Cosmic Wake-Up Call: Five Urgent ET Messages for Humankind’s Survival

Most of us will never see a strange light dart across the night sky, let alone claim to be whisked aboard a craft not of this Earth. Yet, tucked away in public databases, government archives, and academic journals lie more than 200,000 firsthand accounts from people who insist such events happened to them. It makes one wonder if there is an extraterrestrial message hidden among the accounts.

No, I don’t have the time to read all those accounts personally, so I told Gemini AI DeepResearch to analyze them all for me. That’s what Large Language Models are good at. An unexpected picture emerged from the mountain of testimony: the alleged visitors, if real, seem far less interested in dazzling us with technology than in warning us about the way we run our planet.

How Many Cases Are We Really Talking About?

• Public databases: Roughly 170,000 sighting and contact reports sit in the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) catalogue, with hundreds added every month.
• Declassified government projects: Project BLUE BOOK’s 12,618 files and the FBI’s post-war “Vault” documents add a further trove.
• Academic & clinical work: Thirty-plus peer-reviewed psychology papers (from Harvard, Goldsmiths, and others) and at least half-a-dozen social-science surveys have examined self-identified abductees and “channelers”—people who claim to relay telepathic messages from non-human intelligences.
• Independent qualitative studies: Another six to ten book-length investigations—by scholars such as the late Harvard psychiatrist John Mack or the late Temple University historian David Jacobs—bring the formal research count to “just over forty.”

Summary

The tenor of over 200,000 UFO reports from credible experiencers, military personnel, and contactees is delivering the same urgent warnings, and it’s time we listened. There appears to be a deliberate, intelligent effort to guide humanity away from self-destruction. Here’s what they’re telling us:

Cosmic Wake-Up Call: Five Urgent ET Messages for Humanity’s Survival
  1. “Disarm Now—Or Face Extinction” (Nuclear Warnings: A Clear Pattern)
    Resonance: Moderate to Low, with pockets of High Concern.
    Politicians & People in Power: While there’s widespread acknowledgment of the catastrophic potential of nuclear weapons, the urgency of immediate and complete disarmament is a highly contentious issue.

    UFOs didn’t just happen to appear over nuclear facilities during the Cold War—they were intervening. Missiles mysteriously deactivated. Radar systems jammed. Military witnesses confirm: Something was sending a message. The message? “Your weapons are a threat to the entire cosmos.” This isn’t speculation—it’s documented.

  2. “Earth is Dying—Act Immediately” (Environmental Crisis: A Dire Alert)
    Resonance: High in Acknowledgment, Moderate to Low in Sufficiently Urgent Action.
    Politicians & People in Power: There is now widespread, almost universal, acknowledgment among world leaders and major institutions that climate change and environmental degradation represent a significant, even existential, crisis.

From Jim Sparks to countless abductees, the message is consistent: “Your planet is in critical condition.” Crop circles, telepathic warnings, and visions of ecological collapse aren’t coincidences—they’re a galactic SOS. ETs aren’t just observing—they’re urging us to change before it’s too late.

  1. “You Are Starseeds—Awaken” (Spiritual & Evolutionary Guidance)
    Resonance: Extremely Low to Non-Existent in mainstream political discourse.
    Politicians & People in Power: This type of message, rooted in specific spiritual or esoteric beliefs like the “Starseed” concept (which posits that some humans originated from other planets or dimensions to help Earth), generally does not resonate in mainstream political circles or among those in positions of secular power.

The most profound encounters aren’t about fear—they’re about ascension. Contactees describe downloads of cosmic knowledge, sudden healing abilities, and an overwhelming sense of universal connection. This isn’t fantasy—it’s a consciousness upgrade. ETs are trying to help humanity evolve beyond war, greed, and separation.

  1. “Unite or Perish” (A Call for Global Solidarity)
    Resonance: Moderate, with Fluctuations based on Context.
    Politicians & People in Power: The idea of global solidarity is frequently invoked in international forums, especially when addressing transboundary challenges like pandemics, climate change, economic crises, and major conflicts.

The idea that ET contact could end human conflict isn’t wishful thinking—it’s inevitable. Once we accept we’re not alone, borders, religions, and ideologies will seem trivial. The message? “You are one species. Start acting like it.”

  1. “The Great Filter is Real—Don’t Fail” (Warning of Civilizational Collapse)
    Resonance: Low in terms of the specific “Great Filter” terminology; Moderate in terms of underlying concern about civilizational threats.

    Politicians & People in Power: The specific astrobiological/futurist concept of “The Great Filter” (a hypothesis suggesting that some event or condition prevents life from becoming an advanced space-faring civilization) is not commonly part of mainstream political discourse.

Advanced civilizations may have already fallen to the same traps we face: war, environmental abuse, and technological recklessness. UFOs could be survivors—or even guardians—trying to steer us away from the cliff.


The Truth is Here—Will We Listen?

This isn’t random noise. The patterns are too consistent, the witnesses too credible, and the stakes too high to ignore. The messages are real. The question is: Will humanity wake up in time?

1. Disarm Nuclear Arms 
2. Heal a Dying Planet  
3. Awaken Your Cosmic Heritage
4. Foster peace and unity
5. Avoid the Great Filter

An Overview of Online UFO Experiencer Reports: Accessibility, Themes, Hostility, and Messages for Humanity

The Enduring Mystery of UFOs & UAPs

The phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), now more commonly referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), continues to captivate public imagination and spark intense debate. At the heart of this mystery are the firsthand accounts of individuals who claim encounters with these unexplained objects—or even their alleged occupants. These UFO experiencer reports serve as a unique body of qualitative data, offering insights into personal interpretations of extraordinary events.

This report examines:
The accessibility and estimated number of online UFO reports
Core themes and narratives in experiencer accounts
The spectrum of reported interactions—from hostile to benevolent
Potential messages for humanity embedded in these encounters

Given the diverse and often controversial nature of these reports, a comprehensive approach is necessary—one that acknowledges both scientific skepticism and the profound personal impact these experiences have on those who report them.


🔍 Accessibility & Estimated Number of Online UFO Reports

The internet serves as a vast repository for UFO-related information, with numerous platforms hosting firsthand accounts, government documents, and independent research.

📂 Government & Military Archives

National Archives (NARA) – UAP Records Collection

  • Established under the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, this collection consolidates UAP records from federal agencies.
  • Includes photographs, videos, declassified documents, and ongoing updates.

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)

  • The Pentagon’s official UAP investigation arm.
  • Analyzed over 800 reports between 2020–2023.

FBI Vault: UFO Files

  • Declassified documents from 1947–1954, offering historical context.

Project BLUE BOOK Records

  • 12,618 investigated cases (1948–1969), with 701 remaining unexplained.

📊 Independent & Crowdsourced Databases

National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC)

UFO TRUTH: Witnesses, speak out!
  • Over 170,000 reports, with hundreds added monthly.
  • One of the largest publicly accessible UFO databases.

