NASA's Curiosity to launch on November 26

NASA's new rover called Curiosity will launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force station located in Florida.
Curiosity's destination and mission objective? It's supposed to land inside the Gale crater on planet Mars. There, it will look for signs on whether Mars' environment was ever suitable for microbial life.

Source: NASA

Much longer and also much heavier than its two predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity weighs in at 900kg and is 3 feet long. It boasts ten scientific tools that all together weigh 15 times more than Spirit or Opportunity's scientific tools.
Curiosity is supposed to get to Mars in August of next year, after a long and treacherous 8 month journey through our solar system. 

Peruvian Mummy is Extraterrestrial?

A new discovery has been made in Peru, in which archaeologists found a mummy with a head almost 20 inches long. Its body? Also 20 inches long. 

The mummy was found by Renato Davila Riquelme, who works at the Privado Ritos Andinos museum found in Cusco. What Renato says is interesting about the head is that while it has a soft spot (commonly seen in babies) it also has wisdom teeth. Another interesting observation he makes is how large the eye sockets of the skeleron head are. Below is a video with more info on the subject.

Lightest Material on Earth

Scientists have invented the lightest material on Earth. Dubbed "ultralight metallic microlattice", it consists of 99.99% air. The material is easiest to make out of nickle, but it can also be made out of other metals.

How light is this material? Well to put it into perspective, it is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam, and when dropped from shoulder height, it acts like a feather and takes about 10 seconds to touch the ground. If that wasn't crazy enough, if it is placed on top of a dandelion, it does not damage the fluff at al, as seen in the picture  below.

Now, for its uses? Well, Lorenzo Valdevit (UCI's principal investigator on this project) says that it can be used for anything ranging from battery applications to acoustic dampening and even impact protection. Definitely an interesting  material.

There Was The Fifth Giant Planet In Our Solar System?

Astronomer David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute from Texas believes that our solar system may have had a fifth planet once near Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. He believes that this planet was designed in the depths of our galaxy in a moment of cosmic disorder. After carefully studying the Kuiper Belt and craters from the Moon, Nesvorny concluded that about 600 millions years ago in the life of our solar system unstable orbit dynamics appeared that affected giant planets and made smaller celestial objects scatter. So, some of them moved in the Kuiper Belt and others moved on the inside of the galaxy.There also existed an impact with the Moon and other planets. If things would have been like that, then changes in the orbit of Jupiter would have had devastating effect on large and small planets like the Earth, the last one being able to collide with Mars or Venus.

So, something was wrong. "My colleagues have suggested another way to solve this problem", said Nesvory in a press conference.

It was assumed that Jupiter's orbit could change very quickly and not too slowly. But it didn't solve the problem because all the computer simulations performed have shown that sudden change of Jupiter's orbit would have made the planets Uranus and Neptune to be expelled from our solar system. So, probably in our solar system there was a fifth giant planet. Introducing another giant planet with a mass similar to that of Uranus or Neptune made perfect computer simulations that is the result of today's solar system as we know it. With Jupiter remaining in his place the inner planets remained unaffected and the outer planets remained behind.

"The possibility that our solar system had more than four giant planets in the beginning and then some of them were ejected seem to be feasible conditions because recently scientists discovered a large number of free floating planets in interstellar space indicating that the process of ejection of planets is one that is currently happening", said Nesvorny.

Therefore, is this scenario were true this fifth planet could be Planet X?

Martian 'Tree Stump' Stuns The Scientific World

A photograph made ​​by NASA scientists during the mission on Mars in 2004, that was recently published, sparked a fierce controversy and dispute among scientists. The image shows a formation that looks strikingly like a tree trunk which - yet again - brings into question the existence of past or present life on Mars.

The discovery ignited the spirits of conspiracy theorists who said they were convinced that NASA hides the truth about the Mars mission from the public. Most of them are convinced that life flourished on the Red Planet as it did on Earth and that, for unknown reasons, the U.S. space agency and the U.S. government deliberately hides such information.

