Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Here comes the sun: NASA cameras catch spectacular solar flare

feeling a bit under the weather- maybe it is the solar weather that is causing to you to feel that way!


A spectacular solar flare erupted from the Sun's northeastern limb yesterday, sending an beautiful arcing jet of super-heated plasma blasting off into space.
The explosion, captured by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory at about 5.45pm yesterday evening, was one of the most beautiful seen in years.
It measured at just a moderate M1 on the scale of sun storms, which placed it in the middle of the scale scientists use to measure flare strength.

Spectacular: A beautiful prominence eruption producing a coronal mass ejection (CME) shot off the east limb of the sun yesterday evening at 5.45pm

Nevertheless, its location - shooting off from the sun's left side - allowed Nasa to capture this remarkable footage of the flare from the SDO spacecraft.
'Great eruption happening on the sun now,' Nasa scientists wrote in a Twitter post.
The spectacular flare erupted from an active region of the sun which may also be responsible for solar storm activity seen on Sunday, officials from the agency told Space.com.

More...

'Such eruptions are often associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare occurred at the same time, peaking at 1:45 PM EDT. The CME (coronal mass ejection) was not aimed toward Earth,' Nasa said.
When they are pointed in our direction, strong solar flares and CMEs charge the Earth's auroras - known better as the northern and southern lights - Space.com explained.
Great balls of fire: These images were captured by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This sequence of photos was taken at 15 minute intervals, beginning 17:44:21
The flare photographed at 18:00:33


The flare photographed at 18:15:09
Solar flares are measured on a letter scale, with the strongest classified as C, M and X.
X class storms are the most powerful events and when blowing in the direction of Earth they can pose a danger to orbiting astronauts and spacecraft, as well as power grids, communications and navigation systems on the ground.
MailOnline science last month reported how the magnetic field around the sun is set to change in the next decades, cutting down the number of sunspots and explosive solar events.
However, those events that do occur will be more damaging, with experts warning that our spacecraft and aircraft may be unable to cope.
Changes in the Sun's magnetic field could also leave our planet more exposed to galactic cosmic rays - and people in planes and spacecraft would bear the brunt of this alien radiation.
Dramatic: This sequence of photos shows the eruption as seen through a UV filter

The space age has coincided with a period of unusually high solar activity, called a grand maximum.
Isotopes in ice sheets and tree rings tell us that this grand solar maximum is one of 24 during the last 9,300 years - the high levels of solar magnetic field seen over the space age will reduce in future. 
This might sound like good news - but the changes in the sun's magnetic field could leave Earth vulnerable to blasts of galactic cosmic rays. Solar storms could also become more violent.
The most probable scenario, according to Luke Barnard of the University of Reading, is that solar activity will decline, leading cosmic rays to increase by a factor of 1.5 and Earth to be battered by eight large solar eruptions every century.
Mr. Barnard says, 'Radiation in space can be a serious issue for both people and the delicate electronic systems that society depends on. Our research shows that this problem is likely to get worse over the coming decades - and that engineers will need to work even harder to mitigate its impact.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2130954/Spectacular-solar-eruption-caught-Nasa-cameras.html#ixzz1sKRx7uNz








Eggs-traordinary: 40 gigantic dinosaur eggs dating back 60million years found in Chechnya - but what laid them is a mystery

*The eggs are between 25cm and a metre in height.



Geologists in Russia's volatile Chechnya region have discovered what they believe to be fossilised dinosaur eggs laid by one of the huge extinct reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 60million years ago.  
'We've found about 40 eggs so far, the exact number has not been established,’ said Said-Emin Dzhabrailov, a geologist at the Chechen State University.  
‘There could be many more lying under the ground.’

The egg-shaped protrusions on a rock face in southern part of Chechnya
The find was uncovered when a construction crew was blasting through a hillside to build a road near the region's border with former Soviet Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains.
   
A team of geologists stumbled across the smooth, oval rock-like forms, which range from 25cm to one metre coincidentally on a recent trip to the area, said Dzhabrailov.  
He said palaeontologists were needed to determine which species of dinosaur had laid them.

