There’s an electrifying new development in Mars science. NASA’s Perseverance rover has just captured proof of a weather phenomenon that was long suspected, but until now, never observed: electric discharges that brew within the dust devils that torment Mars’ surface.

The discovery, described in a new study in the journal Nature, confirms that lightning discharges occur in the Martian atmosphere. The dust devils that the discharges appear in are a common fixture on the Red Planet. Like on Earth, they’re whirlwinds created by rapidly rising columns of warm air heated by their proximity to the ground, shooting their way through the cool air which falls to take the rising warm air’s place. 

On Mars specifically, it was suspected that dust trapped in this whirlwind whips together to create a static charge through friction, a manifestation of the same so-called triboelectric effect that causes a spark after you shuffle across a carpet and touch a metal doorknob.

“Triboelectric charging of sand and snow particles is well documented on Earth, particularly in desert regions, but it rarely results in actual electrical discharges,” lead author Baptiste Chide, a member of the Perseverance science team and a planetary scientist at L’Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France, said in a NASA statement about the research. “On Mars, the thin atmosphere makes the phenomenon far more likely, as the amount of charge required to generate sparks is much lower than what is required in Earth’s near-surface atmosphere.”

That lightning on Mars had eluded detection until now was a long source of frustration to Mars scientists, as it had already been established to take place on other planets like Saturn and Jupiter, which are far more distant and aren’t observed up close by robots as we do the Red Planet.

The finding required some astonishing good luck. The detection was made by a microphone on the rover’s SuperCam instrument designed to analyze the acoustics of Martian rocks zapped by the SuperCam laser — or in other words, to record sound, not zips of static discharges. 

But the instrument kept picking up more and more electrical disturbances, in all logging 55 since its mission began in 2021, NASA said. Sixteen of them were recorded when a dust devil passed directly over the rover. Because the the number of discharges didn’t increase during the planet’s frequent dust storms, the scientists surmise that it must be coming from the dust devils instead — which, in another fortunate twist, happened to pass by the rover more often than anyone anticipated, allowing them to confirm the suspicion.

The discovery has exciting implications. Lightning can cause unique chemical reactions and affect the chemical balance of the planet’s surface, perhaps altering the odds of creating complex compounds — and possibly even organic molecules.

More on Mars: 

• Scientist Say They’ve Found Caves on Mars That May Contain Life

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

13-12-2025 om 22:55 geschreven door peter  

Scientists Reveal Robot Small Enough to Travel Through Human Body

By Frank Landymore

We’re far from realizing the kind of nanomachines envisioned in media like “The Diamond Age” and Metal Gear Solid, but scientists have just taken a meaningful step towards the next best thing.

A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan say they’ve built a sub-millimeter sized robot packed with a computer, motor, and sensors, the Washington Post reports. It’s not an actual billionth of a meter in size, but being smaller than a grain of salt, it is still outrageously tiny: a microrobot.

The work, described in a new study in the journal Science Robotics, could be a platform for one day building microscopic robots that could be deployed inside the human body to perform all sorts of medical miracles, like repairing tissues or delivering treatment to areas difficult for surgeons to access.

“It’s the first tiny robot to be able to sense, think and act,” coauthor Marc Miskin, assistant professor of electrical and systems engineering at UPenn, told WaPo.

At present, the device is still highly experimental and isn’t suited to be used inside a human body — but “it would not surprise me if in 10 years, we would have real uses for this type of robot,” coauthor David Blaauw from U-M told the newspaper.

Building a microscopic robot that can move, sense its surroundings, and make decisions on its own has evaded scientists for decades. According to the team, roboticists have typically relied on externally controlling the microrobots so they can operate at smaller scales, but sacrificing their ability to process information. That prevents the robots from reacting with their environment, leaving them with a limited number of pre-programmed behaviors they can carry out — and as a result, limited real-world usefulness.

Having a robot on the scale of microns, or one millionth of a meter, would give us access to what corresponds to the smallest units of our biology, Miskin told WaPo.

“Every living thing is basically a giant composite of 100-micron robots, and if you think about that it’s quite profound that nature has singled out this one size as being how it wanted to organize life,” he said.

Visually, the researchers’ robot resembles a microchip, and is made of the same kinds of materials, including silicon, platinum, and titanium, WaPo noted. It’s sealed in a layer of what is essentially glass, Miskin said, protecting it from fluids.

The robot uses solar cells to convert energy that powers its onboard computer and its propulsion system, which uses a pair of electrodes to generate a flow in the water particles surrounding it. In a word, the robot swims. Its onboard computer is less than a thousandth of the speed of a modern laptop, per WaPo, but it’s enough to let it respond to changes it detects in its environment like temperature.

“At this scale, the robot’s size and power budget are comparable to many unicellular microorganisms,” the team wrote in the study.

Crucially, the robot is designed to still communicate with its human operators.

“We can send messages down to it telling it what we want it to do,” using a laptop, Miskin told WaPo, “and it can send messages back up to us to tell us what it saw and what it was doing.”

But the next step? Inter-microrobot communication.

“So the next holy grail really is for them to communicate with each other,” Blaauw told WaPo.

More on robots: 

• Video Shows Robot Attacking CEO

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

13-12-2025 om 22:41 geschreven door peter  

Astonishing interactive map lays bare where MILLIONS of homes will be submerged by water within a few years... are YOU at risk?

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

Millions of buildings and even more Americans could be at risk of sinking underwater by the end of the century.

Researchers from McGill University in Canada warned rising sea levels, resulting from continued greenhouse gas emissions, threaten to wipe out coastal cities worldwide.

Sea level rise measures the ocean's surface height over time. Level increases can cause flooding in areas that sit near or below the waterline.

Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide from cars and factories, trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, making the planet warmer. Those increased temperatures melt ice caps and glaciers, and also cause ocean water to expand as it heats up.

The McGill team revealed that even in the best-case scenarios, where sea levels rise just 1.6 feet by 2100, three million buildings in the Southern Hemisphere alone would be underwater by then.

The study is the first large-scale, building-by-building assessment of how long-term sea level rise could affect coastal infrastructure across the Global South, including Africa, Southeast Asia and Central and South America. 

Researchers used satellite imagery and elevation data to map how many buildings could be inundated under different scenarios, providing critical insights for urban planners and policymakers. 

While the estimate didn't account for potential damage in the US, Europe and much of northern Asia, where over two billion people live, maps have provided people with the worst-case scenarios for their hometowns.

The Sea Level Submergence Explorer map revealed how 65 feet of sea level rise could impact New York in a doomsday climate scenario

Major cities, including Washington, DC, (pictured) could see historic landmarks submerged by rising sea levels over the next 75 years

The data suggested that if emissions are unchecked, sea levels could rise by as much as 65 feet in the examined timeframe. 

In this doomsday climate scenario, major cities like New York, Washington, Baltimore, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Oakland and Sacramento could be submerged within the next 75 years.

Millions would be impacted in New York City and Washington, DC

While the McGill team did not focus on Earth's Northern Hemisphere, its Sea Level Submergence Explorer map painted a grim picture for America's most famous metropolis.

New York City would see much of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx end up below the higher sea level.

