TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 20, 2026
Daytime Moon Meets Evening Star
Venus is now appearing on the celestial stage as Earth's brilliant evening star, performing with the Moon, other wandering planets, and bright stars in western skies. For evening sky gazers on June 17, the celestial beacon rose after sunset close by a young, slender, crescent Moon. But from some locations the Moon could be seen to occult or pass in front of Venus. And from a backyard observatory in southern British Columbia, Canada, the lunar occultation was played out in daylight. This stunning telescopic snapshot captured a scene in dramatically cloudy skies, following Venus' hour long disappearance, as the evening star emerged beyond the bright lunar limb.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZQ-O3560Yc
Crust is Tearing, Solar Alert This Week | S0 News and Saturday morning frens
June.20.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVK4C01qs7Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbrXo-LfobM (Magnetic Pole Shift & LA Earthquake Risk - Observers Live #45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mz4OpyfdMI (Max Velocity: This Severe Threat Just Got More Serious…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQ0hwga320 (EarthMaster: Watching the Western Pacific Plate areas… Lots of Elevated Earthquakes recently. Friday Night)
https://philnews.ph/2026/06/20/earthquake-4-7-magnitude-quake-hits-davao-occidental-june-20-2026/
https://libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/45-magnitude-earthquake-recorded-north-libyas-coast
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/crete-earthquake-greece-magnitude-damage-b2999592.html
https://journal.com.ph/satellite-data-show-landslides-from-7-8-magnitude-earthquake/
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Heightened-Severe-Storm-Risk-for-the-Central-Plains
https://www.weather.gov/mpx/19June2026_AfternoonHail_Wind
https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/drone-ef-1-tornado-derailment-train-illinois-wind
https://watchers.news/2026/06/20/strong-winds-derail-train-near-monmouth-as-three-ef-1-tornadoes-hit-illinois-and-iowa/
https://meteoagent.com/schumann-resonance-forecast
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=20&month=06&year=2026
Chaos in Nevada, USA !🌊 Severe Flash Flood Causes Mud Chaos & Submerges Roads in Reno, Hidden Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0vL-JTGNkY
The most unpredictable meteor shower of the year peaks next week. Here's what to expect
June 20, 2026
The June Bootids usually produce just a handful of meteors, but this notoriously unpredictable shower has a history of surprise outbursts.
Heads up, stargazers! The notoriously unpredictable June Bootid meteor shower is set to peak next week — and anything could happen.
While most annual meteor showers follow a fairly predictable script, the June Bootids have a habit of surprising astronomers. Most years, the shower produces only a few meteors per hour. Occasionally, however, it erupts into an unexpected display.
In 1998, skywatchers were treated to an outburst of up to 100 meteors per hour, while another burst in 2004 produced an estimated 20-50 meteors per hour, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.
Yet the shower remains notoriously difficult to predict. In 2010, astronomers anticipated another outburst, but fewer than 10 meteors per hour were reported.
What causes the Bootids?
The June Bootids occur when Earth passes through debris left behind by comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, which orbits the sun approximately every six years.
As fragments of this icy wanderer's trail enter Earth's atmosphere, they burn up and create bright streaks of light we call meteors, or shooting stars.
When is it?
The shower is active through late June, with the peak of the shower predicted for between June 20 and June 27, according to the American Meteor Society.
How can I see it?
Most years, the June Bootids put on a very modest show with just one or two meteors per hour.
However, they have earned a reputation for the unexpected, which is why many skywatchers keep an eye on them despite their modest rates. You never really know what the June Bootids have in store.
For the best chance of spotting a June Bootid, head to a dark location away from city lights if you can.
The shower's radiant — the point from which the meteors appear to originate — lies in the constellation Boötes, which sits high in the western and southwestern sky during the evening for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
While the radiant can help you identify June Bootids, you don't want to look directly at it. Instead, find a comfortable spot with a wide view of the sky and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 20 minutes.
Meteors are often easier to spot when you're scanning a broad area of sky.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/the-most-unpredictable-meteor-shower-of-the-year-peaks-next-week-heres-what-to-expect
other space objects
https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/did-you-see-it-fireball-flashes-over-sault-ste-marie-during-queen-street-cruise-12449387
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTJrZ6A5rW4 (Ray's Astro: These Are a LOT More Than Just Fireballs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slYhlIcszi0 (Virtual Telescope Project: Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1, 19 June 2026)
NASA Mission to Study Space Weather Impacts of Earth’s Atmosphere
Jun 18, 2026
NASA selected a mission concept to research how space weather and dynamics within Earth’s atmosphere influence the space environment and help improve prediction capabilities for impacts on crucial technology, such as GPS and low Earth orbit satellites, as well as astronauts in space.
The DAPHNE (Dynamic Atmosphere-Ionosphere Explorer) mission will enter Phase B of development, which includes planning and design for flight and mission operations.
