The year 1977 was a remarkable time for those fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial life. A series of events, both earthbound and celestial, captivated the imagination of people around the world. These events sparked a renewed interest in the search for life beyond our planet.
It began on August 15, 1977, when a strong, narrowband radio signal was detected by a radio telescope at Ohio State University. Dubbed the “Wow!” signal, it remains one of the most intriguing examples of an unexplained signal in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Just five days later, on August 20, 1977, NASA launched the first Voyager space probe. It carried a Golden Record containing sounds and images of Earth, intended as a message to any intelligent life form that might encounter it.
As the year progressed, the United Nations Assembly debated the existence of UFOs. A proposal to study the phenomenon was presented on October 6, 1977, as reported by The New York Times. This marked a significant moment in the history of UFO research. It brought the topic into the mainstream and sparked a global conversation about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
The release of Steven Spielberg’s movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on November 16, 1977, further fueled the public’s fascination with UFOs and alien life. The film’s depiction of a peaceful encounter between humans and extraterrestrials resonated with audiences. It helped to shape the cultural narrative around the topic. It’s iconic 5-note melody by John Williams is famous to this day.
But perhaps the most bizarre and unexplained event of the year occurred on November 26, 1977, when a strange broadcast interrupted a news program on ITN, a British television network. At 5:10 p.m. GMT, a deep buzzing sound replaced the audio. This was followed by a distorted voice claiming to be Vrillon, a representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command. The voice delivered a message of peace and wisdom, stating,
“For many years, you have seen us as lights in the skies. We speak to you now in peace and wisdom, as we have done to your brothers and sisters all over this, your planet Earth.”
While the “authenticity” of this broadcast remains a topic of debate, it has become a fascinating footnote in the history of UFO research.
The broadcast itself may have been achieved by technological hacks. Nevertheless, its 1977 message is thought-provoking and still valid today:
It speaks about the need for humanity to come together in peace and harmony to avoid disaster. The message also discusses entering a new age of enlightenment, referred to as the “New Age of Aquarius.” The speaker warns about the presence of false prophets and guides who may exploit people’s energy and resources. The message encourages listeners to be aware of their choices, to protect themselves, and to use their imagination to create a better world.
A well-researched podcast about the Southern Television Broadcast interruption is found here:
Archive: The Interruption | Stak
On 26th November 1977, a mysterious alien voice calling itself “Vrillon” broke onto the Five O’Clock News. Vrillon had a simple warning for the viewers of Southern Television: live in peace or leave the galaxy. For forty-five years, those responsible have not been identified. Tommie Trelawny has reopened the case.
Whether or not 1977 was truly a year of contact, it was undoubtedly a year that sparked a renewed interest in extraterrestrial life and intelligence. It continues to inspire scientific inquiry and popular fascination to this day.
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).
Mystery disk-shaped UFO spotted by recon drone in Ukraine
“I’m telling you, it’s a UFO, for sure. It is staying in place, on the screen,” a Ukrainian soldier can be heard saying in the video.
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):
Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles
Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) encountered by military, commercial, and civilian aircraft have been reported to be structured craft that exhibit ‘impossible’ flight characteristics.
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).
USS Nimitz Tic Tac UFO: unveiling inexplicable physics
Physics analysis reveals astonishing maneuvers beyond human understanding
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”
Scientists use Arxiv to receive feedback from peers before publication. Arxiv also provides public access to papers that might otherwise be hidden behind paywalls.
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
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 Loeb
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:
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.
(the authors published further papers, clarifying and doubling down on their findings): arXiv:2211.17085 [pdf, ps, other] physics.pop-ph astro-ph.IM Unidentified aerial phenomena II. Evaluation of UAP properties Authors:B. E. Zhilyaev, V. N. Petukhov, V. 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 [pdf, ps, other] physics.pop-ph astro-ph.IM Unidentified aerial phenomena. Observations of variable objects Authors:Boris Zhilyaev, David Tcheng, Vladimir 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
The Grandfather Paradox / How Does Time Travel Work? / How to Travel Into the Future / 1. The Waiting Game / 2. Time Dilation / 3. Suspended Animation / 4. Traveling as a Time Tourist / 5. Changing History Through Time Dilation
The Grandfather Paradox
The grandfather paradox raises a troubling question: What would happen if you traveled back in time and killed your grandfather? In that scenario, your grandfather would indeed be dead, just as he would be if you killed him in the present. However, this creates an inconsistency—you would still exist, since you’ve already been born. Essentially, you cannot simply “unborn” yourself. This is a basic question when considering how does time travel work.
