we may finally get a better understanding of what these objects are. NASA is putting great effort into trying to find out what these objects are, the Pentagon has a UFO office that is investing a great amount of money and time in discovering their source, and the US Congress, in the meanwhile, seems convinced these things are not of this planet.

{ https://curiosmos.com/category/alien-theories/ }

12-11-2025 om 21:21 geschreven door peter  

Ancient and Modern UFOs in Africa: An In-Depth Analysis with Professor Tim Murithi Dreamland

Introduction

The phenomenon of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) has captivated human imagination for centuries, often intertwined with cultural, religious, and scientific narratives. In recent years, Africa has emerged as a fascinating focal point for these studies, blending ancient symbolism with contemporary accounts. On November 7, 2025, the "Dreamland" podcast, part of Whitley Strieber’s “Unknown Country” network, hosted a compelling episode featuring Professor Tim Murithi, a renowned cultural anthropologist at the University of Nairobi. The discussion provided a comprehensive perspective on the historical and modern narratives surrounding UFOs in Africa, emphasizing the importance of scholarly rigor while examining sensational claims.

Ancient Africa and the Visual Motifs in Egyptian Art

Professor Murithi began by exploring the visual motifs found in ancient Egyptian artifacts, which are often cited in UFO lore. The Egyptian tomb paintings depict stylized representations of the sun-disk, celestial barques (or sun boats), and various sky gods. Murithi clarified that these images, while striking, are better understood as symbolic representations rooted in religious and cosmological beliefs of the time. For example, the solar barque was a mythological symbol illustrating the journey of the sun through the sky, not an indication of actual spacecraft.

A notable example is the depiction of a chariot-like object held by deities in tomb paintings, which some interpret as ancient spacecraft. However, Egyptologists argue these are prehistoric depictions of chariots or solar symbols, not technological devices. As Murithi pointed out, “The iconography aligns with the religious symbolism of the Old Kingdom period, rather than evidence of extraterrestrial engineering.”

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Engineering Marvel or Alien Construction?

The Great Pyramid is often at the center of debates about ancient alien intervention. Enthusiasts highlight its precise alignment with Cardinal points and the remarkable engineering achievements of its builders. Murithi referenced recent scholarly research, including a 2023 study by Egyptologists at the University of Cambridge, which attributes the pyramid’s orientation—a deviation of less than 0.2 degrees from true north—to sophisticated astronomical observations and shadow-tracking techniques. These methods were well within the capabilities of Old Kingdom engineers.

While some claim the internal chambers were designed to house spacecraft or alien technology, Murithi emphasized that no archaeological evidence supports such theories. The internal structures, including the Grand Gallery and the Queen’s and King’s Chambers, are understood by archaeologists as functional components of tomb construction and religious symbolism, rather than alien installations.

The Dogon People of Mali and Their Astronomical Knowledge

Moving westward, Murithi discussed the famous case of the Dogon people of Mali, renowned for their detailed knowledge of Sirius B, a white dwarf star invisible without telescopes. Early anthropologists like Marcel Griaule in the 1930s and 1940s reported that the Dogon possessed complex knowledge about Sirius B, including its density and orbit, which seemed to exceed what was accessible through their traditional observances.

However, recent ethnographic research suggests that this knowledge may have been introduced through contact with French missionaries and Western scholars, rather than direct extraterrestrial communication. Murithi noted that “oral traditions are inherently fluid and susceptible to external influences,” and that the Dogon’s cosmology likely represents a synthesis of indigenous beliefs and external knowledge sources. The claim of ancient alien contact, he argued, tends to oversimplify the nuanced oral history and astronomical practices of the community.

Modern UFO and UAP Narratives: The Case of Thiaoouba Prophecy*

The episode also examined a contemporary literary work, Thiaoouba Prophecy, published in 1994 by French author Michel Desmarquet. The book narrates the author’s alleged abduction to a distant planet called Thiaoouba, where he claims to have received spiritual teachings and insights into extraterrestrial civilizations.

Murithi positioned Thiaoouba Prophecy alongside the biblical and apocryphal texts like the Book of Enoch, which also contain accounts of divine or otherworldly encounters. Both serve as cultural mirrors reflecting humanity’s hopes, fears, and questions about existence beyond Earth. Murithi cautioned that such narratives, while compelling, are not evidence of actual extraterrestrial contact but rather expressions of spiritual and cultural imagination.

Sensationalism versus Scholarly Rigor

The podcast further explored two recent articles disseminated on the same platform. One challenged claims that Roman shipbuilders possessed “anti-gravity” technology, and the other investigated mysterious “holes” found in an archaeological site in Peru. Murithi emphasized that sensational headlines often outpace scientific validation, and it is crucial to rely on verifiable data.

