We are always bombarded about the global warming and the melting ice in the Arctic, but how many of us know that actually the Antarctic Sea ice is growing despise the global warming?
For years scientists have puzzled over how the sea surface temperature around Antarctica has risen, but sea ice there has been increasing at the same time.
For the past 30 years, the Arctic sea ice has been decreasing while Antarctic sea ice has been increasing, this has always troubled the scientists.
In Discovery News now there is an article that explains how that is happening.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Crime Prediction
This seems something out of a know Hollywood movie, where people where arrested for crimes that they didn't "Yet" commit. Well, we are not far from it!
There is a software developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software is already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation or parole are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
In his latest version, the one being implemented in D.C., Berk goes even further, identifying the individuals most likely to commit crimes other than murder.
There is a software developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software is already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation or parole are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
In his latest version, the one being implemented in D.C., Berk goes even further, identifying the individuals most likely to commit crimes other than murder.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Earth Gets Geomagnetic Wallop
Feeling a bit scattered today? Well perhaps you can blame the weather. I'm not talking about spring fever. A blast of solar wind is pummeling Earth's magnetosphere, sparking the strongest geomagnetic storm so far this year.
Though it registered a "7" on the 0-to-9 K-index scale of magnetic disturbances, the storm is expected to pass quickly. The silver lining, for those at high-latitudes anyway, is a beautiful show of auroras -- the result of high-energy particles from the sun smashing into oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere. As the molecules return to normal, they give off energy in the form of photons. The colors in the aurora depend on which atmospheric gas is being revved up by the invading electrons and how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits greenish yellow or red light; Nitrogen generally produces blue.
Source
Though it registered a "7" on the 0-to-9 K-index scale of magnetic disturbances, the storm is expected to pass quickly. The silver lining, for those at high-latitudes anyway, is a beautiful show of auroras -- the result of high-energy particles from the sun smashing into oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere. As the molecules return to normal, they give off energy in the form of photons. The colors in the aurora depend on which atmospheric gas is being revved up by the invading electrons and how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits greenish yellow or red light; Nitrogen generally produces blue.
Source
U.S. Signs New Deal for Soyuz Flights
Russia is charging the United States $55.8 million a seat for six round-trip rides aboard its Soyuz capsules, currently the sole means for getting astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Under a new contract announced yesterday, NASA will pay Russia $335 million for Soyuz flights in 2013 and 2014. An existing contract in effect through 2012 costs NASA $51 million per passenger, a fee that includes training and support services.
The fee increase is relatively small, considering Russia's monopoly on crew transportation services to the space station. China, the only other country that has put people into orbit, isn't part of the station partnership.
The United States is retiring its three space shuttles, which had been used for crew transport, at the end of the year, due to cost and safety concerns. A replacement ship is TBD.
The Obama administration wants to turn over space taxi services to private industry. Space Exploration Technologies of California, which looks to be the front-runner, has yet to fly its Falcon 9 rocket, which NASA is helping to develop as a cargo hauler. Falcon 9's debut flight is expected in May.
Source
Under a new contract announced yesterday, NASA will pay Russia $335 million for Soyuz flights in 2013 and 2014. An existing contract in effect through 2012 costs NASA $51 million per passenger, a fee that includes training and support services.
The fee increase is relatively small, considering Russia's monopoly on crew transportation services to the space station. China, the only other country that has put people into orbit, isn't part of the station partnership.
The United States is retiring its three space shuttles, which had been used for crew transport, at the end of the year, due to cost and safety concerns. A replacement ship is TBD.
The Obama administration wants to turn over space taxi services to private industry. Space Exploration Technologies of California, which looks to be the front-runner, has yet to fly its Falcon 9 rocket, which NASA is helping to develop as a cargo hauler. Falcon 9's debut flight is expected in May.
Source
Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Space Station
Space shuttle Discovery successfully docked at the International Space Station early Wednesday, its astronauts overcoming a rare antenna breakdown that knocked out radar tracking.
Shuttle commander Alan Poindexter and his crew relied on other navigation devices to approach the orbiting outpost.
"You guys are looking beautiful," Japanese space station resident Soichi Noguchi radioed as the shuttle drew within 660 feet, loaded down with supplies.
The two spacecraft came together 215 miles above the Caribbean, precisely on time.
It was only the second time that a shuttle had to dock with the space station without any radar; the first was 10 years ago.
Poindexter trained for just such an event two weeks ago. As he closed in on the final 150 feet, he radioed, "It's a lot of fun."
Flight director Richard Jones said the flying was flawless. "The crew made it look easy," he told reporters.
One of the first matters of business for the 13 space fliers -- once the hatches swung open -- was transmitting detailed laser images of Discovery to Mission Control in Houston.
Source
Shuttle commander Alan Poindexter and his crew relied on other navigation devices to approach the orbiting outpost.
"You guys are looking beautiful," Japanese space station resident Soichi Noguchi radioed as the shuttle drew within 660 feet, loaded down with supplies.
The two spacecraft came together 215 miles above the Caribbean, precisely on time.
It was only the second time that a shuttle had to dock with the space station without any radar; the first was 10 years ago.
Poindexter trained for just such an event two weeks ago. As he closed in on the final 150 feet, he radioed, "It's a lot of fun."
Flight director Richard Jones said the flying was flawless. "The crew made it look easy," he told reporters.
One of the first matters of business for the 13 space fliers -- once the hatches swung open -- was transmitting detailed laser images of Discovery to Mission Control in Houston.
Source
Nearby Star Has Shady Companion
For nearly 190 years, scientists have argued over what's causing a bright, relatively nearby star known as Epsilon Aurigae to lose its luster every 27 years.
The dimming, which lasts about 18 months, is due to some sort of eclipsing companion. The most likely scenario, however, seemed ridiculously far-fetched: a sibling star of some sort cloaked in a shroud of dark dust and orbiting head-on relative to Earth.
Yet that's exactly what astronomers found using a network of four linked, infrared telescopes to create an instrument that can resolve targets with 100 times the power of the Hubble Space Telescope. The technique, called interferometry, allowed scientists to watch the companion object's silhouette pass across the face of Epsilon Aurigae, confirming the pair's unusual geometry.
Source
The dimming, which lasts about 18 months, is due to some sort of eclipsing companion. The most likely scenario, however, seemed ridiculously far-fetched: a sibling star of some sort cloaked in a shroud of dark dust and orbiting head-on relative to Earth.
Yet that's exactly what astronomers found using a network of four linked, infrared telescopes to create an instrument that can resolve targets with 100 times the power of the Hubble Space Telescope. The technique, called interferometry, allowed scientists to watch the companion object's silhouette pass across the face of Epsilon Aurigae, confirming the pair's unusual geometry.
Source
Pluto's Dwarf Planet Family Could Get Bigger
Although Pluto was kicked out of the planetary club by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) four years ago, the passionate "Pluto debate" rumbles on.
But the fact remains that even before discovery of Eris in 2005 by a Palomar Observatory team headed by Caltech's Mike Brown, Pluto's ranking as a planet in the solar system was tenuous at best. Eris was measured to be nearly 30 percent larger than Pluto; did that make Eris a planet too? No, but its discovery began a series of events that changed our understanding of the solar system forever.
According to a paper presented at the Proceedings of the 9th Australian Space Science Conference, the "dwarf planet club" should start accepting applications from smaller members and according to Brown -- discoverer of over 100 Kuiper Belt objects (or KBOs) -- this is no bad thing for the beleaguered Pluto.
The solar system currently has six bona fide dwarf planets: Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Quaoar and Pluto in the Kuiper Belt and Ceres in the asteroid belt (between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter).
However, in this proposal, smaller wannabe dwarf planets could be considered for promotion.
For 50 or so small rocky and icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto's loss could be their gain; where Pluto was demoted, they could be promoted. Who said there were no winners to come out of Pluto's re-classification?
"Small Solar System objects are irregularly shaped, like potatoes," said Charley Lineweaver of the Australian National University in Canberra, who headed the research. "If an object is large enough that its self-gravity has made it round, then it should be classified as a dwarf planet."
Indeed, one of the criteria for a celestial body to be considered a planet is that it must be round (i.e. it must be massive enough to achieve "hydrostatic equilibrium" -- in other words it must have enough gravity for its surface to be rounded, rather than chunky or potato shaped). But this criterion also extends to dwarf planets, and there are plenty of rounded large asteroids that would make happy dwarf planets.
Source
But the fact remains that even before discovery of Eris in 2005 by a Palomar Observatory team headed by Caltech's Mike Brown, Pluto's ranking as a planet in the solar system was tenuous at best. Eris was measured to be nearly 30 percent larger than Pluto; did that make Eris a planet too? No, but its discovery began a series of events that changed our understanding of the solar system forever.
