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https://www.livescience.com/space/best-space-photos-of-2025
Best space photos of 2025
December 22, 2025
The final frontier is an unendingly beautiful expanse filled with unimaginable wonders, making it the perfect sandbox for photographers, astronomical observatories and space-based telescopes to capture incredible images that we can hardly fathom. And 2025 was no different.
This year, we covered a range of stunning space images, from an eye-catching alien comet and a planetary parade portrait to the first Vera C. Rubin photos and otherworldly animal lookalikes. Here are 10 of our absolute favorites.
Alien visitor transforms into a "cosmic rainbow"
The biggest space news story this year was undoubtedly the arrival of the third-ever interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, which has dominated headlines and astronomers' attention ever since it was first spotted speeding through the solar system in early July.
As a result, there has been no shortage of stunning shots of the alien comet. Our favorite is this timelapse image captured by the Gemini North telescope on the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano.
The image was created by combining 16 different photos using multiple colored filters to create a giant cosmic rainbow.
"The Fall of Icarus"
One of the most unbelievable photos of 2025 was this solar spectacle, dubbed The Fall of Icarus, which perfectly captured the moment a skydiver fell directly in front of the sun.
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy captured this shot in early November, at a distance of around 8,000 feet (2,440 meters) from the skydiver, YouTuber Gabriel C. Brown.
It took six attempts to properly line up Brown with the solar surface before the thrill-seeker leapt from a small propeller-powered craft at an altitude of around 3,500 feet (1,070 m).
"It was a narrow field of view, so it took several attempts to line up the shot," McCarthy told Live Science. "Capturing the sun is something I'm quite familiar with, but this added new challenges."
Vera C. Rubin's stream of stars
In June, the most powerful digital camera on Earth winked on. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile's Atacama desert revealed its first-ever images in June.
These debut photos were chock-full of cosmic treasures, including the spiral galaxy M61 (shown here), which researchers noticed was being trailed by a massive stellar tail around the same size as the Milky Way.
We can look forward to many more spellbinding shots from Rubin in the coming years as it begins its decade-long survey of the night sky.
In late January and early February, up to six of the solar system's planets were simultaneously visible in the night sky in what astronomers refer to as a "planetary parade."
This particular parade was one of the best in recent years, allowing astrophotographers to snap several stunning pics of the event.
Our favorite pick of the bunch is this planetary portrait from French astrophotographer Gwenaël Blanck, which he digitally edited to show each planet alongside the sun in the order of distance from Earth.
Blanck snapped each of the individual worlds within 80 minutes of one another.
Giant "diamond ring" shines in X-ray
All that glitters is not gold, and in this scintillating starscape, released in November, it is high-energy X-rays that sparkle like a giant ring.
This object, dubbed a "diamond ring," is an expanding bubble of gas in a star-forming region of the Cygnus constellation. The glowing bubble is around 20 light-years across and is around 400,000 years old.
It was photographed by NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which previously scanned the night sky from a telescope onboard a Boeing 747SP aircraft, at an altitude of more than 45,000 feet (13,700 m).
The cosmic ring is not to be confused with Einstein rings, which are rings of light created by gravitational lensing.
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A cosmic butterfly spreads its wings
JWST has, yet again, captured some stunning photos in 2025, including the fiery Cigar Galaxy, a tantruming stellar toddler and a "starlit mountaintop" nebula. However, our favorite is this striking portrait of the "Butterfly Star," IRAS 04302+2247.
The insect imposter's shining wings are made from a mini nebula of stellar material leftover from a supernova. This nebula is bisected by a protoplanetary disk that surrounds the baby star like a cosmic cocoon, and just happens to be aligned with Earth so that the two halves of the nebula are seen from side-on. It is located around 525 light-years away, in a star-forming region, known as the Taurus Molecular Cloud.
Arsia Mons rises
Speaking of Mars, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter also captured this stunning shot of a giant dead volcano peeking above the clouds on the Red Planet, as eerie green lights dance above the Martian horizon.
The mountain in the image is Arsia Mons, which stands at more than 12 miles (19 kilometers) above the surface of the previously volcanic Tharsis plateau.
The extinct volcano is more than twice as tall as Mount Everest, but around 4 miles (6 km) shorter than Mars' tallest peak, Olympus Mons.
The green lights look like auroras. But they are actually just an effect of the image being partially captured using infrared light, which emanates from the planet's wispy atmosphere.
Seen by the "Eye of Sauron"
There is no escaping the dark lord of Mordor's malevolent gaze, even from halfway across the universe.
That's the impression given by this photo, dubbed the "Eye of Sauron," which playfully references J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings."
The "eye" is actually the magnetic field of a supercharged energy jet being shot into space by a quasar — a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy.
This quasar, dubbed PKS 1424+240, is billions of light-years from Earth and has one of its jets pointed almost directly at our planet, allowing researchers to peer directly through its "jet cone" and map out the magnetic swirls within.
New "heavenly" pillars emerge
This ethereal image shows a set of stellar structures reminiscent of the famous "Pillars of Creation," first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.
The structure is named Ua 'Ōhi'a Lani, which means the "heavenly rains" in Hawaiin, and this image of it was taken by the Gemini North telescope.
What you are seeing is two distinct regions: the twinkling blue stars of a star cluster, named NGC 6823, overlapping the veil of red gas that comprises a more distant emission nebula, dubbed NGC 6820.
The ethereal pillars are made from additional gas and dust that have been sculpted by the foreground stars' intense radiation.
The original pillars of creation were also recently given a glow-up by JWST, which captured the iconic cosmic structures using infrared light.
Astronaut snaps a giant "jellyfish" over Earth
As incredible as it is to point our cameras out into the universe, space also provides a unique angle of our own planet. And that's exactly the case in our final photo, which shows off a giant, electrifying "jellyfish" hovering above Earth.
The luminous branching structure was snapped by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers in July, while onboard the ISS. It shows a type of transient luminous event that researchers commonly call sprites.
In this case, the red jellyfish-like sprite formed at the summit of a rare upward-shooting "gigantic jet" of lightning, up to 50 miles (80 km) above the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Military Jet Performs 'Headbutt' On Plane Intruding Into Mar-a-Lago Airspace
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 - 04:15 PM
Fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft that violated restricted airspace over President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 21, military officials said.
The aircraft entered restricted airspace at about 9:20 a.m., prompting an F-16 fighter jet to conduct what is called a “headbutt maneuver,” in which the jet flies directly in front of a civilian plane to get the pilot’s attention, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a news release.
NORAD, which oversees the airspace of the United States and Canada, did not specify the type of aircraft involved or its point of origin or destination.
Temporary flight restrictions went into effect at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 19 ahead of Trump’s arrival in Palm Beach later that night for his annual Christmas and New Year’s visit to Mar-a-Lago.