More than 8.5 million people live and work in over a million buildings in New York, all of which could be severely impacted by a dramatic increase in flood risks.

The nation's capital, Washington, DC, would also be dramatically affected by out of control sea level rise.

The map estimated that the White House and other government buildings would be submerged if sea levels rose by 65 feet over the next century.

Professor Natalya Gomez, a study co-author from McGill University, said in a press release: 'Sea level rise is a slow, but unstoppable consequence of warming that is already impacting coastal populations and will continue for centuries.

'People often talk about sea level rising by tens of centimeters, or maybe a meter. But, in fact, it could continue to rise for many meters if we don't quickly stop burning fossil fuels.'

Even if the global emissions reduction goals of the Paris Agreement are met, researchers found sea levels would still rise by three feet and flood five million buildings in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America by 2100.

The worst case scenario from the Sea Level Submergence Explorer map warned that more than half of the state of Florida could end up underwater by 2100

The entire state of Delaware was submerged in a map showing sea level rise reaching its estimated peak of 65 feet over the next century 

Florida and Delaware would be devastated

This worst-case scenario also projected that several East Coast states, including the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, would have their beachfront communities wiped off the map.

In Delaware, a small state along the Atlantic with roughly one million residents and 200,000 buildings, the damage was projected to be even worse, with almost the entire state falling below sea level.

Farther south, Florida's landmass would shrink to just a tiny fraction of what it is today. Cities like Miami, Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville would be submerged by the rising Atlantic.

Eric Galbraith, another McGill professor involved in the study, said in a statement: 'Everyone of us will be affected by climate change and sea level rise, whether we live by the ocean or not.'

In the Gulf, both New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, would be submerged by catastrophic sea level rise

Although the West Coast did not see as much flooding in models of sea level rise, California's capital of Sacramento along with the Bay Area were still pictured as casualties in flooding maps

The Gulf states and California would be crippled by floods

New Orleans and Houston, two major cities along the Gulf Coast, would also become submerged in this projected nightmare climate situation.

New Orleans, home to more than 360,000 people, has already been devastated by regular flooding during hurricane season.

A 2024 study published in the Hydrogeology Journal discovered that a large portion of the city sits on soft, squishy soils (peat and clay) that sink when drained or built on.

Much of this soil has already rotted after being exposed to the air or has been compacted under the weight of local buildings and roads.

Houston has also been significantly affected by flooding during hurricane season on multiple occasions - most notably during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

The record-breaking rainfall caused catastrophic flooding that inundated over 160,000 homes, killed 68 people and caused $125 billion in damage across southeast Texas.

On the West Coast, the Sea Level Submergence Explorer found much less damage even if sea levels rose by the map's maximum estimates.

However, California's capital, Sacramento, would be in an area devastated by climate-related floods.

The doomsday scenario showed the city of more than 500,000 people would be completely submerged.

Nearby coastal cities in the Bay Area, such and San Francisco and San Jose, would also be severely affected.

Scientists have used satellite maps to work out how many buildings would be destroyed if sea levels rise between 0.5 metres (red) and 20 metres (yellow). In the worst-case scenario, over 100 million buildings would be flooded in the global south alone 

The US has been heavily impacted by both flash floods and coast flooding in recently years, particularly in areas near or below sea level. Pictured: A drone view of vehicles partially submerged in flood water following flash floods along the Concho River in San Angelo, Texas, on July 4, 2025

A separate team launched a detailed map revealing US counties most at risk of flooding, pollution, chronic illness and other factors linked to climate change

Study authors noted that this would be an extreme situation that could also take much longer to fully play out than anticipated - possibly taking until the year 2300.

However, they warned that meeting emissions goals may be the only way of slowing this potential global flooding event.

Lead study author Maya Willard-Stepan said in a press release: 'There is no escaping at least a moderate amount of sea level rise.

'The sooner coastal communities can start planning for it, the better chance they have of continuing to flourish.'

Climate change advocates think sea level rise can be prevented by using cleaner energy sources like wind or solar power, planting more trees to absorb carbon dioxide, and building sea walls to protect flood-prone areas.

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

13-12-2025 om 22:23 geschreven door peter  

Gigantic sinkholes hundreds of feet deep have been opening up throughout Turkey, mirroring a biblical prophecy.

The Book of Numbers, Chapter 6, describes the earth opening up and swallowing people as divine punishment for rebellion, a connection that some are drawing after the massive collapses in the Konya Plain, a key wheat-growing region. 

Many have interpreted the growing phenomenon as a sign that 'God is on the move.'

However, scientists point to far more earthly causes. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has reported 648 massive sinkholes in the Konya Plain, primarily the result of severe drought and excessive groundwater pumping.

 Researchers at Konya Technical University have discovered more than 20 new sinkholes in the past year alone, adding to the nearly 1,900 sites already mapped by 2021 where the ground was slowly sinking or starting to cave in.

Before 2000, only a handful of sinkholes appeared each decade, but climate change and prolonged drought are blamed for the dramatic increase over the past 25 years. 

Today, dozens of enormous collapses occur annually, some more than 100 feet wide.

Falling groundwater tables are driving the problem, causing drier wells, stressed ecosystems, dwindling crops, and land subsidence. Farmers pumping more water to save sugar beet and corn crops are further exacerbating the situation.

Scientists warn that similar risks could emerge in parts of the US, Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Australia, where declining groundwater levels threaten communities and ecosystems.

A massive sinkhole in Turkey. Researchers have discovered nearly 700 similar-sized openings in the country's Konya Plain caused by drought and groundwater pumping

Turkey Today reported that some farmers have already lost crops or had to abandon fields deemed too dangerous 

According to NASA's Earth Observatory, Turkey's water reservoirs reached their lowest levels in 15 years in 2021. 

The groundwater table in parts of Konya has dramatically dropped over the past few decades, according to Turkish geological studies. 

The same issues are plaguing the US, with major declines seen in the Great Plains, Central Valley and Southeast. 

Parts of Texas, Florida, New Mexico, and Arizona could be affected by major sinkholes if drought conditions worsen and groundwater pumping is not carefully regulated.

The US Drought Monitor noted that pockets of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming have also reached this severe level of drought. 

Massive sinkholes form in drought-ridden areas when farmers and cities pump massive amounts of groundwater from limestone rock layers to survive the dry years, emptying the underground caves that were once filled with water.

When that water support vanishes, the cave roofs collapse, creating huge holes that swallow farmland and roads overnight, just like in Turkey and parts of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The sinkholes in Turkey (Pictured) have opened up near many farms, which have been battling drought conditions believed to be intensified by climate change

In the US, scientists have warned of an 'unprecedented 21st century drought risk' in the Southwest and Central Plains.

Over the last decade, multiple studies have forecasted 'severe and persistent drought' conditions through the year 2100.

Currently, the nation's Drought Monitor system found that the worst conditions in 2025 were found along the US-Mexico border in western Texas, measuring at 'D4' - the most severe drought rating.

Several other regions in northern Florida and southern Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah were all graded in December 2025 as being in severe drought (D2) or extreme drought (D3).

US officials have revealed that several areas of the Southwest are at risk of similar sinkholes as severe drought conditions worsen in the coming century

In Upton County, Texas, a massive sinkhole formed around an abandoned 1950s oil well near McCamey, measuring about 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep in March.