He articulated a fundamental principle: “The responsible approach is to let the data speak.” Human ingenuity and cultural development explain many extraordinary achievements without resorting to extraterrestrial intervention. For example, ancient Egyptians' architectural marvels, such as the Sphinx and the pyramids, demonstrate sophisticated engineering based on astronomical and mathematical understanding, achievable with the technology of the time.

Conclusion: A Call for Science and Skepticism

The episode concluded with a reaffirmation of the importance of grounded archaeological methodology. While UFO legends and modern sightings will continue to inspire curiosity, the most reliable explanations for Africa’s ancient wonders come from scientific inquiry and careful interpretation of existing cultural and archaeological records.

Professor Murithi’s insights serve as a reminder that human cultures, across history, have expressed their encounters with the cosmos through symbolic language, art, and oral tradition, rather than extraterrestrial visitation. As he eloquently summarized, “The most remarkable achievements of humanity arise from our own ingenuity, not alien technology.”

In Summary

• Ancient Egyptian artifacts symbolize celestial phenomena and deities through religious and cultural symbols.
• The Great Pyramid’s architectural precision results from advanced terrestrial astronomy and engineering, not alien intervention.
• The Dogon’s astronomical knowledge likely resulted from external influences, not direct contact with extraterrestrials.
• Contemporary UFO narratives, including Thiaoouba Prophecy, mirror cultural and spiritual aspirations rather than verifiable evidence.
• Critical scholarship advocates for interpreting these phenomena through scientific methods, emphasizing human innovation over sensationalism.

This comprehensive perspective underscores the importance of applying rigorous archaeological and cultural analysis when examining claims of ancient and modern UFO phenomena in Africa. Grounded research continues to be the most reliable avenue for understanding the continent’s fascinating megalithic and cultural achievements.

{ peter2011}

12-11-2025 om 16:23 geschreven door peter  

Story by Barrie Davenport

©Image license via Pixabay

An examination of what we do know about alleged alien spacecraft—and where the mysteries remain.
Allegations that alien spacecraft have been discovered and hidden by governments continue to generate headlines, but verified evidence remains elusive. Analysts note that while several incidents—such as declassified U.S. Department of Defense reports on unidentified aerial phenomena—have sparked interest, none have confirmed the recovery of extraterrestrial vehicles. Most claims lack verifiable data or peer-reviewed publication. Nonetheless, a handful of images, radar logs and whistle-blower testimonies are keeping the debate alive, urging scientists and officials to scrutinize fact from fiction.

©Image license via Canva

1. Claims of Hidden Alien Craft Have Circulated for Decades
Rumors that governments have secretly recovered alien spacecraft date back to the late 1940s, shortly after the Roswell incident in New Mexico. Although that event was later attributed to a classified balloon project, it cemented the idea that officials might be concealing evidence of extraterrestrial technology.

Since then, stories of secret “crash retrieval programs” and hidden laboratories have resurfaced regularly in popular culture and online communities. Despite the intrigue, no credible documentation or physical proof of alien spacecraft has ever been made public.

©Image license via Canva

2. The U.S. Has Studied Unexplained Aerial Phenomena
In recent years, the U.S. government has confirmed that it investigates unidentified aerial phenomena—commonly known as UAPs. These efforts began with the Navy’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and continued through the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO.

Officials say the goal is to study unknown objects in the sky that might pose flight or security risks, not to confirm alien visits. So far, all publicly released analyses attribute most sightings to balloons, drones, optical illusions, or ordinary aircraft.

©Image license via Canva

3. Declassified Videos Renewed Public Interest
In 2020, the Pentagon officially released three videos showing unidentified objects captured by Navy pilots in 2004 and 2015. The footage, which showed small shapes moving quickly against the sky, fueled speculation about advanced technology.

While the Navy confirmed the videos were authentic, officials emphasized that “unidentified” does not mean “extraterrestrial.” The clips illustrate how difficult it can be to identify distant objects captured by infrared sensors or cameras under high-speed conditions.

©Image license via Canva

4. Recent Whistleblower Claims Sparked New Debate
In 2023, former intelligence official David Grusch claimed that the U.S. government possesses “non-human” spacecraft materials and has kept them secret for decades. His statements drew widespread attention and congressional interest but were not accompanied by any physical or verifiable evidence.

Multiple agencies and independent experts have since stated that they have seen no proof to support Grusch’s claims. While his testimony fueled renewed calls for transparency, no documentation or recovered materials have been publicly confirmed or examined.

©Image license via Canva

5. Congress Has Pressed for Greater Transparency
Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed interest in understanding how UAP data is collected and analyzed. Recent hearings have asked defense officials whether any evidence of non-human craft has been found.

The Pentagon and NASA have both stated that, to date, they have discovered no confirmed signs of extraterrestrial vehicles or technology. Congress has nonetheless urged continued reporting and analysis to improve transparency and prevent speculation from filling the information gap.