The restrictions, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), are set to remain in place until 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2026.
Under the restrictions, most flights are prohibited within a 10-nautical-mile radius, or about 12 miles, around Mar-a-Lago. A larger outer ring extending to 30 nautical miles, or roughly 35 miles, allows more limited aircraft movement, according to the FAA.
When an aircraft violates the restricted airspace, air traffic controllers would try to contact the pilot and instruct them to exit the area.
If the pilot does not respond, NORAD may dispatch fighter jets to intercept the aircraft. Intercepting pilots may fly alongside the plane, tip their wings, release flares, or perform other maneuvers to attract the pilot’s attention.
Pilots who violate temporary flight restrictions may face penalties ranging from warnings and fines to suspension or revocation of their pilot certificates, the FAA said.
Since Trump was elected to a second term, he has made multiple weekend visits to Palm Beach County, triggering flight restrictions each time he is in town.
In early March, less than two months into Trump’s second presidency, NORAD said it had already intercepted 20 civilian aircraft for violating temporary flight restrictions near his Palm Beach residence.
A more recent incident occurred on Nov. 30 during the Thanksgiving weekend, when NORAD dispatched F-16s after a civilian aircraft entered restricted airspace.
In that case, fighter jets released flares before escorting the plane out of the restricted zone, officials said.
NORAD advised pilots to carefully review all Notices to Airmen and temporary flight restrictions before they take off.
“NORAD employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter aircraft to identify aircraft and determine the appropriate response,” officials said in the Dec. 21 statement.
“The identification and monitoring of aircraft demonstrates how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions for the United States and Canada.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/military-jet-performs-headbutt-plane-intruding-mar-lago-airspace
Doomed SpaceX Starlink satellite photographed from orbit
December 23, 2025
We just got a great up-close look at a SpaceX Starlink satellite in orbit, thanks to Vantor's WorldView-3 spacecraft.
On Wednesday (Dec. 17), this particular Starlink suffered an anomaly that caused a loss of communication with the ground and an unscheduled venting of its propulsion tank.
The satellite is now tumbling and headed down toward Earth’s atmosphere, where it will be incinerated in a matter of weeks, according to SpaceX.
SpaceX asked Vantor (previously known as Maxar Intelligence) to image the stricken satellite, to get a better understanding of its condition. And Vantor delivered.
The company used its WorldView-3 Earth-observing satellite to image the Starlink spacecraft on Thursday (Dec. 18) from a distance of 150 miles (241 kilometers).
The photo, taken while the duo were flying over Alaska, features a resolution of 4.7 inches (12 centimeters), providing SpaceX with key information about the satellite.
"Our team took advantage of the advanced capabilities of our non-Earth imaging technology and recently expanded collection capacity to move quickly and provide SpaceX with confirmation that their satellite was mostly intact," Todd Surdey, Vantor’s executive vice president and general manager of enterprise and emerging products, said in a statement on Saturday (Dec. 20).
"This rapid intelligence delivery enabled them to quickly assess possible damage to the spacecraft."
There is apparently some damage: Data suggests that the satellite released a small number of debris objects as a result of the anomaly. But those pieces, and the satellite itself, shouldn't a present a problem to other spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), according to SpaceX.
"We appreciate the rapid response by @vantortech to provide this imagery. Additional data suggest that there is a small number of trackable debris objects from the event, and we expect the satellite and debris to reenter and fully demise within weeks," Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink engineering at SpaceX, said in an X post on Saturday.
Starlink is by far the largest satellite constellation ever assembled. It currently consists of about 9,300 active spacecraft — about 65% of all the operational satellites in Earth orbit.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/doomed-spacex-starlink-satellite-photographed-from-orbit
https://twitter.com/michaelnicollsx/status/2002419447521562638
Korea’s first commercial space launch attempt fails as Hanbit-Nano rocket appears to explode after liftoff
Updated: 23 Dec. 2025, 18:53
Hanbit-Nano rocket, Korea’s first attempt at a commercial space launch, ended in failure on Tuesday when the Innospace rocket failed shortly after liftoff from Brazil.
Innospace said the Hanbit-Nano rocket lifted off at 10:13 a.m. (Korea time) from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil, with the first-stage ignition of its 25-ton-class hybrid rocket engine proceeding as planned.
An in-flight anomaly was detected about 30 seconds after liftoff. Live video footage showed a large flame engulfing the vehicle, followed by what appeared to be an explosion.
"The launch vehicle was brought down within the ground safety zone after an anomaly was detected,” Innospace said. "It collided with the ground within a secured area, and there are no signs of casualties or additional damage.”
The company said it is investigating the cause of the mission’s termination and will disclose the results of its data analysis at a later date.
The mission ended in line with safety procedures as systems designed to meet Brazilian Air Force and international standards worked as intended.
The Hanbit-Nano rocket launch went ahead after several delays to secure favorable conditions. Liftoff was initially scheduled for 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday but was postponed until later in the morning due to heavy rain and other weather concerns.
The mission aimed to deploy eight small satellites for customers in Brazil and India into low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 300 kilometers (186 miles). The flight marked a milestone as the first commercial launch attempt led by a Korean private company.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-12-23/business/tech/Koreas-first-commercial-space-launch-attempt-fails-after-HanbitNano-rocket-appears-to-explode-after-liftoff/2484524
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/south-korean-startup-innospace-fails-on-its-1st-orbital-launch-attempt
Earth has a hidden space barrier… and humans put it there by accident
December 23, 2025
In a discovery that reads like science fiction, scientists have confirmed that human radio transmissions have formed an unexpected barrier in space.
This artificial shield appears to influence the planet’s radiation environment, shaping the very boundaries of Earth’s near-space environment.
The finding emerged from observations made by NASA’s Van Allen Probes, which studied Earth’s radiation belts in unprecedented detail before their deactivation in 2019.
What researchers uncovered was both accidental and extraordinary: emissions in the very low frequency (VLF) range, used in submarine communications, are interacting with charged particles high above the Earth, forming a detectable and surprisingly stable structure in space.
Human-made Radio Waves Are Altering the Van Allen Belts
NASA’s Van Allen Probes revealed that VLF signals, transmitted from ground-based sources—are leaking into space and interacting with high-energy particles.
These signals, although not initially designed for this purpose, appear to be pushing the inner edge of the Van Allen belts farther from Earth.
According to a NASA statement, the region now occupied by this artificial barrier aligns almost exactly with the belts’ inner boundary. Phil Erickson, assistant director at the MIT Haystack Observatory, explained that:
“A number of experiments and observations have figured out that, under the right conditions, radio communications signals in the VLF frequency range can in fact affect the properties of the high-energy radiation environment around the Earth,”
These signals create a bubble-like structure that wasn’t observed in early measurements from the 1960s. The changes suggest a direct link between decades of radio transmissions and the current structure of Earth’s radiation belts.