In southeastern Arizona's Cochise County, land subsidence (ground sinking) from groundwater pumping has led to multiple fissures and sinkholes this year.

These sinkholes have varied from 10 to 30 feet across, with local areas reportedly sinking by more than six inches per year across hundreds of acres, creating pockets of unstable ground in farming areas.

In southern New Mexico, a 30-foot-deep sinkhole opened in May 2024 near homes in Las Cruces, swallowing two cars and forcing nearby homes to evacuate.

Officials cited unstable soil from recent droughts as the key factor, though no statewide pumping cutbacks were enacted in response.

In Texas, over 100 public water systems have imposed restrictions on groundwater pumping this year, as new drought rules have limited groundwater pumping for agriculture and in cities across central Texas.

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

13-12-2025 om 22:04 geschreven door peter  

Ancient Egypt's origin story rewritten after scientists reveal new timeline for its most powerful era

• READ MORE: Hidden mega-structures beneath Egypt's Giza pyramids are 'confirmed' by scientists

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A new discovery has rewritten the timeline of Egypt's early dynasties, placing the rise of the New Kingdom nearly a century later than previously thought.

The New Kingdom, which lasted from 1550 to 1070 BCE, was Egypt's peak of power, wealth, and territorial expansion, the era of famous rulers like Tutankhamun. 

It began with the 18th Dynasty, founded by Pharaoh Ahmose I, who reunited Egypt and expelled the Hyksos invaders, restoring central authority after a period of fragmentation.

Now, scientists have confirmed that the massive Santorini (Thera) volcanic eruption occurred before the reign of Ahmose, meaning the 18th Dynasty, and the New Kingdom itself, rose later than previously believed. 

Until now, historians had often assumed the eruption might have coincided with the early New Kingdom, and some researchers even tried to link it to specific pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III or Ahmose I.

The breakthrough comes from radiocarbon dating of Egyptian artifacts from the 17th and early 18th Dynasties. 

Researchers examined a mudbrick stamped with Ahmose's name, a linen burial cloth, and wooden funerary figures called shabtis, all of which were directly tied to known pharaohs and their temples. 

Because these objects are anchored to specific historical contexts, their ages provide a reliable snapshot of the period. The study shows that the eruption predates these artifacts, reshaping how historians understand the rise of Egypt's most powerful period.

By reanalyzing ancient Egyptian artifacts, like a brick stamped with a pharaoh's seal, scientists were able to change the timeline

Scientists have confirmed that the massive Santorini (Thera) volcanic eruption occurred before the reign of Ahmose, meaning the 18th Dynasty, and the New Kingdom itself, rose later than previously believed 

The Santorini volcano, located about 75 miles north of Crete, is surrounded by the small islands of Thera, Therasia, and Aspronisi. 

Over time, it has produced many large, explosive eruptions, but the most famous occurred during the Late Minoan IA period, around 1600 to 1480 BC. 

This eruption buried the town of Akrotiri on southern Thera under thick layers of volcanic ash. 

Fine ash was carried by winds and fell as far away as eastern Crete, demonstrating the eruption's enormous regional impact.

Traditionally, the Thera eruption has been linked to Egypt's 18th Dynasty, with scholars using it as a rough marker for dating early New Kingdom events. 

However, the new radiocarbon analysis showed the eruption actually occurred earlier, during the Second Intermediate Period, a time before Egypt had fully reunited under Ahmose. 

This means that previous assumptions tying the eruption directly to the early New Kingdom were incorrect.

'This study provides the first direct radiocarbon comparison between the Thera eruption and Egyptian artifacts from this transitional period,' said the researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the University of Groningen.

Researchers examined a mudbrick stamped with Ahmose's name, a linen burial cloth, and wooden funerary figures called shabtis (pictured), all of which were directly tied to known pharaohs and their temples

'It allows us to anchor one of the most dramatic natural events in the eastern Mediterranean to Egypt's own historical timeline for the first time.'

The findings carry broader implications for our understanding of the ancient world.

By showing that the eruption happened earlier than previously thought, historians and archaeologists can now reassess cultural and trade interactions between Egypt, Crete, and other Mediterranean regions.

This includes everything from the movement of goods and ideas to migrations prompted by natural disasters.

The research also demonstrated the power of modern science to reshape what we know about ancient history. 

Even civilizations studied for thousands of years, like Ancient Egypt, can have their timelines refined through new techniques and careful analysis. 

The results support the 'low chronology' model, which positions the start of the 18th Dynasty a bit later than previously thought. 

Photograph published in 1916, showing four 12th Dynasty shabtis and one shabti attributed by him to the 17th Dynasty

Pictured is the Khufu Pyramid, also known as the Great Pyramid, in Giza Pyramid Complex.

As lead author Hendrik J Bruins put it, “Our findings indicate that the Second Intermediate Period lasted considerably longer than traditional assessments, and the New Kingdom started later.” 

Although the adjustment is modest in years, it carries major historical significance.

Ahmose’s reunification of Egypt marks a critical turning point, and moving its date reshapes how scholars understand the political and cultural transformation that ushered in Egypt’s New Kingdom. 

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

13-12-2025 om 21:45 geschreven door peter  

The TFR advised that the restriction was in place for reasons involving “national security,” and the site of the crash was subsequently cleared by U.S. Air Force officials.

“There were no fatalities, injuries or property damage,” read a statement provided by 432d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs in response to inquiries made by The Debrief on September 30, 2025.

“The incident is under investigation,” the statement read, adding that no additional details were available about the situation at that time.

That all changed last weekend, when the 432d Wing issued a new release providing the first official update on the situation in several days, which included a series of puzzling new developments.

“During a follow-on site survey on October 3rd, investigators discovered signs of tampering at the mishap location,” the October 4 release stated, “including the presence of an inert training bomb body and an aircraft panel of unknown origin that were placed on the site post-incident.”

The Debrief reached out to 432d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs again on October 10, seeking any additional details that could be provided about the situation, but had received no response to our query as of the time of publication.

The aircraft involved in the initial September 23 incident has not been officially identified, although it is believed to have been an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to Dreamland Resort, a website that has chronicled news and discussions related to Area 51 and U.S. government black projects for decades.

Joerg Arnu, the site’s founder and webmaster, traveled to the area where the crash occurred shortly after officials had cleared the site, documenting his visit in a video that appeared on his YouTube page on September 29.

In an article about the incident posted on his website on October 10, Arnu wrote that while the official statements provided by the U.S. Air Force attribute the aircraft crash to a unit operating from Creech AFB, security radio communications reportedly overheard shortly after the incident may have potentially linked it to a hangar at Area 51.

Arnu said that based on his investigations, the incident was likely related to a large nighttime military operation occurring in the region in the early morning hours on September 23, as indicated in radio communications occurring at that time.

In its statement issued over the weekend, 432nd Wing/432d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs said that the investigation into the origin of the aircraft panel of unknown origin and training bomb subsequently discovered at the site remains underway.

“The matter is under investigation by Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and the FBI,” the statement read.