CORGIS UFO Sightings Dataset

  • Structured data on 80,000+ sightings (shape, location, duration).

CARTO UFO Sightings Map

  • Interactive visualization of 61,000+ sightings.

GitHub: NUFORC Data Repositories

  • Cleaned datasets for researchers & data analysts.

📚 Specialized Archives & Scholarly Resources

Betty & Barney Hill Papers (UNH)

  • One of the most famous abduction cases in UFO lore.

ARDA: UFO Abductees Survey (1990)

  • Demographic & belief data on self-reported abductees.

Archive-It: UFO Enthusiasts Collection

  • Archived websites from MUFON, NUFORC, and UFO forums.

📌 Estimated Total Online Reports: 200,000+

  • NUFORC: ~170,000
  • Project BLUE BOOK: ~12,000
  • CORGIS/GitHub datasets: ~80,000
  • FBI & other archives: Thousands more

👽 Core Themes in UFO Experiencer Reports

Analysis of these reports reveals recurring patterns in abduction narratives, entity descriptions, and emotional responses.

🛸 The Abduction Narrative

Many accounts follow a structured sequence:

  1. Capture – Sudden inability to move/resist.
  2. Examination – Invasive medical procedures (often reproductive).
  3. Communication – Telepathic messages or warnings.
  4. Return – Often with missing time or physical marks.

👾 Reported Alien Entities

Grey Aliens (most common in North America)
Small, large-headed, slanted black eyes.
Nordic Aliens (often described as benevolent)
Tall, human-like, blond hair.
Non-Humanoid Beings (less common but reported globally).

On the existence of “Pleiadians”

💬 Communication Methods

Telepathy (most frequent)
Direct speech in the experiencer’s language (rare)
Symbolic or visual messages (e.g., environmental warnings).

Unraveling the Mysteries of Mind-to-Mind Communication Through Quantum Physics

😨 Emotional Responses

Fear & Trauma (most common in abduction cases).
Mystical or Spiritual Awakening (some report profound love/connection).
Sense of Purpose (belief in being part of a “cosmic plan”).

⚠️ Recurring Warnings

Environmental Collapse (“Our planet is dying”).
Nuclear Danger (UFOs frequently seen near nuclear sites).
Humanity’s Self-Destruction (warnings about technology outpacing wisdom).


⚔️ Hostility vs. Benevolence in Alien Encounters

Reports vary widely—from terrifying abductions to uplifting contact.

🔴 Hostile Encounters

Forced Abductions (loss of bodily autonomy).
Medical Experiments (often described as painful).
Animal Mutilations (linked to UFO activity in some cases).
Military Concerns (UAPs in restricted airspace seen as potential threats).

📖 Books on Hostile Cases:

🟢 Benevolent Encounters

Early Contactees (1950s) – Aliens as peaceful guides.
Spiritual Experiences – Feelings of universal love.
✔ Even modern abductees sometimes report healing, guidance, or spiritual uplift.
Environmental Warnings – Urging humanity to change.

⚖️ Neutral/Ambiguous Cases

UFO Sightings Without Interaction (most common).
Observation-Only Encounters (no clear intent).


🌍 Potential Messages for Humanity

While no verified extraterrestrial communication exists, recurring themes suggest:

  1. 🌱 Environmental Crisis – Urgent warnings about Earth’s future. 25-35%
  2. ☢️ Nuclear Peril – UFOs’ frequent presence near nuclear sites. 30-40%
  3. 🕊️ Call for Unity – Speculation that contact could unify humanity.
  4. 🚀 Technological Caution – Fears of self-destruction via unchecked advancement. 15-25%

📌 Key Takeaway: These “messages” may reflect human anxieties.


How is society responding?

Popular culture, for one, has embraced the subject with gusto. Streaming platforms feature dozens of alien-abduction docuseries, while TikTok’s #uaptok hashtag has sailed past half a billion views. Mental-health practitioners quietly report more clients looking for “experiencer support groups” rather than traditional PTSD counseling, suggesting that people who believe they were taken no longer feel entirely alone.

Mainstream science moves more cautiously. In 2023, NASA convened an independent study that called for “serious, stigma-free data collection,” and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics followed suit with its own UAP committee. Medical literature still explains abduction memories largely in terms of sleep paralysis, dissociation, or fantasy proneness, yet outright dismissal is no longer the reflex it once was.

Politics remains the slowest arena. The 2024 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act ordered every federal agency to hand historically significant UAP files to the National Archives, marking an unprecedented bid for transparency. The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) has already analyzed more than 800 military encounters and promises a civilian reporting portal. France, Japan, and the United Kingdom have reopened or expanded their public UAP desks. Even so, no head of state has addressed the substance of the alleged messages—neither the nuclear warnings nor the environmental pleas. The United Nations has never tabled a resolution on them. In the halls of power, stigma still whispers more loudly than data.

Are we listening?

Polls by Pew and IPSOS show that a slim majority of Americans now believe intelligent life is visiting Earth. Only twelve percent, however, think their elected leaders treat the subject seriously. Meanwhile, global carbon emissions continue to rise, and the world’s nuclear stockpile just grew for the first time in two decades. If the visitors’ messages are real, we remain stubbornly off script.

A quiet crossroads

The existence of the data is no longer in dispute: more than 200,000 public reports and at least forty formal studies document the phenomenon. Stripped of lurid headlines and Hollywood tropes, the core warnings are surprisingly consistent—dial back nuclear brinkmanship, mend the biosphere, and evolve beyond tribal conflict. Governments have begun to lift the veil of classification, but policy inspired by those warnings is still in its infancy.

Perhaps the most telling statistic is not how many files exist, but how few decision-makers have read them. Disclosure, in other words, is happening. Whether we choose to heed the cosmic nudge remains an open question—one whose answer may determine whether humanity, too, becomes just another cautionary tale in someone else’s sky.


🔎 DATA USED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS

NEWS, ANALYSES & GOVERNMENT COMMENTARY

SCHOLARLY & TECHNICAL PAPERS / VISUALIZATIONS

GENERAL REFERENCE (WIKIPEDIA ET AL.)

BOOKS & COMMERCIAL PAGES

BLOGS, FORUMS & SOCIAL MEDIA

OTHER GOVERNMENT / INSTITUTIONAL MATERIAL

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

DATA RE-PRODUCTIONS & DERIVED SETS

MISCELLANEOUS ACADEMIC & OP-EDS

Just A Friendly Hello: Contact Project Proposes a Continuous, Worldwide Omnidirectional Beacon to Engage Nearby Extraterrestrial Visitors

ContactProject.org: Is humanity ready for contact with extraterrestrial intelligence?