It will use identical twin satellites to study how changes in Earth’s lower atmosphere influence our planet’s upper atmosphere, where space weather is manifested.
“NASA is advancing the United States’ leadership as a space weather-ready nation, and by providing new insights into Earth’s atmosphere we can better predict and prepare for impacts in our daily lives on Earth and in space,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“As NASA sends astronauts beyond Earth’s magnetic protection to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, DAPHNE will join the NASA science fleet strategically located across the solar system to provide data that will help mission planners predict and mitigate the effects of space weather for the benefit of all.”
The DAPHNE mission’s low-risk high-return concept will provide coordinated, multi-point measurements of neutral winds, temperature, and composition in the thermosphere.
The ionosphere and thermosphere regions are where Earth’s neutral atmosphere transitions into the ionized plasma of space.
In this thin shell that surrounds the planet, the atmosphere is in constant motion, shaped by the influence of solar activity and changes in the lower atmosphere and in near-Earth space.
Fundamental observations and physical insights from the DAPHNE mission will incorporate lower-atmospheric energy data to advance space weather predictive capabilities.
The mission is led by Aimee Merkel from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
The mission will be subject to a confirmation review in 2027, which will assess the progress of the mission and the availability of funds.
If confirmed, the total estimated cost of the mission, excluding launch, will not exceed $250 million in fiscal year 2023 dollars, with a mission launch date of no earlier than 2029.
The DAPHNE mission was proposed as a concept study in response to the DYNAMIC (Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling) mission announcement of opportunity.
Funding and management oversight for this mission is provided by the Solar Terrestrial Probes program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-mission-to-study-space-weather-impacts-of-earths-atmosphere/
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2026/06/18/nasa-selects-lasp-mission-study-how-earth-and-space-weather-connect
extra NASA
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/tropical-storm-arthur/
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/06/19/aircraft-carrying-swift-boost-satellite-takes-off-from-nasa-wallops/
https://nasawatch.com/technology/nas-review-of-nasa-sbir-and-sttr-programs/
Zelensky threatens to attack Belarus
19 Jun, 2026 23:15 | Updated 20 Jun, 2026 05:32
The Ukrainian leader has demanded that Minsk remove its air defense radars from the border within a week, vowing to destroy them otherwise
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has issued an ultimatum to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, threatening him with military action if Belarus fails to dismantle the air defense radar array along its southern border, just days after a deadly Ukrainian drone strike on a bus carrying a children’s soccer team from the country.
Earlier this week, Lukashenko said that those seeking to drag his nation into the conflict “will have to pay dearly for that,” demanding answers from Kiev regarding the strike on the bus and other “provocations.”
The attack in Russia’s Bryansk Region left six children injured and killed the wife of a Belarusian school soccer team coach who was accompanying the young athletes to a Russian seaside resort.
Kiev has denied responsibility, while Zelensky claimed that it was Lukashenko who must “be honest” and prove Minsk’s peaceful intentions by removing air defenses and relay transmitters along the border with Ukraine.
“I think one week would be enough for him to accomplish this,” the Ukrainian leader stated at a press conference in Kiev on Friday. “If he does not do it, we will.”
Lukashenko has repeatedly said that Belarus has no intention of engaging in a war against any nation and “is not threatening anyone.”
Zelensky, however, stated that there was “no need for unnecessary words,” and issued another veiled threat against the Belarusian oil refining industry.
“Just like his, for example, oil refining industry,” Zelensky said, claiming that Minsk is one of Russia’s “main” suppliers of petroleum products. “Can this be stopped? I am sure that it is within his power.”
Belarus, a close Russian ally, has largely stayed out of the conflict since 2022, while calling on Moscow and Kiev to engage in dialogue and expressing its readiness to contribute to a diplomatic resolution.
In September 2025, Lukashenko stated that he was ready to meet Zelensky personally to discuss possible compromises, but the Ukrainian leader rejected the offer.
In November, Minsk released 31 Ukrainian citizens from detention in a “goodwill gesture” at the request of Kiev and US President Donald Trump, who was also seeking to mediate the conflict.
Over the past few weeks, Zelensky has been ramping up his rhetoric about an allegedly growing threat posed by Belarus – and threatened it with a preemptive strike.
Earlier this year, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces warned that Kiev had already identified some 500 potential military and logistical targets across the country.
https://www.rt.com/russia/641890-zelensky-issue-ultimatum-belarus/
extra RT
https://www.rt.com/russia/641900-drone-ukraine-lugansk-bryansk/
https://www.rt.com/news/632840-nord-stream-ukrainian-narrative/
https://www.rt.com/news/641893-ukraine-switzerland-refugees-eu/
Ukraine Targets Crimea’s Gas Network and Russian Supply Lines in Sweeping Drone Raid
Jun 20, 2026 17:03
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) carried out a series of overnight drone strikes targeting gas infrastructure in temporarily occupied Crimea and Russian military logistics assets across occupied southern and eastern Ukraine.
