Contact in the Desert 2025: The Biggest & Best Conference Yet!
SkyTour LiveStream Announces New Observatory!
Disclosure Advocate Steve Bassett Receives Lifetime Achievement Award!
Global Online Event: Contact & Consciousness to Take Place June 21-22!
Plus a new MUFON Case Study: The Buga Columbia Sphere!
Physicist Michio Kaku has publicly discussed the theoretical capabilities of extraterrestrial civilizations, particularly in the context of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs or UFOs). He argues that if such objects are indeed spacecraft from non-human intelligences capable of interstellar or intergalactic travel, they would likely originate from a highly advanced civilization, potentially a Type III on the Kardashev scale, possessing the ability to manipulate space and time.
The Challenge of Cosmic Distances
Kaku emphasizes the immense distances separating stars and galaxies, which render travel by conventional means (like current human rocket technology) impractical for interstellar voyages, requiring tens of thousands of years to reach even the nearest stars. For intergalactic travel, the distances are millions of times greater.
Could UAPs be the scout spacecraft of a galactic civilization?
UAPs: are they from Kardashev Type III civilizations?
To answer that, we must journey into the realm of theoretical physics and cosmic evolution. Imagine beings who have mastered energies on a scale that dwarfs our planetary concerns. That is the domain of a Kardashev Type III civilization.
The Kardashev Scale (after Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev) classifies civilizations by their energy consumption:
A Type 0 civilization, like our own, derives its energy from dead plants and animals (oil, coal) and is still subject to the whims of nature. We are, in cosmic terms, infants.
Type I civilization has mastered planetary energy. They can control the weather, harness the power of their entire planet, and utilize all the sunlight that strikes its surface. Think of Buck Rogers.
Type II civilization has graduated to stellar power. They can consume the entire energy output of their parent star. Dyson spheres, theoretical megastructures that could encompass a star, are a hallmark of such a civilization. Star Trek’s Federation is beginning to approach this level.
Then, there’s Type III: a galactic civilization. They command the power of an entire galaxy, perhaps harnessing the energy of billions of stars, maybe even manipulating black holes. Think of “Star Wars” or the ancient builders in many science fiction sagas.
Intergalactic travel isn’t a matter of building a bigger rocket. To traverse millions of light-years in any reasonable timeframe, you must manipulate space-time itself—harnessing Planck-scale energies to open wormholes or drive a warp bubble.
Who could wield such power?
Type I powers a planet. Type II powers a solar system. Only a Type III civilization can treat a galaxy as its playground—warping, folding, or tunneling through space-time at will.
So, if these UFOs are indeed piloted by beings from another world, and if they demonstrate capabilities like instantaneous acceleration, right-angle turns at hypersonic speeds, and, crucially, the ability to traverse interstellar or even intergalactic distances, then we are not dealing with a civilization just a few centuries ahead of us. The sheer energy requirements and the physics involved point to something far grander.
Such beings would likely be the product of a Type III civilization. They would have long ago mastered the fundamental forces, unlocked secrets of space-time that we are only just beginning to ponder, and command energies that could light up (or extinguish) stars.
While we must always approach these UAP reports with scientific rigor and skepticism, it’s an intriguing thought experiment. If they are real, and not of this Earth, then the beings behind them are not just visitors from another star; they are potentially emissaries from a civilization so advanced, they are practically gods in their ability to manipulate the cosmos.
It opens up the tantalizing, and perhaps humbling, possibility that we are but a tiny part of a much larger, far more advanced, cosmic neighborhood. The universe, it seems, is far more fascinating than we ever imagined.