©Image license via Flickr/NASA Johnson

6. NASA Has Its Own Independent UAP Study
In 2022, NASA announced an independent study to examine publicly available data related to unexplained aerial phenomena. The team included physicists, former astronauts, and data scientists tasked with creating a scientific framework for studying future reports.

NASA’s 2023 summary concluded there was no verified evidence of alien craft but emphasized the need for better data collection. The agency said existing reports often lack critical details such as sensor calibration, environmental conditions, or corroborating radar information.

©Image license via Wikimedia Commons

7. Experts Say Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Proof
Astrophysicists and aerospace engineers consistently emphasize that claims of recovered alien craft must meet the same scientific standards as any other discovery—replication, peer review, and physical evidence. So far, none of the alleged materials or photographs meet that threshold.

Experts say the absence of verifiable samples makes it impossible to draw reliable conclusions. While skepticism doesn’t rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial life, scientists stress that proof must come through measurable, repeatable observation rather than testimony alone.

©Image license via Canva

8. Possible Origins of the “Crash Retrieval” Myth
Many historians trace modern UFO retrieval stories to Cold War secrecy. During that era, projects such as spy-plane development and nuclear testing were classified, leading the public to misinterpret mysterious lights or aircraft.

When government agencies refused to comment for security reasons, conspiracy theories often filled the void. Researchers studying UFO folklore note that secrecy around military operations made it easy for rumors of alien technology to gain traction and persist for generations.

©Image license via Canva

9. Some Materials Claimed to Be “Alien” Have Been Tested
Over the years, individuals have presented metallic fragments they claimed came from alien craft. Independent laboratories and academic institutions have analyzed some of these samples, finding that they contained common terrestrial alloys such as aluminum, magnesium, and silicon.

No tested material has ever shown properties inconsistent with known Earth-based manufacturing or chemistry. These findings reinforce the scientific position that, so far, no physical evidence of extraterrestrial construction has been verified.

©Image license via Canva

10. Astronomers Say Spacecraft Would Be Difficult to Hide
Astronomers point out that any interstellar object entering Earth’s atmosphere would be easily detected by global radar and satellite systems. Modern space surveillance networks can track objects only a few centimeters wide in orbit.

For an alien spacecraft to arrive and crash undetected would defy current understanding of physics and monitoring capabilities. Scientists add that extraordinary technology capable of crossing interstellar distances would likely not fail upon arrival—a key argument against hidden crash theories.

©Image license via Canva

11. Most “UFO Sightings” Have Conventional Explanations
Decades of research have shown that the majority of UFO sightings result from misidentified aircraft, atmospheric phenomena, or human-made satellites. The appearance of new technologies—such as Starlink satellite constellations—has increased the number of mistaken reports.

Studies by independent astronomy groups and the U.S. Air Force’s past Project Blue Book consistently found that 90 percent or more of sightings had ordinary explanations. While some cases remain unexplained due to limited data, “unexplained” does not mean “alien.”

©Image license via Picryl

12. Scientists Continue Searching for Extraterrestrial Life—But Elsewhere
The absence of verified alien spacecraft doesn’t mean scientists have given up the search for life beyond Earth. Programs like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) monitor space for radio signals, while missions such as NASA’s Perseverance rover look for microbial fossils on Mars.

Astronomers have also identified thousands of exoplanets where life might exist. Experts say these research efforts—rather than rumors of secret recoveries—offer the most promising path toward answering humanity’s biggest question: whether we’re alone in the universe.

{ Planet Sage }

04-11-2025 om 14:42 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious 'spy' balloons appearing over several US states spark fears of a covert invasion

• READ MORE: Mysterious black pyramid UFO seen flying over US 

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Americans are once again looking skyward in alarm as mysterious high-altitude balloons silently drift over multiple states, rekindling fears of foreign surveillance and government secrecy. 

Reports from Colorado, Arizona and Alabama describe white objects hovering far above the clouds, eerily reminiscent of the 2023 Chinese spy balloon incident. 

That event sparked nationwide panic when a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the continental US before being shot down by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. 

For many, the sudden reappearance of these enigmatic objects raises fresh questions about who, or what, is watching from above.

Locals have flooded social media with photos and videos of the strange balloons, pleading for help in identifying them. 

While some observers believe the objects may be part of routine research projects, others are convinced they are 'new Chinese spy balloons' designed to gather intelligence. 

In Tucson, Arizona, multiple sightings have been reported this year, with one prompting speculation that it was 'a spy camera platform from China transmitting military secrets in fast bursts.'

However, later reports determined that at least one of the Tucson objects was part of a US military test, which stirred fresh concerns among privacy advocates.

