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May full moon 2024: See the Flower Moon blossom in gorgeous photos from around the world
May 24, 2024
May's full moon delighted skywatchers as it shined brightly in the spring sky and we've got the photos to prove it.
May's full moon, also known as the Flower Moon, rose shortly after sunset and was visible in the Scorpius constellation. It then processed to occult, or hide, Antares, a red supergiant star.
From New York City to ancient Greek temples, we take a look at some of the best May full moon photographs from around the world.
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https://www.space.com/may-full-moon-photos-2024
Invasive alien frog rapidly spreading on UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan
May 24, 2024
Japan's Environment Ministry has told NHK that an alien frog species is believed to be rapidly expanding its habitat on a small island designated as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The Asian tree frog is between 5 to 7 centimeters long and native to Southeast Asia.
Japan designates it as an invasive alien species that could harm local ecosystems.
The frog's existence on Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture was confirmed in May last year.
Since then, the species has been found at more than 40 locations and about 6,200 frogs have been killed there.
Experts are concerned that the alien frog could deprive the island's indigenous Amami green tree frog of insects they feed on and their breeding grounds.
Ministry officials have set up nets to stop the alien frog from further spreading its habitat.
They are also urging residents to come forward if they hear its croak or find spawn.
The Asian tree frog was found on Iriomote Island in Okinawa Prefecture, another World Natural Heritage Site, nine years ago.
The ministry got rid of the species and declared it eradicated four years later.
Ryukyu University Associate Professor Toda Mamoru warns that the Asian tree frog could expand its habitat to other islands.
He says the key to preventing this is to spot the species early, adding that residents can help by notifying authorities as soon as they spot frogs they don't usually see.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240524_21/
Experts admit they're trying to 'lure UFOs' to Earth with small 'handheld' nuclear reactors
09:04, 21 MAY 2024
Scientists are making small “handheld” nuclear reactors to try and lure aliens to Earth, an expert has claimed.
According to Kevin Knuth, Professor of Physics at the University at Albany, United States, the experimental idea is already being created as boffins ramp up efforts to bring extra-terrestrial beings to our planet.
And in an idea that couldn't go wrong no matter how hard they try, the Professor told an audience that the handheld mini-nukes are already being patented. He said: “We were trying to figure out how we can lure UFOs and work out how to make contact.
“We settled on the fact that UFOs have an interest in, and an ability to detect nuclear weapons – some of them underground, some of them in bunkers or in storage depots.
“How do they do this? Are they using neutrinos, which are really hard to detect, or gamma rays? We don't know. But my colleague has developed a new technology which is basically a handheld lithium-powered nuclear-fission reactor, which he is now patenting.
“The idea is to go out and power our UFO-observing equipment with the nuclear reaction, and maybe these guys will detect it and come down and find out what 'those crazy monkeys' are up to this time. And we can get some imagery or some data . . . that's our plan.”
The video clip of the claim was filmed at the Sol Foundation in California earlier this year, however the expert went into no further detail and it appears as if the comment was made as a throwaway story at the end of his talk as he began the claim with the phrase 'just one quick thing'.
The idea of using nuclear material to find aliens is not totally new, as infamous expert Avi Loeb used it to try to find UFOs during his Galileo Project search last year.
However, he has yet to find any aliens . . . and no alien-finding news has come out of University of Albany, either.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/experts-admit-theyre-trying-lure-32855511
Mystery Fireball Seen Breaking Up in Sky Over Southern Russia
Updated May 23, 2024 at 1:27 PM EDT
A mysterious fireball was spotted breaking up in the sky over southern Russia on Wednesday, videos shared by locals show.
Footage showing the unknown flying object was shared on social media by residents from several regions, including Stavropol Krai, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Krasnodar Krai, and the Republic of Kalmykia. Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that some residents believed it was a falling meteorite or comet, while others said they thought they had seen a satellite or an "enemy object."
The videos showed the fireball breaking up into multiple parts as it moved slowly across the night sky. Newsweek has not independently verified the footage.
This comes weeks after social media users reported seeing mysterious spiral UFO sightings across the United States and Europe.
Interest in unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) peaked last year after several experts testified before a Congress committee in July 2023 that they could pose a threat to national security.
A Gallup poll conducted in 2021 found that 41 percent of Americans believe alien spacecraft have visited Earth, up eight points from 33 percent in 2019.
RIA Novosti reported, citing amateur astronomers, that the sighting could have been space debris burning at low speed.
The Telegram channel of the observational astronomy project, AstroAlert, said the burning object was likely a SpaceX Starlink satellite.
"The culprit of today's sky show has been found! This is most likely STARLINK-2653," the channel said, sharing a map purportedly showing its flight path.
"On this map, its final flight path is the lower orbit turning from white to green and then to the red line, going through the center of the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, the Black Sea, Sochi and further over the northern Caspian Sea."
"15 minutes before combustion (at 17:35 UT or 20:35 Moscow time), the spacecraft flew over the western coast of Africa near a point with coordinates 0° longitude and 0° latitude," the channel said.
Russia this week announced that it had kickstarted the first stage of testing tactical nuclear weapons in the region. Personnel of the Southern Military District had started training and completing combat tasks with "special ammunition" for Iskander missile systems, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
There is no suggestion that the fireball spotted on Wednesday is linked to the tactical tests. Newsweek has reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
"The personnel of the aviation units of the Russian Aerospace Forces involved in the exercise practice are equipping aviation weapons with special warheads, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and flying into designated patrol areas," the statement said.
https://www.newsweek.com/mystery-fireball-sky-southern-russia-video-1903893
https://x.com/i/status/1793380583617491101