How Does Time Travel Work?
To travel back in time, you would need a superluminal vehicle, which is capable of moving faster than the speed of light. To reach your intended destination, you must aim it at specific coordinates in both space and time. It’s important to note that Earth and the solar system are constantly moving at high velocities through the cosmos. Fortunately, superluminal vehicles can match these speeds.
To successfully arrive at your destination without incident, precise timing is essential. As you plan your journey further back in time, the calculations become increasingly complex. To ensure safe arrival, it’s advisable to target the space surrounding Earth rather than the planet itself to avoid collision. Ultimately, you would need to use a smaller ship to land. You would approach Earth from outer space.
How to Travel Into the Future
There are several methods to travel into the future—specifically, five intriguing ways, explaining different aspects of how does time travel work.
1. The Waiting Game
The simplest method is to simply wait. All of us are constantly moving into the future at a steady pace of one second per second. While our mental states can influence how we perceive the passage of time, the rate at which time moves remains consistent for everyone. However, time does flow differently depending on gravitational conditions. For instance, at sea level, time passes more slowly than it does at the top of a mountain, where gravity’s influence is weaker.
2. Time Dilation
Time dilation offers another fascinating approach. If you’re inside a moving object, such as an airplane or a rocket ship, time slows down for you relative to those who remain stationary. If you were to accelerate that rocket ship to the speed of light, time would effectively come to a standstill for the occupants. Upon returning to the launch site after traveling at near-light speed, you would find that everyone left behind has aged significantly. If the journey lasted for many centuries, those back on Earth would have experienced the full passage of that time. Meanwhile, you remained unchanged. This principle is critical in understanding how time travel works in theory.
3. Suspended Animation
Another method involves suspended animation. Our bodies age and progress through time at a constant rate due to our metabolism and the Brownian motion occurring within our cells. By slowing down or halting these processes, one could enter a deep sleep and awaken decades or even centuries later, having aged not a moment.
Returning from Your Past After Time Travel When it comes to returning to the future after time travel, there are two scenarios to consider, depending on your intentions. One involves traveling as a tourist. The other, aiming to change history.
4. Traveling as a Time Tourist
In this scenario, you commandeer a faster-than-light spacecraft. Direct it toward the approximate position in space where Earth will be after a millennium. Since you can’t perceive where Earth will be in a thousand years—because it hasn’t reached that point yet from your current perspective—you must rely on your knowledge of the timeline. If you traveled to the past using a faster-than-light spacecraft and then returned, you would find that, despite any previous changes, like hypothetically killing your grandfather, the course of history remains remarkably unchanged. Your grandfather would still be alive. You’d walk away with a fascinating story to tell.
5. Changing History Through Time Dilation
5. **Changing History Through Time Dilation** Conversely, if you choose to travel from your past into the future via the time dilation method—perhaps by orbiting Earth at near-light speed—you would arrive in a timeline drastically altered by your actions. In this case, you might find yourself in a “beta universe” where your grandfather never existed. Consequently, neither would you. While you could observe this altered reality, it doesn’t pose a problem since you hail from a different branch of the multiverse (the “alpha universe”). Thus, even though you have no place in the beta universe, your past experiences in another universe endow you with a unique perspective. It’s a critical aspect when debating how time travel works across different realities.
By understanding and leveraging these methods, the concept of time travel transcends mere science fiction. It invites us to explore the mysteries of our existence and the nature of time itself. This essentially answers the question: how does time travel work?
Quantum time travel: The experiment to ‘send a particle into the past’
Time loops have long been the stuff of science fiction. Now, using the rules of quantum mechanics, we have a way to effectively transport a particle back in time – here’s how
In the beginning, there was nothing—an infinite void, silent and dark, until an unimaginable explosion shattered the stillness. Join us on an exhilarating quest through the realms of science, philosophy, and the unknown as we seek to uncover the enigmatic force behind the Big Bang. Who created the Big Bang?