Arizona has been a balloon hotspot over the past few months, with some locals first believe they were Chinese spy balloons

People used flight tracking data to watch a balloon's path in June

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Arizona Mirror: 'It is a technology that should not and constitutionally cannot be applied to the American people. 

'Even testing for eventual overseas use in legitimate combat theaters raises a lot of questions about what kind of data is being collected.'

The most recent incident in Arizona was reported about two weeks ago, when a balloon was spotted drifting over Lemmon.

 Social media users attempted to track the balloon on flight monitoring apps but were unsuccessful, fueling suspicion about its purpose. 

'Not showing on Flightradar24, though, like others have in weeks past,' one Reddit user wrote. Another chimed in, 'I saw it a few minutes ago outside. Usually, they're at 60,000 feet. It must be huge!'

Earlier sightings in June caused a stir when multiple high-altitude balloons lingered over the Tucson and Sierra Vista areas for more than a week, leaving residents on edge. 

In Boulder, Colorado, locals reported seeing what was later identified as an Aerostar Thunderhead steerable balloon. 

'It's not just a weather balloon,' one Reddit user explained. 'It can also carry signal-gathering equipment, communications equipment, or other sensors.'

Many people in Colorado spotted a balloon this week, floating outside of Boulder 

Aerostar, a company that develops balloons for scientific research, telecommunications and military applications, has confirmed ownership of several of the objects spotted across the country. 

A meteorologist also determined that a balloon seen over Alabama belonged to Aerostar. 

James Spann, a respected weather expert, posted yesterday on X: 'Getting a number of reports of a high-altitude object over North Alabama… looks like it is a balloon (HBAL787). It has been drifting south over NE Alabama this afternoon.'

The balloon eventually moved into Tennessee, hovering at an altitude of 59,200 feet, far above commercial airliners, which typically fly at around 35,000 feet. 

While some scientists say high-altitude balloons are commonly used for atmospheric research and communications tests, their sudden visibility and stealthy flight patterns continue to alarm the public.

A meteorologist also determined that a balloon seen over Alabama belonged to Aerostar

James Spann, a respected weather expert, posted yesterday on X: 'Getting a number of reports of a high-altitude object over North Alabama… looks like it is a balloon (HBAL787). It has been drifting south over NE Alabama this afternoon.'

A report released in February revived the Chinese balloon incident, finding it was secretly equipped with US-made technology.

It was full of the very same technology that may have helped Beijing spy on unsuspecting Americans, two sources with direct knowledge of the classified investigation told Newsweek exclusively.

Military analysts who dismantled the balloon found it was loaded with American-made satellite communication modules and sophisticated sensors from at least five different US companies, as reported by the outlet.

A Chinese patent uncovered during the investigation also alarmingly showed that Beijing had already mapped out exactly how to use American satellite technology to control these spy balloons and harvest sensitive data.

The necessary equipment was reportedly easily available for purchase online.

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

17-10-2025 om 15:17 geschreven door peter  

1561 hemels verschijnsel boven Neurenberg, afgebeeld in een geïllustreerd nieuwsbericht (door UFO-liefhebbers beschreven als een luchtgevecht van buitenaardse oorsprong en door sceptici beschouwd als een zonnespectakel)

Bron: Publiek Domein

Wagens van de Goden, Schepen aan de Hemel: Ongeïdentificeerde Luchtverschijnselen uit het Verleden

Inleiding

Al eeuwenlang beschrijven mensen glinsterende voorwerpen aan de hemel die niet eenvoudig te plaatsen zijn binnen de gangbare verklaringen. Sommige hemelverschijnselen zoals kometen, meteorenzwermen, boliden, aurora’s of zelfs aardbevingachtige bliksem — allemaal aspecten die vandaag de dag vaak begrijpelijk zijn — werden in het oude rijkdommen van verhalen en waarnemingen uitgebreid gerapporteerd. Tegenwoordig noemen we zo’n fenomeen Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). Sommigen denken aan buitenaardse oorsprong, anderen zien het als mysterieuze verschijnselen of als symbolen van maatschappelijke onrust. Het onderwerp trekt nog altijd aandacht, zowel in politieke kringen als in de wetenschappelijke wereld. De komende tekst probeert dit onderwerp vanuit een historisch perspectief te plaatsen: wat zinspeelden oude volkeren in hun stille uurtjes op tegen de lucht, en hoe raken die oude verhalen verweven met hedendaagse debatten over UAPs?

Oud historisch beeld - Tekenen van beroering

In de literatuur en in inscripties uit verschillende culturen verschijnen steeds weer scènes waarin onbekende of onverklaarbare verschijningen in de lucht als teken van maatschappelijke onrust en naderend onheil dienen. Een bekend voorbeeld uit de Bijbel is het boek Ezechiël, waarin de profeet spreekt over een goddelijke strijdwagen die heet gloeit en waarin vier levende wezens te zien zijn. Deze beelden lijken zowel menselijk als vreemd, met hun vier gezichten en vier vleugels. In vele culturen duiken soortgelijke motieven op: het beeld van voertuigen die door de hemel heen scheuren of die op een andere manier bovennatuurlijk licht uitstralen.