According to statements published by SBS Commander Maj. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi and Ukraine’s military on June 20, Ukrainian drone units struck four gas compressor stations in temporarily occupied Crimea, a bridge connecting the peninsula with Russian forces in southern Ukraine, as well as fuel tankers, armored vehicles, and other military logistics assets.
According to Brovdi, Ukrainian drone units struck gas compressor stations near Zhuravlivka, Aromatne, Kliuchi, and Lokhivka in temporarily occupied Crimea. The facilities are part of the peninsula’s gas transportation infrastructure.
The strikes also hit the road bridge across the Henichesk Strait in temporarily occupied Kherson region. Ukraine’s General Staff said the bridge is used by Russian forces to transport personnel, equipment, and supplies between temporarily occupied Crimea and military groupings operating in southern Ukraine.
Additional targets included a harbor tugboat in temporarily occupied Skadovsk, fuel tankers in Donetsk and Kherson regions, a BAZ-6403 heavy military tractor, two armored vehicles in temporarily occupied Luhansk region, and multiple logistics vehicles operating across temporarily occupied Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions.
According to the SBS, operators from several Ukrainian drone units participated in the operation, including the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade “Birds of Madyar,” the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center, the 427th Separate Brigade “Rarog,” and the 20th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade K-2.
Earlier, multiple energy infrastructure sites across temporarily occupied Crimea were reportedly targeted in an overnight drone attack, including the Tavriiska Thermal Power Plant near Simferopol, a TES fuel and liquefied gas terminal, and a gas distribution station connected to the Dzhankoi–Simferopol pipeline.
NASA FIRMS satellite data detected thermal anomalies and fires at the facilities following the strike.
https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-targets-crimeas-gas-network-and-russian-supply-lines-in-sweeping-drone-raid-20020
https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/overnight-drone-strike-hits-energy-infrastructure-across-temporarily-occupied-crimea-20014
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/78612
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.marineinsight.com/panama-flagged-ship-hit-by-drone-in-black-sea-one-dead-and-2-injured/
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4135865-defense-forces-to-scale-up-use-of-experimental-antidrone-systems-says-syrskyi.html
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/unknown-drone-washes-ashore-on-turkish-beach-1781965083.html
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-crime/4135590-man-suspected-of-spying-for-russia-detained-at-drone-factory-in-france.html
Deadly fire tears through luxury Dominican Republic hotel resort in dramatic drone video
Saturday 20 June 2026 05:29 EDT
A huge fire tore through a luxury hotel resort in the Dominican Republic on Friday, 19 June, killing at least one person and forcing nearly 1,700 guests to flee.
Francesca Valentino, a 46-year-old woman from Italy, died in the fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach resort in Bayahibe, the DAEH emergency service said in a statement.
The fire was brought under control but its causes were still being investigated, officials said. Guests were moved to nearby hotels.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/fire-hotel-dominican-republic-drone-video-b2999570.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OH0x6hnTJ8
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-06-20/live-updates-899957
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/abnews/iran-hormuz-closed-lebanon
other Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/despite-truce-idf-hits-lebanon-after-repeated-hezbollah-attacks-at-least-27-said-killed/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/lebanese-army-says-soldier-killed-in-idf-strike-charges-israel-obstructing-efforts-to-restore-stability/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/international/like-sitting-ducks-idf-colonel-turns-on-netanyahu-over-lebanon-war-disaster/videoshow/131870226.cms
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/middle-east/idf-says-it-will-continue-to-remove-immediate-threats-respond-to-hezbollahs-violations-despite-ceasefire-in-effect20260620044055/
Live Updates: Iran reportedly shuts Strait of Hormuz as Vance to reschedule Switzerland talks
June 20, 7:26 PM
Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire, IDF to remain in Lebanon for now • Marco Rubio to visit Gulf states next week • US responsible for ending war on all fronts, including Lebanon, Iran's FM says
June 20, 7:07 PM
Israel’s Ambassador to US says Hezbollah violated ceasefire over 100 times
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter claimed Hezbollah was the party that violated the ceasefire in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.
Ambassador Leiter said, “It takes two to cease fire. Here’s what Hezbollah has done in the last couple of days,” and time-stamped the number and type of firings, the wounded, and those killed.
According to the ambassador, in the past 24 hours, the Lebanese terrorist organization has launched 147 rockets, 20 drones, and nine anti-tank missiles at IDF forces.
It takes two to cease fire. Here’s what Hezbollah has done in the last couple of days:
June 18th:
10:06 - 1 Explosive UAV
10:56 - 4 Rockets
11:49 - 4 Rockets
11:58 - 13 Rockets
12:18 - 1 Explosive UAV
12:24 - 2 Rockets
17:04 - 1 Rocket
17:13 - 1 Explosive UAV - 4 injured…
— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) June 19, 2026
June 20, 6:25 PM
CENTCOM claims freedom of nagivation through Strait of Hormuz increasing
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that commercial ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has increased as American forces continue operations to support freedom of navigation in the region.