Eggs-traordinary: A man looks at one of the dinosaur eggs, which number around 40 so far
Dzhabrailov said that the regional Chechen government, which is eager to shed the region's reputation for violence, is considering turning the area into a nature preserve and seeking to attract tourists.  
Federal forces fought two separatist wars between 1994 and 2001 in Chechnya, and an Islamist insurgency persists in the mostly Muslim region and surrounding provinces of Russia's North Caucasus.  
However, violence has declined under the strong-arm rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, whose multi-million dollar construction projects are aimed at raising the region's profile and boosting the tourism potential of the troubled area.
The dinosaur eggs were found by a construction crew blasting rocks to make way for a new road
Read More:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2131312/Forty-dinosaur-eggs-dating-60million-years-Russias-volatile-Chechnya-region.html#ixzz1sQP8BYTg


Strange Sighting Reported Over Long Island New York


In the past 5 days I have had 6 phone calls and 5 emails from different parts of Long Island all telling me that they saw something strange in the sky.

Three people told me they saw odd, diamond-shaped objects lit in solid white light hovering above the Coast line of Long Island. Two of these sightings came from the east end of Long Island and both of them were seen over the Atlantic Ocean.

The people told me just about word for word the same thing. The object was not moving just lingering above the ocean, was a diamond-shaped object and had a solid bright, extremely white glow to it. Both watched the object for less than a minute before it simply started to gain altitude at first slowly until it suddenly took off into the blue sky increasing speed until it disappeared.

This same report was given to me by a man who saw the same thing while walking along the beach near Lido Beach, Long Island. All of the people reported the same object doing the same thing during the first 14 days of March 2012.

Five people contacted me asking if I had heard about any sightings of UFOs in the area as they each watched a strange object in the night sky during the first half of March. Four people claimed to have watched large white orbs changing to orange orbs cross over their houses silently at great speed without any flashing lights or strobe lights of any kind.

It was just a solid ball of light traveling at an enormous speed. They all said the object passed across the sky quickly so they were only able to view it for about 30 seconds, however, all of them were positive it was not a plane.

This report came from people living along the North Shore of Long Island in the coastline towns along the mid-section of Long Island from the towns of Stony Brook West to Old Westbury.

The last three people who contacted me claimed they watched a formation of brightly colored white, red and orange orbs flying over the east end of Long Island out over the Atlantic Ocean in a long V-formation with one side of the V much longer than the other at extreme speed crossing over the ocean and the tip of Long Island heading towards the coast line of the United States.

I found the fact so many people contacted me all in the last week reporting sightings seen recently this month unusual. I can only wonder how many other people on Long Island have had recent sightings who do not report them.

I think it is time we all took notice of our sky and try to become familiar with the normal things in your sky both during the day and night so you are able to distinguish what belongs there and what does not. It is only time before we all notice something that is unknown. I truly believe there is so much activity out there that it is only our ignorance of our own surroundings, denial of what truly is going on around us and our lack of caring that keeps us lost to the truth of many subjects considered unknown.

Start looking and when you do see something tell someone. It is the only way we will ever figure out what is going on out there, around us, over us and to us each and every day.

I thank all who took the time to contact me. I wish I could offer a suggested organization that is truly looking for real answers to all these unknown sightings but as it is, the mess of the paranormal and the lack of real research continue to be our biggest failure.

I had one caller tell me that after looking at the absolute garbage on the net he simply decided to tell me as I am a local and leave it at that. I fully understood his feelings as it is what prompted me to begin writing in the first place.

I had my own story to tell and nowhere to tell it that kept the comical or pure fantasy separated from those who were truly encountering amazing things. My goal has been and will remain telling the experiences of ordinary people who encounter extra ordinary events.

Now more than ever keep a keen eye on the sky both day and night. They are out there!

UFO sighted over Australia? One of the best UFO videos ever!