Giovanni Battista Fontana, De Visioen van Ezechiël, 1579.

(Publiek Domein)

Een andere rijke traditie komt uit de oude Indiase epische werken, de Mahābhārata en de Rāmāyana. In de hindoeïstische mythologie worden de vimāna’s genoemd: vliegende strijdwagens die de goden meevoeren naar de verste uithoeken van het universum. In vele mythen hollen goden in deze voertuigen door de ruimte en vervullen ze zowel dagelijkse als kosmische taken. In afbeeldingen en verhalen uit Azië zijn deze vimāna’s vaak afgebeeld als schitterende, indrukwekkende machines die snelheid en macht uitstralen. Ook hier wordt het beeld van de hemel als route en arena voor goddelijke daden afgebeeld.

Krishna en Rukmini als bruidegom en bruid in een hemelse wagen getrokken door Ganesha, India, Rajasthan, Bundi, 1675-1700.

(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

In het Middellandse Zeegebied dragen historische keren een soortgelijke thematiek. In de Romeinse en Griekse literatuur duiken meldingen op van verschijnselen in de lucht die op de een of andere manier het klimaat van oorlog en macht weerspiegelen. Een voorbeeld uit de geschiedschrijving is de Romeinse historicus Livius, die beschreef hoe tijdens de Tweede Punische Oorlog “schepen schitterden aan de lucht” of als “grote vloot” in de hemel verschenen. Of het nu echte schepen waren, vreemde wolkenformaties of iets anders, de formulering beklemtoont een moment waarin de visue­le wereld in de geschiedenis verweven raakt met ook de plek waar oorlog en macht plaatsvinden. Zulke beschrijvingen suggereren dat mensen altijd de lucht hebben geïnterpreteerd als een spiegel van wat in de aardse omgang plaatsvindt.

Een ander klassiek voorbeeld komt bij Plutarchus voor, in de Life of Lucullus. Wanneer de Romeinse legers tegenover koning Mithridates VI van Pontus stonden, werd een vreemd fenomeen aan de hemel waargenomen: het leek op een grote, vlamachtige bol die tussen de legers neerdaalde. Volgens Plutarchus had het object een vorm die leek op een wijnvat (pithos) en een kleur die leek op gesmolten zilver. De waarnemers schrokken en trok zich terug. Of dit nu een meteoriet betrof of iets anders, de beschrijving geeft aan dat het fenomeen zo’n impact had dat beide partijen het als een kwaadaardige voorteken zagen.

Een derde opmerkelijke getuigenis komt uit de Joods-Romijnse geschiedschrijving van Flavius Josephus. Gebeurtenissen rondom oorlogen tussen Romeinen en Joden roepen soms de indruk op van bovennatuurlijke verschijningen: “karren” of strijdkrachten schoten door de wolken terwijl er een reeks scherp beschreven gebeurtenissen in de lucht plaatsvond. Voor veel getuigen lijkt het alsof dergelijke verschijnselen de uitkomst van gevechten vooruitbellen of –zo niet – een teken vormden dat het lot troef had.

Een koning en zijn gevolg confronteren dames onder een hemelse strijd, Frans, circa 1600.

(Publiek domein)

Van middeleeuwen tot millenniumwisseling:

Het christelijke doembeeld en de evolutie van het begrip UAP Naar de overgang van oud naar middelbaar en daarna naar modern denken, verschuift de betekenis van dergelijke waarnemingen vaak van pure interpretatie naar een bredere zoölogie van angst en hoop. In de christelijke traditie kreeg de “shield of faith” van de apostel Paulus een symbolische plaats, terwijl “schepen die door de hemel varen” werden geïnterpreteerd als een metafoor voor de bescherming van de Kerk en zijn gelovigen. In de context van de middeleeuwse Ierse literatuur verschijnt het idee dat occultverschijnselen in de lucht een soort teken van de hemel zouden kunnen zijn, en zo wordt het een symbool van de veiligheid die de Kerk biedt.

Rond de millenniumwisseling groeit de belangstelling voor iets wat we vandaag UAPs noemen. De mensen in die tijd worstelen met de betekenis van het eind der tijden, en het teken van de hemel wordt opnieuw belicht in een modern jasje. In deze periode verschijnt ook een nieuwe vorm van beschouding: waarin men zoekt naar een rationele uitleg, maar waarin religie en mysterie nog steeds een belangrijke rol spelen. Het verhaal van talloze getuigen die met UAP’s te maken hebben, of die beweren religieuze formulering te vinden in wat ze waarnemen, blijft actueel. Voor velen biedt ufologie een manier om geloof en wetenschap samen te brengen: een plek waar zowel zingeving als objectieve verklaring mogelijk lijkt te zijn.