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

13-12-2025 om 21:28 geschreven door peter  

{ 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  

Astronauts Who Claim to Have Seen UFOs in Space

Overview

Throughout history, astronauts who have spent extended periods in space, whether on lunar missions or spacewalks, have occasionally reported observing objects that defy immediate explanation. These sightings have become a focal point amid renewed government interest in Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). While it’s crucial to clarify that such reports do not constitute definitive proof of extraterrestrial technology, they contribute valuable insights because the observers are highly trained professionals who document anomalous visual events with a rigorous scientific approach. The recent sharing of these testimonies within communities like #UFOTwitter has reignited discussions among analysts, scientists, and policymakers alike, prompting them to revisit the historical record, analyze the credibility of such observations, and consider what future disclosures might mean for humanity's understanding of space phenomena.

Eyewitness Accounts: Notable Astronaut Testimonies

Among the most notable accounts is that of Charles Duke, Apollo 16's lunar module pilot, who described experiencing a “mysterious light” during his lunar EVA. He noted that this light “didn’t behave like any known spacecraft or natural phenomenon" and hovered beyond his view for several seconds before vanishing. In a recent interview from 2023, Duke elaborated that, “It was a bright, steady glow that seemed to hover just beyond the horizon—nothing I could explain at the time,” emphasizing the inexplicability of this sighting. Similarly, Bruce McCandless, the first astronaut to perform an untethered spacewalk on the Space Shuttle STS-41B, recounted observing “something” outside his helmet visor during maneuvering aboard the Manned Maneuvering Unit. He described seeing “a faint, disc-shaped outline moving at a speed that didn’t match any known debris or satellite.” Their unusual descriptions—erratic movements, anomalously high speeds, and lack of identifiable propulsion systems—are shared by other credible witnesses and suggest encounters with phenomena outside standard aerospace phenomena and debris.

Another significant testimony comes from Gordon Cooper, a veteran of Mercury-Atlas 9, who during his 1963 orbital flight reported observing a “flying saucer” over a ground tracking station. Cooper’s report, along with the others, shares commonalities: unexpected movements, unusual shapes, and optical phenomena that challenged conventional explanation. These accounts are noteworthy because they come from trained observers, whose backgrounds in aerospace and scientific training strengthen their credibility. Altogether, these eyewitness accounts highlight unusual phenomena that simply do not match the known behavior of common objects or natural events observed during space missions.

Historical Context: The Evolution of UFO Sightings in Space

The phenomenon of UFO sightings is not new and predates human spaceflight. However, the height of the Cold War and the space race of the 1960s significantly heightened public and scientific attention to unidentified objects in the sky. During these decades, reports of strange lights and mysterious craft increased both from civilians and astronauts. For example, a 1965 NASA internal memo documented “unidentified luminous objects” observed near the Gemini 7 orbit, noting that these sightings warranted further study. The Cold War also intensified radar activity and atmospheric re-entry events, which often could be confused with extraterrestrial craft—adding complexity to the interpretation of such phenomena.

As space missions became more frequent and sophisticated, so too did the observations by trained astronauts, whose proficiency in differentiating natural phenomena or debris from potential anomalies contributed to the growing body of reports. These accounts fostered a bridge between anecdotal UFO sightings and the more systematic documentation of UAP encounters, leading to modern attempts to understand and classify these phenomena within a scientific framework—although conclusive explanations remain elusive. The historical record thus plays an important role today, providing context and credibility to current discussions about unidentified phenomena in space.

Credibility and Scientific Scrutiny: Evaluating the Evidence

Given that astronauts are highly trained professionals, their observations carry significant weight. Their training emphasizes precise documentation, cross-referencing instrument data, and differentiating natural events from man-made objects. John Young, a former NASA astronaut and chief of the astronaut office, publicly expressed cautious interest in unexplained aerial phenomena, noting that, “if a trained pilot sees something that doesn’t fit known parameters, it deserves a serious look.” This highlights a key principle: trained observers’ accounts, especially when detailed and consistent, warrant scientific investigation.

Independent researchers and analysts have examined mission transcripts, video footage, telemetry data, and sensor recordings to verify these sightings. In some cases, apparent anomalies might be explained by reflections, optical artifacts, or known satellite or debris movements. Nonetheless, many reports remain inconclusive because of the lack of corroborating sensor data—such as radar signatures or spectroscopic measurements—which could definitively identify the objects seen. The absence of such data leaves the sightings categorized as “unidentified,” but their consistency across multiple missions and different observers supports the view that a subset of these phenomena warrants further scientific inquiry.

While the scientific community remains cautious about jumping to extraterrestrial conclusions, there’s increased recognition that these phenomena deserve serious scrutiny. The sightings from astronauts—despite lacking definitive sensor confirmation—add to the accumulating body of evidence that some space-based phenomena remain unexplained within conventional physics and aerospace knowledge. This ongoing investigation aims to differentiate between optical illusions, natural phenomena, and potentially other, as yet unknown, phenomena in space.

Implications for Humanity: Broader Impact of UAP Encounters

The potential confirmation that some space-based UFO sightings are of non-human origin would be groundbreaking, with wide-ranging implications extending beyond aerospace technology. Such disclosures could influence international security policies, leading to new protocols for handling unexplained encounters and fostering global cooperation for transparency. Furthermore, credible evidence of non-terrestrial intelligence would stimulate a paradigm shift in scientific research, prompting new inquiries into the origins, objectives, and technologies of these phenomena.

Even in the absence of conclusive proof, the acknowledgment that highly trained, credible professionals have encountered unexplained phenomena in space encourages a more open and transparent approach to data collection, analysis, and sharing. This transparency can enhance public trust and foster scientific collaboration across nations. The expanding efforts of the Pentagon’s UAP Office and NASA’s dedicated sensor suites for deep-space exploration highlight an institutional shift toward systematically studying and understanding these phenomena. Such frameworks aim to ensure encounters are documented rigorously and, if appropriate, communicated responsibly to the public.

The implications extend into philosophical and cultural realms as well, compelling humanity to reevaluate its place in the universe. If future investigations validate the presence of extraterrestrial or non-human intelligences, it could profoundly impact our worldviews, religious beliefs, and cultural narratives—ushering in a new era of cosmic consciousness. The legacy of astronaut reports, therefore, may serve as a catalyst for transformative scientific and societal change, emphasizing the importance of open-minded, rigorous investigation into mysteries beyond our planet.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Space UFO Research and Exploration

The renewed focus on astronaut UFO reports signifies a broader shift toward systematic, evidence-based research of space anomalies. As upcoming missions, such as NASA’s Artemis program, prepare to return humans to the Moon’s surface, they will be equipped with advanced optical, infrared, and radar systems capable of capturing high-resolution data. These tools aim to document anomalies in real time, providing objective, verifiable evidence to supplement eyewitness accounts.

Additionally, the International Space Station (ISS)—with its continuous crew presence—serves as a unique platform for ongoing observation of the space environment. The crew can perform real-time reports, capture video footage, and conduct experimental procedures aimed at identifying unexplained phenomena. These efforts are critical to moving the conversation beyond anecdotal reports, integrating data into a scientific framework that prioritizes reproducibility and verification.