Imagine standing beneath a starlit sky, gazing up at the twinkling cosmos, and pondering the greatest question that has captivated humanity for centuries: What is the shape of the Universe? Is it a boundless expanse stretching out infinitely in all directions, or does it curve back on itself like the surface of a balloon?
The Big Bang created the universe. What created the Big Bang?
It was the Belgian priest and Vatican astronomer Lemaitre who coined the term “Big Bang”. He was trying to reconcile the Bible’s statement in Genesis (Gen. 1:3, God said, “And there was light”) with cosmology.
Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître
Outside of religious considerations, therefore, I believe that the question of the origin of the universe is misleading. I do not believe that anything or anyone created anything in the past. Scientifically speaking, researchers consider the concept of time —past, present, and future— to be outdated. Time is an illusion, said Einstein. An illusion of the human perspective, I say.
Albert Einstein clock face
For most people, there is a beginning, for instance, when we think back to our childhood. A first memory, a first thought.
But that is also an illusion, born of human amnesia. The human amnesia of the past is our amnesty from sin.
Philosophically speaking, the universe has always existed. What is new is that today we have the consciousness to understand that there is “us” and the universe. We create the (human) universe in our thoughts at this moment. There is no separation between our inner and outer world.
By “us,” I mean you, me, and everything we understand and that “exists.”
We try to make sense of it and look for a “beginning,” a “big bang.” But the universe has always existed. It is infinite and has no beginning or end, like a Moebius strip.
Why? Why not?
Question by C.A.: The term “infinity” is a contradiction. The universe, of which we perceive a small part, cannot and must not be “infinite”.
Because everything that exists as a whole is in itself an interaction (>2). Such a whole can only exist in a state of equilibrium because it can be determined and thus considered to exist. Otherwise, one side (as an equilibrium parameter) would very quickly “destroy” the whole. An equilibrium must consist of mutually balancing subunits.
The equilibrium in a whole (even if its boundaries cannot be clear to us!) cannot be “infinite” as such, because otherwise the interacting components (the counterforces) that keep each other in check should be simultaneously and reciprocally “infinite” depending on the change in the size of the opposing side, but this cannot be explained rationally in physical terms.
For example: Although the number 10 symbolizes a unique quantity, dividing this quantity by three results in a repeating “infinite” number. This is because 3 is not a divisor of 10, which means that such divisions do not lead to a finite result.
Comment by A.P.: Very well written! I would just add with regard to the question that the alleged “Big Bang”, like ALL theories, has never been proven and is based only on assumptions and speculations… well, and perhaps EVERYTHING in the manifested worlds is ultimately an illusion and follows a detailed plan with rules and laws.
Question by C.R.:
Well, I’m not a physicist. But the “Big Bang,” i.e., the beginning of the universe as we think we know it, was neither a bang in the sense of an explosion (there would have been no one there who could have heard it, no one was there anyway), nor did it take place at a point. I imagined it as a pure calculation model, so not concrete at all. There are reliable measurements of an apparently expanding universe, and you can calculate that back to a point. Point? A candle that burns cannot have burned forever.
Is the entire energy and mass of the universe (which according to Einstein is the same thing) limited, or do both create themselves anew, or does it all just change? Does everything that moves go back to ever new causes up to the first “shove” that has no cause (Aristotle), God for theists? But God is not part of the methodology of the natural sciences, since he is neither provable nor measurable. As interesting as that would be, I can’t imagine anything.
Answer: Yes, we have the expanding universe. But if it expands into infinity, it doesn’t need a beginning, does it?
All calculation models are based on the assumption that the redshift is caused by expansion. The expansion theory assumes a certain geometry for the universe: the Riemann sphere, a ball, to put it simply.
A simplified Riemann Sphere and human
I am a fan of the torus theory, however, even if the transmission of this information was done in an unconventional way. You could also say: telepathic.