ETI is already near Earth, either in the form of drones, UAPs, or UFOs—whatever you prefer to call them. That is the premise of the Contact Project. The project proposal is therefore simple: instead of broadcasting a pinpointed message to a potential civilization far, far away, we can use simple, inexpensive, and widely available omnidirectional antennas to invite communication from objects or phenomena in Earth orbit. Moreover, this effort should not be limited to a short period of time; it should be sustained and undertaken with the broad agreement of people on every continent.

The message in the Contact Project might resemble the following:

“A Beacon in the Galaxy: Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects” https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.04288, by Jonathan H. Jiang, Hanjie Li, Matthew Chong, Qitian Jin, Philip E. Rosen, Xiaoming Jiang, Kristen A. Fahy, Stuart F. Taylor, Zhihui Kong, Jamilah Hah, Zong-Hong Zhu.

A potential ETI is, of course, capable of decoding any human transmission we are already broadcasting, but the point of the Contact Project is to address ETI directly, acknowledge their presence, and actively seek contact.

Demonstrating such openness would prove humankind’s readiness for contact. By doing so, we would not be giving away anything new—such as our position—beyond what we already broadcast. It would simply be a friendly hello, as envisioned by the Contact Project organization.

Flaws in the Dark Forest Game Theory: A Closer Look

“I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello.”
The Beatles ‧ 1967

Why Liu Cixin’s Chilling Vision May Exaggerate the Dangers – ​in Space and on Earth

Dark Forest Hypothesis

1. A Tale of Two Dark Forests

Liu Cixin’s award-winning trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past (commonly called The Three-Body Problem series) popularized the Dark Forest Hypothesis: in a universe where every civilization fears annihilation and resources appear scarce, the safest strategy is absolute silenceor a pre-emptive strike on anything that betrays its position.

Initial Dark Forest Assumptions (click for full PDF here)

Yet, just as children often overestimate the terrors of a literal dark forest, adults may be overestimating the hazards of its cosmic counterpart. Both fears rest on questionable assumptions about scarcity, detectability, and universal hostility.


2. How Dark Is the Cosmic ForestReally?

2.1 Abundant Resources
Asteroid mining makes most “resource wars” unnecessary.
– Example: NASA’s current Psyche mission targets a metal-rich asteroid whose contents have often been cited – though the estimate is highly speculative – as being worth about $100,000 quadrillion.
– Lower gravity and higher ore purity mean it is far easier to extract metals in space than to invade a habitable planet.

• Science-fiction authors anticipated this logic well before the 1970s, from Garrett P. Serviss (1898) to Isaac Asimov (1953) and Poul Anderson (1963-65).


2.2 Alternative Solutions to the Fermi Paradox

The silence we observe could stem from:
the brevity of civilizations’ effective ‘radio window‘ (50-70 years);
the Sanctuary Hypothesis (ETI nurture developing planets without revealing themselves);
crewed or uncrewed craft-based exploration rather than radio beacons (compare UAP/UFO debate). These sightings challenge the premise of universal silence.

ABC 7 NEWS, December 2024

2.3 Humanity Has Already Broadcast

Humankind has been broadcasting TV and radio signals since the 1930s. These signals can be received hundreds of light-years away. This may have triggered ETs curiosity.

Then, between 1945 and 1961, Earth detonated more than 2,000 nuclear devices. Each blast produced an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strong enough to be detected light-years away.

If an advanced civilization had been listening to early broadcasts of the Olympics, for instance, they’d have been surprised to see Earth suddenly erupting in artificial, high-energy flashes at irregular intervals.

The most powerful explosion was ten billion times stronger than the Arecibo broadcast message and could have been received anywhere in the Milky Way, which may contain 300–500 million habitable planets.

In effect, we have already shouted our existence into the forest; worrying about a polite radio greeting now is like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

The Ostrich Problem: Silence Isn’t Safety

If ETIs detected our radio signature, broadcast or EMP, but hear no follow-up, they might assume:

  • We’re hiding (suspicious).
  • We’re unstable (dangerous).
  • We’re ignorant (vulnerable).

3. Game-Theory Revisions: Three Big “What-Ifs”

Here are some of the big “what ifs” that challenge the whole “hide or attack” idea:

3.1 Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) on a cosmic scale
If retaliation is credibleand especially if the cost of failure is extinction – first strikes lose their appeal, exactly as they did with Cold War nuclear strategy. Think about our own history with nuclear weapons. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a huge deterrent. What if that applies on a cosmic scale too? Let’s say there’s a certain chance of a successful attack. And, crucially, if an attack fails, the attacking civilization faces a really nasty consequence – let’s call it the disaster of retaliation. We’re talking about something far worse than just wasting resources.

Here’s how that changes the math for choosing to “Attack”:

If one civilization tries to hit another:

There’s a certain chance it pulls it off. The attacker survives, though it still pays the cost of the attack, while the other civilization is wiped out.

But, there’s also a chance the attack completely flops. In that nightmare scenario, the attacker is the one facing the disaster of retaliation (or even total annihilation if the other civilization hits back hard), and the target is still around and really angry.

So, when you consider whether to attack, you have to weigh these probabilities. If the chance of a successful attack is low, or if the disaster of retaliation is utterly catastrophic (like in MAD), then the appeal of attacking first plummets. It might even make more sense to just stay hidden, which totally undermines the “attack first” logic.

Flaws in the Dark Forest game theory

3.2 The Impossibility of Hiding

Sufficiently advanced telescopes detect radio signatures and other technosignatures whether or not we transmit on purpose. Admittedly, humankind has only transmitted purposefully for only a bit over 67 hours in its entire history. But this doesn’t reduce over a century of radio and TV signals that are already out there. Within this 130 light-year bubble (260 light-years across) there exist between 700-1,140 habitable worlds. If stealth is futile, the strategic game reduces to “communicate or attack,” and communication becomes the cheaper, more mature, safer option.

The Dark Forest idea hinges on the ability to stay hidden. But what if detection is inevitable? Imagine super-advanced telescopes that can spot signs of life without anyone broadcasting a thing. In that case, the “Hide” strategy basically becomes the same as “Broadcast” – you’re going to be found either way. The whole benefit of trying to hide just disappears.

If being detected while hiding is as bad as outright annihilation, then:
– If both civilizations hide → annihilation.
– If one hides and one broadcasts → annihilation.
– If one hides and one attacks → annihilation.

This scenario pretty much pulls “Hide” off the table as a viable survival strategy. It forces civilizations into a choice between broadcasting or attacking, since there’s no real hiding place left.

3.3 Civilizational Diversity
Assuming every species is paranoid and violent ignores the probability distribution of motives. If even a modest fraction are cooperative, expected-value calculations tilt toward cautious outreach rather than universal suppression.

“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization”, Mahatma Gandhi

Perhaps the biggest assumption of the Dark Forest is that every civilization out there is a paranoid, aggressive killer. But is that realistic? We can think about different “types” of players in our cosmic game. What if there’s a certain probability that a civilization is hostile, and also a probability that it’s cooperative?