I got this from a Canadian newspaper reporting about a UFO sighting in Australia. The video taken shows a UFO over the skies of Adelaide and it has pulsating lights unlike any aircraft that we know of. The video itself is pretty good and can make most skeptics think twice. http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/ufo_extraterrestrials/2011/07/30/319.html 

Without much doubt this viral UFO sighting is one of the better pieces of UFO video evidence that has been captured on video. On December 7th 2010 a massive thunderstorm was fast approaching the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Hearing the weather forecast and seeing the thunderclouds beginning to scatter across the sky, the UFO eyewitness decided to set up their tripod to capture some lightning footage. Only a minute later, to their surprise a strange flying object appeared in the sky. At first the eyewitness thought that the object may have been an aeroplane until they noticed that the object had no wings and then realised that the object's flashing lights did not have the resemblance of pulselites. According to the eyewitness, the back-and-forth pendulum swing of the object's lights became very vivid, and then the colour of the lights even seemed to change. As is visible towards the end of this UFO capture, the eye witness also makes mention of the craft's very close proximity to the nearby lightning, recalling lightning leap vertically into the sky only a short distance away. On December 29th 2010, the Australian media (having witnessed the substantial growth in interest surrounding this UFO footage) released a newspaper article about this video. The feature article describes the strange capture and the widely varying opinions of sceptics and believers. The article also mentions that the Adelaide Airport General Manager of Corporate Affairs had commented that "Pulselite units were used on aircrafts flying over Adelaide." This is no doubt a strong indication that someone went to great lengths to seek a senior opinion on the subject of aviation (in direct response to this video). Is this just another hoax or could it be true? What are your thoughts on this sighting?

Another Australian newspaper seemed to give a rational explanation...A new kind of lighting system called "Pulselight" to keep birds from striking the aircraft.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/the-truth-is-out-there-and-here/story-fn6bqphm-1225978305535


One non-believer offered an explanation to the December 7 UFO sighting, posted by FluffyJet Productions.
The non-believer posted a video last week of a Pulselite unit being used on a plane and said such warning devices are now used on some planes landing in Adelaide to avoid bird strikes.
Adelaide Airport general manager of corporate affairs John McArdle said Pulselite units were used on aircraft flying over Adelaide.
Mystery solved?

So UFO or new aircraft lighting system? You decide..The truth is out there!!!

UFO's seen all over London


We start off this blog with this latest report on UFO's being sighted in Britain on the 4th of June 2009.

What are these.... UFO's or a top secret military project of the British?



The Times says:
Engineer Paul Slight was the latest person to see them. He took this dramatic picture as he biked home to Lincoln.

Paul, 54, said: "There were 26 at first, darting between each other like they were playing a game. After that seven more arrived from the right and weaved through the crowd of lights like strange aircraft."

The lights first appeared on Merseyside on May 25. Some said they were UFOs, some thought they could be military. Two days later, on the other side of the country, they were spotted in Cambridgeshire.

Auberon and Suzi Hedgecoe, who run a guest house in Huntingdon, were spellbound when about 50 glowing mystery beams shot through the sky.

There have been reports of similar phenomena in Cornwall, Manchester and Holland. Phil Hoyle, from the UK-based UFO Investigation Unit, said: "If they dodged and darted around each other it would indicate intelligent movement."

And the skeptics are quick to respond too...

But Malcolm Robinson, of Strange Phenomenon Investigations, had a different explanation. He said: "I am sorry to disappoint but these are Chinese lanterns.

"It's all to do with the hot weather. There has been a vast increase in barbecues and people tend to set off Chinese lanterns at these events. They are basically papier mache devices which fly up into the sky."


The way I see it, those can't be Chinese lanterns. What are they?

Bhangarh fort 2 - India's most haunted place


Dear readers, the most popular post in my blog remains my old post about Bhangarh.
Since that was an older post and did not contain much information, I thought it best to revisit this topic with a much better analysis of this place.

