Tag: unexplained phenomena

Revisiting the Ball Lightning Explanation for UFOs

Several years ago I began researching the phenomenon of ball lightning since it comes up so frequently in discussions of the UFO phenomenon. (Or unidentified anomalous phenomena, UAP, as the U.S. government insists we say these days.) In recent months I have gone back to investigate some of the more current research material and reports available on this topic and I’ll provide some updates on both the historical and newer information that has become available here.

It’s worth noting that “ball-shaped” UFOs (as ball lightning is typically described) are among the most common sightings reported. This is no longer just an anecdotal assumption. The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) website confirms this in a recently published morphology chart. They even provide a verified and still unidentified video of one of them filmed by a drone over the Middle East. Those “orbs” are frequently described as being silver or metallic in appearance, but recently advanced theories suggest that in some cases, particularly at night, they might exhibit some sort of field around their surface, giving them the appearance of fire or even electrical “lightning.”

People have been reporting sightings of such objects for quite some time. Rather than being a recent phenomenon, something fitting the description of ball lightning was first reported in the 12th century, written by Benedictine monk Gervase of Christ Church Cathedral Priory, Canterbury in 1195. Suggesting that the phenomenon has an affinity for religious institutions (or just that churches had most of the people who were literate back then), ball lightning reportedly struck the church of St. Pancras in Widecombe-on-the-Moor, England during a severe thunderstorm in 1638. Church records indicate that the fireball came through a window, knocked the minister off of his feet, and singed his clothing. While it melted metal around him, it left the wood of the church untouched. The event was considered to be potentially miraculous.

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Truth about my ‘alien’ encounter… How I found bombshell interstellar objects a mile beneath the sea – and their limitless potential for life on Earth, by scientist AVI LOEB

Every scientist dreams of making a great discovery. A eureka moment when all the signs point to a conclusion that breaks new ground, that potentially changes everything.

I believe I had such a moment this week, when a team of scientists I led revealed their preliminary analysis of 700 extraordinary fragments recovered from a 2014 meteor crash site during an expedition that I organized this summer.

These fragments – tiny metallic spheres – were discovered off the coast of Papua New Guinea, and what they’ve revealed is revolutionary on two fronts.

First, the evidence indicates the fragments are of interstellar origin, from beyond our solar system.

This is a truly historic moment: no human has ever laid hands on materials from outside our solar system before.

Second, and far more significant, through analysis my team discovered that the make-up of these metals is unlike anything we’ve seen.

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Massive ‘Gravity Anomaly’ Caused by Ancient Sea Remnants Deep Inside Earth, Study Says

The Indian Ocean features a massive gravity anomaly that has puzzled scientists for years. Now, a new study proposes that the ancient remains of another ocean that sank deep into the Earth itself gave rise to the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL), as the anomaly is called. 

The IOGL is a region covering nearly two million square miles south of the Indian peninsula where the ocean surface plunges over 300 feet. The anomaly was first discovered in 1948, Scientific American noted in its coverage of the new study. But while scientists agree it must be due to gravity and the physical properties of Earth itself—which in reality looks more like a lumpy ball of dough than a smooth sphere—the exact mechanisms of the IOGL’s formation have long eluded a definitive explanation. 

A recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters and authored by researchers Depanjan Pal and Attreyee Ghosh from the Indian Institute of Science used mantle convection models covering the Mesozoic era, which ended 60 million years ago, to the present in order to narrow down the solution. The result was that the IOGL is mainly caused by a geological formation known as a large low-shear-velocity province (LSVP) under Africa, also called a “blob.” According to the study, this region was “perturbed” by sinking slabs of the sea floor belonging to the ancient Tethys Ocean. 

The Tethys Ocean does not exist anymore, but in prehistoric times it was situated between the ancient landmasses of Gondwana and Laurasia. When these continents broke up and shifted, Tethys disappeared, and the modern Indian and Atlantic oceans were formed. The slabs that made up the ancient Tethyian sea floor sank into the Earth’s mantle, producing plumes that reach the upper mantle. 