Telepathy has been a staple of science fiction for a while. In recent years, it has been successfully demonstrated in laboratories on mice, using cable.
Humans have also been successfully wired up as telepathy test subjects. Internet protocols were used to transmit thoughts between humans on different continents. Naturally occurring telepathy in hypersensitive individuals without technical aids is considered extasensory perception, or ESP.
There’s a stigma surrounding ESP. Studies inverstigating ESP that confirm it’s existence are considered pseudoscience.
In telepathy, the meaning of a concept sometimes gets garbled in transmission. For instance, transmitting the concept of a horn torus can be mistaken by the receiver for a horn TAURUS, or the horns of a bull.
This was my vision: Back in 1986, before I went to sleep, I saw this majestic structure floating in the room, and all the stars and galaxies were moving towards the center.
At first, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing: a torus with an infinitesimal hole in the middle, and everything on its surface moves towards a POINT (or a tunnel) to then be reborn at the other end.
Was it a “bagel”?
This bagel 🥯 model is now called HTUM in scientific nomenclature, the Hyper-Torus Universe Model. Each sesame seed on the (simplified) bagel corresponds to a galaxy cluster.
All fields have this shape. By that, I don’t mean flower fields, but electromagnetic fields.
The shape of fields
The website “Hyper-Torus Universe Model” has an interactive simulation of the Hyper-Torus (link).
I would show them my pulsar map. Astronomer and astrophysicist Frank Drake designed the map, working with fellow astronomer Carl Sagan and artist and writer Linda Salzman Sagan. The pulsar map shows the location of our sun relative to known pulsars. This map was placed on the interstellar space probes Voyager 1 & 2 in 1977.
Whether or not to have a tattoo of it is debatable. A dog tag may be easier to carry.
The Magic About Pulsars Discovered in 1967 by Northern Irish astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, pulsars were described by Antony Hewish to be the remains of collapsed suns.
For reasons not entirely understood they emit pulses of radio waves (and like lighthouses sometimes visible light) with the accuracy of atomic clocks, staying active for billions of years. It has something to do with magnetic fields.
Frank Drake drew the pulsar map using 14 pulsars that were known in the early 1970’s. Today we know of many more pulsars but they are not as powerful and bright. Frank Drake’s original pencil-drawn pulsar map today lives in an old tomato box at home.
Each pulsar is connected to the sun by a solid line. The length of the line represents the pulsar’s approximate relative distance from the sun. Etched along each of the pulsar lines are vertical and horizontal dashes that represent a binary number that can be converted into a decimal. When multiplied by a known measure of time, that number reveals the frequency of the pulsar—how fast it spins and flashes.
Successfully decoding the map would unambiguously pinpoint the sun’s position and the time frame of the spacecraft’s launch.
Astronaut Butch Wilmore heard odd noises coming from Boeing’s Starliner spaceship that was attached to the International Space Station on Saturday, August 31, 2024. He commented, “I do not know what is making it.”
We know about this because space geek Rob Dale wrote some software that listens to the NASA communications from the International Space Station. It trims out the silent gaps and uploads that to a public server. Rob says that he is the only one in the world doing this; otherwise, we would never have heard about this story. It would still be behind NASA’s closed doors.
NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore reported hearing unusual sounds from the Starliner spacecraft on Saturday. He was docked at the International Space Station.
He inquired about the source of the noises to Mission Control. They confirmed to be able to listen in through a hardline connection.
There were clear, sonar-like pinging sounds when Wilmore held his microphone up to the speaker.
We are going to listen to those sounds.
Although the origin of these sounds remains unclear, they are likely harmless and reminiscent of similar occurrences reported by astronauts in the past.
Many people thought that the sounds were very similar to the sounds from the 1997 Carl Sagan movie “Contact.”.
It was not immediately clear what was causing the odd and somewhat eerie noise on Starliner.
Given the ongoing challenges with the Starliner mission, including helium leaks and thruster issues, it was recently announced that the spacecraft will return to Earth autonomously on September 6, 2024, without its original crew.
Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams will return to Earth in February aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Update: On Monday, September 2, NASA released the following statement regarding the strange noises: “A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore heard aboard the International Space Station has stopped.” The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner.