FACT CHECK
The above text aligns with Dr. Michio Kaku’s public statements on:
The Kardashev Scale and Civilizational Classification
Type III civilizations’ capacity for intergalactic travel
The physics of space-time manipulation (Planck energy, wormholes, warp drives)
Recent UAP commentary (extreme maneuvers in Navy pilot footage, implied G-forces, trans-medium capabilities)
1. On the Kardashev Scale and Classification of Civilizations
Dr. Kaku frequently uses the Kardashev Scale as a framework to discuss the potential advancement of civilizations based on their energy consumption. He describes:
• Type 0 (like ours, reliant on fossil fuels) • Type I (planetary; controlling weather and planetary energy) • Type II (stellar; harnessing the entire output of their star, e.g. via a Dyson sphere) • Type III (galactic; commanding the energy of an entire galaxy)
2. On Type III Civilizations and Intergalactic Travel
The article posits that intergalactic travel requires mastering energies on a galactic scale—a feat of a Type III civilization. Dr. Kaku agrees, suggesting such a civilization would have colonized its galaxy and harnessed the energy of billions of stars. He explicitly links Type III civilizations with space-time manipulation technologies (wormholes, warp drives).
3. On Advanced Technology and Manipulating Space-Time
The article notes that traversing intergalactic distances necessitates manipulating the fabric of space and time, including harnessing Planck energy. Dr. Kaku explains that while Special Relativity forbids FTL locally, General Relativity allows global warping of space-time. He emphasizes that only the colossal energies of a Type III civilization could achieve such feats.
4. On UFOs/UAPs and Highly Advanced Civilizations
The article speculates that if UAPs are extraterrestrial and exhibit capabilities beyond our physics, they might originate from Type III civilizations. Dr. Kaku has spoken increasingly about UAPs, noting new Navy pilot footage and other evidence. He points out that UAP characteristics (Mach 5–20 speeds, rapid acceleration, hundreds of Gs, transmedium travel) imply technologies far beyond ours. He cautions that these beings could be thousands or millions of years more advanced, placing them in the realm of Type III.
Washington, DC, June 2025 — In anticipation of major developments surrounding the Disclosure process leading to the confirmation by a U.S. Government Leader of the existence of technologically advanced non-humans and the fact that the U.S. Government and Military have long been in possession of retrieved off-world vehicles, Paradigm Research Group is working to launched a seventh X-Conference in Washington, DC, early next year.
Nashville, TN, June 2025 — Lisa Puzo Strickland has announced the launch of her new website and blog which can be accessed HERE. After a successful 25+ year career in the radio, television, and record industries, Strickland earned her PhD in Philosophy and Parapsychology from the University of Sedona (Arizona) in 2023 and has since established herself as an authentic voice within the national UAP/UFO/NHI research communities.
Beverly Hills, CA, April, 2025 — The popular science-fiction novel After They Cameby author Dan Harary is now available in the Audiobook format. The book was inspired by a major UFO sighting Harary had in 1970 with his late father, Jack Harary, an Electronics Engineer with the U.S. Army from 1951 – 1996. Today, Dan believes that his father was involved in a program to reverse-engineer recovered UFOs, which began with the U.S. Military back in the 1940s.
Kansas City, Missouri, June 2025 — The Un-X Network is hosting a Paranormal Writing Contest for 2025. Those who wish to participate in this contest are asked to submit their paranormal short stories, real or imagined, to the Un-X Network by August 1, 2025.
Beverly Hills, CA, June 2025 –Thirty Founding Members of The Hollywood Disclosure Alliance will be featured as Guest Speakers during the 2025 Contact in the Desert Conference, May 29 – June 2, at the beautiful Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA. That conference will feature over 120 lectures, workshops, intensives and panels presented by the world’s most prestigious experts in the fields of UFO/UAP, Government Disclosure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Science, Ancient Civilizations, Space Exploration, Future of Technology and Space Travel, Non-human Intelligence, Spirituality, and more.
Los Angeles, CA, June 2025 – The book Russia’s USO Secrets is a must-read for those interested in USO research conducted in the USSR, and later in Russia, according to longtime UAP Reseacher, Paul Stonehill.
For decades, humanity has peered into the vast darkness between the stars, dreaming of the moment we might detect a sign of intelligence beyond our own. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has long focused on distant radio whispers or powerful laser flashes, while intriguingly, starlight pulses might reveal clues right in our cosmic backyard. But what if the most profound evidence isn’t coming from light-years away? Could it be from our very own cosmic backyard? Recent, startling discoveries from a dedicated optical observatory in Big Bear, California, are forcing us to confront this very question.