Now, the overall benefit of broadcasting changes dramatically, depending on who you meet. It’s a blend of the risk of annihilation if you meet a hostile civilization, and the potential benefit of survival and cooperation if you meet a friendly one.

If the probability of encountering a cooperative civilization is high enough, and the benefits of cooperation are truly significant, then suddenly, broadcasting might actually be a better bet than attacking. It opens the door to the idea that some civilizations might actually try to say “hello” rather than “kaboom.”

So, while the Dark Forest is a chilling thought experiment, these added factors suggest the universe might be a bit more complex than just a cosmic shooting gallery.


4. Earth’s Own “Dark Forests”: Fear vs. Fact

U.S. National Parks​millions of annual visits into true wilderness​average roughly 0.11 deaths per 100,000 recreational visits. The leading causes are drownings (20.9%), car accidents (17.3%), medical events (12%), and suicides (12.4%), not wolf packs or bear maulings.

A global study of carnivore attacks from 1950 to 2019 documented 5,440 attacks, with about one in three being fatal. Likewise, tiger attacks in India average 34 deaths per year; direct wildlife fatalities in the United States hover around eight. Our imagination inflates the danger of forests much as it inflates the peril of first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact

In the Star Trek movie “First Contact,” the Dark Forest of the human heart (causing a nuclear Armageddon) proved much more dangerous than the meeting with the Vulcan emissary.


5. Why Would ETIs Attack Us?

Possible motives beyond resources:

  • First-strike paranoia (fear of future competition).
  • Ideological conflict (ethics, expansionism).
  • Scientific curiosity (studying emerging civilizations).

But if aliens wanted resources, they’d mine asteroids, not Earth. (Take that, Zecharia Sitchinyour ancient alien gold-mining slaves theory doesn’t hold up when space is full of purer, easier-to-extract metals.)


6. UAPs & the Pentagon’s Admission: Are They Already Here?

If Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) are extraterrestrial probes:

  • They’ve seen our nukes, satellites, and wars.
  • Silence may look like hostility.
  • controlled message (math, music, science) could be safer than ambiguity.

7. Synthesis: From Paranoia to Policy

  • Accept the beacon we have already lit (Radio and TV bubble, nuclear tests) and
  • Send cautious, non-threatening signals (math, art, science).
  • Study apparent probes (UAPs/UFOs) with scientific rigor, but get out of the denial-loop.
  • Prepare a diplomatic framework​a “UN for exocivilizations” – ​before we need it.
  • Invest in asteroid-mining technology; abundance is the best antidote to resource anxiety.

The universe may contain dangers, but the data​from asteroid economics to wilderness safety statistics – ​suggests we routinely overrate them. Instead of cowering in silence, humanity should engage with the cosmos thoughtfully. We must do so armed with game-theoretic prudence, technological optimism, and a clear appreciation of how rarely the monsters in our dark forests turn out to be real. 

Stop Whispering, Start Strategizing!

The Dark Forest Game Theory Equations (PDF)


References:

National Park Service. (n.d.). Deaths in National Parks. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/mortality-data.htm

Skylis, M. B. (2024, February 27). Data Reveal How People Die in National Parks. Backpacker. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.backpacker.com/survival/deaths-in-national-parks/

Handwerk, B. (2023, January 31). What 70 Years of Data Says About Where Predators Kill Humans. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/where-lions-and-tigers-and-wolves-attack-and-kill-humans-180981539

Conover, M. R. (2019). Numbers of Human Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses in the United States Due to Wildlife. Human–Wildlife Interactions, 13(2), 12. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1544&context=hwi


APPENDIX: THE THREE BODY PROBLEM in brief

tl;dr

Liu Cixin’s *Remembrance of Earth’s Past* trilogy, commonly known as “The Three-Body Problem” series, is a sweeping hard science fiction epic that explores humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization and the existential threats that follow.


1. The Three-Body Problem (三体):
humanity learns an invasion fleet will arrive in 450 years; physics itself is sabotaged by proton-sized “sophons.”

Initial Setup & The Cultural Revolution:
The story begins in China during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, where astrophysicist Ye Wenjie witnesses the brutal death of her father. Disillusioned with humanity, she is later recruited to a secret military project called “Red Coast,” a deep-space listening station. There, she discovers a method to amplify radio signals using the sun and, in a moment of profound despair, broadcasts a message into space, essentially inviting alien intervention.

Present Day Mystery:
Decades later, in the early 21st century, a series of mysterious suicides among prominent scientists plagues the world. Detective Shi Qiang (Da Shi) investigates, collaborating with nanotechnologist Wang Miao. Wang becomes entangled with a mysterious online VR game called “Three Body,” which simulates a chaotic planet experiencing extreme climatic shifts due to the gravitational pull of three suns.

The Trisolarans Revealed:
Through the game and his investigation, Wang uncovers a vast conspiracy: the Earth-Trisolaris Organization (ETO), a secret society formed by humans who worship the Trisolarans and desire Earth’s destruction. The Trisolarans are the inhabitants of the chaotic “Three-Body” planet. Their civilization has been repeatedly destroyed by their unpredictable system, leading them to seek a new, stable home – Earth. They are on their way, but their fleet will take approximately 450 years to arrive.

Sophon Blockade:
To prevent humanity from developing technology capable of resisting their invasion, the Trisolarans deploy “sophons” – proton-sized supercomputers that unfold into higher dimensions, act as omnipresent spies, and subtly disrupt fundamental physics research on Earth, creating the illusion that science is failing. The first book ends with humanity aware of the impending invasion but hamstrung by the sophon blockade.


2. The Dark Forest (黑暗森林):
Luo Ji invents cosmic MAD – threatening to broadcast Trisolaris’s coordinatesand forces a temporary peace.

The Crisis Era and Wallfacers: With the Trisolaran invasion fleet on its way and sophons making all human communications transparent to the aliens, humanity enters the “Crisis Era.” To develop secret strategies, the United Nations designates four “Wallfacers” – individuals granted immense resources and autonomy to devise plans that remain entirely within their own minds, impenetrable by sophons.

Luo Ji and Cosmic Sociology:
Among the Wallfacers is the initially reluctant and cynical astrophysicist Luo Ji. Unlike the others, he doesn’t have a clear military or scientific background. He slowly develops the “Dark Forest Hypothesis” (based on insights from Ye Wenjie): the universe is a “dark forest” filled with advanced civilizations, each acting as a silent, paranoid hunter. Any civilization that reveals its location becomes a target for pre-emptive destruction, as there’s no way to guarantee another civilization’s intentions are benign, and rapid technological explosion makes any unknown a potential existential threat.