The Invisible Bubble Reshapes Near-earth Space
The newly identified bubble isn’t visible or tangible in the traditional sense, but its effects are measurable.
It functions as a kind of shield, nudging energetic particles away from Earth and changing how radiation behaves in near-Earth orbit.
Although scientists caution against calling it a force field, its ability to block or redirect cosmic particles is significant.
As IFLScience notes, this barrier corresponds to the same zone where VLF signals have the strongest effect, offering a possible explanation for the belts’ altered shape.
The phenomenon appears stable, and its boundary is consistent with the reach ofradio emissions used in military and maritime communication.
The implication: human technologies developed for entirely different purposes are now shaping the physical conditions of space.
Researchers Are Testing New Protective Applications
Although the creation of this barrier was unintentional, scientists are now considering whether VLF signals could be used more deliberately to shield sensitive equipment or even entire regions of Earth from harmful space weather.
“With further study, VLF transmissions may serve as a way to remove excess radiation from the near-Earth environment,” as explained by the United States space program.
It’s still too soon to say what this could be used for, but the discovery has sparked new discussion about how much we’re already shaping space without meaning to.
Thisinvisible shield, created by everyday communication tech, might one day help protect us, a curious twist in the story of human progress.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/techandscience/earth-has-a-hidden-space-barrier-and-humans-put-it-there-by-accident/ar-AA1SQvwN?cvid=694a30f3480443c88c7c39892e7297cd&ocid=DELLDHP
Merry Christmas frens
Rare dusting of snow covers one of the driest places on Earth and shuts down massive radio telescope — Earth from space
December 23, 2025
This striking satellite photo captured a rare spectacle earlier this year, when "one of the driest places on Earth" experienced a rare snowstorm.
This freak event temporarily turned the barren, rocky landscape white — and briefly shut down one of the world's most powerful radio telescopes.
The Atacama Desert is a roughly 40,500-square-mile (105,000 square kilometer) non-polar desert, located within a 1,000-mile-long (1,600 km) strip of land nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains in northern Chile.
It is the world's oldest non-polar desert, having remained semi-arid for at least 150 million years. And it is home to the sunniest spot on Earth, the Altiplano Plateau, which experiences sunlight levels equivalent to those on Venus.
The desert is also widely considered to be one of the driest places on Earth, alongside other hyperarid spots, such as Antarctica and the Sahara.
Some areas currently experience as little as 0.002 inches (0.5 millimeters) of rain annually, according to Guinness World Records. Previous research has hinted that parts of the Atacama went nearly 400 years without any recorded rain, between 1570 and 1971.
On June 25, a rare snowstorm hit Atacama after a "cold-core cyclone" unexpectedly drifted down from the north, covering over half the desert with white powder, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.
The satellite photo above shows a section of the desert in the Chajnantor Plateau, which rises to around 16,000 feet (5,000 meters) above sea level.
This area is home to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observatory — an array of more than 50 radio dishes that scour the "Dark Universe." (ALMA itself is not visible in the aerial photo.)
This area is well-suited to astronomical research because it is remote, dry and well-elevated, which reduces interference and maximizes the amount of data telescopes like ALMA can collect.
But when the snow settled over the observatory, it temporarily forced ALMA into "survival mode," meaning that the dishes were repositioned to stop them from accumulating snow, halting observations.
The icy dust may have also affected the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope, located around 530 miles (850 km) southwest of ALMA, but to a lesser extent, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com.
The newly constructed Vera C. Rubin Observatory is also located in Atacama, near the SOAR telescope, but was not affected by the storm.
The snow did not last long, and most of it had disappeared by July 16. In some places, the sunlight was so intense that the snow likely sublimated, or turned directly from solid to gas, before it melted, according to the Earth Observatory.
This is not the first time that snow has fallen in the Atacama. Similar events also occurred in 2011, 2013 and 2021.
The region has also experienced several intense bouts of rain in recent years. When this happens, it can trigger deadly mudflows.
In March 2015, at least 31 people were killed after heavy rainfall triggered Atacama's largest ever flood, according to a 2016 study.
Rain can also cause desert flowers, which normally appear in spring, to unexpectedly bloom during winter months, creating fields of vibrant petals to sprout up around the desert.
This most recently happened in 2024, after a surprise rain shower caught the plants off guard.
Precipitation is rare in the Atacama for two reasons. Firstly, it sits within the "rain shadow" of the Andes, which block clouds moving in from the east.
And second, cold ocean currents off the region's western Pacific coastline prevent water from evaporating into the air over the desert.
This makes Atacama inhospitable to most lifeforms, aside from hardy desert flowers and extreme microbes that live well below its dry surface.
However, the recent instances of extreme precipitation in the region could be a sign that human-caused climate change is making it more likely for snow and rain to fall there.
If this continues, the Atacama may one day no longer be one of the driest places on Earth.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/rare-dusting-of-snow-covers-one-of-the-driest-place-on-earth-and-shuts-down-massive-radio-telescope-earth-from-space
Russia planning 'clouds of shrapnel' in space to take down Starlink satellites, two NATO nations claim
Updated: Dec 23, 2025, 11:46 IST
Story highlights
Is Russia planning to sabotage Starlink satellites? According to intelligence findings by two NATO nations, Moscow could deploy a weapon capable of disabling multiple satellites.
This would be done to hit Ukraine's communications during the ongoing war.
Russia is reportedly developing "orbiting clouds of shrapnel" to target Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation to damage Ukraine's prospects on the battlefield.
Two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Moscow could be building a new anti-satellite weapon to hit Starlink internet services. The Associated Press reported that the intelligence findings show that Russia is working on what is being called a “zone-effect” weapon.
This involves flooding Starlink orbits with hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets to disable multiple satellites at once. According to the findings, Russia sees Starlink’s high-speed internet service as a grave threat to its ambitions in Ukraine.
Battlefield communications, weapons targeting and several other areas in Ukraine depend on Starlink satellites amid the ongoing war with Russia.
China and Russia have thousands of active satellites
However, this attack would not just take out Starlink satellites, but other orbiting systems would also be affected, triggering a catastrophe in space. If Russia deploys such a weapon, it risks damaging its own fleet of satellites, besides China's, experts say.
Notably, both countries have a fleet of thousands of orbiting satellites that they use for communications, defence and other purposes. Chaos in Earth's orbit would take down their satellites as well, which means Russia might not go ahead with this plan, according to analysts.
Victoria Samson, a space-security specialist at the Secure World Foundation, said, “I would be very surprised, frankly, if they were to do something like that.”
Would Russia risk damaging its own satellites?