CENTCOM stated in a post on X/Twitter that 55 vessels transited the waterway, carrying over 17 million barrels of oil and substantial cargo intended for the global market.
“US forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” CENTCOM assured.
June 20, 5:50 PM
US-Iran technical talks will begin on Sunday in Switzerland, Pakistani Foreign Ministry says
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that postponed US-Iran technical negotiations will begin on Sunday in Switzerland.
In a statement on X/Twitter, the foreign ministry stated that representatives from both the US and Iran will participate in the talks, which will be facilitated by mediators from Pakistan and Qatar.
June 20, 4:39 PM
Strait of Hormuz ‘closed to vessel traffic’ Iran military command says
Iran’s top joint military command announced that the Strait of Hormuz is “closed to vessel traffic,” Iranian semi-official state media MEHR reported.
Iranian leadership decided to shut the strait after the IDF responded to Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire, when the Lebanese terror organization shot around 50 rockets at Israeli troops.
This comes after US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff delayed their trip to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and begin 60-days of talks.
1/2
June 20, 4:39 PM
Vance to reschedule trip to Switzerland for talks after Iran shutters Strait of Hormuz - report
Vance also told Fox that there is no evidence that Iran is closing the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iranian state media reports that Iran’s top joint military command ordered the Strait to be closed.
US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday that he expects to reschedule his trip to Switzerland for US-Iran nuclear negotiations within the next few days.
"I expect that I will leave sometime in the next couple of days, but you know it's always a delicate coordination dance and the diplomatic protocols," Vance stated, adding that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are already in Switzerland.
Vance also told Fox that there is no evidence that Iran is closing the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iranian state media reports that Iran’s top joint military command ordered the Strait to be closed due to Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This is a developing story.
June 20, 3:41 PM
Trump slams critics of Op. Epic Fury, says Iran ‘got away with murder’ for years
US President Donald Trump pushed back against critics of the war in Iran on Truth Social Saturday.
“Radical Left fools and Dumocrats realize how well we have done in our War against Iran, with their Country being completely defeated militarily.”
Trump then diminished previous administrations’ diplomatic efforts on Iran.
“Obuma just kept giving them $Billions in cash, and never used our then depleted military for what should have been done to reign in the World’s number one sponsor of terror, Iran….They thought he was, like Sleepy Joe Biden, a weak and ineffective leader, and on this they were 100% correct.”
Trump claimed it was his efforts that changed the dynamics saying, “Iran got away with ‘murder’ for 47 years, until I came along. Then it all changed.”
June 20, 2:50 PM
Switzerland says US-Iran talks continue at Bürgenstock, declines to identify participants
Switzerland continues to provide a "discreet and reliable setting" at Bürgenstock to facilitate discussions on implementing a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Saturday.
It added in a statement that no further details would be disclosed about participants and the content of the talks, citing confidentiality.
June 20, 2:18 PM
Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon near Nabatiyeh
Lebanon's Hezbollah terrorist organization said on Saturday in a statement that it targeted Israeli troops that had advanced towards an area near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon overnight.
The Iran-backed terror group added that, while committed to a ceasefire, it would not hesitate to confront any attempt by Israel to seize territory in Lebanon.
June 20, 11:36 AM
Lebanon accuses Israel of 'brutal attacks,' preventing reestablishment of stability
At least five people were killed in an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese town of Arabsalim on Saturday morning, Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported.
The Lebanese Army said on Saturday that Israel's "brutal attacks" in Lebanon are aimed at preventing the return of stability to the region.
"It has become clear that the continuation of these Israeli brutal attacks aims to obstruct any solution that would allow the restoration of stability in Lebanon," the Lebanese Army said on X/Twitter.
June 20, 11:36 AM
US, Qatar plan to unfreeze billions in Iranian funds for purchase of humanitarian goods - report
The deal would allow Iran to begin by accessing $6 billion currently held in Qatar, specifically for purchases of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods.
The US and Qatar are working to make billions of dollars in frozen funds available to Iran for humanitarian spending as a financial incentive under the deal to end the war, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal would allow Iran to begin by accessing $6 billion currently held in Qatar, specifically for purchases of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods. The purchases would be made by Iran’s central bank with cash from oil sales, which have been frozen overseas by sanctions, the people told WSJ.
2/2
Are we alone? Scientists hunt for alien life in Yellowstone
June 20, 2026
ASU doctoral candidates study extremophiles in Yellowstone to understand how life survives without sunlight
Arizona State University doctoral candidates Tanner Barnes and Vince Debes hike Yellowstone's trails not as tourists, but as astrobiologists hunting for clues about life beyond Earth.
