Yet NASA still lied about the moon landing ● Could we be in danger if Betelgeuse goes supernova? ● The ancient Egyptians and Nubians controlled the Nile to an unexpected extent

The Apollo 11 crew is in quarantinePhoto: NASA / Sciencephoto / Profimedia

What NASA was hiding about satellites

You know, there were and still are many conspiracy theories that the 1969 moon landing was staged, organized by NASA to win the space race against the Soviet Union. Well, to add fuel to the fire, the 2014 Hollywood mega-production Interstellar alluded to this fact despite being one of the most scientifically documented films.

But that’s not what we wanted to talk about, because alienation is a fact. It really took place, there is no question of any discussion in this sense. But there were some, let’s call them lies, and they have just been presented in a study published in the specialized journal Isis, under the signature of the American historian from Georgetown University Dagomar Degrot in his name.

It is about the decontamination procedure carried out after the return of the three American astronauts who made the first landing on the moon: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. NASA has invested about 100 million dollars in creating a protocol to prevent contamination of the Earth by possible extraterrestrial microorganisms. It should be noted that at that time no one managed to bring lunar samples, let alone send and return a human crew from there. Therefore, the risk of infection was huge.

However, the implementation of the protocol was only a media show designed to appease public opinion. In fact, two specialized magazines of the time also claimed that everything went according to the books. And that would be the lie mentioned in the title.

According to the author of the study, the spacecraft, which made three flights there and back, was not designed to prevent contamination of the Earth’s environment by possible lunar microorganisms. The air in the capsule was removed and released into the atmosphere when the capsule re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and after falling into the ocean the capsule was opened wide to allow the three astronauts to exit.

Then NASA took a risk, assuming that the risk of contamination was extremely low (as it was proven). In subsequent press statements, NASA officials claimed that decontamination efforts had been accomplished at an unprecedented level. Obviously, this was not the case.

Meanwhile, NASA has developed a new protocol for future human missions to Mars. The probability of having microorganisms is still low, but much higher than in the case of the Moon. Let’s hope the protocol doesn’t fail again this time. Or at least that possible Martian germs are removed with a liquid disinfectant.

Could we be in danger if Betelgeuse goes supernova?

A few days ago, we informed you about the emergence of a study published by a group of Japanese astrophysicists regarding the imminent explosion of the red giant Betelgeuse and its transformation into a supernova. Even if Japanese experts emphasized that this phenomenon can happen after a decade at the most, not all researchers agree with them.

In fact, this process could take at least 1.5 million years and even 10 million years, experts believe. And these disagreements, which are given by different calculations, come precisely from the fact that no one knows exactly what is happening there.

A hint in favor of Nippon’s study may come from two independent versions, both dated to about two thousand years ago. This is a record of Gaius Julius Hyginus, superintendent of the Palatine Library under Octavian Augustus, and one from China of the same period attributed to the historian Sima Qian. Both reports describe Betelgeuse as Saturn-like, specifically yellow in color.

And this means that the transformation of the star in question into a red giant happened faster than anyone expected, and how the formation of a supernova could be just as fast. Therefore, the question that gnaws at all of us is related to how we can be affected by the extreme phenomenon of astfrel.

Experts say that we have no reason to worry. Betelgeuse is at a safe distance of about 600 light years from Earth. This could not be said if the supernova erupted at a maximum distance of 30 light years from us. Such phenomena have occurred in the past, will occur in the future, and the consequences are catastrophic and could lead to the destruction of the ozone layer, leading to mass extinctions.

In the case of Betelgeuse, the first thing Earth-based observatories would detect would be a shower of harmless neutrinos. Then the star will suddenly become very bright (already 50-60% brighter than normal). In about two weeks it will be as bright as the Moon. It will be visible even during the day, for up to one year. It will be visible to the naked eye at night for almost two years. Then it will disappear forever. That would be about it.

Space particles that can destroy the ozone layer will reach us in small enough quantities to pose a real danger. In fact, both our planet and the Moon have evidence in the form of radioactive iron that shows that a supernova occurred 2-3 billion years ago, only about 300 light years from Earth. And this event did not pose a serious problem for life on Earth, even if it was only at the microbial level at the time. In conclusion, we will not suffer anything. Just prepare your telescopes for it and be patient if you have to wait another few million years.

The ancient Egyptians and Nubians controlled the Nile to an unexpected extent

An international team of archaeologists has been able to identify more than 1,300 man-made structures created along the Nile, from Egypt to Sudan, using satellite images obtained using drones and with the help of on-site researchers.

Hundreds of them lie under the waters of the Nile after the construction of the Aswan Dam, but they appear in records of past centuries, as well as on a 200-year-old map of the area. Otherwise, it lies in the desert, indicating the existence of canals and watercourses that have dried up over thousands of years.

Luminescence analysis showed that the structures were created about 3,000 years ago, and the original purpose was to direct the waters of the Nile through so-called artificial irrigation channels to agricultural land. Later, they became real shipping channels, which facilitated the transportation of goods and troops between Egypt and Nubia.

It is interesting that the oldest buildings do not come from Egypt, but from Nubia. And some of them, which are now under the waters of the Nile, have walls five meters thick and 200 meters long, real dams that could divert the flow of the Nile according to the interests of their creators.

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