Looking forward, collaboration among governmental agencies, scientific institutions, and private space enterprises will be essential to develop standardized protocols for recording, analyzing, and sharing data related to UAPs. Public interest and curiosity, fueled by credible testimonials from astronauts and astronauts-in-training, drive momentum for open engagement and transparency. The integration of cutting-edge technology, rigorous scientific methodology, and international cooperation aims to ensure that any future discoveries are rooted in fact rather than sensationalism, ultimately enhancing our understanding of space phenomena and humanity’s place in the cosmos.

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://usubjects.com/  }

12-12-2025 om 22:08 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.

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{ https://usubjects.com/  }

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

{ https://futurism.com/ }

12-12-2025 om 21:35 geschreven door peter  

For billions of years since the formation of Earth and the Moon, solar radiation and our planet’s magnetic field have been driving a complex and invisible process. Parts of Earth’s atmosphere are transported to our moon and remain in its soil.

Transfer of Earth particles to the Moon

The surface of the Moon may not be just a barren, inhospitable place. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth’s atmosphere have settled on the lunar soil, creating a potential source of substances necessary for the survival of future astronauts. But it is only recently that scientists have begun to understand how these particles make their long journey from Earth to the Moon and how long this process takes.

New research from the University of Rochester, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, shows that Earth’s magnetic field may actually help guide atmospheric particles carried by the solar wind into space, rather than blocking them. Since Earth’s magnetic field has existed for billions of years, this process could have gradually moved particles from Earth to the Moon over a long period of time.

“By combining data on particles preserved in lunar soil with computer simulations of the interaction of solar wind with Earth’s atmosphere, we can trace the history of Earth’s atmosphere and its magnetic field,” says Eric Blackman, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester.

Research findings indicate that lunar soil may not only contain long-term data about Earth’s atmosphere, but may also be even more valuable than scientists had thought for future space explorers who will live and work on the Moon.

Hints on the lunar soil

Soil brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions in the 1970s provided scientists with important clues. Studies of these samples show that the dusty surface of the Moon, called regolith, contains volatile substances such as water, carbon dioxide, helium, argon, and nitrogen. Some of these volatiles came from the constant stream of charged particles from the Sun, known as the solar wind. But their abundance, especially nitrogen, is too great to be explained by the solar wind alone.

In 2005, a group of scientists led by researchers from the University of Tokyo hypothesized that some of the volatile substances could have come from Earth’s atmosphere. They argued that this could only have happened at a time when the Earth did not yet have a magnetic field, since, in their opinion, the magnetic field would have prevented atmospheric particles from escaping into space.

But researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered that this process may work differently.

Role of the magnetic field in particle transport to the Moon

The URochester team includes Shubhonkar Paramanick, a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a Horton Fellow at LLE; John Tarduno, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; and Jonathan Carroll-Nellenback, a computational scientist at the Center for Integrated Research and Computational Technologies and an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, used advanced computer simulations to model how and when regolith could have acquired the elements found in the Apollo samples.

The researchers tested two scenarios. One modeled the “early Earth” without a magnetic field and under the influence of a stronger solar wind. The other modeled the “modern Earth” with its strong magnetic field and weaker solar wind. The simulation showed that particle transport works best in the modern Earth scenario.

In this case, charged particles from Earth’s atmosphere are knocked out by solar wind and directed along Earth’s magnetic field lines. Some of these lines extend so far into space that they reach the Moon. Over billions of years, this funnel effect has caused small amounts of Earth’s atmosphere to settle on the Moon.

Preserving the past and supporting the future

The long-term exchange of particles means that the Moon can store chemical data about Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, studying lunar soil can give scientists a rare opportunity to learn how the climate, oceans, and even life on Earth have evolved over billions of years.

The long-term, continuous transport of particles also indicates that lunar soil contains more volatile substances than previously thought. Elements such as water and nitrogen could enable humans to stay on the Moon for longer periods, reducing the need to transport supplies from Earth and making lunar exploration more feasible.

• According to phys.org

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

12-12-2025 om 21:22 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  

“With this paper, we wanted to clearly define a technology and associate it with the Roman period in the year 79 C.E.,” explained MIT Associate Professor Admir Masic.

How ‘Hot Mixing’ Gave Roman Concrete its Self-Healing Properties

According to a press release announcing the research, the first person to document the process of making Roman concrete was Vitruvius in his 1st-century BCE text “De architectura.” Although the ancient text is considered the first known book to discuss architectural theory, the process it describes for mixing Roman concrete has created a modern-day controversy.

According to Vitruvius, the Romans added water to lime to create a concrete predecessor. After this step was completed, other ingredients, such as volcanic ash, were added to make the final concrete product. Unfortunately for the ancient scholar, a 2023 study of Roman concrete by Professor Masic and his collaborators showed that this mixture would not have resulted in the robust, long-lasting material we see today.

“Having a lot of respect for Vitruvius, it was difficult to suggest that his description may be inaccurate,” Professor Masic said.

Instead, the original study found that lime fragments, volcanic ash, and other dry ingredients were mixed separately before water was added. Once the mixed dry materials and water were stirred, they would produce heat.

Described by Masic’s team as “hot mixing,” the process traps and preserves the lime as small, gravel-like features. Because lime is highly reactive, these preserved ‘clasts’ can fill in cracks and re-dissolve. Scientists believe this self-healing property is among the key reasons Roman concrete has persevered for over 2,000 years.

New Analysis Finds Vitruvius Was Wrong

To confirm or refute Viruvius’ account, Masic’s team gained access to an ancient concrete wall that was in the process of being built. The site also contained fully completed buttresses and a structural wall, the latter including examples of mortar repairs still visible after two millennia.

“We were blessed to be able to open this time capsule of a construction site and find piles of material ready to be used for the wall,” Masic said of the ancient Pompeian site.

After performing several tests, the researchers determined that the ancient walls and buttresses offered “the clearest evidence yet” that jot mixing was responsible for the strength and durability of Roman concrete. For example, the samples collected at the site contained the lime clasts Masic’s team had described in 2023.

The team also discovered a dry raw-material pile containing intact fragments of quicklime that had been pre-mixed with other dry materials. The researchers note that premixing the dry ingredients before adding the water to generate a heat reaction is a “critical first step” in hot-mixed concrete production.

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

12-12-2025 om 20:33 geschreven door peter  

For decades, scientists have been baffled by two enormous structures buried deep inside Earth. These anomalies may retain geochemical signatures distinct from the surrounding mantle. Yet, their origin remains enigmatic. Rutgers University geodynamicist Yoshinori Miyazaki and colleagues offer a striking explanation for these anomalies and their role in shaping Earth’s ability to support life.

The illustration shows a cutaway revealing the interior of early Earth with a hot, melted layer above the boundary between the core and mantle.

Image credit: Yoshinori Miyazaki / Rutgers University.

The two enigmatic structures, known as large low-shear-velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones, sit at the boundary between Earth’s mantle and its core, nearly 2,900 km (1,800 miles) beneath the surface.

Large low-shear-velocity provinces are continent-sized blobs of dense, hot rock.

One sits beneath Africa; the other is perched under the Pacific Ocean.

Ultra-low velocity zones are thin, molten patches clinging to the core like lava puddles.

Both types of structures slow seismic waves dramatically, signaling unusual composition.