According to a paper presented at the Proceedings of the 9th Australian Space Science Conference, the "dwarf planet club" should start accepting applications from smaller members and according to Brown -- discoverer of over 100 Kuiper Belt objects (or KBOs) -- this is no bad thing for the beleaguered Pluto.
The solar system currently has six bona fide dwarf planets: Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Quaoar and Pluto in the Kuiper Belt and Ceres in the asteroid belt (between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter).
However, in this proposal, smaller wannabe dwarf planets could be considered for promotion.
For 50 or so small rocky and icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto's loss could be their gain; where Pluto was demoted, they could be promoted. Who said there were no winners to come out of Pluto's re-classification?
"Small Solar System objects are irregularly shaped, like potatoes," said Charley Lineweaver of the Australian National University in Canberra, who headed the research. "If an object is large enough that its self-gravity has made it round, then it should be classified as a dwarf planet."
Indeed, one of the criteria for a celestial body to be considered a planet is that it must be round (i.e. it must be massive enough to achieve "hydrostatic equilibrium" -- in other words it must have enough gravity for its surface to be rounded, rather than chunky or potato shaped). But this criterion also extends to dwarf planets, and there are plenty of rounded large asteroids that would make happy dwarf planets.
Source
Recent Lava Flows Detected on Venus
'Hot spots' have been mapped on the surface of Venus by a European Space Agency (ESA) probe. Venus Express (sister satellite to the Mars Express orbiter) has given us a tantalizing glimpse at features on the planet that rise above the surrounding landscape, exhibiting younger rock, possibly indicating recent volcanic activity. By "recent," we mean "less than 2.5 million years" -- still a very short period of time in geological timescales.
Like the volcanoes and resulting magma that built the Hawaiian archipelago (a series of islands that solidified from a cooling volcanic plume), the image above shows a volcano-like feature, surrounded by young rock that hasn't been degraded by the harsh Venusian atmosphere.
The hot, thick and acidic atmosphere quickly weathers the planet's landscape, making these "newer" regions appear to be emitting more heat than the older, weathered regions. Naturally, these hot spots would be the first places to look to find active volcanoes currently belching material from the planets interior, reveling more about the geology of this mysterious world.
Although we can gain some information about these regions of new rock from the Venus Express satellite, the atmosphere remains too thick to fully realize how old these lava flows are and whether they remain active to this day. To do this, a direct sample would need to be taken by future lander missions. However, it might be advisable for the space agency of any future active volcano-hunting probe not to aim the landing site directly over these hot spots, just in case they're too hot.
--Ian O'Neill, Discovery News
Source
Like the volcanoes and resulting magma that built the Hawaiian archipelago (a series of islands that solidified from a cooling volcanic plume), the image above shows a volcano-like feature, surrounded by young rock that hasn't been degraded by the harsh Venusian atmosphere.
The hot, thick and acidic atmosphere quickly weathers the planet's landscape, making these "newer" regions appear to be emitting more heat than the older, weathered regions. Naturally, these hot spots would be the first places to look to find active volcanoes currently belching material from the planets interior, reveling more about the geology of this mysterious world.
Although we can gain some information about these regions of new rock from the Venus Express satellite, the atmosphere remains too thick to fully realize how old these lava flows are and whether they remain active to this day. To do this, a direct sample would need to be taken by future lander missions. However, it might be advisable for the space agency of any future active volcano-hunting probe not to aim the landing site directly over these hot spots, just in case they're too hot.
--Ian O'Neill, Discovery News
Source
Pyramid of Mystery Pharaoh Located
The missing pyramid of an obscure pharaoh that ruled Egypt some 4,300 years ago could lie at the intersection of a series of invisible lines in South Saqqara, according to new astronomical and topographical research.
Connecting the funerary complexes raised by the kings of the 6th Dynasty between 2,322 B.C. and 2,151 B.C., these lines would have governed the sacred space of the Saqqara area, in accordance with a number of criteria such as dynastic lineage, religion and astronomical alignment.
"We are talking of meridian and diagonal alignments, with pyramids raised at their intersections. The only missing piece in this sort of grid is the pyramid of Userkare," Giulio Magli, professor of archaeoastronomy at Milan's Polytechnic University, told Discovery News. His research will appear in the next issue of the journal Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry.
Known only from the king lists, Userkare was the second pharaoh of the 6th Dynasty and ruled briefly between Teti and Teti's son Pepi I. He took power after Teti was murdered, perhaps in a conspiracy he himself had maneuvered.
Little is known about this shadowy pharaoh.
"When Pepi I took control a few years later, Userkare disappeared from history. Finding his tomb might help understand those obscure years. The walls in his burial might also contain intact copies of the Pyramid Texts," Magli said, referring to the oldest known religious texts in the world that were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
Source
Connecting the funerary complexes raised by the kings of the 6th Dynasty between 2,322 B.C. and 2,151 B.C., these lines would have governed the sacred space of the Saqqara area, in accordance with a number of criteria such as dynastic lineage, religion and astronomical alignment.
"We are talking of meridian and diagonal alignments, with pyramids raised at their intersections. The only missing piece in this sort of grid is the pyramid of Userkare," Giulio Magli, professor of archaeoastronomy at Milan's Polytechnic University, told Discovery News. His research will appear in the next issue of the journal Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry.
Known only from the king lists, Userkare was the second pharaoh of the 6th Dynasty and ruled briefly between Teti and Teti's son Pepi I. He took power after Teti was murdered, perhaps in a conspiracy he himself had maneuvered.
Little is known about this shadowy pharaoh.
"When Pepi I took control a few years later, Userkare disappeared from history. Finding his tomb might help understand those obscure years. The walls in his burial might also contain intact copies of the Pyramid Texts," Magli said, referring to the oldest known religious texts in the world that were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
Source
'Door To Afterlife' Unearthed At Karnak
An Egyptian excavation team has unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor, Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced on Monday.
Engraved with religious texts, the six-foot-tall red granite door belonged to the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, the long-ruling 15th century B.C. queen from the New Kingdom.
The door, known as a false door, was meant to be a threshold that allowed the deceased and his wife to interact with the world of the living.
This "interaction" was not eternal for User. More than 1,000 years after his death, during the Roman period, the massive false door was removed from the tomb and used in the wall of a Roman structure.
Source
Engraved with religious texts, the six-foot-tall red granite door belonged to the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, the long-ruling 15th century B.C. queen from the New Kingdom.
The door, known as a false door, was meant to be a threshold that allowed the deceased and his wife to interact with the world of the living.
This "interaction" was not eternal for User. More than 1,000 years after his death, during the Roman period, the massive false door was removed from the tomb and used in the wall of a Roman structure.
Source
New Written Language of Ancient Scotland Discovered
The ancestors of modern Scottish people left behind mysterious, carved stones that new research has just determined contain the written language of the Picts, an Iron Age society that existed in Scotland from 300 to 843.
The highly stylized rock engravings, found on what are known as the Pictish Stones, had once been thought to be rock art or tied to heraldry. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, instead concludes that the engravings represent the long lost language of the Picts, a confederation of Celtic tribes that lived in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland.
"We know that the Picts had a spoken language to complement the writing of the symbols, as Bede (a monk and historian who died in 735) writes that there are four languages in Britain in this time: British, Pictish, Scottish and English," lead author Rob Lee told Discovery News.
Source
The highly stylized rock engravings, found on what are known as the Pictish Stones, had once been thought to be rock art or tied to heraldry. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, instead concludes that the engravings represent the long lost language of the Picts, a confederation of Celtic tribes that lived in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland.
"We know that the Picts had a spoken language to complement the writing of the symbols, as Bede (a monk and historian who died in 735) writes that there are four languages in Britain in this time: British, Pictish, Scottish and English," lead author Rob Lee told Discovery News.
Source
Oldest Man-Made Structure Found in Greek Cave
The oldest known example of a man-made structure was found within a prehistoric cave in central Greece, according to the Greek culture ministry.
The structure is a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the Theopetra cave near Kalambaka on the north edge of the Thessalian plain. It was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier to cold winds.
“An optical dating test, known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, was applied on quartz grains nested within the stones. We dated four different samples from the sediment and soil materials, and all provided identical dates,” Nikolaos Zacharias, director of the laboratory of archaeometry at the University of Peloponnese, told Discovery News.
Source
The structure is a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the Theopetra cave near Kalambaka on the north edge of the Thessalian plain. It was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier to cold winds.
“An optical dating test, known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, was applied on quartz grains nested within the stones. We dated four different samples from the sediment and soil materials, and all provided identical dates,” Nikolaos Zacharias, director of the laboratory of archaeometry at the University of Peloponnese, told Discovery News.
Source
Turin Shroud Enters 3D Age
The Shroud of Turin, the controversial piece of 14- by 4-foot linen that some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, will enter the 3D age when it goes on display for six weeks after Easter.
Special two-filter glasses, just like the 3D glasses that hit movie theaters with the recent releases of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, are set to make their way to the Turin Cathedral.
Sold by the Salesian religion from its Turin bookshop, the glasses are called "HI-Rex-1" and "HI-Rex-1L" -- which are specially designed for nearsighted people -- and cost 2 euros and 3 euros respectively.
According to Bruno Fabbiani, an expert at Turin Polytechnic in holograph technology and printed images, the glasses will enable pilgrims to scrutinize details invisible to the naked eye.
"They allow a three-level perception, although only two filters are employed. Viewers can first detect the blood traces, then the body outline. Finally, a third image, which integrates the previous two, emerges," Fabbiani told reporters.
Source
Special two-filter glasses, just like the 3D glasses that hit movie theaters with the recent releases of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, are set to make their way to the Turin Cathedral.
Sold by the Salesian religion from its Turin bookshop, the glasses are called "HI-Rex-1" and "HI-Rex-1L" -- which are specially designed for nearsighted people -- and cost 2 euros and 3 euros respectively.
According to Bruno Fabbiani, an expert at Turin Polytechnic in holograph technology and printed images, the glasses will enable pilgrims to scrutinize details invisible to the naked eye.
"They allow a three-level perception, although only two filters are employed. Viewers can first detect the blood traces, then the body outline. Finally, a third image, which integrates the previous two, emerges," Fabbiani told reporters.
Source
Prototype submersible produces more power than it consumes
Engineers have come up with a unique solution to the problem of powering underwater robotic vehicles -- tapping the unlimited energy difference between the ocean's cold spots and its more temperate regions.
A prototype submersible southwest of Hawaii has been chugging away for more than three months collecting data about ocean temperature, pressure and salinity, producing more power than it consumes.
"Having a long-duration underwater vehicle has been a dream for a long long," oceanographer Li Chao, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News.
SourceEngineers have come up with a unique solution to the problem of powering underwater robotic vehicles -- tapping the unlimited energy difference between the ocean's cold spots and its more temperate regions.
A prototype submersible southwest of Hawaii has been chugging away for more than three months collecting data about ocean temperature, pressure and salinity, producing more power than it consumes.
"Having a long-duration underwater vehicle has been a dream for a long long," oceanographer Li Chao, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News.
Source
A prototype submersible southwest of Hawaii has been chugging away for more than three months collecting data about ocean temperature, pressure and salinity, producing more power than it consumes.
"Having a long-duration underwater vehicle has been a dream for a long long," oceanographer Li Chao, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News.
SourceEngineers have come up with a unique solution to the problem of powering underwater robotic vehicles -- tapping the unlimited energy difference between the ocean's cold spots and its more temperate regions.
A prototype submersible southwest of Hawaii has been chugging away for more than three months collecting data about ocean temperature, pressure and salinity, producing more power than it consumes.
"Having a long-duration underwater vehicle has been a dream for a long long," oceanographer Li Chao, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News.
Source
Turning CO2 Back into Fuel
What to do with all that CO2?" It's a question that's always vexed me, especially when I'm stuck in traffic behind five semis, two SUVs, and we're all doing 85MPH while passing a plant like the one pictured here. Ugh. Seriously...what to do with the CO2? Well, some scientists in Britain have a cunning plan. They're working on research into using some serious chemistry and nanoscience to capture CO2 from the air, and transform it into something useful, like maybe plastics, or even ethanol.
Yep, from your gas tank, to your car exhaust, through the electro-chemical ringer, and then back to your tank.
Now, there are already other efforts to do this, but those methods rely on separate technologies to capture and then convert the CO2. The British team (researchers from the University of Bristol, the University of Bath, and the University of West England) want to combine it all into one, more efficient process.
Imagine if those chimneys above were lined with a special polymer that would not only scrub out the CO2, but actually turn it into something else.
Source
Yep, from your gas tank, to your car exhaust, through the electro-chemical ringer, and then back to your tank.
Now, there are already other efforts to do this, but those methods rely on separate technologies to capture and then convert the CO2. The British team (researchers from the University of Bristol, the University of Bath, and the University of West England) want to combine it all into one, more efficient process.
Imagine if those chimneys above were lined with a special polymer that would not only scrub out the CO2, but actually turn it into something else.
Source
Nanotube Propels Atoms Into Black-Hole Spiral
Physicists have created something akin to a black hole in their labs.
It's on the atomic scale, that is, very, very small. But it's the first time anything like this has ever been done and the experiment could prompt innovations in nano-sized devices.
Lene Vestergaard Hau, a physicist at Harvard University, and her colleagues cooled atoms to just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Next, they shot the cooled atoms toward a suspended single-walled carbon nanotube they named "Lucy." The nanotube had 300 volts of charge surging through it.
Atoms that came within a micron of the charged nanotube became attracted to it, spiraling around it at faster and faster speeds, maxing out at more than 2,700 miles per hour.
Source
It's on the atomic scale, that is, very, very small. But it's the first time anything like this has ever been done and the experiment could prompt innovations in nano-sized devices.
Lene Vestergaard Hau, a physicist at Harvard University, and her colleagues cooled atoms to just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Next, they shot the cooled atoms toward a suspended single-walled carbon nanotube they named "Lucy." The nanotube had 300 volts of charge surging through it.
Atoms that came within a micron of the charged nanotube became attracted to it, spiraling around it at faster and faster speeds, maxing out at more than 2,700 miles per hour.
Source
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Snoopers check we don't split atoms...
THEY can show up without notice or warrants and with 1,208 reasons to enter your home, workplace or land without your permission.
This is Gordon Brown’s new model army of snoopers, which is gaining new home invasion powers at the rate of two a week.
The Prime Minister promised a crackdown on them in 2007 but it is Conservative peer Lord Selson who is leading the fightback.
His private member’s Powers of Entry Bill has created a full list of the bizarre and obscure legislation that gives thousands of jobsworths the right to enter your home. The list, due to be published next week, would be used by a Conservative government to launch consultation with councils and Whitehall aimed at striking out scores of out-dated and unnecessary laws.
And the Tories have promised that whatever laws remain, no official will ever be able to enter your home again without obtaining a court warrant first.
From checking the energy rating on your fridge, to ensuring you are not working on an atom bomb in the kitchen – our snooper laws are as far-reaching as they are bizarre.
Officials can gain entry using the same level of powers to search for cluster bombs as they can for a clutch of eggs. Lord Selson’s third attempt at curbing these ridiculous laws could become law before Parliament breaks up.
Lord Selson has won praise from civil liberties groups for his dogged determination over two decades to rein back the snoopers.
He said: “People should not be allowed to go into someone’s home, search it and seize data without a court order or a warrant. I just believe in individual freedom.”
More information on the source.
This is Gordon Brown’s new model army of snoopers, which is gaining new home invasion powers at the rate of two a week.
The Prime Minister promised a crackdown on them in 2007 but it is Conservative peer Lord Selson who is leading the fightback.
His private member’s Powers of Entry Bill has created a full list of the bizarre and obscure legislation that gives thousands of jobsworths the right to enter your home. The list, due to be published next week, would be used by a Conservative government to launch consultation with councils and Whitehall aimed at striking out scores of out-dated and unnecessary laws.
And the Tories have promised that whatever laws remain, no official will ever be able to enter your home again without obtaining a court warrant first.
From checking the energy rating on your fridge, to ensuring you are not working on an atom bomb in the kitchen – our snooper laws are as far-reaching as they are bizarre.
Officials can gain entry using the same level of powers to search for cluster bombs as they can for a clutch of eggs. Lord Selson’s third attempt at curbing these ridiculous laws could become law before Parliament breaks up.
Lord Selson has won praise from civil liberties groups for his dogged determination over two decades to rein back the snoopers.
He said: “People should not be allowed to go into someone’s home, search it and seize data without a court order or a warrant. I just believe in individual freedom.”
More information on the source.
New EU Gestapo spies on Britons
Millions of Britons face being snooped on by a new European intelligence agency which has been handed frightening powers to pry into our lives.
Europol can access personal information on anyone – including their political opinions and sexual preferences – if it suspects, rightly or wrongly, that they may be involved in any “preparatory act” which could lead to criminal activity.
The vagueness of the Hague-based force’s remit sparked furious protests yesterday with critics warning that the EU snoopers threaten our right to free speech.
It is understood the agency will concentrate on anyone thought “xenophobic” or likely to commit a crime involving the environment, computers or motor vehicles.
This could include covert monitoring of people who deny the existence of climate change or speak out on controversial issues.