In May 2023, retired NASA scientist Richard Stanton, working in Big Bear, California, discovered an unexplained “pulsing” signal from a Sun-like star, HD 89389, in the Ursa Major (Great Bear) constellation. This star is approximately 100 light-years away. The signal was described as two identical and fast pulses occurring 4.4 seconds apart. It was published in the Acta Astronautica scientific journal.
Stanton noted that these pulses were unlike any other signals he’d detected during his 1,500 hours of searching. The signal’s unique pattern has left scientists puzzled. This pattern, consisting of a “brighter-fainter-brighter” sequence, is intriguing to researchers.
“We don’t know what kind of object could produce these pulses or how far away it is. We don’t know if the two-pulse signal is produced by something passing between us and the star or if it is generated by something that modulates the star’s light without moving across the field. Until we learn more, we can’t even say whether or not extraterrestrials are involved!“ – Richard Stanton
Stars Blink: Is Someone There?
Stanton has unveiled a truly perplexing phenomenon: pairs of incredibly fast, identical pulses of starlight. Imagine a star’s brightness undergoing a sudden, dramatic dance. There’s a rapid surge, then a sharp dip, followed by an equally swift return to its original intensity.
This entire sequence unfolds in mere milliseconds. After a brief pause of a few seconds, the exact same intricate pattern repeats. This occurs with precision that defies natural explanation.
Cosmic Code: Unraveling the Twin Pulses
The first captivating instance came from the star HD89389. The near-perfect replication of the “fine-structure” within each pulse wasn’t just intriguing; it screamed of a deliberate, non-random event. Even more chillingly, a deep dive into historical data uncovered an identical pair of pulses from HD217014. This occurred four years prior. This earlier event had been casually dismissed as “birds” – an innocuous explanation that now seems inadequate for such a profound celestial signature.
Not Just Birds: A Galactic Mystery
The implications are staggering. The sheer speed of these light changes immediately tells us one crucial thing: the source cannot be the distant star itself. No known stellar process could cause such rapid, precise fluctuations. This realization narrows the field dramatically. It places the origin of these mysterious flashes much closer to home, likely within our own solar system.
Close Encounter? Tracing the Origin
So, if not the stars, then what? While natural phenomena like unusual atmospheric disturbances or even binary asteroid systems are considered, the precision and repeatable nature of these pulses push scientists towards a more audacious hypothesis. They suspect edge diffraction, a well-understood optical effect. It describes how light bends and creates distinct patterns when passing by a sharp edge. The specific “bipolar” shape of these observed pulses – the characteristic increase, decrease, and subsequent increase in brightness – bears an uncanny resemblance to diffraction patterns expected if starlight interacts with edges of a nearby, opaque object.
Diffraction’s Clue: The Shadow of Something Else
Think of it this way: a previously unknown object, possibly a thin, flat structure or even a ring, momentarily crosses our line of sight to a distant star. As the star’s light skims past one edge, it creates the first pulse. When it passes the other edge, the second identical pulse is generated.
Eyes Wide Open: The Hunt for Hidden Objects
This theory, while still under investigation, ignites a firestorm of possibilities. If these are indeed diffraction patterns, it implies an object’s existence, possibly within our solar system, that is causing these obscurations. What kind of object? And more importantly, who or what created it?
A single telescope, no matter how powerful, can only offer limited clues. It can detect these fascinating anomalies. However, it can’t definitively tell us the object’s precise distance, speed, or true nature. That’s where the future of this extraordinary search comes into play.
The urgent call from the scientific community is for the development of Optical Telescope Arrays (OTAs). Imagine a network of precisely synchronized telescopes, positioned across the Earth. By meticulously measuring the infinitesimal time delays as this object’s shadow sweeps across each individual telescope, scientists could triangulate its position with astonishing accuracy. This method would determine its velocity and perhaps resolve its physical characteristics. This would be a leap from passive observation to active, investigative astronomy.
Beyond the Stars: ETI in Our Backyard?
And here, at the precipice of this discovery, lies the most profound question. If these pulses are confirmed to be caused by an object in our solar system, and if its trajectory suggests it’s not a natural body – what then? Could it be a long-lost piece of cosmic debris or an anomalous natural formation? Or, the thought that sends shivers through us, could this be a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence? Perhaps the ultimate “SETI signal” isn’t a deliberate message beamed across the galaxy. Could it be the unavoidable, accidental, signature of advanced technology operating in our celestial neighborhood?
The Ultimate Question: Are We Witnessing Alien Tech?
The universe continues to surprise us, challenging our assumptions and pushing the boundaries of what we believe possible. These inexplicable starlight flashes are more than just an astronomical curiosity; indeed, they are a cosmic riddle. It could, just possibly, hold the key to answering humanity’s most enduring question: Are we truly alone? The echoes from the void are growing clearer. The potential for a paradigm-shifting discovery has never been more tangible.
Best Selling UFO Of God Author Chris Bledsoe And Family To Share Their Remarkable Experiences At Contact In The Desert 2025 — THE WOW! SIGNAL
Los Angeles, CA, May 2025 – The New York Times best-selling author of UFO Of God, Chris Bledsoe, and his family, will be making a very special appearance at Contact in the Desert (CITD) , the largest UFO Conference in the world. CITD will take place May 29 – June 2, 2025, at the beautifu
The Southern California Chapter Of MUFON Promotes Gene Meregillano To State Director and C.J. Arabia To Chief Investigator — THE WOW! SIGNAL
Los Angeles, CA, May 2025 – The Southern California Chapter of MUFON has announced the promotion of Gene Meregillano (former Chief Investigator) to the position of State Director of Southern California MUFON. Gene had previously served as the Chief Investigator for that MUFON Chapter, under forme
Debriefed Podcast Hits Over One Million Views — THE WOW! SIGNAL
Tucson, Arizona, May 2025 – Hollywood Disclosure Alliance Board Member Nick Pope’s recent appearance on Chris Ramsay’s Debriefed podcast has racked up nearly one-million views on Ramsay’s Area 52 YouTube channel. You can watch Nick and Chris’s discussion by CLICKING HERE In a wide-ranging&a
John Ventre Publishes New Book Do You Know? Ufos And Paranormal: Little Known Facts — THE WOW! SIGNAL
Pittsburgh, PA, May 2025 — John Ventre has just published his second book this year, and his third in fifteen months. Entitled Do You Know? UFOS and Paranormal: Little Known Facts, John’s new book is a must read for seasoned UAP/ET/Paranormal investigators or new enthusiasts to the genre. John h
MUFON Cases of Interest: Noah’s Ark and the Windmill — THE WOW! SIGNAL
This excellent case concerns a fellow driving down a highway near Abbey Stead, England close to the west coast and comes across a glowing moon colored Noah’s Ark 20 feet ahead of his car replete with clarity so intense it seems the witness could actually see the “planks” on the lofty animal carrying
A study by Yannick Peings and Marik von Rennenkampff analyzes the Gimbal UAP video, a 34-second infrared clip recorded by a U.S. Navy F/A-18F jet in 2015. It shows an unidentified object (UAP) moving erratically—stopping, rotating mid-air, and reversing direction instantly—with no visible wings or exhaust.
Key Observations from Pilots:
The object was close (within 6–10 nautical miles).
It suddenly stopped and reversed course without a turning arc—a maneuver impossible for conventional aircraft.
It was part of a group of 4–6 other unknown objects moving against strong winds.
What the Study Did:
Using data from the jet’s targeting system (ATFLIR) and radar, researchers reconstructed the flight path for the UAP and compared it to the pilots testimony.
At the distance reported by the pilots (6-8 nautical miles), the object’s movements matched eyewitness accounts:
It slowed down from ~300 knots to near-zero (high speed).
Then made a sharp “vertical U-turn” (unlike any known aircraft).
No wings or exhaust plumes (like a normal jet) were visible at this range during this maneuver.