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The Strangest Aspect of the Men in Black & Women in Black: They Don’t Know How to Eat or Drink

Hollywood did a very good job of creating a series of MIB movies that entertained and excited audiences the world over – and made those same audiences laugh loud and hard, too. But, there is nothing to laugh about when it comes to the real Men in Black. In the movies, the MIB are in the employ of an agency more powerful, and far more secretive, than even Edward Snowden’s old “friends” at the National Security Agency.  But, we should not forget that the Men in Black movies are fiction. As is so unfortunately often the case, the real world often outdoes the domain of fiction – and seldom in a positive fashion. The so-called “modern era” of UFOs began in the summer of 1947, specifically on June 24. That was the date upon which a pilot named Kenneth Arnold encountered a squadron of strange-looking aircraft flying near Mount Rainier, Washington State – as the man himself noted in his 1952 book with Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers. As an experienced pilot, Arnold was deeply puzzled that he was unable to identify the things ahead of him. As he got closer, Arnold realized exactly why he was unable to figure out what the objects were: they were not regular airplanes, but futuristic-looking half-moon shaped vehicles that resembled absolutely nothing in the United States’ arsenal at that time. And that was surely the case for the Russians, too. It was not long before word of Arnold’s encounter reached the eyes and ears of the media – in fact, less than a day. The terms “flying saucer” and “flying disk” all-but-immediately became the talk of 1947. Today, the term “UFO” is far more popular than the now largely antiquated flying saucer.

Although the latter part of the 1940s proved to be a period in which sightings of apparent unearthly craft abounded, it wasn’t until the early 1950s that the Men in Black stepped out of the shadows – in force –and set about snaring us, manipulating us, and ultimately digesting us. And, no, the “digesting” term is not an exaggeration. Over the years there have been numerous investigators of the Men in Black phenomenon, such as UFO researchers Gray Barker, Jim Keith, and Harold Fulton – all of whom are now long gone. None of them, however, came anywhere close to Albert K. Bender – the man without whom our knowledge of the MIB and their agenda would be sorely lacking, and who created the International Flying Saucer Bureau (IFSB). Born in 1922, Bender was someone who served his country during the Second World War in the United States Army Air Corps. Post-World War Two, Bender lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in a somewhat creepy-looking old house that stood at what was, at the time, the junction of Broad Street and North Frontage Road. Today, the house is no more, the secrets it once held now being just memories and stories in books.

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Strange sounds recorded high in Earth’s atmosphere have scientists baffled

Scientists have detected sounds high in Earth’s atmosphere that can’t be identified.

A solar-powered balloon mission launched by researchers from Sandia National Laboratories carried a microphone to a region of Earth’s atmosphere found around 31 miles (50 km) above the planet called the stratosphere. This region is relatively calm and free of storms, turbulence and commercial air traffic, meaning microphones in this layer of the atmosphere can eavesdrop on the sounds of our planet, both natural and human-made.

However, the microphone in this particular study also heard strange sounds that repeat a few times per hour. Their source has yet to be identified. The sounds were recorded in the infrasound range, meaning they were at frequencies of 20 hertz (Hz) and lower, well below the range of the human ear. “There are mysterious infrasound signals that occur a few times per hour on some flights, but the source of these is completely unknown,” Daniel Bowman of Sandia National Laboratories said in a statement.

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50 Chilling Unsolved Mysteries Of The 1970s 

The 1970s were full of glorious parties at Studio 54 and post Vietnam celebrations, but it was also a decade full of chilling crimes that remain unsolved to this day. From gruesome murders to raucous heists and supernatural sightings, the mysteries chronicled here will leave you scratching your head and wondering exactly what happened in each of these stories.

Many of these stories are too upsetting for younger readers, so keep younger eyes shielded from the gruesome stuff. Keep in mind that many of these unsolved mysteries are cases that remain open, if you or someone you know can shine a light on these eerie crimes from the ’70s don’t be afraid to reach out… you could change everything.

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Who is behind a string of grisly cow deaths in Texas?

Their tongues were cut off, but there was no spilled blood. No signs of struggle. No footprints or tire tracks were found. Investigators were stumped: who is going on a murderous rampage of cows in Texas, and how are there no clues surrounding their deaths?

It seemed a scene straight out of The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, the reality TV show on the History Channel about the Utah ranch that is supposedly the site of unexplained supernatural phenomena.