Why has nobody built rotating spacecraft to simulate gravity?
Pictured: a fairground ride from the 1950’s, I call it a GRAVITY DRUM.
A whole spacecraft is expensive to rotate, but small spaces on space stations or ships could easily be rotated.
Can those small spaces be big enough to provide meaningful and healthy artificial gravity?
From my physics knowledge I recall that gravity and acceleration are the same.
If I remember correctly, 1 g is equal to an acceleration of 9.81m/sec per second. In other words, a wheel with a circumference of 10 meters would have to be spun about once per second to simulate 1 g in Zero gravity? Not quite.
Alas, it’s a bit more complicated than that, and thankfully we don’t have to spin the wheel quite so fast. That’s a bonus!
Here are a few handy calculators to work out wheel sizes and rotation rates to simulate Earth gravity:
SpinCalc, solves for gravity, radius and rotation rate,
A wheel with a circumference of 10 meters would have a diameter of 3.18 meters. This would be a handy size for artificial gravity experiments, even on Earth.
Would it be comfortable to spend any time in this? The wheel should rotate at about 24 RPM to simulate 1 g. It could be compartmentalized in to 1 x 2 meter beds, holding ten crew.
So at least during their rest period spacefarers would have the benefit of normal gravity. The astronauts are lying on the inside of the wheel, a bit like in the fairground ride illustration but with more privacy.
We know that the negative effects of zero gravity are really serious and numerous. Even 2.5 hours of daily treadmill exercise are insufficient to prevent these effects:
fluid redistribution: Bodily fluids shift from the lower extremities toward the head. This precipitates many of the problems described below .
fluid loss: The brain interprets the increase of fluid in the cephalic area as an increase in total fluid volume. In response, it activates excretory mechanisms.
electrolyte imbalances: Changes in fluid distribution lead to imbalances in potassium and sodium and disturb the autonomic regulatory system .
cardiovascular changes: An increase of fluid in the thoracic area leads initially to increases in left ventricular volume and cardiac output. As the body seeks a new equilibrium, fluid is excreted, the left ventricle shrinks and cardiac output decreases.
red blood cell loss: Blood samples taken before and after American and Soviet flights have indicated a loss of as much as 0.5 liters of red blood cells.
muscle damage: Muscles atrophy from lack of use. Contractile proteins are lost and tissue shrinks. Muscle loss may be accompanied by a change in muscle type.
bone damage: Because the mechanical demands on bones are greatly reduced in micro gravity, bones essentially dissolve.
hypercalcemia: Fluid loss and bone demineralization conspire to increase the concentration of calcium in the blood.
immune system changes: Loss of T-cell function may hamper the body’s resistance to cancer — a danger exacerbated by the high-radiation environment of space .
interference with medical procedures: Bacterial cell membranes become thicker and less permeable, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics.
vertigo and spatial disorientation: Without a stable gravitational reference, crew members experience arbitrary and unexpected changes in their sense of verticality.
space adaptation syndrome: About half of all astronauts and cosmonauts are afflicted. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, headache, malaise, drowsiness, lethargy, pallor and sweating.
loss of exercise capacity: This may be due to decreased motivation as well as physiological changes.
degraded sense of smell and taste: The increase of fluids in the head causes stuffiness similar to a head cold.
weight loss: Fluid loss, lack of exercise and diminished appetite result in weight loss. Space travelers tend not to eat enough.
flatulence: Digestive gas cannot “rise” toward the mouth and is more likely to pass through the other end of the digestive tract “very effectively with great volume and frequency” .
facial distortion: The face becomes puffy and expressions become difficult to read, especially when viewed sideways or upside down.
changes in posture and stature: The neutral body posture approaches the fetal position. The spine tends to lengthen.
changes in coordination: Earth-normal coordination unconsciously compensates for self-weight. In weightlessness there is a tendency to reach too “high” .
Compared to these adverse effects of zero gravity, here are some studies by a psychologist named Graybiel from 1977 on the effects of rotating a human on his own axis here on Earth, like on a spit (from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1980-22567-001).