Alternative Theory
Some argue the object might just be camera glare from a distant jet’s exhaust (30+ miles away) and that the “rotation” was a sensor glitch. But this doesn’t explain:
The pilots’ data showing instant direction changes.
Why the object matched the jet’s movements so closely.
Why Does This Matter?
The study doesn’t prove what the object was, but its movements defy normal aerodynamics. The researchers want aviation experts to take a closer look—because if this wasn’t a drone, jet, or camera trick, what was it?
If the object described in the text was indeed a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) in the sense of an extraterrestrial or unknown advanced craft, it would have significant implications.
What if it was a UFO?
It would mean a technology far beyond our own exists: The object pulled off “impossible maneuvers no known aircraft can do,” such as suddenly stopping mid-air, spinning 90 degrees, reversing course instantly, and making sharp, physics-defying U-turns without slowing down. It had “no wings, no exhaust, no explanation” for its propulsion. This would indicate a mastery of physics and engineering that currently eludes human understanding.
It would validate the pilots’ observations and radar data: The “fighter jets radar locked onto the UFO,” and a “new study crunched the numbers and found at that range the UFO’s movements match exactly what the pilots described.” This would confirm the reliability of these highly trained observers and sophisticated detection systems in identifying something truly anomalous.
It would challenge conventional explanations:Skeptics’ claims of “camera glare from a distant jet” would be insufficient to explain the radar evidence and the detailed pilot testimonies. The text explicitly states these explanations don’t hold up.
The burden of proof would indeed shift, as Michio Kaku suggests: If such an object is confirmed, it would no longer be on individuals to prove they saw something extraordinary. Instead, military and scientific institutions would face immense pressure to explain what these objects are, where they come from, and what their intentions might be. The question “what was it?” would become a central focus of investigation.
In essence, if it were a UFO, it would open up a new era of scientific inquiry, reshape our understanding of our place in the universe, and potentially have profound societal and technological impacts. The mystery surrounding these “mystery craft flying in formation” would move from the realm of speculation to urgent reality.
What is our place in the universe?
Bottom Line
The Gimbal UAP moves in ways that don’t match any known aircraft, making it a genuine mystery. The study doesn’t solve it but shows why more research is needed.
A Science Fiction Short Story: In a universe filled with mysteries, the discovery of an extraterrestrial signal could change everything.
Chapter 1: The Question
Ray Faser leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, staring at the projection of Earth’s nuclear test history—a timeline of detonations stretching from 1945 to 1996. The data pulsed like a slow, irregular heartbeat.
Two thousand nuclear blasts. Each one had sent an electromagnetic scream (EMP) into the void.
On the other side of the screen, Dr. Elias Varen, a senior astrophysicist with the SETI Institute, adjusted his glasses. “You’re suggesting we’ve already announced ourselves.”
“I’m saying we lit a bonfire in the ‘Dark Forest‘. And now we’re whispering ‘Hello?’ like we’re afraid of being rude.”
Varen exhaled. “The difference is intent. A nuclear EMP is noise. A structured message is a handshake.”
Ray leaned forward. “You think an advanced civilization hears a thousand atomic explosions and thinks, ‘Hmm, must be background radiation’? They’ll know what it is. And they’ll know it’s dangerous.”
Chapter 2: The UAP Variable
The Pentagon’s recent disclosures hung between them like an unspoken specter. Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—craft defying known physics, lingering in Earth’s skies for decades.
Ray tapped the table. “If they’re already here, silence isn’t caution. It’s stupidity. We should be sending ‘We come in peace’ in every frequency we’ve got.”
Varen’s jaw tightened. “Or we’re confirming we’re a threat. Nuclear weapons, uncontrolled emissions—what if they’re waiting to see if we grow up?”
“Or waiting to see if we shoot first,” Ray countered. The Dark Forest isn’t just a theory. It’s a mirror. We’re the ones who nuked ourselves two thousand times. We’re the predators.”
Chapter 3: The Silence Gambit
A new voice cut in—Dr. Elena Papadakis, a xenopsychologist. “Assume they have detected us. Silence could be read as hostility. A predator hiding.”
Varen shook his head. “Or prudence.”