However, others think something like this is possible since Russia has been "pursuing an indiscriminate nuclear, space-based weapon", as alleged by the US in the past.
Canadian military’s Space Division, Brig. Gen. Christopher Horner said, “I can’t say I’ve been briefed on that type of system. But it’s not implausible."
He added that if what the US says about Moscow's ambitions of having a nuclear weapons system is accurate, then it wouldn’t be shocking if "something just short of that, but equally damaging" is developed and placed in space.
Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin has clarified in the past that his country has no intention of deploying nuclear space weapons.
It had also called on the United Nations to push and stop the orbital deployment of such weapons. Meanwhile, AP stated that it wasn't able to verify the findings. Neither Russia nor the US Space Force comment on the matter.
The French military’s Space Command told the publication, "We can inform you that Russia has, in recent years, been multiplying irresponsible, dangerous, and even hostile actions in space", but did not comment on the particular alleged deployment.
https://www.wionews.com/trending/russia-planning-clouds-of-shrapnel-to-take-down-starlink-satellites-two-nato-nations-claim-1766466027538
How to track Santa Claus this Christmas Eve with NORAD's 2025 tracker
December 23, 2025
It started on Christmas Eve in 1955, when an eager child picked up the phone to call Santa Claus and instead accidentally called a U.S. military air defense facility.
That facility is operated by Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), the precursor to today's North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and should have only been reachable by a select few high-ranking officers and the President of the United States.
But on Christmas Eve 1955, confused airmen usually tasked with tracking aircraft from foreign airspace ended up impersonating Santa Claus thanks to that child who dialed a wrong number.
The accident quickly became a tradition and, like many other traditions, its origin story began to grow ever more elaborate over the years, sometimes involving a misprinted phone number in an advertisement.
But whatever the truth of that first fateful phone call, by 1960, NORAD was posting public updates on Santa's position each Christmas, and 2025 is no different.
"This Christmas season marks seven decades of the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracking Santa Claus on radar as he flies his reindeer-powered sleigh around the globe," the U.S. Department of Defense wrote in a statement.
"Each year on Dec. 24, Santa Claus and his reindeer launch from the North Pole very early in the morning for their famous trip around the world. The minute they launch, NORAD starts to track him."
But even though NORAD tracks Santa's flight around the world on Christmas Eve, that doesn't mean the air defense command knows Kris Kringle's route ahead of time.
"NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house," a senior NORAD official said in the statement.
The U.S. military's statement notes that fighter pilots have intercepted Santa Claus' sleigh many times over the years as he enters NORAD's airspace.
A previous DOD statement that is no longer available online (an archived version is available here) states NORAD is able to track Santa using infrared sensors on satellites that are designed to detect the heat from rocket or missile launches.
"As Santa flies through the skies, satellites track his position by detecting Rudolph's nose, which gives off an infrared signature similar to that of a missile," the statement reads.
Since the 1970s, NORAD has used a series of satellites known as the Defense Support Program (DSP) to detect the bright flashes of heat and light emitted by intercontinental ballistic missiles and rocket launches.
In addition, the U.S. Space Force is currently launching satellites to build out a new infrared early-warning constellation known as SBIRS-GEO (Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit) to boost the U.S. military's ability to detect and track launches.
These satellites feature sensors that continuously scan the entire Earth, providing 24/7 missile warning capability.
The sensors aboard SBIRS satellites are more also sensitive than those on DSP spacecraft, which will eventually be phased out as the SBIRS constellation is completed.
Over 1,000 volunteers including both civilians and uniformed military personnel give their time each Christmas at NORAD's headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The volunteers answer hundreds of thousands of phone calls each year, the DOD's statement says.
NORAD's Santa Tracker goes online at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Dec. 24. Children of all ages eager to know where St. Nick is can call (+1) 877-HI-NORAD (877-446-6723) or visit NORADSanta.org.
NORAD's Santa Tracker also has apps available for Android and iOS.
https://www.space.com/entertainment/how-to-track-santa-claus-this-christmas-eve-with-norads-2025-tracker
Space Flag 26-1 expands, advances electromagnetic warfare tactics
Dec. 22, 2025
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Space Training and Readiness Command concluded its largest iteration of Space Flag, Dec. 19, 2025, challenging Guardians as well as joint partners in a contested environment designed to mirror real-world conflict.
The 22nd iteration began Dec. 1 and saw over 400 “Blue” players and nearly 300 Exercise Control Group members across several distributed locations.
Hosted by the 392nd Combat Training Squadron, this iteration introduced the use of live range emitters employed for real-time signal geolocation. This gave players the opportunity to use their equipment and test their skills just like they would in real-world operations.
“As exercise developers, we want to create a realistic and challenging environment for our players to engage in,” said Lt. Col. Bryce Carlson, 392nd CTS commander.
“Using our wide range of modeling and simulation capabilities or through live environments, exercises like Space Flag allow us to stress our players in a combat like environment and test them to make sure that they can accomplish their mission objectives under a range of conditions.”
Space Flag 26-1 also integrated with Combat Forces Command’s Combat Leaders Development Course for the first time, placing combat squadron commanders and enlisted leaders in scenarios designed to assess how they lead their formations under wartime conditions.
Their assessment and feedback provide students and exercise players with ways to improve tactics and procedures, while informing how Space Flag continues to evolve to support combat-ready leadership and operational execution.
An initial team from Space Forces Indo-Pacific Command also participated to assess operational concepts of two different non-kinetic fires elements, a new development which integrates CFC’s Mission Delta 3 and the U.S. Army’s 1st Space Brigade to improve operational planning related to electromagnetic warfare.
“Our ultimate goal is to prepare Guardians and joint operators to win in a contested space environment,” said Carlson.
“We continually utilize feedback we receive from our planners and exercise players to evolve and advance our exercises to mirror real-world threats so that Guardians are combat credible and ready to fight as part of the Joint force.”
This iteration’s objectives reflected real-world joint plans and CFC priorities and aimed to facilitate Space Force Generation (SPAFORGEN) readiness and training objectives.
Space Flag 26-1 reinforced combat squadron leaders’ and mission planning cells’ ability to integrate plans across CFC and execute operational direction at the tactical level.
“Our teams are constantly innovating to find ways to provide threat-informed combat training environments to our Guardians and joint operators,” said Col. Agustin “Rico” Carrero, Delta 11 commander.
“It’s extremely rewarding to be able to demonstrate and improve our Guardians’ warfighting readiness through Space Flag’s increasingly robust virtual environment, ensuring their lethality and decisive action against any adversary.”
https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4366517/space-flag-26-1-expands-advances-electromagnetic-warfare-tactics/
Two US mercenaries killed fighting for Ukraine – Newsweek
23 Dec, 2025 11:23
Two American mercenaries have been killed while fighting for Ukraine against Russian forces in December, Newsweek has reported.
