Up At The Ranch And Beyond

[Johnnycomelately]

History flies over the Ranch. B-36.

Development started in 1941, didn’t get operational until 1946. Six big radial engines, 2,000HP each, later added some jet engines.

Replaced in the late 50’s by the B-52, which is still in use and which will likely reach a type service life of 100 years.i

The B-36 Peacemaker

Old Fliers
17.2K subscribers

July 14, 2025

What if Nazi Germany had successfully invaded the U.K. in WW2?
With the Royal Air Force eliminated, the US Air Force needed a bomber capable of reaching Berlin from Newfoundland. This was the B-36 Intercontinental bomber.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rX9EHlxKfFA

[Bluegreen]

Space Rock News

Largest Piece Of Mars Sells For Over $5M At New York Auction





The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5m at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday, while a juvenile dinosaur skeleton went for more than $30m.

The 54-pound (25kg) rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after having been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveling 140m miles (225m km) to Earth, according to Sotheby’s. The estimated sale price before the auction was $2m to $4m.

The identity of the buyer was not immediately disclosed, nor was the owner. It was held in Italy for a time, then with a private entity. The final bid was $4.3m. Adding various fees and costs, the official bid price was about $5.3m.





Two advance bids of $1.9m and $2m were submitted. The live bidding went slower than for many other objects that were sold, with the auctioneer trying to coax more offers and decreasing the $200,000 to $300,000 bid intervals to $100,000 after the proposals hit $4m.

The red, brown and gray meteorite is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet. It measures about 15in by 11in by 6in (375mm by 279mm by 152mm).

It was also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth.

Published 16th July 2025 – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/...argest-auction




$7M – $46M

(0:48)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vhtzSaarNmQ

[Bluegreen]

Nova V462 Lupi




Credit: Matipon Tangmatitham (NARIT)




If you know where to look, you can see a thermonuclear explosion from a white dwarf star. Possibly two. Such explosions are known as novas and the detonations are currently faintly visible with the unaided eye in Earth's southern hemisphere -- but are more easily seen with binoculars.

Pictured, Nova Lupi 2025 (V462 Lupi) was captured toward the southern constellation of the Wolf (Lupus) last week near the central plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Nova Lupi 2025 was originally discovered on June 12 and peaked in brightness about a week later. Similarly, Nova Velorum 2025, toward the southern constellation of the Ship Sails (Vela), was discovered on June 25 and peaked a few days later.

A nova somewhere in our Galaxy becomes briefly visible to the unaided eye only every year or two, so it is quite unusual to have two novas visible simultaneously. Meanwhile, humanity awaits even a different nova: T Coronae Borealis, which should become visible in northern skies and is expected to become even brighter.




Published 3rd July 2025 (5:22)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=aLd6VojCcIM

[Bluegreen]

“Bad Day”

Having a bad day?

(30:38)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=y-rmfcZ0o3c

[Bluegreen]

Roman Soldier's Bronze Wrist Purse Found in Czechia Reveals Life on the Empire's Edge





In a novel discovery, archaeologists in South Moravia, Czechia, have unearthed a 1,800-year-old bronze fragment of a Roman wrist purse - a utilitarian and tactical piece of military gear that offers a cool insight into the daily lives of soldiers stationed on the volatile frontier of the Roman Empire.

The fragment was recovered in January 2025 from Hradisko Hill, a prominent archaeological site once occupied by the 10th Roman Legion during the Marcomannic Wars (172-180 AD), a turbulent period of conflict between Rome and Germanic tribes. Though only about 30% of the original purse survives, experts quickly identified it as a forearm purse used by Roman soldiers to carry coins securely while keeping their hands free for combat.

"It is more like a small money box," said Balázs Komoróczy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. "It was worn by sliding it onto the arm or forearm. The tension around the arm kept it closed and secure" reports Radio Prague International.

These compact containers were a pragmatic solution for Roman soldiers who were constantly on the move and in combat zones, allowing them to carry both personal funds and what Komoróczy refers to as "service cash" for logistical expenses during campaigns. While no coins were found within the purse itself, a large number of silver denarii discovered nearby helped researchers date the artifact to the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD).