Een onverklaard object in een videobeeld geleverd door het Amerikaanse ministerie van Defensie, gelabeld als Gimbal, uit 2015.

(Ministerie van Defensie via AP)

Moderne duiding

Wat betekenen UAPs nu? Vandaag de dag lopen de interpretaties uiteen. De Amerikaanse belangstelling voor UAPs is onder andere ingegeven door verwerkte en eerder geheime beelden die uitlekken, maar ook door een beleg van een voormalige inlichtingenambtenaar die beweert dat de regering “off-world” technologie bezit. Tegelijkertijd concludeert een recente NASA-rapportage dat er geen bewijs is dat UAPs buitenaards van oorsprong zijn. De discussie draait om de vraag of dit soort waarnemingen wél een interessant venster openen op onze technologische vooruitgang, of dat ze vooral angst en onzekerheid teweegbrengen.

Toch is er een duidelijke continuïteit: mensen projecteren de onzekerheid van de eigen tijd op wat zich in de lucht afspeelt. Oude samenlevingen zagen krijgsdaden en goddelijke machten in de hemel, toen als voorteken van onheil, nu als indicatie van onbekende technologieën of onbekende motivaties. De spanning tussen interpretatie en verificatie blijft bestaan. Zelfs als we naheldere verklaringen vinden voor sommige verschijnselen — zoals meteorieten of atmosferische verschijnselen — blijft er ruimte voor interpretatie en verbeelding.

De menselijke neiging tot projectie op het onbekende Een belangrijke les uit de geschiedenis is dat UAP-achtige waarnemingen nooit uitsluitend een kwestie van “waar” of “niet waar” zijn. Ze reflecteren ook de staat van de maatschappij waarin ze voorkomen. Wanneer er onrust heerst, wanneer de machtsdynamiek verscherpt of wanneer grote toevloed van informatie plaatsvindt, worden verschijnselen in de lucht vaak geherinterpreteerd als tekenen van bredere sociale processen: onzekerheid over toekomst, angst voor verlies van controle, of hoop op een oplossing vanuit iets wat groter en machtiger lijkt.

Daarom kunnen we concluderen dat UAPs, zowel in het oude als in het moderne tijdperk, een venster bieden op menselijke zorgen. Ze tonen hoe mensen zoeken naar houvast en zingeving wanneer de wereld intensiever verandert dan ooit tevoren. Of uiteindelijk de objecten in de lucht nu al dan niet buitenaards zijn, de symboliek en de impact ervan spreken een universeel verhaal: de behoefte om onze crisis naar een hoger niveau te tillen, naar de hemel, naar het onbekende.

An unclassified sketch of a UAP from the CIA.

(Public Domain)

Qua uitleg: wat kunnen we vandaag als leerpunt meenemen?

• Historische continuïteit: verschijnselen in de hemel zijn altijd gebruikt als symbolen van verandering en onzekerheid. Ze dienen als culturele spiegels waarin samenlevingen hun angsten en hoop projecteren.
• Interpretatie voorop: de wijze waarop men een hemelverschijnsel beschrijft, zegt vaak iets over de tijd waarin het onderzoek plaatsvindt, meer dan over de oorsprong van het fenomeen zelf.
• Wetenschap en geloof: ufologie kan functioneren als brug tussen geloof en wetenschap, een plek waar mensen zoeken naar een gecombineerde betekenis die beide dimensies erkent.
• De rol van bewijs: in hedendaagse debatten blijven verificatie en transparantie cruciaal. Het uitlekken van beelden en de beschikbaarheid van data beïnvloeden publieke perceptie en beleidsbeslissingen.

Slotsom

Wij zien in de geschiedenis een duidelijke lijn: van Bijbelse en Indiase mythes tot moderne rapportages over UAPs, groeiende maatschappelijke belangstelling voor wat zich in de hoogte voltrekt. Of die verschijnselen uiteindelijk buitenaards zijn of niet, raakt ons vooral in ons menselijk vermogen om de wereld te interpreteren en onze toekomst te vormen. De oude waarnemers zochten naar tekenen, naar een taal die iets vertelde over hun tijd, en misschien ook een richting bood voor wat komen zou. Vandaag blijven we die drang voelen: een zoektocht naar verklaringen, maar ook naar betekenis. Soms lijken de objecten in de lucht ons te helpen begrijpen hoe dicht we bij het onbekende staan — en hoe hardnekkig onze behoefte is om orde te brengen in wat we zien.