Across three Texas counties within the span of a few weeks, seven cattle were found dead under the same suspicious circumstances: lying on one side with the mutilated part of their face exposed, minus a tongue.

The cow-killing spree happened Madison, Brazos and Robertson counties – all located in east-central Texas. Each cow was from a different pasture and herd.

“A straight, clean cut, with apparent precision, had been made to remove the hide around the cow’s mouth on one side, leaving the meat under the removed hide untouched,” the Madison county sheriff’s office said.

“On two of the five cows, a circular cut was made removing the anus and the external genitalia. This circular cut was made with the same precision as the cuts noted around the jaw lines of each cow.”

Ranchers reported no predators or birds had scavenged the remains, a common theme in similar killings.

The official cause of most of the cows’ deaths is still unknown, but the freakish events have sparked memories of a long-held conspiracy theory about the mysterious deaths of livestock animals dating back to at least the 1970s in the US that lays the blame at the feet – or tentacles – of aliens in UFOs.

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Oregon is being invaded by huge bug-eyed fanged fish — and no one knows why

People are finding huge, scaleless fish with sharp fangs and bulging eyes on the beaches of Oregon — and it’s not clear why it’s happening, according to the Associated Press.

“Within the last few weeks, several lancetfish have appeared on beaches from Nehalem, in northern Oregon, to Bandon, which is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from the California border, Oregon State Parks said on Facebook,” reported Becky Bohrer and Beatrice Dupuy. “The agency asked beachgoers who see the fish to take photos and post them online, tagging the agency and the NOAA Fisheries West Coast region.”

These fish are capable of growing up to seven feet long, per the report.

Nobody is exactly clear what’s driving the appearance of these deep-sea fish, said University of California San Diego marine biologist Ben Frable — although, he noted, it’s not the first time it’s happened.

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US Senate Committee to hold open hearing next week on UFO sightings

The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services will be conducting an open hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) or Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) next week on April 19 (Wednesday), confirmed press secretary Cole Stevens. 

The hearing has been scheduled to address the growing concerns surrounding the allegedly growing UAP incidents. The lawmakers are also expected to bat for increased transparency and funding for investigation into the UAP sightings. 

Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, head of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) will also be speaking at the hearing which will be conducted by Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee. 

Lawmakers demand funding 

The announcement comes in the backdrop of Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the chair of AARO publicly slamming the Department of Defence for not providing funds for a second year in running. 

“The lack of full funding for AARO is a significant concern. We need to ensure that our government is taking the UAP issue seriously and dedicating the necessary resources to improve our understanding and response capabilities,” Gillibrand was quoted as saying by Roswell Daily Record. 

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Strange Phenomena and Mysterious Vanishings at the El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico

Sprawled out over an expanse of withered parched desert in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States, is the El Malpais National Monument. Known for the dramatic volcanic field covered with a barren moonscape of treacherous sharp-edged rubble, tangled lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges, complex lava tube systems, caves, caverns, and other volcanic features and formations that cover much of the park’s total area, all surrounded by sandstone bluffs and mesas, the name “Malpais” itself means “badlands” in Spanish, and it is popular with hikers and cavers. It is also known for being one of the eight candidate sites considered by the Manhattan Project to test detonate the first atomic bomb, as well as for its important archeological sites surrounding the various peoples who have inhabited the area for thousands of years, to whom it was a sacred place full of spirits and magic. A lesser known and more sinister aspect of the park is that it has also had its share of strangeness surrounding it, and may possibly be hungry in a sense, drawing people in to vanish off the face of the earth. 

In June of 2002, James Chatman, 46, and his daughter Crystal Tuggle, 20, came to El Malpais for a day hike among the rugged lava beds. A National Park Service archaeological team saw them late on the afternoon of June 20 going off along a simple half-mile walk that would take them from the parking area to an attraction called Big Tubes, which is composed of around 17 miles of tunnels and troughs created by the lava. It was thought to be pretty odd that they were going out there into the perilous unstable terrain without hiking boots or gear, but the trail was well worn and the destination close and so nothing much was thought of it at the time. Little did they know that this would be the last time anyone would see Chatman and Tuggle alive.

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