The Deterrence Era:
Luo Ji’s seemingly bizarre actions as a Wallfacer lead to his plan: he threatens to broadcast the coordinates of the Trisolaran home system to the entire galaxy, a suicidal act that would doom both Trisolaris and Earth (due to Earth’s proximity). This threat, known as “Dark Forest Deterrence,” forces the Trisolarans into an uneasy peace, as they realize Luo Ji can enact mutual annihilation. This ushers in the “Deterrence Era,” a fragile peace enforced by the constant threat of a “Swordholder” (Luo Ji) initiating the broadcast.

The Great Fleet Annihilation:
Humanity flourishes during this era, building powerful space fleets, believing they have achieved parity with the Trisolarans. However, when the first Trisolaran probe (“the Droplet”) finally arrives, it effortlessly annihilates Earth’s entire space armada, revealing the vast technological superiority of the Trisolarans and shattering humanity’s hubris.


3. Death’s End (死神永生):
deterrence fails, higher-dimensional weapons collapse the Solar System, and the protagonists ultimately sacrifice themselves so the universe can “bounce” and begin anew.

New Challenges and the Swordholder:
The Deterrence Era continues, but Luo Ji is aging, and a new “Swordholder” must be chosen. The burden falls upon Cheng Xin, a kind and compassionate aerospace engineer. Her appointment is a calculated move by the Trisolarans, who correctly predict her moral nature will prevent her from activating the deterrence in a crisis. When the Trisolarans test the deterrence by attacking Earth’s broadcast stations, Cheng Xin hesitates, allowing them to take control of Earth.

Humanity’s Flight and Cosmic Revelations:
A few human starships that had escaped the initial Droplet attack (including one that had gone rogue much earlier) manage to broadcast the Trisolaran coordinates, leading to the destruction of the Trisolaran home system by a higher-dimensional alien weapon. Earth, however, is then also targeted by a “Dark Forest” attack.

Dimensional Collapse and Universe’s End:
Humanity faces escalating cosmic threats, including:

Two-Dimensional Attacks:
The ultimate “Dark Forest” weapon, a “photoid,” collapses the Solar System into two dimensions, an irreversible process that kills almost all of humanity.

Light-Speed Travel:
Cheng Xin and a few others escape on a light-speed capable ship. They encounter the former “brain-only” ambassador, Yun Tianming, who sends cryptic fairy tales that contain vital information about higher-dimensional physics and the nature of the universe.

Micro-Universes and The Big Bounce:
The narrative expands to encompass the universe’s ultimate fate. It’s revealed that advanced civilizations, to survive cosmic catastrophes like dimensional collapse, create “mini-universes.” However, the proliferation of these mini-universes is draining mass from the main universe, preventing its “Big Bounce” (a theoretical cyclical collapse and rebirth).

The Final Choice:
Ultimately, Cheng Xin and a few companions, after millennia of wandering the cosmos and witnessing countless cosmic events and the end of the universe itself, are faced with a profound choice: contribute their own remaining mass to the main universe’s rebirth, effectively ceasing to exist, or remain in their isolated mini-universe. They choose to return their mass, hoping to contribute to the cycle of universal renewal.

The trilogy is renowned for its grand scale, complex scientific concepts, and unflinching exploration of humanity’s place in a vast, indifferent, and dangerous cosmos. It presents a grim, yet intellectually stimulating, vision of interstellar survival.

The Signal

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.”

Ray consulted a printout and smirked.

A thermonuclear bomb blast in 1961 emitted 10 billion times more radio waves than the Arecibo message. Click to view the calculations (PDF).

“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

Arecibo message power vs Tsar Bomba Calculation
(Nuclear bomb sent 10 billion times more radio waves into space than Arecibo.) (PDF) Arecibo message power vs Tsar Bomba Calculation

—————————-
#fypシ゚

The WOW! Signal, Part 2: Math Suggests Origin from Unknown Source, Moving Towards Earth

Illustration (not a real photo)

Just the facts:
PDF: Doppler Blueshift Calculations for WOW! signal (1977): download here | Discussion on the paper: Academia.edu

Preamble

In 2022, I published The WOW! signal, Part 1: Not made by humans?.
For the longest time (3 years), I wondered why I left the possibility open for “Part 2” instead of just writing “The End.”

It’s now become clear that Part 2 is essential because it includes an important detail that was missing before: EQUATIONS!

Anyone can write anything, but without mathematical equations, it’s just prose. So, here, now, for anyone to check, are the steps required to verify the movement of the Wow! signal towards Earth at 10.526 km/s in 1977.

This truly represents a significant paradigm shift. Previously, the Wow! signal was just the most plausible and only candidate for a radio transmission of non-human extraterrestrial origin in space. Now it is shown that this signal was moving and en route to Earth.

Whatever this means (We Are Not Alone?), it is remarkable that the Doppler calculations on this signal have never been published before. Did the authorities believe it would cause a panic?

Introduction

The Wow! signal has been the strongest and only serious candidate for ETi radio communication for almost half a century. New calculations support that the Wow! signal may have originated from a moving source heading for Earth, adding to its significance in the search for extraterrestrial life.

The text describes the Wow! signal, a strong radio transmission detected by the Big Ear telescope on August 15, 1977, at a frequency of 1420.4556 MHz, which corresponds to a wavelength of 21.105373 cm. The signal’s expected frequency, based on hydrogen, is 1420405751.768 Hz, translating to a wavelength of 21.106114054160 cm. The Doppler shift calculations yield a speed of approximately 10,526 m/sec (37,893 km/h), suggesting that the signal originated from an object approaching Earth. Shown here are the steps to calculate the Doppler shift speed. For context, the average speed of asteroids is around 18–20 km/s, while comets that impact Earth typically travel at about 30 km/s. In comparison, the human-made Voyager spacecraft 1 and 2 are currently traveling at speeds of 15 to 17 km/s.

Speed comparison
The WOW! signal source appears to have approached Earth at 37,893 km/h. The entry speed of the Apollo capsules into the Earth’s atmosphere was 39,705 km/h.

Image NASA: example of atmospheric entry, showing the Mars Exploration Rover aeroshell (MER).

For a better understanding, I added the illustration of the Mars Exploration Rover’s entry into the Mars atmosphere. NASA did choose this shape for its aerodynamic properties. It is possible that the Wow! signal originated from a UFO about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, as much as any other interpretation.

In conclusion, the Wow! signal appears to have originated from an unknown type of source that was approaching Earth at a speed of 10.5 km/s, as indicated by observations and these calculations. It is unknown if this is due to the source’s approach to Earth or the galaxy’s relative movement to Earth. Both scenarios are possible.

Investigations of the Wow! signal to date have not accounted for or mentioned the Doppler blueshift of the signal.