The deaths of the US citizens, identified as Brian Zacherl and Ty Wingate, has been confirmed by their relatives on social media, the outlet said in an article on Monday.
They were apparently members of the International Legion, which is subordinate to the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), it added.
Zacherl’s nephew wrote in a post on Facebook on December 5 that he had been “killed in battle a couple of days ago,” the article read.
The mercenary’s wife and two children remained in Kiev, “waiting for conditions to allow the recovery of his body from the battlefield,” according to the nephew.
The mercenary’s father, Brian Zacherl Senior, is a former US marine who also worked for the CIA between 2013 to 2018, RIA Novosti reported after studying his accounts on social media.
Wingate died on December 3 when a Russian drone struck an armored personnel carrier he was traveling in, Newsweek reported, citing his sister. He left behind a pregnant wife, she said.
There is no official data on the number of US citizens who have been killed since the escalation between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.
According to figures from the Kiev-based Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, which hosts an exhibition on foreign mercenaries participating in the ongoing conflict, there had been 92 American fatalities as of early September.
The exhibition’s curator, Yury Gorpinich, told the New York Times that “several thousand” US citizens have served with Ukrainian forces so far.
In April, the Kiev government simplified rules for recruiting foreigners into its military as Ukraine struggles to replenish heavy losses suffered on the front line amid mass draft avoidance and desertions.
Over 15,000 mercenaries, mostly from Poland, the US, and Georgia, have taken part in the fighting on Kiev’s side, according to estimates by Moscow.
Nearly 6,500 of them have been killed in action as of December 2024, according to Russian figures.
Russia has consistently warned that any non-Ukrainians serving in Kiev’s military will be regarded as mercenaries, who are not covered by the Geneva Convention protections usually granted to combatants.
https://www.rt.com/news/629916-ukraine-americans-mercenaries-killed/
Putin not interested in war with NATO – German defense chief
23 Dec, 2025 15:42
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to engage in a direct conflict with NATO, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said.
NATO chief Mark Rutte claimed earlier this month that “we are Russia’s next target” once the Ukraine conflict ends.
He suggested that Moscow “could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” urging member states to ramp up military spending as soon as possible.
When asked about Rutte’s comments during an interview with Die Zeit newspaper on Monday, Pistorius replied: “I don’t believe in such a scenario.”
“In my estimation, Putin is not interested in waging a full-scale world war against NATO. He wants to destroy NATO from within… by undermining its unity,” he claimed.
According to Pistorius, Moscow is also “strategically working to get the Americans to withdraw” from Europe.
During his end-of-year Q&A session last week, Putin said he knew Rutte as a “smart man” from his time as the Dutch prime minister, but added that “I sometimes want to ask him: What nonsense are you spouting about war with Russia?”
“They are preparing for a war with Russia. Can you read? Why don’t you read the new US national security strategy, what does it say?” Putin stressed.
The document, which was released by the administration of US President Donald Trump in early December, does not mention Russia as a threat to the West, explicitly states that NATO should not expand further, and criticizes the EU’s political and cultural direction.
On Monday, Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov echoed Putin’s comments, saying that Moscow is ready to provide legal guarantees that it will not attack NATO and the EU as part of a Ukraine conflict settlement based on the principle of equal and indivisible security.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected claims that it harbors any aggressive plans against NATO, suggesting they are only being made by Western politicians to distract the public from domestic problems and justify the militarization of their countries.
https://www.rt.com/news/629927-nato-putin-germany-rutte/
Russia strikes military and energy sites in Ukraine – MOD
23 Dec, 2025 15:03
The Russian military has conducted concentrated strikes on Ukraine’s military and energy infrastructure overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
The strikes involved long-range kamikaze drones, as well as air- and ground-launched high-precision weaponry, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The strikes affected Ukrainian defense-industry sites and power plants feeding them, and came in response to Kiev’s “terrorist attacks on civilian sites in Russia,” the ministry added.
The Russian military did not provide an exact list of targets or the number of munitions used in the overnight strikes, stating only that all the designated targets were hit successfully.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, the strikes involved around 600 kamikaze drones and dozens of missiles of various types.
Major power outages have been reported in several Ukrainian regions, primarily in the west of the country.
According to the Ukrainian Energy Ministry, the regions of Rovno, Ternopol, and Kmelnitsky have suffered “almost” blanket blackouts, with major outages also occurring in Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Chernigov, Dnepropetrovsk, and Kharkov regions.
Ukraine’s interim energy minister, Artyom Nekrasov, claimed that the overnight strikes affected several substations linked to the country’s nuclear power plants, with the facilities forced to lower their output.
The country’s largest private energy operator, DTEK, said several of its thermal power plants were damaged during the strikes. The company did not explicitly name the locations affected by the attack.
Port and energy infrastructure sustained damage in Ukraine’s Odessa Region, local authorities said, specifying that a “civilian dry cargo vessel” and “empty warehouse” were affected by the strikes.
In recent weeks, Moscow and Kiev have been actively exchanging long-range strikes, primarily using assorted kamikaze drones.
The Russian military maintains a campaign against military and dual-use sites as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks inside Russia that often hit critical infrastructure and residential areas.
https://www.rt.com/russia/629925-ukraine-military-energy-strikes/
Ukrainian forces kill 20 civilians in a week – Russian diplomat
23 Dec, 2025 13:40
At least 20 civilians were killed and 73 others injured, including three children, in Ukrainian attacks last week, according to Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik.
Most of the victims were reported in the Kherson, Belgorod, and Zaporozhye regions, the senior Foreign Ministry official in charge of tracking alleged Ukrainian war crimes said in a weekly update. Most of the deaths and injuries were attributed to drone strikes.
A five-month-old infant injured in the city of Belgorod was the youngest victim highlighted by the diplomat, while a 91-year-old woman hurt in a drone attack on a village in Zaporozhye Region was the oldest.
The number of weekly civilian casualties this year peaked in late May, when Russia and Ukraine held direct talks in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Miroshnik said at the time that the spike in Ukrainian attacks was ordered by Kiev’s European backers in an attempt to derail the negotiations. He stated that “Kiev was directed to use virtually any means, including terrorist action,” for that purpose.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Kiev of using “terrorist tactics” and deliberately targeting civilians due to Ukrainian forces’ inability to achieve success on the battlefield.
Moscow has argued that the attacks predate the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 and prove that the authorities who came to power after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev punish dissent through violence, while rejecting diplomacy.
https://www.rt.com/russia/629922-miroshnik-civilian-casualties-update/
Trump explains why US ‘needs Greenland’
23 Dec, 2025 09:22
The US needs Greenland for its “national security,” President Donald Trump has said, after naming a special envoy to the Arctic island, which is under Danish sovereignty.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has revived his long-standing interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark, pointing to its strategic location and mineral resources. He has not ruled out annexing the island.