Their Yellowstone samples could hold answers to humanity's oldest question: Are we alone?
Both of these individuals perform research at ASU under Professor Everett Shock in the GEOPIG lab, which explores "life as a planetary process," the interplay between geology, chemistry and biology that makes planets inhabitable.
Working with the same hot springs, however, each individual addresses unique questions relevant for exploring Mars and searching for extraterrestrial life forms.
Specifically, Barnes works with carbon isotopes. Employing special devices housed at ASU's METAL Core facility, he determines if the carbon found in Yellowstone samples is alien in origin or if it was generated by microbes inhabiting the springs.
"Being able to identify the sources of carbon is important when looking at rocks in other extreme environments, from Earth to other planets, to determine whether the carbon is there by chance or was left behind by life," Barnes said.
His research provides a reference point at which NASA can look back to when it starts to bring back Mars samples. If scientists detect carbon that matches Yellowstone's biological makeup, then they will be sure that they have detected life on the planet.
While Debes explores this fascinating notion, he considers one even stranger still: microorganisms surviving without the sun or any organic material.
Rather, these organisms feed off the energy released in chemical interactions within the water, much like how iron oxidises.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1406596-are-we-alone-scientists-hunt-for-alien-life-in-yellowstone
https://rollingout.com/2026/06/20/ufo-sightings-us-coastlines-2026/
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/not-natural-world-retired-rear-admiral-claims-undersea-ufos-are-operated-non-human-1803894
UFO app caught 9,000 sightings and the military wants answers
Jun 20, 2026 9:59 am
Nine thousand sightings and a Navy admiral convinced it is not human
Since August 2025, a UFO-reporting application called Enigma has logged more than 9,000 sightings of mysterious unidentified objects near US coastlines and major bodies of water.
The volume of reports has reignited a longstanding debate about what is moving in and around Earth’s waters, who or what is behind it, and whether it represents a genuine threat to national security.
The objects in question fall under a category known as Unidentified Submerged Objects, or USOs. Based on eyewitness accounts, some of the reported objects appear capable of moving between air and water at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour.
Most of the sightings logged in the Enigma app originate from California and Florida. The phenomenon is not new, but the scale and frequency of recent reports has drawn renewed attention from both UFO researchers and government officials.
How the US government changed its official language around UFOs
The push to take underwater anomalies seriously contributed to a significant shift in how the US government officially refers to these phenomena.
Through a bipartisan effort involving government security officials, military personnel, and UFO researchers, Congress legislated a change in terminology from Unidentified Aerial Phenomena to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs.
The new language was intentionally broader, designed to include objects observed in water, not just in the air.
The Pentagon has also continued releasing previously classified documents and videos related to UAP sightings.
One recently released footage, referred to as Orbs Over the Pond, shows what the Pentagon described as a light source hovering above a pond approximately 2,700 feet away, appearing as a plasma-like sphere that intermittently changed shape and brightness before separating into smaller luminous points and eventually disappearing after approximately 45 minutes.
An official analysis attributed the sighting to a sunlight-related atmospheric reflection but noted the conclusion carried only low confidence, leaving the case officially unresolved.
1/2
The Tic-Tac incident that changed everything
No underwater UAP encounter has had more lasting impact on the national conversation than what happened off the coast of San Diego on November 14, 2004.
US Navy Commander David Fravor and his F/A-18F squadron detected a radar anomaly approximately 100 miles offshore and investigated. Fravor observed a white, oblong object approximately 45 feet in length with no wings, no exhaust, and no visible propulsion system.
The object appeared to track his aircraft before accelerating at a speed that outpaced the sensor’s ability to follow it. The encounter remained classified for more than a decade before Fravor’s account reached the front page of the New York Times in 2017, sparking the creation of the Department of Defense’s UAP Task Force.
Fravor later testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security in 2023.
He was joined at that hearing by retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, former chief meteorologist of the Navy, who has spent much of his career investigating these phenomena.
Gallaudet testified about a 2015 infrared footage known as Go Fast, captured by a Navy F/A-18 during an East Coast exercise, which showed an object moving through water at speeds and with maneuverability that appeared to defy known physics, including right-angle turns and instant acceleration between water and air.
What military officials and scientists believe
Gallaudet has stated publicly that he and others in his field are largely convinced these objects are operated by a form of intelligence that is not human.
He has suggested they could be extraterrestrials that have established themselves in Earth’s oceans or an undiscovered intelligent species that has existed for millennia.
His central concern is not their origin but the security implications of not knowing their capabilities or intent.
No human-built technology currently exists that can move at the speeds described in these encounters without changing speed when transitioning between water and air, according to Gallaudet.
That gap in capability is precisely why he and others consider the phenomenon a potential security risk worth serious government attention.