Doppler Shift Calculations for Wow! signal (1977), Page 1
Doppler Shift Calculations for Wow! signal (1977), Page 2

References:

1: Doppler Shift Calculations for Wow! signal (1977)
https://www.academia.edu/126982728/The_Wow_Signal_Doppler_Shift_Equations

2: ”The tantalizing WOW! Signal” by John Kraus, 1977, Archives of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, https://www.nrao.edu/archives/files/original/2ec6ba346ab16e10a10d09462507beda.pdf

3. Not Made By Humans? Part 2 / The Wow! Signal: Evidence Suggests Origin from Unknown Object, Moving Towards Earth
https://www.academia.edu/126983022/Not_Made_By_Humans_Part_2_The_Wow_Signal_Evidence_Suggests_Origin_from_Unknown_Object_Moving_Towards_Earth

4. Original publication:
Not made by humans? | Part 1, February 5, 2022, Contact Project
https://contactproject.org/?p=779

5. Searching for Interstellar Communications
by Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison
https://web.archive.org/web/20110403061008/http://www.coseti.org/morris_0.htm

6. An approximation to determine the source of the WOW! Signal
Alberto Caballero
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.06090

7. Wow! signal, Wikipedia
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow!_signal

8. “Ballad of the ‘Wow!’ Signal”, Paul H. Shuch, SETI League
http://drseti.org/audio/wow.mp3


PDF: The Doppler Blueshift Calculations for WOW! signal (1977):
download here

Is humanity equipped for extraterrestrial contact?


A Call for Preparedness

Humans standing at the edge of space

Imagine, for a moment, a solitary spacecraft drifting beyond the edge of our solar system. Onboard, a golden record spins silently, carrying whispers of human laughter, the songs of whales, and the crackle of a mother’s heartbeat. This artifact, this Voyager, is a testament to our yearning—a bottled message cast into the cosmic ocean. Yet, as it voyages through the interstellar dark, one question lingers like a shadow: If its call were answered, would we truly be ready?

The Fragile Mosaic of “Humanity”

We speak of “humanity” as a single chorus, but ours is a symphony of dissonance and harmony. Seven billion souls, fractured by borders, ideologies, and creeds, yet bound to a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. Could we, in the face of an extraterrestrial Other, set aside ancient grudges and newfound fears? Or would we splinter further, our divisions magnified under the cold gaze of the universe?

Are we, in our adolescence as a species, prepared to shield our flame—and to recognize the light of another?

Equipped: Beyond Ray Guns and Radio Telescopes

To be “equipped” is not merely to wield the tools of detection—the arrays of antennas listening for faint stellar murmurs or laboratories teasing apart Martian soil for microbial hieroglyphs. It is to cultivate the wisdom to wield them well.

The Moral Universe: Whose Ethics Will Guide Us?

What ethical compass will steer us if we encounter beings whose very biology defies earthly logic? Creatures who breathe methane, communicate in ultraviolet, or perceive time as a spiral rather than an arrow? The Golden Rule, ancient and universal, may falter in the face of such radical difference.

Passive Dreamers or Active Architects?

We are the ones whispering into the void, sending probes and involuntary signals like children skipping stones into a bottomless sea. But what if the sea answers? Have our antennas maybe already picked up a signal—a cosmic “hello”, that may rewrite our theology, science, and philosophy, if understood?

A Call to Cosmic Citizenship

The challenge before us is to mature as a species—to see ourselves not as tribes or nations, but as Earthlings. To recognize that every war, every injustice, and every act of ecological myopia weakens our readiness for the cosmos.

In the words of Sagan, “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” The universe does not care if we fail. But if we succeed—if we unite in curiosity, compassion, and foresight—we might yet earn a place among the stars.

So let us gaze upward, not with fear, but with the courage to confront our flaws. Let us craft a future worthy of the cosmos we seek to join. The night sky is alive with possibilities. The question is: Are we?

After all, the stars are not just distant suns. They are mirrors, reflecting back who we are—and who we might become.

DIY Amateur Passive Radar for UFO detection

Prepare to be amazed!

The pilots of the USS Nimitz officially tracked the TicToc UFO (or UAP) using the state-of-the-art Spy One Aegis System. Specifically, the phased array (SPY-1(V) [AEGIS]). The radar operator Kevin Day aboard the Nimitz’s consort, USS Princeton, played a pivotal role in this encounter.

This advanced military-grade passive radar system comes at a staggering cost of approximately $20 million! (For more info, check out: SPY-1 Wikipedia.)

But what if I told you that you could build your very own passive radar system at a fraction of that price? Imagine tracking not only commercial aircraft and meteorites entering Earth’s atmosphere. You could potentially track UFOs themselves—if luck is on your side!

A bit of SETI Passive Radar history

A temporarily unverified anecdote: In 2018, Peter Davenport, the Director of the National UFO Reporting Center, revealed to a friend that he had contacted Dr. Jill Tarter on February 3, 2014, about his paper advocating the use of “passive” radar to detect UFOs near Earth.

He emphasized that his goal was to propose a collaborative effort for a thorough investigation. However, Dr. Tarter’s reply was brief and somewhat dismissive; she mentioned that she had retired from SETI and would forward his message to Gerry Harp, the new Director.

ET to SETI: can you hear us now?

Despite Davenport’s follow-up attempts, he received no response from Harp, suggesting a reluctance within SETI to engage with UFO research initiatives. My friend described this reaction as surprising, given SETI’s public perception as pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial life.

SETI’s reaction, however (or lack thereof), is not surprising to me.


What is SDR-based Passive Radar?

Firstly, SDR stands for “Software Defined Radio.” This incredible technology emulates everything you would expect to find in a conventional radio receiver through software. This makes SDR radios much more affordable and loaded with features that traditional counterparts can only dream of!

A depiction of a passive radar experiment from 1935 with two “antennas.” The antennas consist of lengths of cable suspended above the ground. One of the antennas picked up a signal from the BBC directly. Then the second “antenna” picked up the reflection of that same signal from an aircraft, enabling the creation of a radar image. More directional antennas produce better results.

To construct this phenomenal passive radar station, all you need are two SDR radio dongles for your computer. In 2025 these are priced at $35 each (Amazon.com). Yes, you read that right! You will also need two antennas. (A link to the instructions you find at the end of this page.)

The Magic of Passive Radar

Here’s the best part: you don’t need a license to build and operate a passive radar station! As the name suggests, it operates entirely passively, meaning that your setup does not emit any radar beams.

Instead, you harness radio signals from local radio stations as your signal source. These signals naturally bounce off objects like meteorites, aircraft, or even those elusive UFOs!

Building Your Own SDR-based Passive Radar on a Budget!

Let’s kick things off with proof! Below you’ll find an animation showcasing measurements of airplanes and meteors captured by a radar system created with a few easily accessible components. Get ready to be thrilled!

What can you expect from this DIY Passive Radar? Check out this recording:

Of course, you’ll be much more likely to see plane traffic, meteorites, and low-flying objects like the International Space Station. This is more probable than any more exotic objects passing through your field of view.


The worlds first UFO case confirmed by amateur passive radar!