Eindigen we met een gedachte die eeuwenlang overeind blijft: de mens blijft de hemel lezen als een kaart van zijn eigen zorgen en hoop. Of er nu kaartjes, strijdwagens of glanzende schepen aan de hemel verschijnen, onze reactie zal altijd gekleurd zijn door de tijd waarin we leven. De geschiedenis leert ons dat de lucht meer zegt over mensen dan over objecten daarboven. Het is een spiegel waarin we onszelf zien worstelen met onduidelijkheid, met onzekerheid, maar ook met de eeuwige behoefte aan begrip en richting. Zo blijft de fascinerende relatie tussen UAPs en menselijke ervaring ons wat te zeggen heeft over hoe wij ons plaatsen in het grote verhaal van de kosmos.

{ PETER2011 }

10-10-2025 om 21:58 geschreven door peter  

The Phoenix Lights Phenomenon: An Unsolved UFO Mystery

On the evening of March 13, 1997, an extraordinary event unfolded in the skies over Arizona that would become one of the most documented and hotly debated UFO sightings in history. The Phoenix Lights remains a compelling mystery, but is the truth out there? Read on to find out.

In 1997 over Phoenix, AZ, a group of lights appeared.... The event was one of the first mass UAP sightings, and is still a subject of debate.

In March 1997 over the city of Phoenix, Arizona, lights appeared in the sky, covering a distance of around 350 miles from the Nevada state line in the northwest down to southern city of Tucson. Over several hours, thousands of residents reported witnessing a series of strange, luminous objects and formations in the sky. Descriptions varied from a V-shaped light formation, to orbs that glowed intensely and seemed to move with purpose across the night sky.

Some are convinced the lights over Phoenix in 1997 were UFOs, or UAPs – unidentified aerial phenomenon. The official line is that they were military planes being tested in the desert and flares from aircraft on night manoeuvres.

What exactly did the residents of Phoenix see that night? Did they come within touching distance – literally, according to some – of beings from another world, or is the explanation for the bizarre lights in Phoenix, Arizona, rather more benign?

The strange case of the Phoenix Lights has left the world befuddled for over a quarter of a century. Let’s take a trip to the sixth-largest of the United States in an attempt to shed light on this baffling luminous enigma.

Close Encounters of the First Kind

V-shaped lights of a UFO

(Credit: Devrimb via Getty Images)

Like the bizarre Max Headroom Broadcast Signal Intrusion a decade earlier, the Phoenix Lights, also known as the Lights Over Phoenix, came in two distinct waves.

The first occurrence – between approximately 7.30pm and 8.45pm on March 13, 1997 – was observed as a massive, V-shaped object with five or six reddish-orange lights that silently moved north to south in the sky, spanning at least a mile in width according to eyewitness reports.

One of the first witnesses was in Henderson, Nevada, just a few miles south of Las Vegas and a short distance from the Arizona state line. About fifteen minutes later, what are believed to be the same lights were spotted by a former policeman in the town of Paulden, Arizona, about 200 miles southeast of Henderson. Next, about 25 miles south of Paulden, there were further sightings of the lights of Phoenix over Prescott Valley. It seemed they – whatever ‘they’ happened to be – were moving south towards Tucson.

These witnesses, and many others, said that the lights lingered before disappearing and reappearing in the same formation, captivating onlookers for several minutes at a time.

The Strange Tale of Kurt Russell & His Son

Single prop plane taking off

(Credit: Ascent Xmedia via Getty Images)

In a bizarre twist to an already incredulous mystery, one of the first people to report the sighting of what has become known as the Phoenix Lights, was none other than Hollywood actor Kurt Russell.

In an interview with the BBC’s The One Show, Russell, a private pilot, explained that he was flying his son Oliver from Los Angeles to Phoenix to see his [Oliver’s] girlfriend, when on their final approach, they noticed a series of strange lights in the sky.

Oliver asked if his father knew what the lights were, to which he responded that he didn’t. He called it in to air traffic control who said that their radar screens showed nothing at all. Russell declared that it was a UFO in the literal sense, in that it appeared to be a flying object that was unidentified, and proceeded to land perfectly safely.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix, Arizona lights were moving closer to the state capital. Witnesses in Glendale, Scottsdale, and downtown Phoenix saw the lights but by around 9pm they were gone.

Close Encounters of the Second Kind

Did a UFO crash land in Roswell?

(Credit: David Zaitz via Getty Images)

About an hour later, the lights over Phoenix were back. Around 10pm, a series of intensely bright lights appeared over the Phoenix area, distinct from the V-shaped formation observed earlier in the evening. These peculiar lights in Phoenix, Arizona, were described as stationary, hovering orbs that remained visible for a considerable period before they started to dim and then vanished, only to reappear and maintain the same formation.

