Latest news with #comet
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Evidence of World-Changing Comet Explosion 12,800 Years Ago Found in The Ocean
Microscopic grains of alien dust buried in the sediment at the bottom of the ocean could be evidence of a comet that exploded in Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago. This hypothetical event, known as the Younger Dryas impact, was invoked to explain a sudden, 1,200-year period of rapid cooling to near-glacial conditions during a time when Earth's climate was on a warm upswing. It's a controversial proposal, to say the least, with many scientists roundly rejecting it while others remain more open to the possibility. One of the leading refutations is that no crater has been found, as one might expect from such a world-changing event… but the evidence may be much smaller than a crater. Related: Led by geoscientist Christopher Moore of the University of South Carolina, a team of researchers puts forward a new line of evidence: four sediment cores from Baffin Bay near Greenland. These are cylinders of material excavated vertically that preserve layers upon layers of seafloor sediment that were deposited over many millennia. "We chose to analyze marine cores from Baffin Bay to determine if Younger Dryas impact proxies reported from dozens of terrestrial sites globally were present in ocean cores," Moore explains in an interview with the science journal PLOS One. "The sites were significant because they were a considerable distance from potential anthropogenic [human] contamination, and in most cases, the cores were highly laminated, indicating that the record was relatively undisturbed." The researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of the layers, and then used a technique called single-particle inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry to look for signs of comet dust in the layers deposited during the time of the Younger Dryas cooling. This analysis revealed tiny particles of metal with compositions consistent with a cometary origin, including iron with low oxygen and high nickel content, and microspherules rich with iron and silica. These microspherules, the researchers say, consist mostly of material from Earth, but with a little bit of impactor material mixed in – likely from an airburst event as the comet exploded after atmospheric entry. "The Younger Dryas sediment layer in the Baffin cores contains multiple proxies consistent with an impact event. Microspherules, twisted and deformed metallic dust particles with chemistry consistent with comet or meteoritic material, meltglass, and identification of nanoparticle peaks in key elements (e.g., platinum and iridium) suggest an impact event," Moore says. "This evidence is supported by the findings on terrestrial sites on multiple continents in both hemispheres. This work builds on other evidence that the Younger Dryas impact event was likely global in scale." The researchers next plan to broaden the scale of their investigation by examining sediment cores from other ocean sites around the world. Their findings have been published in PLOS One. Related News 'Hot Blob' Heading For New York Following Ancient Greenland Rift Prehistoric Air Has Been Reconstructed From Dinosaur Teeth in an Amazing First Lightning Kills Way More Trees Than You Would Ever Believe Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Ancient explosion in Louisiana 'proves' lost advanced civilization was wiped out 12,800 years ago
Almost 13,000 years ago, a massive fragment of a comet exploded over Louisiana, turning stone into glass and potentially offering evidence for one of history's most controversial theories. New research supports ideas popularized by author Graham Hancock, who shared a stage with comet scientist Dr Allan West to discuss the findings. Hancock's bestselling books argue for the existence of a lost, advanced civilization wiped out by a cosmic cataclysm around 12,800 years ago. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hancock said his work is often misunderstood or dismissed by critics, but recent comet impact discoveries lend weight to the mystery he explores. Dr West, one of the scientists behind the Louisiana find, warns that such explosions with the destructive power of nuclear weapons may be more common than previously thought. 'I am exploring a mystery, and that mystery is a very strong feeling that the archaeological project is not giving us the whole story about the past, not because of any conspiracy, but because archaeology mainly focuses on physical artifacts,' Hancock explained. 'This approach tends to overlook important evidence found in religious texts and ancient myths, like the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the global flood myth.' 'It's clear to me that something is missing, that during the Ice Age, there was a culture with advanced astronomy, knowledge of the Earth's dimensions, and even the problem of longitude solved.' The study identified what appeared to be a 12,800-year-old depression in Louisiana caused by a cosmic airburst, an explosion in the atmosphere by a space object. Radiometric dating and electron microscopy date the event to the Younger Dryas Boundary, a period marked by abrupt cooling and mass extinctions. Researchers suggested that the 984-foot-long lake and crater-like depression in Perkins could be the first airburst crater identified from this era. Hancock believes the Earth was bombarded by fragments of a giant comet, part of the Taurid meteor stream, thousands of years ago. 'Comets can get caught in the sun's gravity and enter orbit. According to research by Nature and others, the Taurid stream included a massive comet, possibly over 100 kilometers wide, which crossed Earth's path about 20,000 years ago,' Hancock said. He argues the impacts were not single hits but 'like a shotgun blast,' multiple airbursts from objects ranging in size from the Great Pyramid to entire cities, affecting locations worldwide, including the US, Belgium, Syria, Chile and Antarctica. Hancock sees the recent discovery as one among dozens of such global events, possibly including an impact crater as well as airbursts. Rising to fame with Fingerprints of the Gods in 1995, Hancock has faced ongoing rejection from mainstream archaeology. 'That book gathered evidence from mythology, traditions, and design, leading to my conclusion that a global cataclysm wiped out part of human history around 12,500 years ago,' Hancock said. 'The Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis, proposed scientifically in 2006, fits this timeline perfectly. Evidence continues to build, though it remains controversial.' Dr West, from the Comet Research Group, stressed the broader implications of their findings. 'The accepted view is that extraterrestrial impact events are extremely rare, especially large ones like the dinosaur extinction event,' he said. 'But smaller, dangerous airbursts like Tunguska in 1908 and Chelyabinsk in 2013 happen more often than believed.' He said evidence points to a major encounter with a giant comet's tail 12,800 years ago, causing widespread devastation without the comet itself striking Earth. 'This event was enormous, equivalent to thousands or even tens of thousands of nuclear bombs exploding simultaneously,' West explained. The aftermath pushed many megafauna species, including mammoths and saber-toothed cats, into extinction. West warns that if a similar event happened today, it could be catastrophic. 