A round of applause to Josef Garcia and GEP for achieving the first amateur verification of a UFO via passive radar! Link (German):


Take a look at these remarkable amateur passive radar images contributed by Josef Garcia:

This radar track shows an object doing rapid 80° degree turns. Image courtesy of Josef Garcia, 2021
In comparison the smooth flight path of the ISS. Image courtesy of Josef Garcia, 2021

AI-driven filtering and detection of UFO radar tracks

Unlocking the Skies: How AI Is Revolutionizing UFO Detection

Picture this: a radar blip streaks across the screen at 74,000 km/h (46,000 mph), halts mid-air, then pivots instantly—defying gravity, physics, and every known aircraft on Earth. This isn’t science fiction. These are the jaw-dropping maneuvers that set UFOs apart from conventional planes, drones, or even meteorites. But how do we spot these anomalies in a sea of ordinary radar data? The answer lies in the flight patterns no human pilot or machine could survive—and the AI that’s learning to track them.

UFOs don’t follow the rules.

They hover silently, sometimes for hours, accelerate faster than a hypersonic missile, or execute 90-degree turns at speeds that would shred any human-made craft. While not all UFOs pull off these physics-defying stunts, those that do leave a glaring signature: a trail of radar data that screams “this isn’t from our world.”

But here’s the catch: manually scouring radar feeds for these rare, split-second events is like finding a needle in a cosmic haystack. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and prone to human error. Enter AI-powered pattern recognition—a game-changer in the hunt for the unexplained. Imagine training algorithms to flag the impossible.

Machine learning models can digest decades of radar data, learning the difference between a commercial jet, a weather balloon, and an object that stops dead in the sky before vanishing at Mach 60. These systems never sleep, never blink, and process millions of data points in real time, alerting scientists only when they detect the extraordinary: sudden accelerations, inhuman G-force maneuvers, or objects that defy aerodynamic logic.

(Image: Amateur passive radar setup)
Machine learning isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about unlocking mysteries. By automating the detection of UFO signatures, AI turns a once-impossible task into a scalable mission.

Researchers can focus on analysis instead of endless screen-watching, accelerating our understanding of these enigmatic phenomena.

The skies are stranger than we think. And with AI as our co-pilot, we’re finally building the tools to decode their secrets—one anomalous blip at a time. 🛸✨

Ready to rethink what’s possible? The truth isn’t just out there… it’s in the data.


Curious about passive radar technology? (the AI part comes later)

Click below to find out how to built your own Passive-Radar-Station.

Aliens or Artillery? Shocking UFO Study from Ukraine Sparks Heated Debate!

Are UFOs over US airspace allowed to travel at superfast speeds, but it’s not allowed over European airspace? A Ukrainian UFO raises questions.

Update Feb 24, 2024 (Newsweek).


A groundbreaking UFO study published by Ukrainian astronomers has stirred up speculation with claims of mysterious flying objects captured on radar, leaving both skeptics and believers buzzing.

Half a year after the onset of the Russian invasion, these researchers unveiled striking evidence of unidentified aerial phenomena soaring across the skies, clocked at astonishing speeds of up to 54,000 km/h!

But as renowned astronomer Avi Loeb throws cold water on the findings—asserting they could simply be artillery shells—the debate over what truly lurks above Ukraine intensifies. Is it extraterrestrial life, or are earthly conflicts warping our perceptions? Buckle up as we dive into this cosmic controversy!

SETI pope Avi Loeb claimed that Ukrainian astronomers mistook Russian artillery shells for UFOs. The UFOs were clocked at 54,000 km/h.

But this cannot be artillery shells: the world’s fastest artillery shell travels at 2,977 km/h. The world’s fastest missile (Avangard) reaches 37,044 km/h. That’s well short of the reported 54,000 km/h.

Avi Loeb then asserted that the astronomers had only estimated the distance, resulting in a ten-fold error in both distance and speed. (Even then, the objects photographed would still too fast to be artillery shells.) It’s not true that the astronomers only estimated the distance: they computed the distance by triangulation. That’s a scientific method with very precise results!

Then Avi Loeb claimed that no HUMAN-MADE objects can travel at these speeds in Earth’s atmosphere, as otherwise, there would be a fireball around them due to intense air ionization and friction.

Case In Point: the objects were not HUMAN-MADE.

And why does Avi Loeb initially dismiss the observations of the Ukrainian astronomers as being wrong, but then later argues that if the observations were valid, it wouldn’t be possible due to air friction?

54000 km/h vs. 74000 km/h? Whaaat?

Avi Loeb disregarded the observations of a team of Ukrainian astronomers over Ukraine airspace as unlikely, because the UFOs traveled at 54 000 km/h. His theory being that at these speeds the air molecules surrounding the UFO would ignite by friction (air resistance), creating a huge flaming fireball. This was clearly not the case. Hence, Avi Loeb says, the speed must have been wrongly deduced.

However, the Pentagon TicTac video shows a UFO that traveled at a top speed of 72,000 km/h. How is it possible for UFOs over US airspace to travel at superfast speeds, but it’s not allowed over European airspace?

Here is the in-depth TicTac video analysis by Dr. Kevin Knuth from the Entropy Magazine, estimating the TicToc UFO top speed at 46,000 mph (74,000 km/h):

And here is the non-scientific version from Meer.com, by Dr. Tim Mounce (though he got the speed wrong: its 46,000 mph and not 45,000 mph).


And here, now, is the story of Ukraine UFOs:

The Ukraine UFO study

Half a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in spring 2022, the Ukrainians published a UFO study.

It was claimed that not one but two meteorite-observing stations had discovered something extraordinary at the same time:
flying objects moving faster than the unaided human eye can see.

“The eye does not fix phenomena lasting less than one-tenth of a second,” the paper said. “It takes four-tenths of a second to recognize an event. “ — Ukrainian UAP study

One observing station was based in the capital of Kyiv and the other in the village of Vinarivka, 132 km to the south.

The Ukrainian astronomers detected the UFOs with specialized meteorite detection equipment:

“Ordinary photo and video recordings will () not capture the [unidentified aerial phenomena]. “ — Ukrainian UAP study


Triangulation

The equipment was 132 km apart, meaning that they could triangulate the speed, position, and size of the objects really well.

Triangulation is a technique that astronomers do all the time. For instance, it’s used to determine the distance of stars.

The objects measured between 3 and 12 meters and were clocked at speeds up to 54,000 km per hour (33,554 mph)!


Publication

The Ukrainians first published their findings on a preprint server named Arxiv:

“Unidentified aerial phenomena,
I. Observations of events”

written by B. Zhilyaev, V. Petukhov, and V. Reshetnyk https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.11215.pdf.

Scientists use Arxiv to receive feedback from peers before publication. Arxiv also provides public access to papers that might otherwise be hidden behind paywalls.