GRAYBIEL ROTATION COMFORT ZONES
Graybiel concluded that 1.0 RPM: even highly susceptible subjects were symptom-free, or nearly so 3.0 RPM: subjects experienced symptoms 5.4 RPM, only subjects with low susceptibility performed well 10 RPM, adaptation presented a challenging but interesting problem. Even pilots without a history of air sickness did not fully adapt in a period of twelve days.
The “adaption” that Graybiel is talking about is the getting used to the absence of the rotation, after the body had been spun.
What that feels like we all remember from childhood.:
Pirouette
I must say that spit rotating a human on his own axis in the horizontal under the influence of Earth gravity is most likely to be very far removed from what a human may experience in an artificial gravity drum in weightless space.
I’d go as far as to say that Graybiel’s rotation comfort zones have absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with artificial gravity by centripetal force. All he proved in his paper “Somatosensory motion after-effect following earth-horizontal rotation about the Z-axis” is that the after effect of spinning someone rapidly is disorientation of the vestibular system of the ear, leading to dizziness, aka vertigo.
But let’s see if these Graybiel’s comfort zone figures can be applied. The SpaceX Mars rocket is going to have a diameter of 9 meters. Would it be possible to create a comfortable habitat for sleeping or resting spacefarers within the confines of this rocket?
A 9 meter drum would need to rotate at 14 RPM to simulate 1 g, or at 8 RPM to achieve 1/3 of Earth gravity. Graybiel’s findings would indicate that the space available on the SpaceX Mars rocket would be too small.
However, I believe that the gravity (centripetal force) acting on the body as it lies down, not spinning about itself and on one level , will be more comfortable than twirling rapidly around one’s own axis.
In Drum Gravity Bed Units there would be no head-to-foot acceleration gradient.
DRUM GRAVITY BED UNITS The drum gravity bed units are conceived of as an add-on module to a spacecraft or space station, be it in transit, orbit or on the Moon, Mars or asteroids to provide more natural gravity.
Have prototypes of this concept been built?
In a certain way: Yes! The first picture in this post is a fairground attraction from the 1950’s.
Did humanity really forget from the ’50s how easy and fun it is to enjoy artificial gravity? Apparently the fairground visitors subjected themselves to the experience voluntarily and enjoyed it.
“Rotor Ride”
Simple gravity devices like this could help spacefarers to maintain their health, after the device is tweaked.
Here are the calculations on the von Braun wheel from 1952 used in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey:
They envisioned a rotating wheel with a diameter of 76 meters (250 feet). The 3-deck wheel would revolve at 3 RPM to provide artificial one-third gravity. It was envisaged as having a crew of 80.
Fast forward 70 years (not much has happened since the 1950’s):
SAHC HUMAN CENTRIFUGE The SAHC human centrifuge began testing and operations in about 2020. It’s to investigate the tolerability and use of artificial gravity on astronauts and their health, to counter the effects of weightlessness. What’s taken so long?
The machine measures 5.6 meters in diameter. It would be small enough to put in the SpaceX Mars rocket. But it needs a few more seats.
With the Short-Arm Human Centrifuge (SAHC) in Cologne — provided by the ESA — artificial gravity will be created to afford fundamental research in medicine and human physiology. The main focus is on the possibility to extend e.g. bed-rest studies to test methods of artificial gravity based counter-measures for medical risks due to weightlessness.
Technical data:
Max. radius at outer perimeter: 2,8 m Max. overall payload: 550 kg
Max. centrifugal acceleration (foot level, test subject height 185 cm): 4.5 g Max. revolution of centrifuge rotor (software limit): 39 rpm
Scientific applications
Development of effective countermeasures for neuromuscular and skeletal degeneration of astronauts using Artificial Gravity, etc…
Don’t Be Afraid of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence | Douglas Vakoch
Dr. Vakoch is President of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI).
“As astronomers launch ambitious projects for Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, alarmists worry that transmitting intentional radio and laser signals into space may provoke an alien invasion. These critics overlook one fundamental fact: it’s too late to hide.”
Dr. Vakoch, Feb 3, 2020
Dr. Vakoch is currently not associated with the ‘Contact Project & Initiative’. His statement was directed at the fact that humanity has been announcing it’s presence via radio signals to our cosmic neighborhood for the last 100 years. He did not mean to imply that Alien presences are already here.