Scientists from NASA said that it's just an interpretation in which specific people associate images of unknown objects with ones they have in memory. They say that the "tree" on Mars is nothing but a rock formation with a form that is unusual. Researchers have emphasized that one of the vital elements of life, water, has been discovered on Mars even if it exists exclusively in the form of ice.

"I found two elements that could support life on Mars or are likely to sustain it in the future: water and nutrients from the soil. There was, however, no evidence of the existence of any plant or other living things." said Sam Kounaves, one of the researchers involved in the latest NASA space mission to Mars.

The Source Of Life On Earth - A Poisonous Substance ?

 A new study shows that formaldehyde, a poisonous chemical, could be one of the factors that led to the creation of organic compounds that gave rise to life. 

Formaldehyde formed from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, is a common molecule found in the Solar System. This chemical compound is commonly used on Earth in conservation actions such as anointing or biological samples. 

The organic molecules, in the composition of which is carbon is found, are found in solid forms on asteroids and comets. Scientists have been puzzled by the source of these organic molecules, professionals wanting to understand how they occurred. The answer they found recently is that they probably were created from formaldehyde in the primitive Solar System. 

George Cody and his co-researchers, Conel Alexander and Larry Nittler Carnegie at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, studied the carbon content of the meteorites to obtain information on the original organic compounds. "It is ironic that it is very likely that life appeared to be due to formaldehyde, a substance that is poisonous to living organisms on Earth," they said. 

To test the hypothesis that formaldehyde was the origin of life, scientists have developed a chemical process to produce organic compounds with formaldehyde as a starting point. They left the reaction to proceed, then the results are analyzed. 

Organic molecules obtained in the laboratory showed a striking resemblance to those found in meteorites and other organic material collected in the solar system (samples collected from comet 81P/Wild 2, interplanetary dust particles and other asteroids or comets). 

From the knowledge gained from research our primitive solar system, it appears that the chemical reaction produced in the laboratory may explain how organic compounds from outer space occurred naturally.

This study was published online on April 4, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Einstein - God Is The Expression And Product Of Human Weakness

The theory that Albert Einstein believed in of the existence of a creator was contradicted by himself in a letter written by him in his last year of life in which he describes religion as "primitive legends and childish."

Einstein's views on religion have long been debated, many clinging to its phrases such as "He (God) does not leave roll dice on peoples luck and life" as evidence that he believed in a creator.

But a letter was not made ​​public until now that was an answer to the philosopher Eric Gutkind Einstein shows that the scientist did not believe in the existence of God at all towards the end of his life.

The letter, dated January 3, 1954, wrote: "The word 'God' is nothing more to me than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible is a collection of legends honorable, but primitive, which are, however, quite childish . "No interpretation no matter how subtle can not change my opinion, " he adds.

NASA - Secret Pictures

The Mysterious Piece Of Wood Found On A Iceberg

Reporter Karen Barlow from the Australian Television, channel ABC, has embarked on the ship Aurora Australis ( strong icebreaker ) to go to Antarctica with a mission to study glaciers. She stumbled over a rectangular piece of wood on top opf an iceberg that is located around the South Magnetic Pole. According to Barlow, the other passengers on the ship have thought, from a distance, it would be a seal, but then they noticed the rectangular shape.

Of course, conspiracy theory supporters have begun to comment on this discovery. Some of them believe it's a door, which if opened will bring to the light some stairs that will lead to a secret passageway to the North Pole. Other say it's the secret hideout of Hitler, who would be hidden in the South Pole at the end of the Second World War. What do you think ?

Is Time Travel Possible ?

As much as it seems, in light of recent scientific theories in which thought could incredibly become reality : we might, at least in theory travel in space-time "tricking" the known laws of physics. Maybe not even tomorrow, after tomorrow, but definitely in a day when we overcome the stalemate putting in place the necessary technology.