Experts estimate the purse could have held around 50 silver denarii, a substantial sum at the time, although slightly less than a full year's wage for a regular soldier. This suggests the purse may have belonged to a junior officer or a logistical paymaster, a figure responsible for managing unit finances while marching beyond Roman frontiers.




The fragment of Roman wrist purse, with replica above and the coins found with it. (Václav Šálek, ČTK)

Published 1st July 2025 by Gary Manners – Ancient Origins
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news...-purse-0022231

[Bluegreen]

Moths Don't Like To Lay Their Eggs On Plants That Are Screaming




Dead tomato - not the neighborhood to raise a family.

A tomato plant emitting screams of distress outside the range of human hearing makes a terrible place for a moth to deposit its babies.

That's the conclusion that scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel reached after conducting a careful study to examine the interactions between animals and plants, mediated by the sounds plants make when under duress. It's the first time such an interaction has been observed, confirming that animals can indeed hear and respond to floragenic distress calls.

It follows a previous study conducted by the same team of scientists, in which it was revealed for the first time that plants emit popping or clicking noises in ultrasonic frequencies when dehydrated or cut.

"After proving in the previous study that plants produce sounds, we hypothesized that animals capable of hearing these high-frequency sounds may respond to them and make decisions accordingly," says zoologist Yossi Yovel of Tel Aviv University. "Specifically, we know that many insects, which have diverse interactions with the plant world, can perceive plant sounds. We wanted to investigate whether such insects actually detect and respond to these sounds."

The new experiment involved healthy plants, dehydrated plants, and recordings of distressed plants. To this mix, the researchers added female Egyptian cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis) moths.

"We chose to focus on female moths, which typically lay their eggs on plants so that the larvae can feed on them once hatched," explains evolutionary biologist Lilach Hadany.

Taken together, the results imply moths do indeed hear, respond to, and make decisions based on the sound of a plant in distress. But there could be a whole range of interactions, not just between plants and animals, but plants and other plants, waiting to be uncovered.

"In this study, we sought to determine whether insects also rely on plant acoustic signals when making decisions," the researchers write in their paper.

"We reveal evidence for a first acoustic interaction between moths and plants, but as plants emit various sounds, our findings hint to the existence of more currently unknown insect-plant acoustic interactions."

Published 19th July 2025 by Michelle Starr – Science Alert
https://www.sciencealert.com/moths-d...-are-screaming




The reviewed results appear as a preprint in the journal eLife.
https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/104700v1


Audio recording of plant sounds



Frequency adjusted for human ears.

(0:36)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xx5ZfQJ-mHc

[Bluegreen]

The Night Sky

Sunday, July 20 - Crescent moon crosses the Pleiades (pre-dawn)



In the eastern sky before dawn on Sunday morning, July 20, the pretty, waning crescent moon will shine very close to the bright little Pleiades Star Cluster (aka The Seven Sisters, Subaru, and Messier 45) in Taurus. The pairing will show nicely in binoculars (orange circle). For skywatchers in the Americas, the moon will pass directly through the cluster's stars starting at about 4:25 a.m. EDT or 08:25 GMT. By the time the moon completes its passage around two hours later, the sky will be brightening in the Eastern and Central time zones, but it will still be dark in the Pacific Time zone. Keep an eye out for the blue-green speck of Uranus to the lower right of the Pleiades all year.


Monday, July 21 - The stinging Scorpion (evening)


https://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.html

After dusk in mid-July, the distinctive constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion, reaches its peak elevation over the southern horizon. The constellation's brightest star is orange-tinted Antares, the "Rival of Mars". Several medium-bright, white stars arranged in a roughly vertical line to the west of Antares mark the creature's claws on modern sky charts; however, the major stars of neighboring Libra used to perform that role. The rest of the scorpion extends to the south and curls to the left (celestial eastward) into the Milky Way, terminating with the bright double star Shaula, which marks its poisonous stinger.

[Bluegreen]

First Band From Outer Space



We're Only In It For The Spacerock

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_b0iC2fBQoU

[Bluegreen]

Timelapse - Intervención artística realizada por El Niño de las Pinturas en nuestra fachada



Un legado de ciencia y arte para nuestra ciudad Estamos felices de presentar hoy esta preciosa intervención artística realizada por El Niño de las Pinturas. Con esta intervención, no solo embellecemos nuestra sede, sino que también esperamos convertirla en un espacio de inspiración para la comunidad y los visitantes ❤️.