Ray laughed bitterly. “Prudence? We’re ostriches. Heads in the sand, asses in the air.”
He pulled up the latest UAP footage—a tic-tac object maneuvering at Mach 10. “They aren’t hiding. Why are we?”
Chapter 4: The Decision
The room fell quiet. The screen flickered, overlaying Earth’s radio bubble—expanding at light speed for a century, a glowing sphere of TV broadcasts, radar pings, and nuclear EMPs that might just serve as an unintended extraterrestrial signal.
Elena broke the silence. “If they’re here, they already know who we are. The question isn’t if we signal. It’s what we say.”
Ray leaned back. “How about ‘We’re not all psychopaths’?”
Varen didn’t smile. “Or we prove it.”
Outside, the stars burned cold and distant. Waiting.
Epilogue: The First Message
Three months later, the Arecibo successor array sent a single, repeating sequence toward a UAP hotspot.
Not mathematics. Not science.
Music. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”
A handshake—or a plea.
The Dark Forest listened.
——————-
Author’s note The character of Ray Faser (and his author) have been waiting for reactivation ever since their first and last appearance in a short science-fiction story in a school newspaper in 1979.
Reference: The history of nuclear testing began early on the morning of 16 July 1945 at a desert test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico when the United States exploded its first atomic bomb. In the five decades between that fateful day in 1945 and the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, over 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out all over the world. https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-nuclear-tests-day/history
I’m skeptical of UFO claims made by researchers based solely on secondhand anecdotes. It’s more valuable to hear direct testimony from a UFO witness themselves, rather than relying on third-party accounts. I personally reported UFO sightings to official channels, and as a UFO witness, they quoted my testimony anonymously:
Reference: Irish Salthill UFO sighting recalled
An Irish witness at Galway recalled a UFO incident from 1986
Why? Witnesses should be allowed to stay anonymous, but non-anonymous testimony should be prioritized. To be able to report a sighting only in anonymous mode takes away the credibility of the witness account. Anyone can fabricate a tale, overflow databases with false information, and overwhelm legitimate reporting.
The issue with relying solely on secondhand and anecdotal accounts of UFO sightings is a significant one. Retelling anecdotes can lead to the distortion of facts, the embellishment of stories, and the loss of crucial details. By hearing eyewitness accounts firsthand from a UFO witness, we can gain a more accurate understanding of the events in question.
Asking a UFO witness about their desire for anonymity and giving them the option to disclose their identities would enhance transparency and trustworthiness. Such an arrangement would allow for a more nuanced understanding of the evidence and potentially lead to more credible investigations.
NUFORC witness report form
In fact, some UFO research organizations, such as the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), do offer a UFO witness the option to remain anonymous or to provide their contact information. However, this is not always the case, and we need more transparency in this area.
The National UFO Reporting Center Dedicated to the collection and dissemination of objective UFO/UAP data https://nuforc.org
Reference: Carl Sagan, Long wavelength ultraviolet photoproduction of amino acids on the primitive Earth
“Hello, Aliens!”: Voyager Probes Get Sagan’s First Broadcast
In 1972 and 1977, Carl Sagan sent the first messages to extraterrestrials into space on the panels of the space probes Pioneer 10 & 11 and the Golden Record of Voyager 1 & 2.
The gold-plated aluminum cover (L) of the Voyager golden record (R) both protects it from micrometeorite bombardment and also provides a key to playing it and deciphering Earth’s location. NASA
It contains greetings and wishes for peace from the people of Earth in 55 languages. Earthlings extend their friendship, wish happiness and health, and express hope to one day meet their cosmic neighbors. They also express the desire for goodwill and harmony among all beings in the universe.
Reference: Golden Record Greetings – NASA Science
Each of the Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, carried a golden phonograph record. One of its purposes was to send a message to extraterrestrials who might find the spacecraft as it journeyed through interstellar space.
The greetings are in alphabetical order, from Akkadian (an extinct language for over 2000 years) to Wu Chinese. The inclusion of Akkadian in this earthly record is pretty strange. One day, these transmissions might be intercepted as they pass through space by an alien culture.