Not everyone in the defense establishment shares that assessment. Jon Kosloski, director of the Pentagon’s UAP office, testified shortly after Gallaudet and stated that no extraterrestrial technology or activity had been verified.
The official position remains that the sightings are largely unexplained but not confirmed as anything beyond conventional or natural phenomena.
What the 9,000 reports mean for public awareness
The volume of recent sightings logged through the Enigma app reflects a level of public awareness and reporting infrastructure that did not exist during earlier waves of UAP interest.
Whether the objects being reported are the same phenomena military pilots have described, misidentified natural events, conventional aircraft, or something else entirely remains an open question.
What is clear is that the conversation has moved well beyond fringe speculation. Congressional testimony, declassified Pentagon footage, and official changes to federal UAP terminology have all contributed to a growing institutional acknowledgment that something is happening near US coastlines that has not yet been fully explained
2/2
https://www.cnet.com/culture/disclosure-day-how-will-we-trust-evidence-ufo/
If 'Disclosure Day' Comes, How Can We Trust Evidence of UFOs?
June 20, 2026 6:54 a.m. PT
Steven Spielberg's new blockbuster coincides with real-world disclosures about the government's investigation of unidentified phenomena. But there's no proof of aliens yet.
Steven Spielberg's new sci-fi blockbuster Disclosure Day, which hit theaters June 12, explores what might happen when the world gets undeniable proof that we're not alone in the universe.
While the film is pure Hollywood, the possibility that we may one day see real evidence of UFOs is moving from science fiction toward scientific plausibility.
For the past couple of months, the federal government has been declassifying and publishing reports of UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena, on a website operated by the Department of Defense.
While the government's disclosures haven't provided any actual evidence of extraterrestrial life or alien spacecraft, they signal a shift from its previous stance of secrecy on the subject.
The Pentagon's real-world releases of strange sightings draw an obvious parallel to the movie's plot.
Without spoiling too much, Disclosure Day starts in the middle of the action: A whistleblower played by Josh O'Connor has already stolen proof of the cover-up of alien contact, while a Kansas City TV anchor played by Emily Blunt suddenly gains strange new abilities.
The pair spends much of the 2.5-hour movie on the run from a shadowy government organization that wants to keep the truth hidden.
Spielberg was inspired to make Disclosure Day following a groundbreaking 2017 New York Times story, which published military videos of UAP sightings and alleged a secret UAP program in the Pentagon.
According to some government officials and experts, the NYT report helped reduce the stigma of sharing UFO incident reports, especially among service members.
In subsequent Congressional hearings, former Navy pilots gave eye-witness accounts of UAPs in the sky, and a former intelligence officer testified to the existence of a secret UAP crash-retrieval program, where nonhuman "biologics" were retrieved from crash sites.
I've looked through many of the UAP files released so far, and I haven't found any proof of alien life, but they're still interesting to read.
Some of the documents date back to the Roswell crash era of the 1940s, one of the most famous alleged cases of a flying saucer recovery. Aliens or not, official military correspondence from 1948 that mentions "flying discs" remains a fascinating historical record.
The media's interest, along with the government's acknowledgment that it has long investigated UFOs, has helped move the topic beyond conspiracy books and online forums.
In recent years, NASA commissioned an independent study team to examine UAPs, which produced a report (PDF) noting that the agency "should contribute to a comprehensive, government-wide approach to collecting future data."
Even the late Pope Francis addressed the idea that the discovery of aliens and religious faith need not contradict one another.
While the videos, documents and testimonies on UAP sightings are intriguing to watch and read, the materials still lack the empirical data to conclusively prove that extraterrestrial life has visited Earth.
Still, the sightings continue to be debated, with some scientists pointing to other possible explanations, such as drones, satellites or weather phenomena – or even optical and infrared distortions. Many of the cases seem to point to more mundane, earthly origins.
As Carl Sagan wrote in The Demon-Haunted World, his 1995 book on critical thinking and the scientific method: "Everything hinges on the matter of evidence. The more we want it to be true, the more careful we have to be. No witness's say-so is good enough."
Have you ever seen a UFO?
Disclosure Day imagines what would happen if we were to definitely know that aliens are here. In the real world, the SETI Institute has been studying the stars for traces of life since 1984.
Sagan briefly served on the board before he died in 1996. He even wrote the novel that inspired the 1997 sci-fi film Contact starring Jodie Foster, which popularized SETI.
The institute has been taking the question of extraterrestrial life seriously for a long time, but hasn't found any evidence of it yet.
1/2
On June 5, the International Academy of Astronautics ratified an updated set of post-detection protocols, developed with input from SETI members, to address modern challenges in evaluating and verifying evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.
The new protocols will help govern how scientists announce evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence in today's global media environment, which is far more complex than it was when the original protocols were last revised 15 years ago.
Astrophysicist Michael Garrett, chair of the IAA SETI post-detection committee, told CNET that misinformation is one of the key reasons the protocols were updated.