“We need Greenland for national security,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “You look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it,” he added.
Trump’s remarks followed his appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as the US special envoy to Greenland, saying he chose Landry because “he’s a deal-maker-type guy.”
Announcing the appointment, Trump praised Landry for understanding “how essential Greenland is to our national security.”
Landry later wrote on X that it was “an honor to serve” in the volunteer role “to make Greenland a part of the US,” saying it would not affect his duties as governor.
Denmark, which has pushed back against Trump’s drive to take the island, summoned the US ambassador after Landry’s appointment.
“Out of nowhere, there is now a special US presidential representative, who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the TV 2 channel, calling the development “completely unacceptable.”
Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory of about 57,000 people, has managed most domestic affairs since 1979, while defense and foreign policy remain under Copenhagen’s control.
The US has maintained a military presence on the island since World War II. Vice President J.D. Vance visited a US Space Force base on Greenland’s northwest coast in March, saying Washington was unlikely to use force to take the territory but remained open to Greenlanders exercising self-determination and breaking away from Denmark.
https://www.rt.com/news/629907-trump-greenland-national-security/
Lukoil petrochemical plant in flames after second Ukrainian long-range drone strike in six weeks
23/12/2025
Ukrainian drones struck the Stavrolen petrochemical plant in Budyonnovsk, Russia, overnight on December 23, sparking a large fire, according to videos shared by the Telegram channel Exilenova+.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted industrial and military-adjacent sites in Russia to disrupt the production of materials and components that can be used for military purposes, including weapons, drones, and other equipment.
Strikes on such facilities aim to slow Russia’s ability to supply and sustain its armed forces.
Large fire seen in industrial zone
Footage shows flames across the industrial site, while local authorities confirmed a fire in the industrial zone but said no casualties were reported.
Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov did not specify which facility was targeted, but monitoring groups and local sources identified the plant as Stavrolen.
Budyonnovsk is located roughly 600 kilometres from the nearest point on the Ukraine-Russia border.
Lukoil plant produces materials with military applications
Stavrolen, part of the Lukoil group, is a major producer of polyethylene, polypropylene, benzene, and vinyl acetate. The plant reportedly produces around 340,000 tons of ethylene, 319,000 tons of polyethylene, and 113,000 tons of polypropylene annually.
While the products are officially for civilian use, similar facilities in Russia supply materials used in military applications, including insulation for UAVs, missiles, and electronic warfare systems.
Second strike in six weeks
This is the second Ukrainian drone strike reported at Stavrolen in recent months; a previous attack on November 12 also caused a fire at the plant.
Russian authorities said 29 drones were intercepted or shot down over Russia overnight, including seven over Stavropol Krai. Governor Vladimirov said residential areas and city infrastructure were unaffected.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/23/lukoil-petrochemical-plant-in-flames-after-ukrainian-drone-strike/
https://united24media.com/latest-news/flames-rise-over-russian-petrochemical-hub-after-drone-strike-video-14479
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QCbw3Q-vIQo
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/24YYOuRkeTQ
other Russia and Ukraine (Mostly Ukraine)
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4072619-russia-launches-more-than-650-drones-and-dozens-of-missiles-at-ukraine-zelensky.html
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4072494-downed-russian-drone-carrying-cluster-munitions-neutralized-in-chernihiv-region.html
https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/ukrainian-drone-strike-damages-tankers-and-port-infrastructure-at-russias-taman-port/
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20251223-live-russia-launches-air-attack-on-kyi-after-latest-round-of-peace-talks
https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-heard-as-russia-launches-missiles-drones-towards-western-cities-hundreds-of-kilometers-from-front-line/
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4072492-drone-operators-strike-russian-grad-multiple-launch-rocket-system-near-myrnohrad.html
https://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/165316-geran-drone-kills-ukrainian-hero-pilot/
Romania Issues Overnight Air Raid Alerts as Russian Drones Attack Near the Border
Dec 23, 2025 12:49
People living in Romania’s Tulcea and Galați counties were issued RO-ALERT air raid notifications overnight on Tuesday as Russia carried out drone strikes against Ukraine.
As reported by Agerpres on December 23, citing Romania’s Ministry of National Defense, radar systems detected two aerial objects at 01:10 moving within Ukrainian airspace toward the towns of Reni and Kiliia.
At 01:26, authorities sent RO-ALERT warnings to residents in northern Tulcea County and southeastern Galați County.
“The radars detected another group of drones moving towards the port of Reni and explosions were reported shortly afterwards on Ukrainian territory,” a source told Agerpres.
Romanian officials stressed that there were no unauthorized incursions into the country’s airspace. The air raid warning was canceled at 02:15 a.m.
Last month, Romanian authorities have pointed to a recent incident involving a Russian drone that entered the country’s airspace during another overnight attack on Ukraine.
Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu said that on November 25 a Russian drone without a warhead was located in Vaslui County after crossing into Romania.
Speaking during a visit to the 57th “Mihail Kogălniceanu” Air Base, he confirmed that the unmanned aircraft came down near the locality of Puiești, according to Agerpres.
“Another Russian drone entered our airspace, a new provocation by Russia against Romania, a drone that the Romanian army and German Eurofighter jets attempted to shoot down… A drone without any payload was found in Vaslui County,” Moșteanu said.
He added that he cut short his visit to the air base and returned to Bucharest to coordinate the response with other authorities.
Earlier, in the early morning of November 22, Russian drones struck near the Orlivka border checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Romanian border, forcing a temporary suspension of operations at the strategically important Danube ferry crossing.
https://united24media.com/latest-news/romania-issues-overnight-air-raid-alerts-as-russian-drones-attack-near-the-border-14491
IDF Eliminates 3 Hezbollah Terrorists, One of Whom Served In Lebanese Army
December 23, 2025 8:00 am
JERUSALEM (VINnews) — One of the three Hezbollah terrorists eliminated in an IDF airstrike in Sidon on Monday was also serving in the Lebanese Army’s intelligence unit.
The terrorist is Ali Abdullah, whose photo in a Lebanese army uniform was posted on Lebanese social media. The Lebanese army has refrained from issuing an official statement about his death.
A Facebook account affiliated with Hezbollah in the Sidon area posted a picture of Abdullah along with two other Hezbollah terrorists – Hassan Issa and Mustafa Balout – who were eliminated in the same attack.
One of the accounts in Lebanon affiliated with Hezbollah opponents wrote: “Ali Abdullah, a soldier in the Lebanese army and at the same time active in the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”
The IDF spokesman’s statement said: “Yesterday, the IDF attacked and eliminated three terrorists from the terrorist organization Hezbollah, who were working to promote terrorist activities against IDF forces and were engaged in attempts to rebuild military infrastructure in the Sidon region in southern Lebanon.