Paul Nuttall, chairman of the UK Independence Party, said: “I am horrified. We thought Gordon Brown’s Big Brother state was bad enough but at least we are going to kick him out in May. These guys we cannot sack until we leave the EU.”
James Welch, legal director of campaign group Liberty, said: “We have huge concerns that Europol appears to have been given powers to hold very sensitive information and to investigate matters that aren’t even crimes in this country. Any extension of police powers at any level needs to be properly debated and scrutinised.”
More information in the source.
Europol can access personal information on anyone – including their political opinions and sexual preferences – if it suspects, rightly or wrongly, that they may be involved in any “preparatory act” which could lead to criminal activity.
The vagueness of the Hague-based force’s remit sparked furious protests yesterday with critics warning that the EU snoopers threaten our right to free speech.
It is understood the agency will concentrate on anyone thought “xenophobic” or likely to commit a crime involving the environment, computers or motor vehicles.
This could include covert monitoring of people who deny the existence of climate change or speak out on controversial issues.
Paul Nuttall, chairman of the UK Independence Party, said: “I am horrified. We thought Gordon Brown’s Big Brother state was bad enough but at least we are going to kick him out in May. These guys we cannot sack until we leave the EU.”
James Welch, legal director of campaign group Liberty, said: “We have huge concerns that Europol appears to have been given powers to hold very sensitive information and to investigate matters that aren’t even crimes in this country. Any extension of police powers at any level needs to be properly debated and scrutinised.”
More information in the source.
The trillion-dollar question is: who will now lead the climate battle?
Political and business leaders gather this week in an attempt to revive the world's faltering challenge to global warming. But they face a battle to lift the cloud of skepticism that has descended over climate science and chart a new way forward.
Some of the planet's most powerful paymasters will gather in London on Wednesday to discuss a nagging financial problem: how to raise a trillion dollars for the developing world. Those charged with achieving this daunting goal will include Gordon Brown, directors of several central banks, the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, the economist Lord (Nicholas) Stern and Larry Summers, President Obama's chief economics adviser.
As an array of expertise, it is formidable: but then so is the task they have been set by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. In effect, the world's top financiers have been told to work out how to raise at least $100bn a year for the rest of this decade, cash that will be used to help the world's poorest countries adapt to climate change.
More information in the source.
Some of the planet's most powerful paymasters will gather in London on Wednesday to discuss a nagging financial problem: how to raise a trillion dollars for the developing world. Those charged with achieving this daunting goal will include Gordon Brown, directors of several central banks, the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, the economist Lord (Nicholas) Stern and Larry Summers, President Obama's chief economics adviser.
As an array of expertise, it is formidable: but then so is the task they have been set by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. In effect, the world's top financiers have been told to work out how to raise at least $100bn a year for the rest of this decade, cash that will be used to help the world's poorest countries adapt to climate change.
More information in the source.
A mysterious explosion sunk a South Korean naval ship
The mysterious explosion which sunk a South Korean naval ship split the vessel's hull in two, officials say.
The two halves are lying in about 40 feet of water but bad weather has prevented military divers from reaching the wreckage.
A total of 46 sailors are missing but rescuers say it is unlikely anyone could have survived three days in the near-freezing water.
More information can be found on this source
Rover spots 'strange stuff' on Martian rock
(NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell)NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has found a Martian rock covered in weird material as its odometer hit a major milestone this week, with the long-lived robot completing equivalent to a half–marathon on the Red Planet.
Opportunity, now in its seventh year on Mars, found the odd Mars rock during the past six weeks studying investigating a crater called "Concepción."
The crater is about 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter, with dark rays extending from it, as seen from orbit, which made it a target of interest for rover inspection because they suggest the crater is young.
Source
Monday, March 22, 2010
For One Tiny Instant, Physicists May Have Broken a Law of Nature
For a brief instant, it appears, scientists at Brook haven National Laboratory on Long Island recently discovered a law of nature had been broken.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Action still resulted in an equal and opposite reaction, gravity kept the Earth circling the Sun, and conservation of energy remained intact. But for the tiniest fraction of a second at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), physicists created a symmetry-breaking bubble of space where parity no longer existed.
Parity was long thought to be a fundamental law of nature. It essentially states that the universe is neither right- nor left-handed — that the laws of physics remain unchanged when expressed in inverted coordinates. In the early 1950s it was found that the so-called weak force, which is responsible for nuclear radioactivity, breaks the parity law. However, the strong force, which holds together subatomic particles, was thought to adhere to the law of parity, at least under normal circumstances.
Source
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Action still resulted in an equal and opposite reaction, gravity kept the Earth circling the Sun, and conservation of energy remained intact. But for the tiniest fraction of a second at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), physicists created a symmetry-breaking bubble of space where parity no longer existed.
Parity was long thought to be a fundamental law of nature. It essentially states that the universe is neither right- nor left-handed — that the laws of physics remain unchanged when expressed in inverted coordinates. In the early 1950s it was found that the so-called weak force, which is responsible for nuclear radioactivity, breaks the parity law. However, the strong force, which holds together subatomic particles, was thought to adhere to the law of parity, at least under normal circumstances.
Source
Star Trek-style force-field armour being developed by military scientists
A space-age "force field" capable of protecting armoured vehicles and tanks by repelling incoming fire is being developed by British military scientists.
The new type of armour will use pulses of electrical energy to repel rockets, shrapnel and other ammunition that might damage a vehicle.
Researchers at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), which is the research and development arm of the Ministry of Defence, claim it is possible to incorporate material known as supercapacitors into armour of a vehicle to turn it into a kind of giant battery.
When a threat from incoming fire is detected by the vehicle, the energy stored in the supercapacitor can be rapidly dumped onto the metal plating on the outside of the vehicle, producing a strong electromagnetic field.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
UK has 5,700 "secret agents"
It is the first time that the number of foreign intelligence gathering officers employed by MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service, has been published.
The figure was disclosed yesterday in the annual report of the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee.
The ISC had previously disclosed the number of domestic security service officers who work for MI5, known as “spooks” - now around 3,500 - but had never done so for spies.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The world's only immortal animal
The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth.
Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span. Scientists say the hydrozoan jellyfish is the only known animal that can repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its polyp state (its first stage of life).
The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can undergo limited transdifferentiation and regenerate organs, such as salamanders, which can regrow limbs. Turritopsi nutricula, on the other hand, can regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.
Source
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
General relativity passes a large scale test
General relativity, our current best understanding of gravity, has passed yet another test—this time on a much larger length scale. Ever since relativity's first confirmation in 1919, when Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington observed that the light from distant stars was shifted by the mass of the sun, direct tests have been confined to length scales smaller than our solar system. No test to date has stringently probed general relativity's applicability to the length scales of the universe itself.
More information here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
More information here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
NASA spots life under Antarctic ice
At a depth of 600 feet beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet, a small shrimp-like creature managed to brighten up an otherwise gray polar day in November 2009. Bob Bindschadler of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., remembers the day well. He and his team were on a joint NASA-National Science Foundation expedition to examine the underside of the ice sheet when they found the pinkish-orange creature swimming beneath the ice.
For the video and more information go to NASA
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
For the video and more information go to NASA
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
First quantum effects seen in visible object
Does Schrödinger's cat really exist? You bet. The first ever quantum superposition in an object visible to the naked eye has been observed.
Aaron O'Connell and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, did not actually produce a cat that was dead and alive at the same time, as Erwin Schrödinger proposed in a notorious thought experiment 75 years ago. But they did show that a tiny resonating strip of metal – only 60 micrometres long, but big enough to be seen without a microscope – can both oscillate and not oscillate at the same time. Alas, you couldn't actually see the effect happening, because that very act of observation would take it out of superposition.
Source
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Aaron O'Connell and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, did not actually produce a cat that was dead and alive at the same time, as Erwin Schrödinger proposed in a notorious thought experiment 75 years ago. But they did show that a tiny resonating strip of metal – only 60 micrometres long, but big enough to be seen without a microscope – can both oscillate and not oscillate at the same time. Alas, you couldn't actually see the effect happening, because that very act of observation would take it out of superposition.
Source
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Mutant All-Black Penguin Found
National Geographic Traveler contributor Andrew Evans recently spotted and filmed an all-black king penguin—a very rare mutant—on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.
This all black-feathered king penguin could be ‘one in a zillion.’
The video was recorded on the Sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia by National Geographic Traveler Magazine contributor editor Andrew Evans on his bus2Antarctica expedition.
For more information click here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
This all black-feathered king penguin could be ‘one in a zillion.’
The video was recorded on the Sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia by National Geographic Traveler Magazine contributor editor Andrew Evans on his bus2Antarctica expedition.
For more information click here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
New Planet Found - May Be Cosmic Rosetta Stone
A newly discovered gas-giant planet with a nearly circular orbit around its parent star is the first Jupiter-like planet outside our solar system—or "exoplanet"—that can be studied in detail, a new study says.
Located about 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, the planet Corot-9b passes in front of its star every 95 days, as viewed from Earth. Each of these "transits" lasts about eight hours.
More information here
Located about 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, the planet Corot-9b passes in front of its star every 95 days, as viewed from Earth. Each of these "transits" lasts about eight hours.
More information here
Humans could regrow body parts like some amphibians
Researchers have found that the gene p21 appears to block the healing power still enjoyed by some creatures including amphibians but lost through evolution to all other animals.
By turning off p21, the process can be miraculously switched back on.
Academics from The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia found that mice lacking the p21 gene gain the ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissue.
More information can be found here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
A Host of Mummies
In the middle of a terrifying desert north of Tibet, Chinese archaeologists have excavated an extraordinary cemetery. Its inhabitants died almost 4,000 years ago, yet their bodies have been well preserved by the dry air.
More information here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
More information here
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Cancer code is cracked
Scientists believe they have made a major breakthrough in cancer treatment after cracking the “code” behind the disease.
They have discovered the body’s immune system can kill cancer cells within a window occurring every 12 to 14 days.
By giving low-dose treatment at exactly the right time, researchers believe they have, against the odds, succeeded in halting the spread of advanced cancer.
View full article here
They have discovered the body’s immune system can kill cancer cells within a window occurring every 12 to 14 days.
By giving low-dose treatment at exactly the right time, researchers believe they have, against the odds, succeeded in halting the spread of advanced cancer.
View full article here
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Saturn's Mystery Hexagon
For more then 20 years, a mysterious giant hexagon was found in Saturn, and it is still there. Until now there seems to be no credible explanation to this phenomena. Here is a brief cut on a documentary about it. See for your self:
And here is some recordings of Coast to Coast AM about it also:
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
And here is some recordings of Coast to Coast AM about it also:
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Fake gold
Recently, the German television station ProSieben ran a news story covering W. C. Heraeus in Hanau, Germany, the world’s largest privately owned refinery. In the story, Wilfried Hörner, the head of the gold foundry, shows a 500 gram bar (16.0755 troy ounces) received from an unidentified bank. The bar had the right physical dimensions to be an authentic gold bar, but one of the Heraeus employees suspected something funny. After the bar was cut in half, you can see that the inside is tungsten, with only a coating of gold on the outside.
View full news article here
View full news article here
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Video: UFOs near Sun
I found out this video analyzing some pictures of the sun, there was already speculation for some years that there is a giant spaceship near it (on the SOHO pictures) that NASA dismissed as compression artifacts. This video analyzes recent pictures and finds out two spaceships, some of the pictures seem to be only just compression artifacts, but when all of them are analyzed, they are just too identical, so if it is not really spaceships, then it is all a big and very rare coincidence.
Just check out the video (be sure to watch it in HD as high as you can):
If you want to make your own analyzes, here are some photos from today:
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_005530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_011530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/ahead/euvi/195/2048/20100220_154530_n7euA_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_040530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_060530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_065530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_200530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_203530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_043530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_045530_n7euB_195.jpg
Just check out the video (be sure to watch it in HD as high as you can):
If you want to make your own analyzes, here are some photos from today:
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_005530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_011530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/ahead/euvi/195/2048/20100220_154530_n7euA_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_040530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_060530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_065530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_200530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/20/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100220_203530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_043530_n7euB_195.jpg
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/browse/2010/02/21/behind/euvi/195/2048/20100221_045530_n7euB_195.jpg
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Gwrych Castle to become psychic school (Viral Marketing?)
Gwrych Castle has been in the news quite a lot recently, now Kevin Horkin is seeking to buy it and turn it in to a psychic school.
Only a few days ago Gwrych Castle was in the news when a visitor took a photograph of a ghostly figure in one its windows, now the owner of psychic management company Parallel is placing a bid of £850,000 to buy the derelict castle and turn it in to a retreat for psychics.
A RIBBLE Valley businessman is bidding to buy a huge castle to open Britain’s first ‘psychic school of excellence’.
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Only a few days ago Gwrych Castle was in the news when a visitor took a photograph of a ghostly figure in one its windows, now the owner of psychic management company Parallel is placing a bid of £850,000 to buy the derelict castle and turn it in to a retreat for psychics.
A RIBBLE Valley businessman is bidding to buy a huge castle to open Britain’s first ‘psychic school of excellence’. Clitheroe-based Kevin Horkin has put in an offer of £850,000 to buy the derelict Grade I-listed Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales.
Mr Horkin, who owns psychic management company Parallel, wants to spend 'several millions' renovating the 19th century castle, installing a hotel and facilities for psychics to connect with the spiritual world.
He said: “It has always been one of my ambitions to open a psychic retreat somewhere and this would work on several fronts.
“It will be somewhere where psychics can go to meet like-minded people, to further their interests and develop their psychic senses.
“There will be some psychic workshops because I think there is a desire and a need for that.
“That’s why we have gone for North Wales. It is a fantastic place and this is a dream of mine.”
During an 18-month search for a base of psychic school of excellence, Mr Horkin and his staff at Parallel, based in Waddington Road, Clitheroe, visited around 20 houses and castles before deciding on Gwrych.
It even included an ultimately fruitless search for a suitable location in Lancashire.
However, he believes the psychic retreat in North Wales, which would include a tie-up with a hotel operator, will appeal to ‘ordinary’ people.
Mr Horkin added: “It is something different. There’s a risk with opening it but I just feel strongly about it.
“I love the place and I feel that people will love it too. There’s just something about it.”
Earlier this week, Mr Horkin revealed how a ghostly image had shown up on mobile phone photographs he took at Gwrych Castle.
If all goes to plan, he hopes to open his psychic school of excellence in late 2012.
Sources: Unexplained Mysteries, Lancashire TelegraphTell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Dyatlov Pass incident
This is one of the most (if not the most) weird and mysterious incident in modern history, It happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead) on February 2, 1959 and resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers.
The lack of eyewitnesses and subsequent investigations into the hikers deaths have inspired much speculation. Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue. According to sources four of the victims' clothing contained high-levels of radiation. There is no mention of this in contemporary documentation-it only appears in later documents. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. Access to the area was barred for three years after the incident. The chronology of the incident remains unclear due to the lack of survivors.
A group was formed for a ski trek across the northern Urals in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg. The group, led by Igor Dyatlov, consisted of eight men and two women. Most were students or graduates of Ural Polytechnical Institute, now Ural State Technical University.
Igor Dyatlov, the group's leader
Zinaida Kolmogorova
Lyudmila Dubinina
Alexander Kolevatov
Rustem Slobodin
Yuri Krivonischenko
Yuri Doroshenko
Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle
Alexander Zolotarev
Yuri Yudin
The goal of the expedition was to reach Otorten, a mountain 10 kilometers north of the site of the incident. This route, at that season, was estimated as "Category III", the most difficult. All members were experienced in long ski tours and mountain expeditions.
The group arrived by train at Ivdel, a city at the center of the northern province of Sverdlovsk Oblast on January 25. They then took a truck to Vizhai - the last inhabited settlement so far north. They started their march towards Otorten from Vizhai on January 27. The next day, one of the members (Yuri Yudin) was forced to go back because of health problems. The group now consisted of nine people.
Diaries and cameras found around their last camp made it possible to track the group's route up to the day preceding the incident. On January 31, the group arrived at the edge of a highland area and began to prepare for climbing. In a woody valley they built a storage for surplus food and equipment which would be used for the trip back. The following day (February 1), the hikers started to move through the pass. It seems they planned to get over the pass and make camp for the next night on the opposite side, but because of worsening weather conditions, snowstorms and decreasing visibility, they lost their direction and deviated west, upward towards the top of Kholat Syakhl. When they realized their mistake, the group decided to stop and set up camp there on the slope of the mountain.
It had been agreed beforehand that Dyatlov would send a telegraph to their sports club as soon as the group returned to Vizhai. It was expected that this would happen no later than February 12, but when this date had passed and no messages had been received, there was no reaction—delays of a few days were common in such expeditions. Only after the relatives of the travelers demanded a rescue operation did the head of the institute send the first rescue groups, consisting of volunteer students and teachers, on February 20. Later, the army and police forces became involved, with planes and helicopters being ordered to join the rescue operation.
On February 26, the searchers found the abandoned camp on Kholat Syakhl. The tent was badly damaged. A chain of footprints could be followed, leading down towards the edge of nearby woods (on the opposite side of the pass, 1.5km north-east), but after 500 meters they were covered with snow. At the forest edge, under a large old pine, the searchers found the remains of a fire, along with the first two dead bodies, those of Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, shoeless and dressed only in their underwear. Between the pine and the camp the searchers found three more corpses—Dyatlov, Kolmogorova and Slobodin—who seemed to have died in poses suggesting that they were attempting to return to the camp. They were found separately at distances of 300, 480 and 630 meters from the pine tree.
Searching for the remaining four travelers took more than two months. They were finally found on May 4, under four meters of snow, in a ravine in a stream valley further into the wood from the pine tree.
A legal inquest had been started immediately after finding the first five bodies. A medical examination found no injuries which might have led to their deaths, and it was concluded that they had all died of hypothermia. One person had a small crack in his skull, but it was not thought to be a fatal wound.
An examination of the four bodies which were found in May changed the picture. Three of them had fatal injuries: the body of Thibeaux-Brignolle had major skull damage, and both Dubunina and Zolotarev had major chest fractures. The force required to cause such damage would have been extremely high, with one expert comparing it to the force of a car crash. Notably, the bodies had no external wounds, as if they were crippled by a high level of pressure. One woman was found to be missing her tongue. There had initially been some speculation that the indigenous Mansi people might have attacked and murdered the group for encroaching upon their lands, but investigation indicated that the nature of their deaths did not support this thesis; the hikers' footprints alone were visible, and they showed no sign of hand-to-hand struggle.
There was evidence that the team was forced to leave the camp during the night, as they were sleeping. Though the temperature was very low (around -25° to -30°C) with a storm blowing, the dead were dressed only partially, and certainly inadequately for the conditions. Some of them had only one shoe, while others had no shoes or wore only socks. Some were found wrapped in snips of ripped clothes which seemed to be cut from those who were already dead.
Journalists reporting on the available parts of the inquest files claim that it states:
Some researchers point out the following facts which were missed, perhaps ignored, by officials:
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
The lack of eyewitnesses and subsequent investigations into the hikers deaths have inspired much speculation. Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue. According to sources four of the victims' clothing contained high-levels of radiation. There is no mention of this in contemporary documentation-it only appears in later documents. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. Access to the area was barred for three years after the incident. The chronology of the incident remains unclear due to the lack of survivors.
A group was formed for a ski trek across the northern Urals in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg. The group, led by Igor Dyatlov, consisted of eight men and two women. Most were students or graduates of Ural Polytechnical Institute, now Ural State Technical University.
Igor Dyatlov, the group's leader
Zinaida Kolmogorova
Lyudmila Dubinina
Alexander Kolevatov
Rustem Slobodin
Yuri Krivonischenko
Yuri Doroshenko
Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle
Alexander Zolotarev
Yuri Yudin
The goal of the expedition was to reach Otorten, a mountain 10 kilometers north of the site of the incident. This route, at that season, was estimated as "Category III", the most difficult. All members were experienced in long ski tours and mountain expeditions.
The group arrived by train at Ivdel, a city at the center of the northern province of Sverdlovsk Oblast on January 25. They then took a truck to Vizhai - the last inhabited settlement so far north. They started their march towards Otorten from Vizhai on January 27. The next day, one of the members (Yuri Yudin) was forced to go back because of health problems. The group now consisted of nine people.
Diaries and cameras found around their last camp made it possible to track the group's route up to the day preceding the incident. On January 31, the group arrived at the edge of a highland area and began to prepare for climbing. In a woody valley they built a storage for surplus food and equipment which would be used for the trip back. The following day (February 1), the hikers started to move through the pass. It seems they planned to get over the pass and make camp for the next night on the opposite side, but because of worsening weather conditions, snowstorms and decreasing visibility, they lost their direction and deviated west, upward towards the top of Kholat Syakhl. When they realized their mistake, the group decided to stop and set up camp there on the slope of the mountain.
It had been agreed beforehand that Dyatlov would send a telegraph to their sports club as soon as the group returned to Vizhai. It was expected that this would happen no later than February 12, but when this date had passed and no messages had been received, there was no reaction—delays of a few days were common in such expeditions. Only after the relatives of the travelers demanded a rescue operation did the head of the institute send the first rescue groups, consisting of volunteer students and teachers, on February 20. Later, the army and police forces became involved, with planes and helicopters being ordered to join the rescue operation.
On February 26, the searchers found the abandoned camp on Kholat Syakhl. The tent was badly damaged. A chain of footprints could be followed, leading down towards the edge of nearby woods (on the opposite side of the pass, 1.5km north-east), but after 500 meters they were covered with snow. At the forest edge, under a large old pine, the searchers found the remains of a fire, along with the first two dead bodies, those of Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, shoeless and dressed only in their underwear. Between the pine and the camp the searchers found three more corpses—Dyatlov, Kolmogorova and Slobodin—who seemed to have died in poses suggesting that they were attempting to return to the camp. They were found separately at distances of 300, 480 and 630 meters from the pine tree.
Searching for the remaining four travelers took more than two months. They were finally found on May 4, under four meters of snow, in a ravine in a stream valley further into the wood from the pine tree.
A legal inquest had been started immediately after finding the first five bodies. A medical examination found no injuries which might have led to their deaths, and it was concluded that they had all died of hypothermia. One person had a small crack in his skull, but it was not thought to be a fatal wound.
An examination of the four bodies which were found in May changed the picture. Three of them had fatal injuries: the body of Thibeaux-Brignolle had major skull damage, and both Dubunina and Zolotarev had major chest fractures. The force required to cause such damage would have been extremely high, with one expert comparing it to the force of a car crash. Notably, the bodies had no external wounds, as if they were crippled by a high level of pressure. One woman was found to be missing her tongue. There had initially been some speculation that the indigenous Mansi people might have attacked and murdered the group for encroaching upon their lands, but investigation indicated that the nature of their deaths did not support this thesis; the hikers' footprints alone were visible, and they showed no sign of hand-to-hand struggle.
There was evidence that the team was forced to leave the camp during the night, as they were sleeping. Though the temperature was very low (around -25° to -30°C) with a storm blowing, the dead were dressed only partially, and certainly inadequately for the conditions. Some of them had only one shoe, while others had no shoes or wore only socks. Some were found wrapped in snips of ripped clothes which seemed to be cut from those who were already dead.
Journalists reporting on the available parts of the inquest files claim that it states:
- Six of the group members died of hypothermia and three of fatal injuries.
- There were no indications of other people nearby apart from the nine travelers on Kholat Syakhl, nor anyone in the surrounding areas.
- The tent had been ripped open from within.
- The victims had died 6 to 8 hours after their last meal.
- Traces from the camp showed that all group members (including those who were found injured) left the camp of their own accord, on foot.
- To dispel the theory of an attack by the indigenous Mansi people, one doctor indicated that the fatal injuries of the three bodies could not have been caused by another human being, "because the force of the blows had been too strong and no soft tissue had been damaged".
- Forensic radiation tests had shown high doses of radioactive contamination on the clothes of a few victims.
Some researchers point out the following facts which were missed, perhaps ignored, by officials:
- After the funerals, relatives of the deceased claimed that the skin of the victims had a strange orange tan.
- A former investigating officer said, in a private interview, that his dosimeter had shown a high radiation level on Kholat Syakhl, and that this was the reason for the radiation found on the bodies. However, the source of the contamination was not found.
- Another group of hikers (about 50 kilometers south of the incident) reported that they saw strange orange spheres in the night sky to the north (likely in the direction of Kholat Syakhl) on the night of the incident. Similar "spheres" were observed in Ivdel and adjacent areas continually during the period of February to March 1959, by various independent witnesses (including the meteorology service and the military).
- Some reports suggested that much scrap metal was located in the area, leading to speculation that the military had utilized the area secretly and might be engaged in a cover-up.
Tell everyone what you think about it by posting a comment.
Cattle mutilation / The FBI Files
Cattle mutilation (also known as bovine excision) is the apparent killing and then mutilation of cattle under unusual or anomalous circumstances. Sheep and horses have allegedly been mutilated under similar circumstances.
A hallmark of these incidents is the surgical nature of the mutilation, and unexplained phenomena such as the complete draining of the animal's blood, loss of internal organs with no obvious point of entry, and surgically precise removal of the reproductive organs and anal coring. Another reported event is that the animal is found 'dumped' in an area where there are no marks or tracks leading to or from the carcass, even when it is found in soft ground or mud. The surgical-type wounds tend to be cauterized by an intense heat and made by very sharp/precise instruments, with no bleeding evident. Often flesh will be removed to the bone in an exact manner, consistent across cases, such as removal of flesh from around the jaw exposing the mandible.
Since the time that reports of purported animal mutilations began, the causes have been attributed variously to natural decomposition, normal predators, cryptid predators (like the Chupacabra), extraterrestrials, secretive governmental or military agencies, and cults. "Mutilations" have been the subject of two independent federal investigations in the United States
Charles Fort collected many accounts of cattle mutilations that occurred in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but the first allegedly strange death of livestock comes from near Alamosa, Colorado, in 1967.
Although the exact nature of mutilations varies from case to case, a typical mutilation might involve any or all of the following:
"The material concerning the Animal Mutilation Project contains accounts of animal mutilations which were reported during the late 1970's. The FBI became involved when fifteen mutilations occurred in New Mexico. Various theories concerning the origins of the mutilations were explored by the FBI, including satanic cults, UFOs, pranksters, and natural predators. The investigation failed to identify any individuals responsible for the mutilations."
Now the details of the investigation are now available under the Freedom of Information Act, and can be downloaded here:
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle1.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle2.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle3.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle4.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle5.pdf
A hallmark of these incidents is the surgical nature of the mutilation, and unexplained phenomena such as the complete draining of the animal's blood, loss of internal organs with no obvious point of entry, and surgically precise removal of the reproductive organs and anal coring. Another reported event is that the animal is found 'dumped' in an area where there are no marks or tracks leading to or from the carcass, even when it is found in soft ground or mud. The surgical-type wounds tend to be cauterized by an intense heat and made by very sharp/precise instruments, with no bleeding evident. Often flesh will be removed to the bone in an exact manner, consistent across cases, such as removal of flesh from around the jaw exposing the mandible.
Since the time that reports of purported animal mutilations began, the causes have been attributed variously to natural decomposition, normal predators, cryptid predators (like the Chupacabra), extraterrestrials, secretive governmental or military agencies, and cults. "Mutilations" have been the subject of two independent federal investigations in the United States
Charles Fort collected many accounts of cattle mutilations that occurred in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but the first allegedly strange death of livestock comes from near Alamosa, Colorado, in 1967.
Although the exact nature of mutilations varies from case to case, a typical mutilation might involve any or all of the following:
- The removal of eyes, udders and sexual organs very cleanly with surgical precision.
- The removal of the anus to a depth of around 12 inches similar in appearance to surgical coring.
- The removal of the lips and/or tongue deeply cut out from the throat.
- The removal of one ear.
- The removal of major organs (such as heart or liver) with no obvious entry/excision marks. Often, if the heart is missing, apart from no excision wound, the Pericardium will still be present and intact, with the heart missing.
- The stripping of hide and flesh from the jaw and the area directly beneath the ear to the bone.
- The removal of soft organs from the lower body.
- The presence of incisions and cuts across the body that appear to have been made by a surgical instrument.
- Unexplained damage to remaining organs, but no sign of damage to the surrounding area.
- A lack of predation signs (including teethmarks, tearing of the skin or flesh, or animal footprints) on or around the carcass.
- Lack of obvious scavenging.
- In many cases, a draining of the majority of blood from the animal. What blood is left exhibits color anomalies and may not coagulate for days.
- The animal will appear 'dumped' or dropped in a secluded area, with no animal, human or vehicle track(s) leading to or from the site. Some have been found draped over fences or in treetops.
- The ground under the animal appears depressed, as if the animal was dropped on the site from a height leaving an impact crater.
- The animal's bones found to be fractured with injuries consistent with being dropped.
- Strange marks/holes in the ground around the carcass.
- Other cattle avoid the carcass and the area where it's found.
- Eyewitness reports of aerial objects in the vicinity of cattle at the time of an animal going missing.
"The material concerning the Animal Mutilation Project contains accounts of animal mutilations which were reported during the late 1970's. The FBI became involved when fifteen mutilations occurred in New Mexico. Various theories concerning the origins of the mutilations were explored by the FBI, including satanic cults, UFOs, pranksters, and natural predators. The investigation failed to identify any individuals responsible for the mutilations."
Now the details of the investigation are now available under the Freedom of Information Act, and can be downloaded here:
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle1.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle2.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle3.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle4.pdf
http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/cattle/cattle5.pdf
UFO Files Released / The MoD Files
The National Archive (UK) released this month a series of files related to UFOs. The files contain a wide range of UFO-related documents covering the years 1994-2000. Find out more about close encounters, strange illnesses, flying ‘Toblerones’ and unidentified objects tracked on radar.
Here are the links to the files released this month:
DEFE 24/1966/1 (PDF, 49.0 Mb)
DEFE 24/1967/1 (PDF, 39.8 Mb)
DEFE 24/1968/1 (PDF, 28.4 Mb)
DEFE 24/1969/1 (PDF, 48.1 Mb)
DEFE 24/1971/1 (PDF, 3.8 Mb)
DEFE 24/1977/1 (PDF, 36.6 Mb)
DEFE 24/1979/1 (PDF, 194.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/1980/1 (PDF, 41.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/1981/1 (PDF, 48.5 Mb)
DEFE 24/1988/1 (PDF, 39.4 Mb)
DEFE 24/1989/1 (PDF, 39.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/1990/1 (PDF, 27.3 Mb)
DEFE 24/1994/1 (PDF, 36.1 Mb)
DEFE 24/2000/1 (PDF, 7.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2002/1 (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2003/1 (PDF, 2.5 Mb)
DEFE 24/2007/1 (PDF, 30.6 Mb)
DEFE 24/2008/1 (PDF, 36.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/2009/1 (PDF, 40.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2010/1 (PDF, 31.9 Mb)
DEFE 24/2011/1 (PDF, 58.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2016/1 (PDF, 35.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/2017/1 (PDF, 2.0 Mb)
DEFE 24/2029/1 (PDF, 14.0 Mb)
Here are the links to the files released this month:
DEFE 24/1966/1 (PDF, 49.0 Mb)
DEFE 24/1967/1 (PDF, 39.8 Mb)
DEFE 24/1968/1 (PDF, 28.4 Mb)
DEFE 24/1969/1 (PDF, 48.1 Mb)
DEFE 24/1971/1 (PDF, 3.8 Mb)
DEFE 24/1977/1 (PDF, 36.6 Mb)
DEFE 24/1979/1 (PDF, 194.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/1980/1 (PDF, 41.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/1981/1 (PDF, 48.5 Mb)
DEFE 24/1988/1 (PDF, 39.4 Mb)
DEFE 24/1989/1 (PDF, 39.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/1990/1 (PDF, 27.3 Mb)
DEFE 24/1994/1 (PDF, 36.1 Mb)
DEFE 24/2000/1 (PDF, 7.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2002/1 (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2003/1 (PDF, 2.5 Mb)
DEFE 24/2007/1 (PDF, 30.6 Mb)
DEFE 24/2008/1 (PDF, 36.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/2009/1 (PDF, 40.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2010/1 (PDF, 31.9 Mb)
DEFE 24/2011/1 (PDF, 58.7 Mb)
DEFE 24/2016/1 (PDF, 35.2 Mb)
DEFE 24/2017/1 (PDF, 2.0 Mb)
DEFE 24/2029/1 (PDF, 14.0 Mb)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
2012 Doomsday
The much talked 2012 Doomsday, each time we get closer to that date, more people get scared and search for this, and with the recent Hollywood movies, even more people are fearing the worst.
Here I'll post some of the predictions, some of them were already proven to be wrong, but I post them anyway with why they are wrong so everyone gets more informed.
Some claim that The Solstice on December 21, 2012 marks the end of the Maya Calendar, but in fact, in only marks the completion of the 5,125 year Great Cycle of the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar (precisely at 11:11 AM Universal Time).
Rather than being a linear end-point, this cycle that is closing is naturally followed by the start of a new cycle. What this new cycle has in store for humanity is a mystery that has yet to unfold.
In the mid-1990s, John Major Jenkins asserted that the ancient Maya intended to tie the end of their calendar to the winter solstice in 2012, which falls on December 21. This date was in line with an idea he terms the galactic alignment.
In the Solar System, the planets and the Sun share roughly the same plane of orbit, known as the plane of the ecliptic. From our perspective on Earth, the ecliptic is the path taken by the Sun across the sky over the course of the year. The 12 constellations which line the ecliptic are known as the zodiac and, through the year, the Sun passes through each constellation in turn. Additionally, over time, the Sun's annual passage appears to recede counterclockwise by one degree every 72 years. This movement is attributed to a slight wobble in the Earth's axis as it spins. As a result, approximately every 2160 years, the constellation visible on the early morning of the spring equinox changes. In Western astrological traditions, this signals the end of one astrological age (currently the Age of Pisces) and the beginning of another (Age of Aquarius). Over the course of 26,000 years, the precession of the equinoxes makes one full circuit around the ecliptic.
McKenna expressed "novelty" in a computer program, which purportedly produces a waveform known as timewave zero or the timewave. Based on McKenna's interpretation of the King Wen sequence of the I Ching, the graph appears to show great periods of novelty corresponding with major shifts in humanity's biological and cultural evolution. He believed the events of any given time are recursively related to the events of other times, and chose the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as the basis for calculating his end date in November 2012. When he later discovered this date's proximity to the end of the 13th b'ak'tun on the Maya calendar, he revised his hypothesis so that the two dates matched.
Proponents of a Nibiru collision claim that a planet, called Nibiru or Planet X, will collide with or pass by Earth in that year. This idea, which has been circulating since 1995 in New Age circles and initially slated the event for 2003, is based on claims of channeling from alien beings and has been widely ridiculed. Astronomers calculate that such an object so close to Earth would be visible to anyone looking up at the night sky.
An apocalyptic reading of Jenkins's hypothesis has that, when the galactic alignment occurs, it will somehow create a combined gravitational effect between the Sun and the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy (known as Sagittarius A*), creating havoc on Earth. Apart from the fact noted above that the "galactic alignment" predicted by Jenkins already happened in 1998, the Sun's apparent path through the zodiac as seen from Earth does not take it near the true galactic center, but rather several degrees above it. Even if this were not the case, Sgr A* is 30,000 light years from Earth, and would have to be more than 6 million times closer to cause any gravitational disruption to Earth's Solar System.
Some versions of this idea associate the theory of a 2012 "galactic alignment" with that of a very different "galactic alignment" proposed by some scientists to explain a supposed periodicity in mass extinctions in the fossil record. The hypothesis supposes that vertical oscillations made by the Sun as it orbits the galactic center cause it to regularly pass through the galactic plane. When the Sun's orbit takes it outside the galactic disc, the influence of the galactic tide is weaker; as it re-enters the galactic disc, as it does every 20–25 million years, it comes under the influence of the far stronger "disc tides", which, according to mathematical models, increase the flux of Oort cloud comets into the Solar System by a factor of 4, leading to a massive increase in the likelihood of a devastating comet impact. However, this "alignment" takes place over tens of millions of years, and could never be timed to an exact date. Evidence shows that the Sun passed through the galactic disc only three million years ago, and is now moving farther above it.
The Web Bot project is a series of automated bots that search the internet for specific keywords, looking for patterns. Its co-creator, George Ure, states that its study of "web chatter" predicted the September 11 attacks in New York, though he also suggests that the project can predict natural disasters, such as earthquakes. He now asserts that the project has predicted that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Critics of these proposals argue that while the collective knowledge of humanity could possibly predict terrorist attacks, stock market crashes or other human-caused events, there is no way it could predict something like an earthquake or the end of the world.
Here I'll post some of the predictions, some of them were already proven to be wrong, but I post them anyway with why they are wrong so everyone gets more informed.
The end of the Maya Calendar
Some claim that The Solstice on December 21, 2012 marks the end of the Maya Calendar, but in fact, in only marks the completion of the 5,125 year Great Cycle of the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar (precisely at 11:11 AM Universal Time).
Rather than being a linear end-point, this cycle that is closing is naturally followed by the start of a new cycle. What this new cycle has in store for humanity is a mystery that has yet to unfold.
New Age beliefs
Many New Age thinkers believe that the ending of this cycle will correspond to a global "consciousness shift". Established themes found in 2012 literature include "suspicion towards mainstream Western culture", the idea of spiritual evolution, and the possibility of leading the world into the New Age, by individual example or by a group's joined consciousness. The general intent of this literature is not to warn of impending doom but "to foster counter-cultural sympathies and eventually socio-political and 'spiritual' activism".
Galactic alignment
In the mid-1990s, John Major Jenkins asserted that the ancient Maya intended to tie the end of their calendar to the winter solstice in 2012, which falls on December 21. This date was in line with an idea he terms the galactic alignment.
In the Solar System, the planets and the Sun share roughly the same plane of orbit, known as the plane of the ecliptic. From our perspective on Earth, the ecliptic is the path taken by the Sun across the sky over the course of the year. The 12 constellations which line the ecliptic are known as the zodiac and, through the year, the Sun passes through each constellation in turn. Additionally, over time, the Sun's annual passage appears to recede counterclockwise by one degree every 72 years. This movement is attributed to a slight wobble in the Earth's axis as it spins. As a result, approximately every 2160 years, the constellation visible on the early morning of the spring equinox changes. In Western astrological traditions, this signals the end of one astrological age (currently the Age of Pisces) and the beginning of another (Age of Aquarius). Over the course of 26,000 years, the precession of the equinoxes makes one full circuit around the ecliptic.
Timewave zero and the I Ching
"Timewave zero" is a numerological formula that purports to calculate the ebb and flow of "novelty", defined as increase in the universe's interconnectedness, or organised complexity, over time. According to Terence McKenna, who conceived the idea over several years in the early-mid 1970s while using psilocybin mushrooms and DMT, the universe has a teleological attractor at the end of time that increases interconnectedness, eventually reaching a singularity of infinite complexity in 2012, at which point anything and everything imaginable will occur instantaneously.
McKenna expressed "novelty" in a computer program, which purportedly produces a waveform known as timewave zero or the timewave. Based on McKenna's interpretation of the King Wen sequence of the I Ching, the graph appears to show great periods of novelty corresponding with major shifts in humanity's biological and cultural evolution. He believed the events of any given time are recursively related to the events of other times, and chose the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as the basis for calculating his end date in November 2012. When he later discovered this date's proximity to the end of the 13th b'ak'tun on the Maya calendar, he revised his hypothesis so that the two dates matched.
Geomagnetic reversal
A geomagnetic reversal (often incorrectly referred to as a polar shift by proponents of this hypothesis) could be triggered by a massive solar flare, one with energy equal to 100 billion atomic bombs. This belief is supposedly supported by observations that the Earth's magnetic field is weakening, which indicates an impending reversal of the north and south magnetic poles. Scientists believe the Earth is overdue for a geomagnetic reversal, and has been for a long time, even since the time of the Mayans, because the last reversal was 780,000 years ago. Critics, however, claim geomagnetic reversals take up to 5,000 years to complete, and do not start on any particular date. Also, NOAA now predicts that the solar maximum will peak in 2013, not 2012, and that it will be fairly weak, with a below-average number of sunspots. In any case, there is no scientific evidence linking a solar maximum to a geomagnetic reversal. A solar maximum would be mostly notable for its effects on satellite and cellular phone communications.
Planet Nibiru
Proponents of a Nibiru collision claim that a planet, called Nibiru or Planet X, will collide with or pass by Earth in that year. This idea, which has been circulating since 1995 in New Age circles and initially slated the event for 2003, is based on claims of channeling from alien beings and has been widely ridiculed. Astronomers calculate that such an object so close to Earth would be visible to anyone looking up at the night sky.
Black hole alignment
An apocalyptic reading of Jenkins's hypothesis has that, when the galactic alignment occurs, it will somehow create a combined gravitational effect between the Sun and the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy (known as Sagittarius A*), creating havoc on Earth. Apart from the fact noted above that the "galactic alignment" predicted by Jenkins already happened in 1998, the Sun's apparent path through the zodiac as seen from Earth does not take it near the true galactic center, but rather several degrees above it. Even if this were not the case, Sgr A* is 30,000 light years from Earth, and would have to be more than 6 million times closer to cause any gravitational disruption to Earth's Solar System.
Some versions of this idea associate the theory of a 2012 "galactic alignment" with that of a very different "galactic alignment" proposed by some scientists to explain a supposed periodicity in mass extinctions in the fossil record. The hypothesis supposes that vertical oscillations made by the Sun as it orbits the galactic center cause it to regularly pass through the galactic plane. When the Sun's orbit takes it outside the galactic disc, the influence of the galactic tide is weaker; as it re-enters the galactic disc, as it does every 20–25 million years, it comes under the influence of the far stronger "disc tides", which, according to mathematical models, increase the flux of Oort cloud comets into the Solar System by a factor of 4, leading to a massive increase in the likelihood of a devastating comet impact. However, this "alignment" takes place over tens of millions of years, and could never be timed to an exact date. Evidence shows that the Sun passed through the galactic disc only three million years ago, and is now moving farther above it.
Web Bot project
Long time
It passed a long time since my last post here (and it was about a game), I have been busy lately, but know I decided to talk about some more paranormal stuff of interest then only ghosts as I have been posting here.
The next posts that I'll make here can include (not limited to) the following:
- Paranormal creatures
- Animal mutilation
- Aliens and UFOs
- Religion and witchcraft
- Ancient mysteries
- Doomsday
- Mysticism
- Etc
Hope you enjoy!
The next posts that I'll make here can include (not limited to) the following:
- Paranormal creatures
- Animal mutilation
- Aliens and UFOs
- Religion and witchcraft
- Ancient mysteries
- Doomsday
- Mysticism
- Etc
Hope you enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