“These are not random oddities,” said Dr. Miyazaki, co-author of a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“They are fingerprints of Earth’s earliest history.”

“If we can understand why they exist, we can understand how our planet formed and why it became habitable.”

“Billions of years ago, Earth was covered by a global ocean of magma.”

“As it cooled, scientists expected the mantle to form distinct chemical layers, similar to frozen juice separating into sugary concentrate and watery ice.”

“But seismic studies show no such strong layering. Instead, large-low shear velocity provinces and ultra-low velocity zones form irregular piles at the planet’s base.”

“That contradiction was the starting point. If we start from the magma ocean and do the calculations, we don’t get what we see in Earth’s mantle today. Something was missing.”

The team’s model suggests that over billions of years, elements such as silicon and magnesium leaked from the core into the mantle, mixing with it and preventing strong chemical layering.

This infusion could explain the strange composition of large low-shear-velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones, which can be seen as solidified remnants of what the scientists termed a basal magma ocean contaminated by core material.

“What we proposed was that it might be coming from material leaking out from the core,” Dr. Miyazaki said.

“If you add the core component, it could explain what we see right now.”

“The discovery is about more than deep-Earth chemistry.”

“Core-mantle interactions may have influenced how Earth cooled, how volcanic activity unfolded and even how the atmosphere evolved.”

“That could help explain why Earth has oceans and life, while Venus is a scorching greenhouse and Mars is a frozen desert.”

“Earth has water, life and a relatively stable atmosphere.”

“Venus’ atmosphere is 100 times thicker than Earth’s and is mostly carbon dioxide, and Mars has a very thin atmosphere.”

“We don’t fully understand why that is. But what happens inside a planet, that is, how it cools, how its layers evolve, could be a big part of the answer.”

By integrating seismic data, mineral physics and geodynamic modeling, the authors reconceived large low-shear velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones as vital clues to Earth’s formative processes.

The structures may even feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii and Iceland, linking the deep Earth to its surface.

“This work is a great example of how combining planetary science, geodynamics and mineral physics can help us solve some of Earth’s oldest mysteries,” said study co-author Dr. Jie Deng, a researcher at Princeton University.

“The idea that the deep mantle could still carry the chemical memory of early core–mantle interactions opens up new ways to understand Earth’s unique evolution.”

“Each new piece of evidence helps fill in gaps in Earth’s early history, turning scattered clues into a clearer picture of its evolution.”

“Even with very few clues, we’re starting to build a story that makes sense,” Dr. Miyazaki said.

• “This study gives us a little more certainty about how Earth evolved, and why it’s so special.”
• J. Deng et al. 2025. Deep mantle heterogeneities formed through a basal magma ocean contaminated by core exsolution. Nat. Geosci 18, 1056-1062; doi: 10.1038/s41561-025-01797-y

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{ https://www.sci.news/news/archaeology }

11-12-2025 om 22:18 geschreven door peter  

Archaeologists Discover Earliest Evidence of Fire-Making

rchaeologists have unearthed 400,000-year-old heated sediments and fire-cracked flint handaxes alongside two fragments of pyrite — a mineral used in later periods to strike sparks with flint — at Barnham, Suffolk, the United Kingdom. The discovery shows humans were making fire around 350,000 years earlier than previously known.

An artist’s impression of fire at Barnham around 400,000 years ago.

Image credit: Craig Williams / The Trustees of the British Museum.

The ability of humans to make and maintain fires marks an important moment in human development: fires provided warmth, offered protection from predators and enabled cooking, which expanded the range of foods that could be consumed.

Indications of fires in sites inhabited by humans date to more than one million years ago.

However, determining when humans learned how to create fire is challenging.

Fire use probably began with opportunistic harvesting of natural wildfires before our ancestors mastered the art of deliberately starting fires.

Previous evidence for early fire-making has been found at Neanderthal sites in France dating to 50,000 years ago, where handaxes that seem to have been used to strike pyrite to create sparks have been found.

The new evidence discovered by Professor Nick Ashton, an archaeologist with the British Museum and the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, and his colleagues suggests that fire-making may have been happening 400,000 years ago in Barnham, the United Kingdom.

The archaeologists discovered heated sediments in ancient soils along with fire-cracked flint handaxes.

These features indicate that fire was being controlled in a human settlement, but it is the third finding that suggests that the fire-making was deliberate.

Two fragments of pyrite were discovered on the site; however, this mineral is rare in this region, leading the researchers to propose that pyrite was purposefully brought to the site to be used for fire-making.

Together, the findings indicate complex behavior in ancient humans at the Barnham site.

For example, these humans may have understood the properties of pyrite to use it as part of a fire-making kit.

Developing this skill would have provided many benefits, including the ability to cook food and potentially driving the advancement of technologies such as glue-making for hafted tools, which may have contributed to notable developments in human behavior.

“The people who made fire at Barnham at 400,000 years ago were probably early Neanderthals, based on the morphology of fossils around the same age from Swanscombe, Kent, and Atapuerca in Spain, who even preserve early Neanderthal DNA,” said Professor Chris Stringer, a paleoanthropologist at Natural History Museum, London.

“This is the most remarkable discovery of my career, and I’m very proud of the teamwork that it has taken to reach this groundbreaking conclusion,” Professor Ashton said.

“It’s incredible that some of the oldest groups of Neanderthals had the knowledge of the properties of flint, pyrite and tinder at such an early date.”

“The implications are enormous,” said Dr. Rob Davis, a project curator at the British Museum.

“The ability to create and control fire is one of the most important turning points in human history with practical and social benefits that changed human evolution.”

“This extraordinary discovery pushes this turning point back by some 350,000 years.”

• The discovery is reported in a paper published today in the journal Nature.
• R. Davis et al. Earliest evidence of making fire. Nature, published online December 10, 2025; doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09855-6

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{ https://www.sci.news/news/archaeology }

11-12-2025 om 22:07 geschreven door peter  

Mystery US military jet makes three-minute flight in Japan as tensions escalate with China and Russia

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A US military transport aircraft was spotted in Japan on Thursday as tensions with China and Russia continue to escalate.

Flight tracking data shows a US Boeing C-40 Clipper stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, the largest US Navy base in the Pacific, briefly departed the base at 5.21am ET before returning after just over three minutes. 

Aviation observers noted the unusually short flight, sparking questions about its purpose.

The Clipper is a VIP-configured aircraft, specially designed for the secure, reliable, and comfortable transport of high-ranking military and government officials. 

While it is unclear who was aboard, such flights are typically associated with urgent missions or strategic coordination.

The flight comes just a day after US strategic bombers joined a fleet of Japanese fighter jets in a joint exercise meant to showcase military cooperation around Japan's airspace. 

This show of force followed Chinese and Russian bombers flying together near western Japan on Tuesday, prompting Tokyo to scramble fighter jets, though no airspace violations were reported.

Tensions between Japan, China and Russia stem from historical disputes and overlapping military interests, including Taiwan, Japan's growing defense ties with the US and territorial disputes.

A US Boeing C-40 Clipper made a short flight, just over three minutes, while in Japan

The Clipper is a VIP-configured aircraft, specially designed for the secure, reliable, and comfortable transport of high-ranking military and government officials

These issues create a complex security dynamic in which China and Russia view Japan's military resurgence as a threat.

The Tuesday incident also followed a separate threat in which Chinese military aircraft locked radar onto Japanese jets over international waters last Saturday, further straining Tokyo-Beijing relations.

According to the Japanese Joint Staff, the exercise on Wednesday was conducted 'as the security environment surrounding our country is becoming even more severe,' underscoring growing concerns about regional stability.

The Clipper is a military variant of the commercial Boeing 737-700, serving as a medium-lift transport aircraft for the US Navy. 

It supports can be configured to carry up to 121 passengers, eight cargo pallets up to 40,000 pounds or a combination of both. The aircraft has a range of approximately 3,682 miles unrefueled, a top speed of about 530 mph, and is typically crewed by three flight crew members plus five to ten mission crew. 

As of 2025, the US Navy operates 17 active C-40As, with squadrons like VR-57 'Conquistadors' handling Pacific operations. 

Production ran from 2001 to 2019, delivering 17 units at an average cost of around $70 million each. 

Flight tracking data shows a US Boeing C-40 Clipper stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, the largest US Navy base in the Pacific, briefly departed the base at 5:21 a.m. ET before returning after just over three minutes

The Clipper was previously used to escort Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington in 2022.

The Ukrainian president was stashed in a US Air Force Boeing C-40 Clipper as part of the delicately planned cloak-and-dagger operation to avoid any Russian sabotage on his first foreign visit since Vladimir Putin sent troops over the border.

But now the US has deployed the jet to assist another ally.

The Japanese Joint Staff said the allies 'reaffirmed the strong resolve to prevent unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force and the readiness between the SDF and the U.S. forces.'

Two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers and three Japanese F-35 stealth fighter jets and three F-15 jets conducted their joint flight drills near Japan´s western airspace, above the waters between the country and South Korea, officials said.

The Joint Staff denied that the exercise was conducted in response to a specific incident, but acknowledged Chinese military aircraft´s recent radar-locking on Japanese jets and the China-Russia joint bomber exercises on Tuesday as examples of a worsening security environment around Japan.

Relations between Japan and China have deteriorated after Japan´s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in early November that Japan's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own.

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

11-12-2025 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

Maven, we have a problem: NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars for more than a DECADE

• READ MORE: NASA finds sugars essential for life on ancient asteroid Bennu

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars for more than a decade.

The space agency last heard from the Maven (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft as it orbited behind the Red Planet on December 6.

But when Maven emerged, it had ceased all communications with NASA's ground stations.

All of the orbiter's systems were functioning as usual before it disappeared behind Mars as part of its normal orbit, according to NASA's telemetry.

NASA's scientists don't know what caused the disappearance, and it is currently not clear whether the spacecraft can be brought back online.

If Maven is unable to establish communications with Earth, it could put an end to over 10 years of critical scientific work from orbit around the Red Planet.

In a statement, the space agency said: 'The spacecraft and operations teams are investigating the anomaly to address the situation.

'More information will be shared once it becomes available.'

NASA has abruptly lost connection to the Maven spacecraft, which has been orbiting Mars for more than a decade 

Maven was launched from Earth in 2013 and arrived in Martian orbit on September 21, 2014.

The 800-kilogram (1,784 lbs) craft is equipped with eight pieces of sensitive equipment designed to collect images in the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum.

The mission's goal was to gather data about the planet's upper atmosphere, its interactions with the sun, and to explain how Mars lost its atmosphere to space.

Scientists believe that Mars was once a warm, wet world with lakes and oceans much like those found on Earth.

However, the planet's atmosphere was stripped away over millions of years, gradually transforming Mars into a barren desert.

Maven has been critical in showing that atmospheric loss was an escape route for Mars' water, revealing how it was lifted high into the atmosphere by dust storms, where it can be blown away by solar wind.

The spacecraft has also helped to map Mars' winds, categorise clouds on the red planet, and even discovered an invisible magnetic 'tail'.

More recently, NASA put Maven's equipment to an unexpected new use as the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS made its close pass of Mars.

Maven's ultraviolet images of Mars (pictured) have been critical in showing how the Red Planet lost its water and atmosphere over time 

In September, Maven captured the ultraviolet spectrum of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (pictured), which could help scientists learn more about its origins and evolution 

Over the course of 10 days, starting on September 27, Maven used its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph camera to create unique images of the passing comet.

Although these images didn't look like the high-resolution visible light shots from Earth-based telescopes, they were far more scientifically important.

By looking at the wavelengths of light emerging from the 'coma' of gases around the comet, scientists have been able to analyse its chemical composition.

Further study could reveal more about the comet's origins and evolution in another solar system billions of years away.

However, Maven's sudden disappearance following its encounter with the mysterious interstellar object has sparked a wave of online conspiracy theories.

On X, one paranoid commenter wrote: 'There could be a number of reasons for that, including intercession by an Extraterrestrial Alien Spacecraft to prevent NASA gaining any further information. Just my opinion.'

'3I/ATLAS took it,' another chimed in. 

While another conspiracy theorist added: 'Aliens got another one.'

With the disappearance coming so soon after the spacecraft's encounter with 3I/ATLAS, the news has sparked a wave of outlandish conspiracy theories 

On X, some commenters suggested that the craft could have been 'taken' by the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, reflecting a scientifically debunked theory that the interstellar object is an alien object 

Another conspiracy theorist on X suggested that Maven had been taken by aliens 

Read More

• A celestial oasis? NASA's Perseverance Rover discovers evidence of tropical rainfall on Mars 

In addition to its scientific work, Maven also played an important role in the data relay network between NASA's surface rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, and Earth.

The spacecraft going offline could cause some disruptions for the space agencies' ongoing investigations on the Martian surface.

It will, therefore, be very critical for NASA to find out what went wrong with Maven and ensure it does not happen to any other Mars orbiters.

With Maven not responding to communications from Earth, NASA has only two active spacecraft in orbit: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005, and Mars Odyssey, launched in 2001.

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) Orbiter 

Launch: November 18, 2013

Launch Location: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

Mars Orbit Insertion: September 21, 2014

Length: 11.4 metres

Width: 2.29 metres

Height: 3.47 metres

Weight (on Earth): 809 kilograms

Scientific Payload: Eight instruments for gathering data in the ultraviolet spectrum

Mission Objective:  To determine how much of the Martian atmosphere has been lost over time by measuring the current rate of escape to space and gathering enough information about the relevant processes to allow extrapolation backward in time.

Current Mission Status: Unresponsive  

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

11-12-2025 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

Key Bible verse proven true as stunning ancient mural depicting Jesus is discovered in Turkey

• READ MORE: Joe Rogan predicts what will spark the Second Coming of Jesus 

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A colorful fresco depicting the 'Good Shepherd Jesus' has been uncovered on the wall of an ancient tomb in Turkey, aligning with one of the most significant verses in the Bible.

Found on the north wall of an underground chamber tomb, the third-century artwork shows Jesus walking through a field surrounded by goats.

He appears as a young, beardless man wearing a simple tunic, a goat draped across his shoulders.