This is what the Contact Project & Initiative is about: The Mission of ‘The Contact Project & Initiative’ is to investigate UAPs/UFOs on every frequency, using real-time tracking, radio receivers and transmitters, HD video, HD images, optical and radio telescopes and passive & active radar, so that the question of the nature and origin of UAP can be answered without doubts.
The engine of this initiative will be an app custom designed to coordinate real-time reporting, alerting, documenting and contacting efforts.
Anyone can take part, there’ll be a public as well as a science data channel. The goal of the ‘Contact Initiative’ is to gather high quality evidence.
To do this every frequency will be scanned, including the 1420 Mhz hydrogen waterhole, which is legal as long as it’s done passively. If transmissions are found, the next step is to discover if UAPs react to radio transmissions. Broadcasting at a frequency of 1420 MHz is illegal under international law, however.
Should the UAP respond to transmissions on HAM or CB radio amateur frequencies, great! But what if it doesn’t?
To have any chance to stay legal under current law and to be able to broadcast at 1420 Mhz the UAP position data must be forwarded in real time to SETI for further investigation.
Actually, a memorandum should be drafted to provide for an exception to broadcast on 1420 Mhz for METI purposes. The relevant article of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is recommendation RA.769 :Protection criteria used for radio astronomical measurements
What does the Contact Project want to do? We want to do METI (messaging ETi) with a target that’s already here, UAPs. We don’t have to worry about attracting the attention of “hostile” aliens by messaging them as they already know of us, if that’s what UAPs/UFOs are.
As things go, this possibility wasn’t seriously considered by the METI organization in 2015, because the subject of UAPs was still considered too crackpot then.
So, the statement issued by the METI organization regarding messaging extraterrestrial intelligence only covers targets outside of Earth’s atmosphere (statement here).
Since then, in 2021, this outlook has changed somewhat by the release of a preliminary assessment of the American Director of National Intelligence on UAPs (assessment here).
The METI statement called for a worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion about the implications of messaging ET, before anything should be initiated. Arguably, since UAPs first made headlines in 1947 there’s been a worldwide discussion about “them” for over 75 years.
A lot of that time much of humanity reacted like an ostrich, sticking it’s head in the sand when hearing UFO reports. Or like three monkeys. Which comparison do we prefer?
Wisdom?
Did it never occur to anyone that these phenomena may be more than swamp gas or the result of delusions? Sadly, as a result of the swamp gas hypothesis, the METI statement covers only METI targets outside of Earth.
METI might wish to reconsider their statement. Because currently there seems to be no position on contacting UAPs, to the best of my knowledge.
METI says: ETI’s reaction to a message from Earth cannot presently be known.
If extraterrestrial civilizations have a presence on Earth in the form of UAPs/UFOs or drone-like von Neumann probes they will certainly be able to monitor our news and events. We already know that there was no reaction from UAPs/UFOs to the Voyager space probes and the Golden Records.
METI says: We know nothing of ETI’s intentions and capabilities, and it is impossible to predict whether ETI will be benign or hostile.
Experience shows that when UAP are pursued by military jet fighters they don’t react hostile. Civilian planes are not attacked either. It’s reasonable to assume that the intelligence behind UAPs is mostly benign.
“The threat to humanity from each other is magnitudes greater than from ETi. That hasn’t and shouldn’t stop us from talking to each other and that includes ETi.”
The Contact Project
GALACTIC FEDERATION? All sorts of explanations about UFOs and their prospective occupants have been given, from the no-contact rule of a Galactic Federation to higher dimensional frequencies that mortals can join only after exhaustive preparation.
Healthy skepticism is of course in order as most sightings have a prosaic explanation, ranging from misidentifications to pranks and hoaxes. But they don’t account for every sighting.
To admit in 2021 that some UAP cannot be explained was a major step forward by the US government.
The Contact Initiative wants to find out if there is just one UAP that will respond to radio transmissions. And that is easy.
And to prepare for the possibility of a positive response from an UAP? Not so easy.
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