Witnesses reported these lights did not seem to be attached to any solid object, or if they were, the object was not visible against the night sky. This aspect of the phenomenon led to widespread speculation and debate, as the lights behaved unlike conventional aircraft or known atmospheric phenomena.

UFO sceptic Robert Sheaffer described this second occurrence as ‘perhaps the most widely witnessed UFO event in history.’

The Immediate Aftermath

The instant reaction to the Phoenix Lights was a mixture of awe, confusion, and concern. Witnesses flooded police lines and local news stations with reports, seeking explanations for what they had seen.

The story quickly garnered national attention, sparking a frenzy of speculation, investigation, and debate. Sceptics proposed conventional explanations such as flares or military aircraft, while believers in extraterrestrial activity felt validated in their convictions.

The event left a lasting impression on the public consciousness, becoming a pivotal moment for the UFO community and a perennial topic of interest for both sceptics and believers alike.

But what actually happened that night? Was it military aircraft that instigated the illuminations, or were the lights over Phoenix 1997’s answer to Roswell?

The Official Explanation

A10 Thunderbolt II jets on a training mission

(Credit: Stocktrek Images via Getty Images)

According to the US military, both incidents were as a result of a pilot training programme called Operation Snowbird from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.

The first incident – the V-shaped object – was explained as nothing more than five A-10 Thunderbolt II jets flying under visual flight rules, so instead of displaying flashing collision lights, they were allowed to display steady formation lights. The planes landed at Davis-Monthan AFB at around 8.45pm.

Later that night, the stationary, hovering orbs were slow-burning, long-falling LUU-2B/B illumination flares dropped from the A10s while on a training exercise from the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. A later study of their luminosity suggested they could indeed be seen over the distances described on the night of March 13, 1997.

A decade on from thousands of people seeing the lights in Phoenix, Arizona, Maryland Air National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Ed Jones admitted to being one of the airmen who dropped the flares.

While plenty accept the official explanation of events that night, others aren’t so sure.

Is the Truth Out There?

Atmospheric Northern Lights over a city

(Credit: edb3_16 via Getty Images)

Beyond the official Air Force explanation attributing the Phoenix Lights phenomenon to flares and military aircraft, several prevailing theories have been proposed by researchers, UFO enthusiasts, and sceptics alike to explain the events of March 13, 1997. These theories range from the plausible to the speculative, reflecting the enduring mystery and intrigue of the incident.

1. Military or Experimental Aircraft

Some theories suggest that the V-shaped formation responsible for the Phoenix, Arizona lights could have been an experimental or military aircraft, possibly a stealth plane or other advanced, secretive aviation technology. Proponents of this theory point to the size and silent operation of the object as indicative of experimental military projects unknown to the public at the time.

2. Atmospheric Conditions

Another explanation posits that certain atmospheric conditions on that night might have caused or contributed to the visibility of distant or conventional lights in unusual ways. This could involve temperature inversions or reflections from man-made or natural sources, leading to illusions, misidentified celestial objects, or misinterpretations of natural phenomena as something more mysterious.

3. Extraterrestrial Craft 

The most popular and controversial theory is that the lights of Phoenix were from one or more alien spacecraft. This theory revolves around the size, formation, and flight characteristics of the lights. The lack of sound, combined with the apparent coordinated movement of the lights, fuels speculation about technology beyond human capabilities, outside of our current understanding of the laws of physics.

4. Psychological or Social Phenomenon 

Some researchers propose that the Phoenix Lights can be partly explained by psychological phenomena, such as mass hysteria or the power of suggestion. This falls squarely in the ‘they saw what they wanted to see’ category. According to this theory, the initial reports of lights could have influenced subsequent observers to perceive mundane phenomena as extraordinary, especially in the context of a highly publicised event.

5. An Elaborate Hoax

A more sceptical approach suggests that the entire event could have been an elaborate hoax or a series of optical illusions. This could involve the strategic use of flares, balloons, or other devices to create the illusion of a UFO, although the coordinated execution over such a wide area would have been challenging.

Each of these theories attempts to explain the lights over Phoenix phenomenon, but none have definitively ended the speculation. The Phoenix Lights remain a topic of fascination and debate within the UFO community and among the general public.

Unsolved in the Sky: The Enigma of the Phoenix Lights

What were the Phoenix Lights?

(Credit: David Wallvia Getty Images)

The mysterious lights in Phoenix, Arizona remain one of the most captivating and enduring mysteries in the annals of UFO sightings. Despite the official explanation, the nature of the lights that danced over Arizona’s night sky in March 1997 continues to spark speculation and – for some – fuels the imagination about what might be possible in the vast, unexplored reaches of the universe.

Related

{ https://www.discoveryuk.com/feature/mysteries/articles/ }

09-10-2025 om 18:28 geschreven door peter