“”A preliminary investigation indicates that a Hezbollah terrorist who was also serving in the Lebanese Army’s intelligence unit was eliminated in the attack.
Two additional terrorists were eliminated in the attack, including a terrorist who was involved in air defense in the Sidon sector.
“”The IDF emphasizes that it is acting against terrorists from the Hezbollah terrorist organization who are working to restore terrorist infrastructure, in serious violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Since the attack, a file of information on Abdullah has been collected, which is expected to be presented to the American officials and also transferred to the Lebanese army.
According to a report by Yinon Shalom Yatach, the military correspondent for Channel I24, the IDF has warned the international mechanism many times that soldiers in the Lebanese army are working in parallel with Hezbollah, passing information and being involved in corruption, and that official calls have also been issued for the Lebanese army to purge the organizations of them.
The assassination that was revealed this morning proves: neither a purge nor a cover-up, but rather continued collusion with the terrorist organization.
https://vinnews.com/2025/12/23/idf-eliminates-3-hezbollah-terrorists-one-of-whom-served-in-lebanese-army/
https://israel-alma.org/hezbollah-operatives-eliminated-in-idf-strike-also-a-lebanese-intelligence-soldier/
other Israel
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-881063
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/lebanon-rejects-idf-claim-that-soldier-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-was-hezbollah-member/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-foiled-attempt-to-smuggle-40-handguns-from-jordan-via-drone/
https://www.jns.org/katz-announces-plan-to-settle-northern-gaza-strip/
https://worldisraelnews.com/report-idf-limits-fire-despite-hamas-activity-near-yellow-line/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-881094
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-12-23/ty-article/.premium/despite-arms-embargo-fears-u-s-orders-13-million-in-rifles-for-israel/0000019b-49e3-d02f-a7ff-d9fb12070000
OAN Exclusive: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna “There Is an Issue With Over Classification and Transparency”
Dec 23, 2025
United States Representative Anna Paulina Luna sits down with OAN’s Stephanie Meyers for an exclusive interview discussing government accountability & transparency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6SXXVC0XcQ
https://www.oann.com/
https://x.com/OANN
https://www.fanbolt.com/162339/moment-of-contact-new-revelations-of-alien-encounters-review-a-look-at-one-of-historys-most-credible-ufo-cases/
https://x.com/jamescfox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHN95mmf6ho (Moment of Contact FREE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrfe4hFuM0 (Jesse Michels and James Fox: Doctor Who Saved An Alien's Life Finally Breaks Silence)
‘Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters’ Review: A Look at One of History’s Most Credible UFO Cases
December 22, 2025
Quick Facts
Film: Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters
Director: James Fox
Release Date: December 22, 2025
Platform: Digital (Amazon Prime, Plex, Roku)
Runtime: Expanded Edition (approx. 120 mins)
Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters Movie Review:
The conversation around UAPs and non-human intelligence has shifted dramatically over the past few years. What once lived on fringe message boards now fills the halls of Congress.
The documentary space exploring these topics has matured considerably, and James Fox is one of the directors leading that charge with meticulous, well-researched filmmaking.
Today, Fox releases Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters, an expanded and frankly impressive update to his 2022 film. This is not just a re-cut.
This is a more complete portrait of one of the most intriguing cases in UFO history. If you thought the original documentary was compelling, this new edition brings forward testimony that deepens our understanding of what happened in Brazil in 1996.
The Roswell of Brazil
For those who might be new to this specific case, let me set the stage. In January 1996, the city of Varginha in Brazil became the epicenter of one of the most credible UFO events on record.
Unlike Roswell, which happened in a remote desert in 1947, Varginha was a bustling city. The incident involved dozens of witnesses, including civilians, fire department personnel, and military police.
The core story has always been chilling. Locals reported seeing a cigar-shaped craft in distress. Shortly after, reports emerged of strange creatures being captured by Brazilian authorities.
We are talking about 4-foot-tall beings with brown, oily skin, large red eyes, and three protuberances on their heads.
Fox’s original 2022 film did a masterful job of assembling the witnesses. We heard from the three young women who first saw one of the beings crouched by a wall.
We heard from military whistleblowers who transported the entities. But there were always gaps in the narrative. There were always names we knew but who remained silent.
That changes with this new edition.
The Surgeon Speaks
The centerpiece of New Revelations is the testimony of Dr. Italo Venturelli. For decades, rumors circulated that a neurosurgeon at the Regional Hospital in Varginha had not only seen one of the creatures but had interacted with it. In this new film, Dr. Venturelli finally comes forward.
Watching this distinguished medical professional describe his experience is deeply compelling. He recounts a four-minute face-to-face interaction with the entity. This was not a fleeting glimpse. He was in the room with it.
Venturelli describes the being in clinical detail, corroborating the descriptions given by the other witnesses. He mentions the reddish eyes, the small stature, and the oily skin.
But what he adds to the narrative is the element of communication. He claims the being communicated with him telepathically.
1/3
He describes a feeling of immense telepathic pressure and a transfer of information that was not in Portuguese or any spoken language. And, he speaks about the being conveying a sense of sadness or pity for humanity.
It is a moment in the film that stops you cold. You are watching a man of science, a neurosurgeon, struggle to articulate an experience that defies his entire worldview. It is raw, emotional, and incredibly persuasive testimony.
Fox and his team, including producer Marco Aurélio Leal, deserve credit for securing this interview. It anchors the film and provides the kind of high-level corroboration that builds credibility.
This is not an anonymous source. This is the head neurosurgeon of the hospital where the events took place.
Connecting the Dots to D.C.
One of the smartest things Fox does in New Revelations is contextualize the Varginha incident within the broader conversation about UAPs happening in the U.S.
Since the original film dropped in 2022, that conversation has shifted significantly. We have had the David Grusch hearings in Congress. We have had The Program, Fox’s 2024 documentary exploring the Pentagon’s aerospace programs and investigations.
This new edition weaves those threads together. Fox traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the hearings, and he uses that footage to show that Varginha is not an isolated oddity. It fits into a larger pattern of incidents being investigated by world governments.
The film features new commentary from Dr. Eric Davis, the astrophysicist and aerospace engineer who has briefed Congress on these matters. Davis brings a technical perspective to the case.
His presence adds weight and helps bridge the gap between a small Brazilian city and the halls of the Pentagon.
We also get insights from Christopher Mellon, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. Mellon has been a consistent voice in advocating for transparency around these phenomena.
His inclusion in the film suggests that officials inside the U.S. government take the Varginha case seriously. The film explores the possibility that U.S. intelligence agencies were monitoring events as they unfolded.
A Cinematic Investigation
From a filmmaking perspective, James Fox continues to refine his approach. New Revelations is well-structured, engaging, and free from the sensationalism that derails so many UFO documentaries.