'Back then, fewer than a million people lived on Earth. Today's billions would suffer immensely, millions could die, crops would fail, satellites and electrical grids would be destroyed.' The Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis remains controversial because the sharp climate downturn it explains has no other widely accepted cause. West believes the comet impact darkened skies with dust and soot for months, plunging the world back into ice age conditions. West and Hancock share the experience of facing intense criticism for their unconventional ideas. 'Graham invited me to speak because our work challenges the prevailing scientific paradigm,' West said. 'We've had papers blocked, delayed, and even targeted for retraction by those opposed to our research.' Hancock is realistic about the acceptance of their theories. 'I'm not optimistic for a sudden paradigm shift. Overturning established views is a slow, often hostile process,' he said. 'But with enough evidence, the truth will eventually emerge, just not tomorrow or anytime soon.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Hubble Captures Glorious New Image of That Mysterious Object Cruising Into Our Solar System
As the mysterious interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS plummets through our Solar System, NASA's good old Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best look yet at the interstellar visitor. On July 21, the interstellar interloper passed close enough to Earth — and to Hubble, which orbits us at about 320 miles above the planet — that the veteran space telescope was able to capture a surprisingly detailed image of it, NASA explains in a statement about the image. In the space agency's incredible shot — the second the Hubble has captured since the discovery of 3I/ATLAS — a "teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust," as NASA calls it, is seen trailing behind the puzzling object, which many scientists suspect is a sizable interstellar comet. Discovered a mere five weeks ago on July 1, 3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, with the first being the ever-mysterious 'Oumuamua back in 2017. As with that strangely elongated visitor, there is some speculation that 3I/ATLAS could be some sort of alien spacecraft — but NASA believes we're looking at the "solid, icy nucleus" of a comet. That said, there's quite a lot about this interstellar visitor that is extraordinary — and unexplained. In an editorial for last month, a pair of astrophysicists posited that 3I/ATLAS is much older than 'Oumuamua and 3I/Borisov, the second-ever recorded interstellar object discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov back in 2019. Those scientists, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor's Aster Taylor and Michigan State University's Darryl Seligman, suggested that this latest interstellar interloper could be anywhere from three to 11 billion years old, and cited its massive speeds of 134,000 mph relative to the Sun as the source of their hypothesis. "Since the influence of the galaxy tends to speed up objects over time," the astrophysicists wrote, "this velocity implies that ATLAS is far older." NASA has, meanwhile, proffered in its latest findings, which have been accepted into the Astrophysical Journal Letters, that 3I/ATLAS' nucleus may be as large as 3.5 miles across or as small as just 1,000 feet in diameter. The new Hubble image played a big role in those estimates, though as the agency noted in another statement, the "solid heart of the comet presently cannot be directly seen, even by Hubble." While scientists continue to glean bits and pieces of information about this out-of-solar-system visitor, there's still one huge, outstanding question about 3I/ATLAS. "No one knows where the comet came from," explained Hubble science leader David Jewitt in the statement. "It's like glimpsing a rifle bullet for a thousandth of a second. You can't project that back with any accuracy to figure out where it started on its path." More on comets: Scientists Just Found Something Very Weird About the Mysterious Object Hurtling Into Our Solar System
CBS News
2 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
A comet going 130,000 mph is visiting our solar system from another star. The Hubble telescope just took its picture.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star. NASA and the European Space Agency released the latest photos Thursday. Discovered last month by a telescope in Chile, the comet known as 3I-Atlas is only the third known interstellar object to pass our way and poses no threat to Earth. Astronomers originally estimated the size of its icy core at several miles across, but Hubble's observations have narrowed it down to no more than 3.5 miles. It could even be as small as 1,000 feet, scientists say, according to a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The comet is hurtling our way at 130,000 mph, but will veer closer to Mars than Earth, keeping a safe distance from both. It was 277 million miles away when photographed by Hubble a couple weeks ago. The orbiting telescope revealed a teardrop-shaped plume of dust around the nucleus as well as traces of a dusty tail. NASA previously said the comet will make its closest approach to the sun in late October, scooting between the orbits of Mars and Earth. The agency said 3I/ATLAS should remain visible to telescopes through September, but then it will pass too close to the sun to observe. It is expected to reappear on the other side of the sun by early December, allowing for renewed observations. According to Las Cumbres Observatory in Chile, the object is named "3I" because it is the third such interstellar object to be found, following 1I/'Oumuamu in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. "All three appear to be quite dark and red, reflecting only about 5% of the sunlight that hits them, which is similar in reflectivity to asphalt," the observatory said last month. "Unlike 1I/'Oumuamu, 3I does not change much in brightness as it rotates, indicating that it is more likely to be spherical." Los Cumbres Observatory created an animation of image data from its telescope as it tracked the new interstellar on July 4 2025:
The Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
An interstellar object is heading towards Earth, scientist warns
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has suggested that the interstellar object 31/ATLAS, recently detected nearing Earth, could be an engineered object rather than a natural one. Loeb bases his theory on the object's unusual brightness, which implies a diameter of 20 km, and a glow observed in front of it, unlike the trailing tail of typical comets. He noted that it would take 10,000 years for such a massive object to naturally arrive in the inner solar system, and that it will be unobservable when closest to Earth. 31/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever detected in our solar system, confirmed to have originated outside it. Loeb has a history of similar controversial claims, having previously theorised an alien origin for Oumuamua in 2017 and for a meteor recovered in 2023, though other astrophysicists have offered natural explanations for these phenomena.