However, the findings of the Ukrainian study were quickly published in mainstream journals, for instance, by the “American Military News”: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/ufos-spotted-everywhere-over-ukraine-say-scientists/


Everybody assumed (without basis in fact) that the Ukrainian UFO sightings were somehow related to the raging Ukraine—Russia conflict. — Erich Habich-Traut for the Contact Project


Press coverage

At one stage, “The Jerusalem Post” wrote:
“Are there UFOs, UAPs in the skies of Ukraine? Study says yes”:
https://www.jpost.com/science/article-717346

But not everyone agreed.


Criticism

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who had gained worldwide fame in 2018 with his theory that comet Oumuamua was an extraterrestrial probe, was aware of the Ukrainian study.

But he hadn’t looked at it closer until he was asked by the director of the new UAP office in Washington, DC, to write a short paper about it.

The Contact Project first heard of Avi Loeb’s “debunking” of the Ukrainian study from his email:

Quote:
“You might enjoy the essay and related paper below.
I was reluctant to even read the Ukranian paper, but on Monday night I was visited at home by the director of the new UAP office in DC and he asked me to write a short scientific paper on UAP. So yesterday morning at 4.30AM (before my routine morning jog) I had a look at the Ukrainian paper and within an hour figured that they got the distance to their dark objects wrong by a factor of ten (or else there would be a huge fireball around each of them as a result of the friction with the air). After correcting that everything falls into place, with the parameters of artillery shells As Feynman noted, there’s a great pleasure in figuring things out.
There is no way out of this argument because they claim the objects are dark, meaning that they block light. The cross-section with photons implies that the objects must interact with air molecules.” — Avi Loe
b


Morning Jog at 4:30 am

According to his email, Avi quickly reviewed the “Ukranian” paper before starting his daily morning jog at 4:30 am. Within one hour he had already concluded that the objects could not move at the speeds claimed by the Ukrainians (because the air would burn around them from friction), and they were, in fact, artillery shells:

“UAPs or Russian shells? Israel-born astronomer, Ukraine nix UAP study” https://www.jpost.com/science/article-719773

Avi Loeb contended that the Ukrainian astronomers had failed to exercise due diligence, resulting in a ten-fold miscalculation of the UFOs’ speed. He said that was because they had not triangulated the distance of the objects and only estimated their distance.

Then Avi Loeb said the UFOs were in reality (Russian) artillery shells.

From that point on, the “debunking train” rapidly gained momentum, leading nearly every publication that had previously supported the story to criticize the Ukrainian astronomers’ findings as inaccurate Russian artillery.

I scratched my head.

When were the observations made?

How did Avi Loeb know that the UFOs were artillery? The Russian bombardment of Ukraine had started after the 24th of February 2022. There was not a single mention in the Ukrainian UAP paper of when the observations were actually made. Only a vague reference in the footnotes to an Astronomical Schools Report from 2021.

Clearly, that was an omission. To find clarity on the matter, I wrote two letters to the Ukrainian astronomers:

Quote
“Dear Mr. Zhilyaev, Avi Loeb has made a comment regarding your paper on Arxiv, that your observations are those of artillery shells. Do you believe this to be a possibility?”
— The Contact Project

That first letter got no reply.
Avi Loeb’s comments about artillery shells became the de facto explanation for UAP in Ukraine.

A few weeks later, I decided to write a second letter to the Ukrainian astronomers, being more precise in my question. I also put Avi Loeb in the BCC, in case he wanted to clarify his argument:

Quote
“Dear Mr. Zhilyaev,
writing on behalf of the Contact Project, (https://contactproject.org) I’m curious about your UAP sightings.

Arxiv: “Unidentified aerial phenomena I. Observations of events,”
by B. Zhilyaev, V. Petukhov, and V. Reshetnyk
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.11215.pdf

I would like to note that your preprint archive paper does not say precisely WHEN your observations took place, and I am curious about that date.

In your references (2) regarding “phantoms,” you quote a publication from 2021, a date well before the Russian invasion in 2022.

(2) Zhilyaev B.E., Vidmachenko A.P., Petukhov V.N., et al., 2021, Astronomical Schools Report, 17, N 1–2, 1–8

Is it correct then to assume that at least some of the observations that are the basis of your preprint paper are from a time when there were no artillery shells flying through Ukrainian skies?

From my reading of your paper, I understand that you had access to two observation stations. You probably triangulated the object distance from that?

What do you say?” — The Contact Project

This time I did receive a short reply from the lead astronomer of the Ukraine UAP study:

Quote:
“We have been watching UAP since 2018.
We do not associate their activity with the war in Ukraine.
Observations from 2 points are carried out for the purpose of triangulation.” — 
B.E. Zhilyaev

It was as I thought: the Ukrainians had claimed nowhere to have made their observations in 2022 during the war.

Instead, the UFO/UAP sightings date back to the year 2018. Furthermore, the Ukrainian astronomers had not “estimated” the distance of the objects; instead, they had used two observation posts to triangulate the distance scientifically. This also made it possible to calculate their size.


CONCLUSION

The observations made by the Ukrainian astronomers were from 2018, not during the war. In fact, they had been monitoring UFO sightings since then. Furthermore, the team used two observation posts to triangulate the distance of the objects scientifically, which allowed them to calculate their speed and size.

This information raises questions about Avi Loeb’s conclusions. Given that the observations were made before the war, it becomes unlikely that the objects were artillery shells. The ability to triangulate the objects also contradicts Avi Loeb’s argument.

The truth, in this case, requires persistence and the ability to interpret ambiguity.

#aviloeb #uap #UFO #ukraine #contactproject #SETI #astronomy

Reference: “Unidentified aerial phenomena I. Observations of events,”
by B. Zhilyaev, V. Petukhov, and V. Reshetnyk


Addendum

(the authors published further papers, clarifying and doubling down on their findings):
arXiv:2211.17085  [pdfpsother]  physics.pop-ph astro-ph.IM
Unidentified aerial phenomena II. Evaluation of UAP properties
Authors: B. E. ZhilyaevV. N. PetukhovV. M. Reshetnyk
Abstract: …sky led to the detection of two luminous objects at an altitude of 620 and 1130 km, moving at a speed of 256 and 78 km/s. Colorimetric analysis showed that the objects are dark: B – V = 1.35, V – R = 0.23. The size of objects is estimated to be more than 100 meters. The detection of these objects is an experimental fact.
Submitted 13 November, 2022: 13 pages,34 figures, Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies

arXiv:2306.13664  [pdfpsother]  physics.pop-ph astro-ph.IM
Unidentified aerial phenomena. Observations of variable objects
Authors: Boris ZhilyaevDavid TchengVladimir Petukhov
Abstract: NASA commissioned a research team to study Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). The Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine conducts an independent study of UAP. A research team from San Diego also decided to conduct a study of UAP. Observations of events that cannot scientifically be identified as known natural phenomena established the existence of the UAP.
Submitted 11 June, 2023: 5 pages, 9 figures, Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies