Astronomy and Mythology in Native American Culture

By Grady Winston

Before the age of global positioning systems or compasses, people looked to the stars to find their way. And before civilizations knew what stars were, people formed their own beliefs about their significance. In North America, indigenous tribes had differing ideas about what the stars meant, some believing that the night sky had spiritual meaning, and some attributing human-like qualities to the twinkling objects.

Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people of the past understood the stars and the sky, however this broadly applies to all ancient cultures. The Mayans, Celts, and Egyptians alike all had their own methods for tracking the movement of the stars and heavenly bodies, but all of these cultures have the common belief that the phenomenon above their heads was somehow larger and greater than they were. As such, the vast majority of ancient cultures associated the origins of everything, including the sky, moon, sun and earth with some form of mythology related to the stars. Astronomy played in an important role in early Native American cultures, serving as the basis for governance, agricultural practices and more. And studying the stars also caused tribes to theorize about the beginning of life in the universe.

The Pawnee’s Guiding Principles

Polaris

The Skidi band of the Pawnee Indians referred to a ring of stars in the sky as “The Council of Chiefs.” The Pawnee believed the circle represented their governance style of elders holding council to resolve important matters. This constellation was paramount to the way the Pawnee interacted daily as well as their religious beliefs. They used the stars to set agricultural patterns and embody their own societal values. The Council of Chiefs was connected to their “Chief Star,” what is now referred to as Polaris, which represented their primary god Tirawahat. They built their lodges with openings at the top – not only to allow smoke to escape from warming fires inside, but to allow a clear view of the “Council” stars. Today, those stars are known as the Corona Borealis.

The Anasazi

The Crab Nebula

In New Mexico, researchers found a cave painting that appears to depict a supernova explosion; the orientation of a crescent moon and stars indicate that the art may represent the Crab Nebula, formed in 1054 A.D. by supernova. The Anasazi way of life remains somewhat of a mystery, but researchers found that the tribe built a solar observatory, suggesting that the sky was extremely important to the Anasazi way of life.

Navajo Creation of the Sky

A Navajo legend describes the Four Worlds that had no sun and the Fifth World, which represents Earth. According to the legend, the first people of the Fifth World were given four lights but were dissatisfied with the amount of light they had on Earth. After many attempts to satisfy the people, the First Woman created the sun to bring warmth and light to the land, and the moon to provide coolness and moisture. These were crafted from quartz, and, when there were bits of quartz that were left behind by the carving, they were tossed into the sky to make stars.

Hopi Blue Star

Like the Navajo, the Hopi believe there were worlds before this one. The modern era is believed to be the Fourth World, and each world that came before this one ended with the appearance of “the blue star.” In carvings created by the Hopi in the American Southwest, it seems what they saw may have led them to a belief in aliens, a belief that certainly retains a place in the culture of the U.S. to this day.

The divisions between Native American cultures were not unlike the divisions between the societies of today, so few myths extend beyond a single tribe. With the same sky overhead, ancient myths from around the world do share much in common. The History & Culture channel of the Chickasaw TV website features the tribe’s myths about Creation and the Great Flood, two stories repeated again and again throughout most cultures of the world, proving that, even when the world seemed impossibly large, many people were not far from each other, in terms of what they believed under the night sky.

https://nativeamericatoday.com/addressing-health-disparities-q-a-with-dr-don-warne/

 

Researchers Find Part of Universe's Missing 'Ordinary' Matter

4 hours ago

The missing matter is baryonic, or so-called 'ordinary' matter, such as the protons and neutrons that make up all of the elements in planets, stars and our bodies. It is not the same as dark matter, which is still a mystery and is thought to make up around 85% of all matter in the universe.

An international research team led on the French side by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and l'Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, has for the first time mapped a galactic wind using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument from the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope, the group announced.

According to the statement, the observation, documented in research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) on September 16, assisted in revealing the whereabouts of part of the Universe's missing matter and observing the creation of a nebula - a cloud of gas and interstellar dust - around a galaxy.

The researchers chose galaxy Gal1 because it was close to a quasar (a very luminous active galactic nucleus), which functioned as a 'lighthouse' for the scientists, pointing them to the study area. They also planned to view a nebula in the vicinity of this galaxy, albeit the success of this observation was considered doubtful due to the nebula's unknown luminosity.

"The perfect positioning of the galaxy and the quasar, as well as the discovery of gas exchange due to galactic winds, made it possible to draw up a unique map," the scientists said. "This enabled the first observation of a nebula in formation that is simultaneously emitting and absorbing magnesium—some of the Universe’s missing baryons—with the Gal1 galaxy."

According to the study, this kind of normal matter nebula is well-known in the nearby Universe, but its existence for young galaxies in creation was only previously assumed.

"Scientists thus discovered some of the Universe’s missing baryons, thereby confirming that 80–90% of normal matter is located outside of galaxies, an observation that will help expand models for the evolution of galaxies," the press release concluded.

Researchers noted that galaxies "can receive and exchange matter with their external environment thanks to the galactic winds created by stellar explosions." They add that one of the most difficult aspects of understanding galaxies is that about 80% of the baryons that make up the regular matter of galaxies are missing.

Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Help Scientists to Detect 'Missing' Matter in the Universe

30 May 2020, 12:48 GMT

It is now thought that baryons were ejected from galaxies into intergalactic space, according to simulations, by galactic winds caused by star explosions.

https://sputniknews.com/20210918/researchers-find-part-of-universes-missing-ordinary-matter-1089177382.html

Large Meteor Stuns Locals as it Flies Over Sweden, Norway

 

Large Meteor Stuns Locals Flying Over Sweden, Norway

Racing toward the Earth, the meteor created a powerful shockwave that blew open doors and hatches. No damage or injuries were reported, however.

A bright light that was most likely a large meteor was seen and heard roaring towards the ground across swaths of Sweden and Norway this past weekend.

There were even some reports of loud bangs, but no people have been reported injured, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.

The Norwegian police said they received a flurry of alarms about the phenomenon in the sky.

​According to the Norwegian Meteor Network (NMN), the meteor appeared after 1 o'clock in the night toward 25 July and was visible for roughly 5 seconds. Vegard Lundby of the NMN said that the meteorite was visible 600 kilometres away.

The meteor created a powerful shock wave that many felt. Doors and hatches were blown open, but no major damage has been reported beyond a broken window. The shock wave was detected by seismic stations as the meteorite hit the ground, making it possible to determine the position independently of video observations. The meteor plunged into a forest some 60 kilometres from Oslo.

​“My wife and I heard a loud noise and saw two powerful flashes of light. It is definitely a large meteor that has come in over Eastern Norway. This is a big thing”, Morten Bilet of the Norwegian Meteor Network told the newspaper Verdens Gang. “It is a large meteor, and this is rare”, he continued.

​According to the Norwegian Meteor Network's analysis, the meteor didn't originate in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, unlike most meteors. Instead, almost the entire orbit had been located inside the orbit of the Earth, which is often called an Athens-type orbit. This makes any discovery of meteorites particularly exciting for science, which is why all potential finders of fractions and slivers of the celestial object were urged to immediately contact the scientists.

Analysis of the meteor suggests it could have weighed at least 10 kilograms. The hope is to find remnants weighing several kilograms.

​https://sputniknews.com/europe/202107261083462527-large-meteor-stuns-locals-as-it-flies-over-sweden-norway--photo-video/

Aliens Run Secret Base in New Mexico to Breed Many-Legged Human Hybrids, Conspiracy Theory Claims

Aliens Run Secret Base in New Mexico to Breed Many-Legged Human Hybrids, Conspiracy Theory Claims

The question of whether extraterrestrial life exist just got a fresh boost after the US government released a highly-anticipated report on UFO sightings recorded by American pilots in previous decades.

Bizarre conspiracy theories about the existence of a so-called Dulce Base – an underground facility in New Mexico allegedly operated by aliens – has been circulating in the media following the release of the Director of US National Intelligence’s report on unidentified flying phenomena previously spotted by US servicemen.

The theory, first proposed by Albuquerque businessman Paul Bennewitz and then coined by other UFO ‘truthers’, suggests that the cryptic facility is being run by ‘grey aliens’ (or Grays) that have been abducting humans and carrying out extreme experiments with them.

According to excerpts from the 1990 book The Ultimate Deception, written by Commander X (his identity remains debated but the Daily Star maintains the author’s real name is Milton William Cooper), the base is home to multi-legged human hybrids bred by nasty UFOs.

“There are at least seven different levels at Dulce, with Level Six known as ‘Nightmare Hall’. This level is used for most of the experimentation by the Greys,” Commander X wrote in the book.

The work quotes one person, who claimed to have been “working in a slave camp under the spell of the Greys”. The source apparently said that apart from a half human/half octopus, he had also witnessed a bunch of other mysterious creatures at the base, including seven foot tall giants.

"Also Reptilians, and furry creatures that had hands like humans and cry like babies. It mimics human words… also huge mixtures of Lizard-humans in cages,” the escaped source apparently told the author.

Unsurprisingly, these claims have been put under extreme scrutiny in previous decades. These conspiracy theories were raised once again on the AlienHub.com forum in 2009. UFO enthusiasts quoted the words of “terminally ill” Thomas Edwin Castello, who says he has been working as a security guard at the facility, to claim that the aliens there were relying on a mysterious liquid to sustain their lives. The question of whether aliens had sex has preoccupied the minds of enthusiasts at the forum ever since.

The existence of the Dulce Base has never been proven but the idea has found a support among local authorities for the sake of boosting tourism to the area. In 2016, Dulce town even hosted a UFO Conference.

Meanwhile, this conspiracy theory was not mentioned in the government’s new report discussing 144 instances of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena sightings, most of which remained unexplained.

https://sputniknews.com/science/202106261083247194-aliens-run-secret-base-in-new-mexico-to-breed-many-legged-human-hybrids-conspiracy-theory-claims/

 

How to sign up for a seat on SpaceX’s first flight to the Moon

Hanno Labuschagne3 March 2021

Space enthusiasts looking for an out-of-this-world travel experience can now sign up for a chance to fly on the first civilian trip to the Moon.

Japanese fashion billionaire Yasuka Maezawa is offering up seats on SpaceX’s first lunar orbital flight, which is expected to take place in 2023.

Maezawa secured a seat for himself and eight passengers on the spacecraft back in 2018.

He originally planned to bring six to eight artists from different countries around the world along with him, with the intention of inspiring them to create art about the experience once they had returned to Earth.

However, he has now announced that general members of the public will be eligible for a seat.

Interest applicants can visit the dearMoon website and hit the “Join the Crew” banner to sign up.

The selection process will involve the following five main steps before the crew is confirmed by June 2021:

• Pre-registration by 14 March
• Initial screening by 21 March
• Assignment
• Online interview
• Final Interview and Medical Checkup

According to Maezawa, there are two key criteria for those who wish to become a traveller on the first civilian trip to the Moon.

Firstly, by going to space, the person needs to push the envelope of whatever activity they are into, in order to help other people and great society as a whole.

Secondly, the person must be willing and able to support other crew members who share similar aspirations.

It is not known how much Maezawa has paid for the trip, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has previously said the cost would be similar to sending an astronaut to the International Space Station.

This means Maezawa likely had to put down around $70 million. This is nothing strange for the billionaire, however, as he previously spent $100 million on a painting.

Starship readiness “promising” by 2023

SpaceX plans to use its fully-reusable Starship spacecraft and BFR rocket for the trip, both of which are currently still under development at its Boca Chica test site in Texas.

In a video detailing the dearMoon mission, Musk has said that the potential for a 2023 date for the trip is now “promising”.

“I’m highly confident that we will have reached orbit many times with Starship before 2023. And that it will be safe enough for human transport by 2023,” Musk stated.

In total 10 to 12 people will be on the flight, which will last four or five days, with the Starship being around 200 kilometres from the Moon’s surface at its closest distance.

A simplified plan for the dearMoon flight can be seen below.

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/science/388238-how-to-sign-up-for-a-seat-on-spacexs-first-flight-to-the-moon.html

ESA to recruit world’s 1st disabled ‘parastronaut’ but it’s still not enough for the excruciatingly woke on Twitter

 

ESA (European Space Agency) to recruit world’s 1st disabled ‘parastronaut’ but it’s still not enough for the excruciatingly woke on Twitter

For the first time in 11 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) is actively recruiting new astronauts, including for the first time in human history, a physically disabled team member.

Applications for aspiring astro- and para-nauts will open on March 31 for a period of eight weeks, after which the six-stage selection process will begin.

“We did not evolve to go to space so when it comes to space travel, we are all disabled,” said Captain Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian European Space Agency astronaut.

Candidates are required to have knowledge of or a degree in at least one of the following: physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering or medicine. 

The agency is also opening applications to the physically disabled who meet the expertise requirements, including those who have single or double foot or leg deficiency, and persons of short stature (<130 cm). The move was widely feted and championed across Twitter this week. 

However progressive the move may have been for many, some are never happy it seems, with the extremely woke brigade seizing the opportunity to point out the shortcomings of the initiative, namely, that only the physically and not the mentally disabled could apply.

Others took the opportunity to highlight structural discrimination in the education system which precludes many already disadvantaged children from ever realizing their dreams of becoming astronauts.

https://www.rt.com/news/515948-esa-recruitment-disabled-astronauts/

Hawking’s 50-Year Mystery About Falling into Black Holes Has Finally Been Solved

 By Andy Corbley - Nov 10, 2020

 www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 

 If you lurch into the event horizon of a black hole, will you ever come out? According to a series of new calculations which just solved a 50-year old problem even Stephen Hawking couldn’t figure out, the answer is yes.

 

 

 

It’s being described as a landmark calculation—the biggest thing to happen in the field since the work of the famous British physicist established the problem in the first place.

Since the 1970s, physicists have been grappling with a logical contradiction in calculations surrounding a black hole called the “black hole information paradox.”

Hawking would use his “semiclassical” quantum/general-relativity hybrid-explanation of the physics of a black hole to describe what happens to matter in and around it.

He discovered that quantum uncertainty causes small amounts of radiation to emanate from a black hole called “Hawking radiation.” This eventually causes it to lose mass and evaporate into nothingness. If the black hole loses mass and eventually disappears, then what falls in must appear again somewhere. The question is: where/how/why does the information escape?

The authors of the new calculations, including scientists from UC Santa Barbara, have uncovered additional effects permitted by general relativity but that Hawking didn’t include, which describe a strange situation in which information that falls into a black hole will eventually come out, and that this phenomenon happens at the same time, and is partially to blame for the evaporation of a black hole.

Quantum entanglement

The way in which it works is through quantum entanglement, a phenomenon which simply means that particles of matter can be linked on the quantum level, and display patterns and reactivity to each other even though they could be separated by thousands of miles.

Don Page, a physicist at the University of Alberta, was a graduate student whose studies of black holes were key in helping his advisor, Stephen Hawking, make his realization that black holes emit radiation. In 1980, Page broke with Hawking and argued that information must be released or preserved in black holes, causing a schism among physicists at the time.

Page would go on to establish a timeline of a black hole’s lifespan—shaped like an upside-down V known as “Page time” or the “Page curve”—it described how information which fell into the black hole would escape through emitted Hawking radiation until the black hole was no more. This was called “entanglement entropy,” and set up physicists for a 30-year lay up to make a slam dunk calculation.

The V-shaped decline

“Over the past two years, physicists have shown that the entanglement entropy of black holes really does follow the Page curve, indicating that information gets out,” explains George Musser writing for Quanta Magazine.

The slam dunk was started in October 2018 by Ahmed Almheiri at the Institute for Advanced Study when he used quantum computing to create a universe in which a simple black hole system located at the center of space began emitting radiation as per Hawking’s theory.

The system begins to radiate as one entangled particle enters and another one leaves. This process continues, and the number of entangled particles increases, increasing the level of entanglement entropy.

If one imagines the black hole as the contents of a snow globe, and the glass of the globe as the event horizon (the edge of the black hole where the laws of physics begin to break down), Almheiri found that as the entangled entropy grew within the system, a “quantum extremal surface,” formed on the glass of the snow globe, just inside the event horizon.

Everything inside the quantum extremal surface is not part of the black hole, but rather like a collection of entangled particles which no longer contribute to the entropy in the system. Furthermore, the innermost particles in the simulated black hole became likewise detached from the black hole, forming something which Almheiri called “the island.”

At this point, non-entangled radiation begins to be emitted, and the black hole breathes itself out of existence.

On to the next one

In demonstrating that entanglement entropy of black holes followed the Page curve, Almheiri and his friends confirmed that black holes do in fact release information, though it comes out in such disorder as to appear like an encrypted password.

By now if one’s brain is still working after all this, Almheiri’s research amazingly includes theoretical tools that would allow researchers to “decrypt” the scrambled entangled particles in the quantum extremal surface, and figure out what they are and where they came from.

Last year, having just solved a 50-year puzzle and proved Page’s life’s work, the team decided to focus on the mysterious “island” of particles that were in—but not “of” the black hole. The island is part of the radiation, but haven’t flown out or been transferred to the extremal surface.

 This disconnect is theorized as being part of the reason why black holes go down the other side of the Page curve, and if solving the black hole information paradox seemed hard, Musser described the issue of the mysterious island as causing the team to “look off into the distance, momentarily lost for words.”

 

 

Two asteroids set to cross Earth’s orbit just hours apart as another Great Pyramid-sized space rock barrels our way

19 Sep, 2020 17:16 / Updated 10 hours ago

Illustration: © Pixabay / urikyo33

Two 100-meter-wide asteroids are set to cross Earth’s orbit within hours of each other in the coming days as another space rock, the size of ancient Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, careens towards our planet.

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks asteroids and comets that will come close to Earth, has confirmed that it is monitoring two asteroids that are due to hurtle past on Friday, September 25. Both bodies are classed as Apollo asteroids, meaning they will cross Earth’s orbit as they fly through space.

The first asteroid, which is named 2020 RO, is estimated to be up to 130 meters wide. It will fly past on September 25 at 00:10 EST at a speed of 11.84 km per second.

The second asteroid, named 2020 SM, is expected to sail past Earth later that day, at a speed of 18.43 km per second. The slightly smaller space rock is estimated to measure up to 100 meters in diameter.

Although both asteroids are classed as near-Earth objects (NEOs) they are forecast to sail safely past our planet, despite coming into contact with its orbit. They were both discovered this year.

On September 29, a giant 200-meter-wide asteroid will silently pass Earth at a distance of around 1.78 million miles. The enormous visitor is comparable in size to Ancient Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza.

The interesting spate of asteroidal activity comes hot on the heels of an amateur astronomer in Brazil discovering a large asteroid that somehow slipped past Earth’s main planetary defenses just last month. 

The discovery served as a reminder to the world’s space agencies that there are still many asteroids out there that have yet to be detected.

https://www.rt.com/news/501168-two-asteroids-earth-orbit-hours-apart-pyramid/