Artificial intelligence, deepfakes and social media engagement algorithms have made it harder than ever to tell what's true from false on the internet.
"Today, rumors, conspiracy theories, fabricated documents, and AI-generated images, audio and video can spread extremely quickly," Garrett says.
"Independent verification by the global scientific community remains the most effective way to establish credibility and maintain public trust."
Garrett also said two common misconceptions he hears are that the protocols assume extraterrestrial civilizations would be hostile or that researchers would try to keep a discovery secret.
"Neither is true," Garrett said. "The protocols do not make assumptions about the intentions of extraterrestrial intelligence. Nor do they create any mechanism for secrecy."
Instead, Garrett says the protocols emphasize openness and public accountability.
"The updated protocols encourage researchers to make observational data, analysis methods and software tools publicly available wherever possible once a candidate signal has been verified," Garrett said.
So if scientists ever discover alien life in the real world, hopefully we won't need a government whistleblower to get the word out.
Maybe the truth isn't out there
It's entirely possible, maybe even likely, that we'll never know what's really out there. That hasn't stopped decades of rampant speculation and a deep fascination with the topic.
Sagan argued that many people believe in aliens because humans have historically looked for ways to fill gaps in mysteries and phenomena that go unexplained.
n 2021, Pew Research reported that 65% of Americans believe that intelligent life exists on other planets. In 2023, an Ipsos poll found that 42% of Americans believe in UFOs, and that 10% say they've actually seen one.
Now that the government is releasing decades' worth of UAP reports and sightings, it seems more likely than before that we might get proof we're not alone. Or maybe not.
Sagan long warned about the dangers of ignoring scientific rigor and how seductive pseudoscience can be. Even when mundane reasoning can explain the fantastic, we're often inclined to abandon our skepticism and ignore the boring explanation.
"We've not yet found compelling evidence for life beyond the Earth," Sagan wrote in The Demon-Haunted World over three decades ago.
"We're only at the very beginning of the search, though. New and better information might emerge, for all we know, tomorrow."
2/2
Pentagon Document Reveals Secret UAP Tiger Team
June 19, 2026
The UFO conversation is getting heated and most of it traced back to one long interview with attorney Daniel Sheehan on the ALN podcast.
Sheehan, who has spent decades inside this issue, walked through a Department of War document he says was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and pulled by John Greenwald Jr., who runs the research archive The Black Vault.
According to Sheehan, the record shows a unit the Pentagon created in 2023, and he described it as an actual combat unit set up to engage UFOs.
The document itself tells a more specific story. Reference the Joint Staff Action Processing Form dated November 20, 2023, which describes what it calls a UAP Space Tiger Team, led by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO.
Per the document, the team was not formed to shoot anything down. Its stated purpose was to build a framework for handling unidentified objects in space and across different environments, which it labels spaceborne and transmedium UAP.
The form tasks the group with finding ways to detect these objects from space, setting up reporting and deconfliction channels, and shaping what it calls integrated mitigation and response planning.
It lists participation from U.S. Space Command, U.S. Northern Command, NORAD, parts of the Air Force and Space Force, and intelligence agencies including the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Security Agency.
The effort was tied to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, section 6802, and the first meeting was set for around December 12, 2023.
So while Sheehan framed it as a combat unit, the record reads more like a planning group built to close gaps in what the military can see in space and to prepare a response if something is detected.
Sheehan’s larger argument is about control. He does not view the recent document releases and the new openness of certain figures as separate events.
He says they are part of one coordinated rollout, and that names like Hal Puthoff, Lue Elizondo, Chris Mellon, and Jay Stratton have an approval process behind what they share.
According to Sheehan, Elizondo recently went further than before, describing reports of military personnel taking civilians into underground facilities and a program involving human and non-human biology, which Sheehan referred to as hybridization.
Worth noting, Sheehan served as Elizondo’s attorney starting in 2021 and is no longer in that role.
Then there is David Grusch. Sheehan claims the government may soon admit it has recovered craft, and that this disclosure has, in his view, already been signed off and pushed out early so it can later be treated as old news.
He also raised a warning that some inside the system may destroy records rather than turn them over. That concern is not his alone.
Whistleblower Jeffrey Nuccetelli raised a similar point during the 2025 Congressional UFO hearing, and Congressman Eric Burlison has pointed to private contractors, including MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the MITRE Corporation, as places where records could disappear before Congress sees them.
Meanwhile, the Vice President was asked the question directly.
On Diary of a CEO, JD Vance was asked if aliens are real, and admitted that a year and a half into the job he still has not gone through the classified files, echoing what he said months earlier on the Benny Johnson show.
One difference stood out. On the earlier show Vance described these phenomena as demonic, tied to his Christian faith, a comment that drew pushback. This time he leaned on faith and described moments he cannot explain, but he did not call them demonic.