With the help of the included pulsar map, these aliens could potentially find Earth. Pulsars are stars that rhythmically emit radiation, like interstellar lighthouses. We can use them as a cosmic GPS.
Over long periods of time, the frequency of a pulsar slows down. Thus the pulsar map designed by scientist Frank Drake and graphic artist Linda Salzman Sagan is not only a determination of the position of our Earth in space, but the map also precisely pinpoints the position of Earth in time: 1971.
Speculation about the subject makes for the greatest sci-fi story ever told. This is particularly true when we consider the included Mesopotamian-language greeting and the Annunaki creation myths—some of which have been popularized by Zecharia Sitchin and others.
Of course, intercepting our space probes is extremely unlikely. It could take millions of years, if at all. But then again, the life expectancy of the Golden Records is 5 billion years.
“Extraordinary?” Sagan’s 1977 Standard Stuns UFO Dreamers
In 1977, when the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was released, Washington Post readers first heard of the “Sagan Standard”: that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.“
Carl Sagan uttered this aphorism in relation to the first film scene. In the scene, planes were found in the Sahara which years earlier disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. The notion of extraordinary claims was central to Sagan’s skepticism about extraterrestrial causes.
“There is no evidence that lights in the sky or the disappearance of ships or planes are due to extraterrestrial interference (in the Bermuda Triangle)”, Sagan said.
Reference: Second View, Sagan on ‘Encounters’
NEW YORK — Carl Sagan, the 43-year-old glamor boy of astronomy, is hunched down in the fifth row of the Ziegfeld Theater on West 54th Street, waiting for the five o’clock matinee to roll. Whoooooosh! A sandstorm rages across the screen, enveloping viewers in a yellow haze.
Bermuda Triangle, 1986: Nine years later, in the shadowy depths of the North Atlantic, the Russian nuclear submarine K-219 vanished beneath the waves. It left a chilling mystery in its wake. As the vessel settled silently on the ocean floor—nearly 18,000 feet (5.5 kilometers) below the surface—a more disturbing discovery emerged. The submarine’s full arsenal of nuclear warheads had inexplicably disappeared, raising extraordinary claims about what might have occurred.
Any attempt to retrieve or remove the warheads should have been impossible at such an unfathomable depth. It was beyond the reach of all human technology in 1986. Yet, the weapons had vanished nonetheless, leaving behind only unanswered questions and a silence as deep as the ocean itself.
Official records claim that the catastrophic incident aboard K-219 took place hundreds of miles from the Hatteras Abyssal Plain. This spot was the very location where the lost submarine ultimately came to rest (Wikipedia).
Yet this contradiction is curious, to say the least, inviting extraordinary claims and speculations.
Deep-Sea Riddle: Vanished Russian Nukes Hide Under Triangle
Consult the Marine Gazetteer Map, and you’ll notice a small dot nestled between Miami and Bermuda. This is the location of the Hatteras Abyssal Plain. In other words, it is inside the notorious Bermuda Triangle.
Science moves forward through doubt, evidence, and the enduring patience to pursue both. But in a case like this, extraordinary claims about the vanished nukes cannot help but intrigue those. These claims make people wonder what secrets still lie hidden beneath those mysterious waters.
Location of the sunk Russian nuclear submarine K-219. Until now, no publication has linked it’s sinking and the disappearance of it’s nuclear arsenal to the presence of the Bermuda Triangle.
Cosmos Mania: Sagan Turns the Universe into Prime-Time TV
In 1980 the name Sagan finally became a household name when Carl presented his extraordinarily successful TV series “Cosmos.”
The series covered topics ranging from the origin of life to a perspective of our place in the universe.
The Sagan Standard, first phrased in the Washington Post article from December 1977, that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” became the mantra of the series. Carl claimed that nearly every UFO sighting is based on optical illusions and misinterpretations.
Carl Sagan wrote regarding UFO claims:
“When confronted with a claim for which there is no compelling evidence, we should reserve judgment. I know of no evidence for visits to Earth by beings from other worlds.”
– Carl Sagan
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