Fox respects his audience by presenting evidence and letting viewers draw their own conclusions.
The editing in this expanded version feels natural. The new interviews with Dr. Venturelli, former police chief Pedro Luiz Aguiar, and the medical professionals are integrated smoothly with the original material.
You never feel like you are watching additional scenes tacked on to an old film. It flows as a cohesive investigation.
The sound design is also noteworthy. The interviews are crisp, and the score is understated, building intrigue without overshadowing the witnesses.
Fox understands that the faces of these people, the sincerity visible in their words and expressions, are far more powerful than any dramatic musical cue could ever be.
The Human Element
Beyond the entities and the government involvement, what makes New Revelations so effective is its grounding in human experience.
Fox has always been an empathetic filmmaker. He cares about the people in his stories.
The Varginha case had real consequences for those involved. Marco Chereze, the military policeman who captured one of the beings, died shortly after from a mysterious infection.
His family continues seeking answers. The three girls—now adults—faced ridicule and skepticism for decades.
In this film, you witness their vindication. Dr. Venturelli’s testimony supports their accounts. The police chief’s recollections align with theirs.
The scattered pieces are coming together, and you can sense what this means for these witnesses. They are no longer dismissed as unreliable. Their experience is being taken seriously.
The film also acknowledges the late Stanton Friedman, the nuclear physicist who championed research into cases like Varginha.
Seeing his legacy honored feels appropriate, particularly as these investigations continue gaining mainstream attention.
2/3
Why You Should Watch This
We are in a time when conversations about UAPs are happening at the highest levels of government. Congressional hearings have normalized discussions that would have been mocked a decade ago.
But sometimes, you need a focused investigation to make a case compelling. You need to understand the specific details of one event to grasp why officials take these matters seriously.
Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters provides a focused examination. It presents a fascinating case thoroughly, allowing viewers to understand why the Varginha incident remains significant more than 25 years later.
If you are skeptical of UFO narratives, this film challenges you to engage with the evidence presented. If you follow these topics closely, this is the most comprehensive look at Varginha ever produced for film.
James Fox has created a documentary that respects both the subject matter and the audience. It is not sensationalized. And, it is not making claims it cannot support. It is simply shining a light on a case that deserves serious consideration.
You can stream Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters starting today on Amazon Prime, Plex, and Roku. Whether you are a longtime believer or someone just getting curious about these topics, this film provides a solid entry point into one of history’s most documented UFO incidents.
Deep Dive into The Timeline of Events
For those who want to understand the full context before watching, here is a refresher on the film’s comprehensive timeline.
January 13, 1996: NORAD reportedly tracks an unidentified object entering Brazilian airspace. This intelligence is shared with Brazilian authorities, setting events in motion.
January 20, 1996 (Morning): Rural witnesses report a cigar-shaped craft visibly struggling in the sky. It is emitting smoke and descending approximately 6 miles from Varginha.
January 20, 1996 (Afternoon): The fire department receives a call about a “wild animal” in a park in the Jardim Andere neighborhood. They arrive at the scene, and Brazilian military personnel take control of the operation.
January 20, 1996 (3:30 PM): Three young women, Kátia, Liliane, and Valquíria, are walking home when they spot one of the creatures against a wall in a vacant lot. They flee in alarm, convinced they have encountered something inexplicable.
The Hospital Events: The film provides clarity on the movement of the entities following their capture. They were transported to the Regional Hospital. This is where Dr. Venturelli’s documented encounter occurs. The new edition clarifies the logistics of this transfer and the sequence of what happened afterward.
The International Dimension: There have long been questions about U.S. involvement in the incident.
The film explores these questions by examining available evidence and addressing the persistent rumors about unauthorized American military activity during the timeframe.
The Aftermath: The film acknowledges those who were affected by these events. Marco Chereze’s sudden death from infection raised medical questions.
The three women’s experiences with public skepticism took an emotional toll. These human consequences are woven throughout, reminding viewers that this is not just a mystery but a story about real people.
James Fox presents these elements as pieces of a larger puzzle. The documentary does not claim to have all the answers. Instead, it invites viewers to consider the evidence and think critically about what occurred in Varginha in 1996.
The Verdict
This is absolutely worth your time. New Revelations is a thoughtful, well-researched documentary that illuminates a case many people have never heard of.
It makes a compelling case for why the Varginha incident deserves to be remembered and studied.
Grade: B+
3/3
What’s Really Beneath Antarctica? | Linda Moulton Howe
Dec 17, 2025
Coast to Coast AM - Linda Moulton Howe investigates whistleblower testimony describing non-human structures beneath Antarctica, including reactive basalt doors engraved with ancient symbols.
She links the “Black Sun” to advanced physics and spacetime manipulation, suggesting humanity may be genetically engineered—yet uniquely possessing souls that transcend physical control, making human consciousness the ultimate cosmic focus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPTER5zS0NI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FC6bn_EpQA (Antarctica and the Evidence Earth Was a Laboratory | Linda Moulton Howe)
https://www.youtube.com/@earthfiles
https://www.earthfiles.com/
https://x.com/Earthfiles
Rep. Tim Burchett on underwater bases, whistleblowers and Trump | Reality Check
Dec 23, 2025
In this episode of "Reality Check," Ross Coulthart sits down with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., to discuss unidentified submerged objects (USOs).
UAP reporting app Enigma Labs says that since its launch in 2022, there have been 9,000 sightings within 10 miles of U.S. shorelines or major bodies of water.
Burchett has been outspoken on the topic, citing conversations with former military officials about USOs moving at high speeds underwater, which current technology cannot match.
“Over 55% of the population of the United States of America thinks that we're not alone, and I think it's about time we pull the covers off this thing,” he said.
CHAPTERS
2:04 How did Burchett’s become interested in USOs
5:27 Possible underwater bases
7:22 Burchett’s discussions with military officials
10:46 Burchett recalls the accounts of officials who have had UAP sightings
12:35 Concerns around sightings near military facilities
16:30 Reports of shadow figures
19:00 Is the U.S. government misleading the public?
21:16 Trump and UAPs
23:40 Attempts at legislation
28:53 Trump’s comments about disclosure
30:58 Religion and the UAP topic
32:23 Final thoughts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G30zCVFR5SY
https://x.com/rosscoulthart
https://x.com/timburchett
Disclosure Party
@disclosureorg
Here’s what the current @CIADirector previously said about allegations that the U.S. has recovered evidence of other forms of intelligent life.
“I’ve gone to the edge of talking about information that’s classified. I can’t go over that line.”
That's not a denial.
7:27 PM · Dec 21, 2025
https://x.com/disclosureorg/status/2002944177030771170
https://x.com/MariaBartiromo
https://x.com/CIADirector