The idea of time "flows" irreversible is so deeply rooted in human consciousness that we think we cant move back and forth in the fourth dimension it seems like only one scenario in Star Trek. 

"And yet, today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science. That is why it is our duty to study physical theorems fantasist applied by the crew of Star Trek. If i had to study only earthly matters, we further reduce our human potential". These words belong not an avid science fiction,but the most famous living physicist Stephen Hawking.

Russia Will Explore A Mysterious Lake In Antarctica

For 15 million years a lake closed in ice like in a capsule remained isolated in the deep crust of Antarctica. This lake is probably hiding prehistoric life forms unknown to us. Russian researchers are on track to reach this lake and uncover the secrets. The lake lies at a depth of 3750 meters below the ice cap and it took several weeks of drilling. Russian scientists are very excited and eager to reach the lake because it may provide informations about how our planet looked before the ice age. It can also offer information about possible conditions of life offered by similar places such as planets like Mars and Europe ( Jupiter's moon ). The lake was named Vostok and is about the size of the Siberian lake Baikal. It is the largest and deepest of the 150 sub-glacier lakes isolated in Antarctica. It is saturated with oxygen and does not resemble any other known place on the Earth. Russian research team had to leave the site on February 6 and at the last contact with them made public on February 4, they said they have to drill just 5 more meters, at a temperature of minus 40 Celsius degrees.

Are We Descendants Of Aliens ?

More and more theories and discoveries show that we are descendants of aliens or their experiments. One of these theories is that of Zacharie Sitchin. He has studied ancient civilizations all his life and always tried to understand their texts. So he learned that the Sumerian were the first civilization on our planet and that they worshiped their gods whom they had appointed Annunaki ( those who from heaven come to the Earths ). Annunaki, their god, taught Sumerian everything, surrounding to his teachings. He come to Earth from Nibiru, a planet. Planet X - Nibiru, passes through our solar system every 3600 years. This leads to the conclusion that Annunaki was a very evolved race who visited the Earth and formed the first civilization.

A Japanese Atlantis ?

Egyptian Pyramids - best known pyramids - are not far from the only building of their kind in the world. Very impressive and mysterious to us today are the pyramids and monuments found at the bottom of the Sea of Japan.  These buildings appear to be aged to at least 10,000 years. We do not know who raised these monuments and how they got under water. Maybe it's the Lemurians work ? Maybe a Japanese Atlantis? Who can know ?

Lightning produces antimatter ?

Scientists have detected particles of antimatter over lightning on Earth, an unknown phenomenon, informs NASA. Researchers at NASA detected Gamma radiation with Fermi telescope's help. They believe that antimatter particles were formed inside the storm and lightning associated with them. 

"These signals are the first direct evidence that storms produce antimatter particles", said Michael Briggs,a member of the study team from the University of Alabama. The Fermi telescope is designed to monitor gamma rays, the highest given by light energy. When antimatter particles collide with normal matter, both particles are annihilated and converted into gamma radiation.

The Universe Has Over 100 Advanced Civilizations

The international community should prepare for a close encounter with alien civilizations, said the Academy of Sciences of the United Kingdom, after a long study done on the existence of life in the Universe. " Based on the famous Drake equation that helps determine the number of civilizations in the galaxy and the possibility of coming into contact with them, we can say that in the Universe exists between 10 and 100 extraterrestrial civilizations", said one of the authors of the report, Scottish professor Martin Dominik, from St. Andrews University. " This is the most conservative estimate, there are actually many more intelligent forms of life", he added. 

Above mentioned formula was developed by Frank Donald Drake, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the Santa Cruz University from California, in 1960.

Now, British scientists want to make a special agency that will deal with anticipated problems related to meeting with extraterrestrial civilizations. This agency should be established within the UN structures.

Professor Dominik urged people not to be afraid of " space aliens" because in reality " alternative worlds are not hazards as described in science fiction literature".