Ghost stories and haunted places have no dearth in India. Yet Bhangarh has managed to stay on top with respect to being the most feared and popular haunted place. I think most of the horror and fear is accentuated because of the warning board put up by the Archaeological Society of India(ASI).
I mean when the government itself says "Get the hell out after sunset"..what else can you hope for?
The board basically says "Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited."

Some pics of this dreaded place:

                                                       Dare to enter inside???

I have not personally visited Bhangarh but want to in the near future and that will definitely be posted here. But the following should give you all the basic information you need about Bhangarh.

1. Bhangarh is a town (actually ruins) in the northern state of Rajasthan in India. There is a great fort here(actually ruins of a fort) which is supposed to be haunted.

2. It was ruled in the 1600's by the relatives of the general(Man Singh I) of the great Mughal emperor Akbar.

3. In the late 1700's a famine killed almost all residents and the survivors moved to other places and thus it was deserted and became a ghost town.

4. Actually it became a real "ghost town" since the locals now believe the whole place is haunted.

5. Some say that a sage or religious man named Guru Balu Nath had a small living area(hut) nearby the palace and said that the height of the palace should not be raised such that its shadow might fall on the hut. A descendant of the ruling family actually increased the height of the palace and this made its shadow to fall on the hut and thus Balu Nath's curse came true and the place was haunted by spirits.

6. Some also say that a tantrik(Indian witch doctor who dabbles in black magic) cursed the place after the princess who he had cast his eyes on, rejected him and was the cause of his death.

7. Nowadays people hear strange sounds, light and see figures moving around at night near the fort. 
Many have reported supernatural activity near the fort and I will not be surprised if some scientific community has not already done research here.

8. Among the scary incidents reported (After 6 PM):-
     a. Real scary female screaming is heard(The princess?)
     b. Loud maniacal laughter(Tantrik or the baba?)
     c. Lights going on and off
     d. Sudden loud wind and dust storms occurring all of a sudden.
     e. Ghostly figures and shadows moving around.

9. Many have also reported the feeling of horror and dread near the ruins even in the day time. Some passages are dark without light and it is scary to even think of going inside. 

10. The ASI says that the "official" reason for the warning is that wild animals could be present after 6 PM and since the area is not well lit, the place may also present a  safety issue.
But ASI who are you kidding, we all know very well why you have out that notice.

11. Local legends speak of so many brave men who tried to go here at night and never returned!!!

12. Bhangarh is so scary and has a such a reputation of being haunted, it always turns up in the list of most haunted places in the world!

Check this list out and see what distinguished company Bhangarh has!!!

I will surely visit this place and try to be here after sunset....But remember most people try to check out haunted places at night in groups...Remember the true test of a haunted place is going ALONE!!!

Be sure to take a video camera though...So that if you do not return, then we can at least see what killed you.

More on Bhangarh in a later post. For now please comment if you have anything to add to this.

The Jersey Devil of New Jersey

The Jersey devil is a cryptid creature rumored to be living in the forest areas of New Jersey. It remains to be one of the most puzzling mysteries of the last few decades which has yet to see a conclusive resolution.

Many people have claimed to see it and this included people from all walks of life. The very nature of the creature's existence and sightings has made a popular figure in pop culture so far as to lending its name to the New Jersey hockey team in the NHL.

There have been many stories and theories about the Jersey devil but the most famous story was that of a lady named "Mother Leeds". The story said that she had 12 children and a curse(or a superstition) went about that if she had another child(her 13th one), then that child would be the devil himself. And so the 13th child was born and he was born as a normal human child but then suddenly transformed into a creature with hooves, a horse's head, bat wings and a forked tail. He flew away but not before killing the midwife who helped deliver him. The story goes on to talk say that mother Leeds was a witch in reality and that the townfolk along with religious leaders conducted prayers to drive away the devil for some time. But it returned and has taken sanctuary in the Pine Barren forests of New Jersey ever since.


There was a rumor that the devil was caught in the early 1900's. Here are some newspapers clippings of that era and a few pics.





Other Explanations:

Some kind of wild owl or a huge bat.
Some people also say its extra terrestrial in origin.
While others says its just a hoax. Well the truth is out there!