And away from Washington, actor James Franco posted a series of videos claiming there is an alien in his garage, describing glowing eyes and a hand, and insisting it is not a hoax.
Many viewers suspect a performance or AI-altered footage, noting his clothing does not change between posts. Franco has not confirmed either way.
https://www.ufonews.co/post/pentagon-document-reveals-secret-uap-tiger-team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df0vKj4WFBY
https://exopolitics.org/psychic-with-23m-followers-predicts-mass-abuction-at-miami-world-cup/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLE6vRPwmgA
extra disclosure dejour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiNznVZ5ciY (Weaponized: NHI Extracting Our Souls - Whitley Strieber on 70 Years Of Contact)
https://www.weaponizedpodcast.com/episodes-4/episode-120
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkkgSJZf7Vo (Vetted: EXCLUSIVE: Former Skywatcher Psionic Asset Drops UFO BOMBSHELL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbvPQD5jyyI (Are Aliens Actually Demons? Paul Wallis Reveals the Shocking Truth in the Bible)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txheVPJO5bE (Ralph Smart: SANTOS BONACCI: The Forbidden Knowledge They Hid From Humanity For 2,000 Years)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHNi44gp_Ic (Richard Dolan: Beyond Disclosure: The Abduction Mystery)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6_Tv5SUzU (Mayim Bialik aka Blossom: Earth School: Why Your Soul Chose This Life & Why You Don’t Die)
Psychic with 23M Followers Predicts Mass Abduction at Miami World Cup
June 20, 2026
Exopolitics Week in Review
Get the latest on the UAP Governance Board and US Iran peace deal developments. Dr. Michael Salla breaks down this week’s most critical headlines.
This week in Exopolitics Today covers the shifting landscape of global security and corporate influence. He examines the specific details surrounding the new U.S. interagency UAP Governance Board and what their mandate implies for future transparency.
Viewers interested in the intersection of government policy and unconventional technology will find clarity on how these recent moves impact national discourse.
He also analyzes the reported SpaceX compensation structure and the unsettling disappearance of General McCasland. The episode concludes with a review of reports suggesting tech industry leaders are preparing for potential cataclysmic events.
By connecting these disparate news items, he provides a clearer picture of the current geopolitical and technological climate.
1/2
00:00:00 – Top Stories
00:01:28 – 3rd release of the Dept of War’s UFO Files became available, one day after release of Disclosure Day movie. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2065403599211872445
00:06:05 – President Trump and diplomatic officials from Pakistan and Iran have just announced that a peace deal between the US and Iran has been reached https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2066301314347216992
00:11:51 – David Grusch is now revealing that he has seen classified photos of UFO crash retrievals involving different-shaped craft, and is calling for these to be declassified. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2066457071583719531
00:14:20 – On October 19, 2017, I was sent a series of nine photos from Jorge Pabon (JP) showing two UFOs in the vicinity of MacDill Air Force Base. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2066463687691362801
00:18:00 – UFO Disclosure Accelerates: What They’re Not Telling You: Interview with Brad Johnson
Navy veteran and UFO researcher Dan Willis passed away on June 14, 2026 https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2066656655543005269
00:22:27 – More than coincidental. Two nuclear-capable strategic bombers from the US and Russia crashed on the same day. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2066844749961511345
00:25:15 – Elon Musk plans to establish a permanent colony on Mars of at least one million people https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067008035210526958
00:31:41 – Prof Avi Loeb establishes a new UAP Science Advisory Council. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067187900484075791
00:32:20 – Composition of the UAP Science Advisory Council lacks a political scientist https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067195684021809216
00:37:06 – Storm that was going to disrupt the Trump birthday MMA event was split due to “divine intervention” https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067211199272411222
00:40:52 – General McCasland disappeared days after learning the House Oversight Task Force had his name on a subpoena list to testify on UFOs. https://x.com/UAPJames/status/2067462694135804258
00:43:16 – Project Bluebeam and Psychic Prediction of UFO Mothership Abduction At Miami World Cup June 24: https://x.com/overclassifiedx/status/2067494765512560879
00:46:20 – What do we make of Peter Thiel’s “Dialog Club” preparing for future cataclysmic events? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067565507977327020
00:54:14 – The Day After Filming a UFO, JP Met a Nordic ET Face-to-Face https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067570297297911948
00:59:15 – JD Vance is speculating about the nature of NHI when we have credible whistleblowers/witnesses on the record talking about UFO crash retrievals, reverse engineering of ET tech, etc. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067910893535363522
01:02:20 – The technology does exist for soul extraction, and both ET visitors and corporate-run black projects use it. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067912622142366139
01:03:37 – US Dept of Energy successfully removed all of Venezuela’s enriched uranium—a cover for removal of ancient tech recently found in Venezuela’s jungles? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2067915938238701811
2/2