The fresco confirms that early Christians were using the same imagery and titles for Jesus found in the New Testament, including the 'Good Shepherd' motif referenced in John 10:11: 'I am the good shepherd.'

Turkish officials said the discovery is exceptional, noting it is the only known early Christian-era example of its kind outside Italy.

The fresco emerged during ongoing excavations at the Hisardere Necropolis in the Iznik district of Bursa, one of the region's largest ancient burial grounds.

Dating from the second to fifth centuries AD, the site preserves a remarkably varied landscape of burials, including İznik's signature terracotta-roofed chamber tombs, heavy stone sarcophagi, upright-slab cist graves and expansive hypogea carved deep into the earth.

Along the north wall sits a raised platform, or kline, lined with square terracotta slabs where the deceased were placed. Directly behind it, the rare Good Shepherd fresco remains intact.

Experts said the 'Good Shepard Jesus' fresco represents a transition from pagan to Christian beliefs

The tomb, constructed when the region was called Anatolia, featured three preserved walls and a ceiling also covered in frescoes.

What sets this tomb apart from others in the region is its depiction of human figures, a rare feature in local funerary art. 

On the west wall, a married couple, presumably the tomb's occupants, is portrayed as aristocrats, their status conveyed through fine attire and adornments. 

The accompanying symposium scene, despite the tomb's Christian context, continues pagan traditions depicting the afterlife as an everlasting feast. 

Before the cross became Christianity's defining symbol, early believers relied heavily on the Good Shepherd motif to express their faith. 

Portraying Jesus with a sheep across his shoulders conveyed themes of protection, salvation and divine guidance, allowing Christians to communicate their beliefs subtly at a time when overt religious imagery was still uncommon. 

Experts told Middle East Eye that the image of Jesus painted inside the tomb represents a transition from pagan to Christian beliefs.

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, served as a crossroads for many civilizations due to its strategic location between Asia and Europe. 

Along the north wall sits a raised platform, or kline, lined with square terracotta slabs where the deceased were placed. Directly behind it, the rare Good Shepherd fresco remains intact

Found on the north wall of an underground chamber tomb, the third-century artwork shows Jesus walking through a field surrounded by goats

It was home to numerous ancient peoples, including the Hittites, and was later part of empires like the Roman and Byzantine Empires, eventually becoming the heartland of modern Turkey. 

The earliest known forms of worship in Anatolia were centered on a pagan system, but started adopting Christianity early in the first century, following Jesus's crucifixion.

Turkey has produced a treasure trove of religious artifacts, as it was the cradle of early Christianity.

Some of the Apostles traveled to the region following the crucifixion and built churches and ministered to the locals. 

Notably, the first distinct Christian church and the first recorded use of the term 'Christian' appeared in the ancient city of Antioch, now Antakya in modern Turkey. 

After Jerusalem fell in AD 70, the region became a central hub for the growth of Christianity. 

On the west wall, a married couple, presumably the tomb's occupants, is portrayed as aristocrats, their status conveyed through fine attire and adornments

Archaeologists said the newly discovered fresco will offer valuable insights into Early Christian iconography, Roman-era burial practices and the spread of Christianity in Anatolia. 

The find also reinforces İznik’s status as a major religious and historical center, already renowned for hosting the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, which shaped foundational Christian doctrines.

As excavations continue, researchers hope the Hisartepe Necropolis may yield additional frescoes, inscriptions or artifacts, shedding further light on the multicultural and religious history of ancient Nicaea.

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

11-12-2025 om 20:52 geschreven door peter  

The new state of matter hiding beneath our feet: Earth's inner core hides a 'superionic state' that fuels our planet's magnetic heartbeat, study finds

• READ MORE: Priceless rock extracted from Scotland's Great Glen Fault

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have discovered a new state of matter hidden right beneath our feet – and it could explain the most mysterious properties of our planet.

A new study has found that Earth's innermost core isn't a conventional solid, but rather in a 'superionic state'.

In this strange state of matter, carbon atoms are free to flow like a liquid through a solid iron lattice.

This allows Earth's inner core to act like a dense solid, while remaining as pliable as molten metal.

According to a group of Chinese researchers, this matches the strange behaviour of the inner core that has been perplexing scientists for years.

Likewise, the flow of these liquid–like elements in the core could play a key role in maintaining Earth's magnetic fields.

Co–author Dr Yuqian Huang, of Sichuan University, says: 'Atomic diffusion within the inner core represents a previously overlooked energy source for the geodynamo.

'In addition to heat and compositional convection, the fluid–like motion of light elements may help power Earth's magnetic engine.'

Scientists have discovered that there is a new state of matter hidden beneath our feet, as they find that the inner core is in a 'superionic' state

The 102 quintillion–tonne sphere of iron alloy that makes up our planet's innermost core is one of the most extreme environments in the solar system.

More than 3,000 miles beneath the surface, the core is crushed by more than 3.3 million atmospheres of pressure and heated to temperatures close to the surface of the sun.

But the deepest depths of the Earth also exhibit some strange and contradictory behaviours.

Even though research has suggested the core is solid, it behaves in other ways as if it were a softened metal.

Seismic waves passing through the inner core are slowed, like sound moving through water, and it displays a level of malleability that is closer to butter than steel.

Scientists have spent years trying to work out how this part of the planet could be both solid and pliable at the same time.

One possible solution is that it combines the behaviour of both solids and liquids in one single state of matter.

Co–author Professor Youjun Zhang, of Sichuan University, says: 'In this state, carbon atoms become highly mobile, diffusing through the crystalline iron framework like children weaving through a square dance, while the iron itself remains solid and ordered.'

In a superionic state, carbon atoms are able to flow freely like a liquid through an iron lattice. This makes the material significantly more malleable, but this state only occurs under very extreme conditions 

Earth's 4 major layers

This superionic state would dramatically reduce the inner core's rigidity while still remaining solid.

In 2022, computer simulations showed that the inner core could enter this phase, but the required conditions are so extreme that this has been exceptionally difficult to test.

In their new study, the researchers exposed samples of iron–carbon to powerful shockwaves in order to recreate what it is like in the inner core.

They propelled the metal at 15,650 miles per hour (25,200 km/h), creating 1.38 million atmospheres of pressure and temperatures near 2,300°C (4,220°F).

By analysing the shockwaves produced by these impacts, the researchers found that the iron–carbon samples became significantly more malleable as they approached the conditions of the inner core.

This suggests that they had entered a superionic phase – and the metal in the core is likely the same.

These findings could represent a major change in how geologists think about the innermost depths of the planet.

It would not only help to explain why the inner core interferes with seismic waves, but it could also help us understand the planet's evolution.

Scientists believe that the superionic state of the inner core could explain why the deepest parts of the Earth act as if they are both solid and malleable 

The researchers believe that the movement of light elements could help to transport heat around the planet, and provide power for the magnetic fields.  

Professor Zhang says: 'We're moving away from a static, rigid model of the inner core toward a dynamic one.'

And, in the future, it could also help us to understand the magnetic fields and changes in temperature of distant exoplanets.

'Understanding this hidden state of matter brings us one step closer to unlocking the secrets of Earth–like planetary interiors,' Professor Zhang concludes.

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

11-12-2025 om 18:40 geschreven door peter