(0:48)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=N_R7tEc2dbc

[Bluegreen]

#ufo/uap

UFO Shoots Out During Thunder Storm, Kingsville, Maryland, July 7, 2025, UAP Sighting News

The gentleman with the camera expresses surprise.

(0:32)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CuBmgQrvxqM

[Bluegreen]

Suzuki’s Green Revolution Hits The Track With Bio-Fueled Superbike

100% Sustainable Fuel



Masson

Team Suzuki CN Challenge, run by Suzuki employees, will compete in the 46th Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race using 100% sustainable fuel. It follows after the team competed in the 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race last year with a Suzuki GSX-R1000R motorcycle that used 40% bio-sourced fuel.

This year's race will take place at the Suzuka Circuit from August 1–3, 2025, as part of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). Suzuki will continue to compete in the Experimental Class, underscoring the company’s commitment to developing high-performance, low-impact technologies in real-world racing environments.

“In last year’s race, we took on a completely new challenge and achieved an impressive eighth place overall,” said Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki Motor Corporation. “Our target is to overcome new challenges together and pave the way to a better, more sustainable future.”

The key player here is Excellium Racing 100, a sustainable fuel developed by TotalEnergies. It will power the team's specially tuned GSX-R1000R throughout the grueling endurance event.

What makes this fuel remarkable is its origin – it’s produced from waste products in the food industry, such as used cooking oil and grape pomace. It’s not just cleaner; it’s competitive, too. Excellium Racing 100 delivers high performance while reducing lifecycle CO₂ emissions by up to 65%.

Suzuki’s 2025 rider lineup has been refreshed to bolster their campaign. Spanish rider Albert Arenas, who placed third at last year’s Suzuka 8 Hours, joins forces with Takuya Tsuda, Suzuki’s veteran test and development rider, and Étienne Masson, a member of the championship-winning Yoshimura SERT Motul squad.



Tsuda

Published 20th July 2025 by Utkarsh Sood – New Atlas
https://newatlas.com/motorcycles/suz...tainable-fuel/

[Bluegreen]

Do Demons Walk Among Us? Exorcist Answers Your Questions



In this episode of Honesty Box, we sat down with Ian Lawman, an exorcist and psychic medium, to answer your burning questions about the world of the supernatural. From what actually causes someone to become possessed, to whether demons wear clothes and how badly they really smell, Ian shares his real-life experiences tackling evil spirits, creepy dolls, and his encounters with Satan himself. Please note: This episode shares one person’s beliefs and experiences. It’s not medical advice and should not be treated as such.

Published 13th July 2025 (20:24)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GOH2_27FW7Q

00:00 - 00:39 - Intro
00:39 - 02:10 - What causes someone to be possessed?
02:10 - 03:36 - First supernatural experience?
03:36 - 05:04 - How often do you exorcise?
05:04 - 06:19 - Why is it always creepy dolls that are haunted?
06:19 - 08:14 - Most scared you’ve ever been?
08:14 - 09:32 - Do demons wear clothes?
09:32 - 10:21 - How many people just think you’re mad?
10:21 - 12:04 - What tools do you use?
12:04 - 13:50 - What does Satan look like?
13:50 - 16:06 - Prove you’re not making this up
16:06 - 16:40 - Is what you do considered Christian?
16:40 - 17:51 - Do you believe in hell?
17:51 - 18:44 - How badly do demons smell?
18:44 - 20:24 - What happens when we die?

[Bluegreen]

EU Space Act

The Potential Impact of the EU Space Act

https://x.com/KubiliusA/status/1937856603614482468

Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space


The European Commission released its long-awaited proposal for an EU Space Act this June. The act aims to boost the region’s space industry by cutting red tape, creating one standard for legal and technical requirements, and ensuring Europe’s space industry remains safe and sustainable.

The Space Act would create standard operating procedures across the space industry, from launch licensing to satellite safety, if it’s approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. But how much would space companies in Europe feel the impact of such a widespread policy change?

Cost/benefit: The commission’s impact assessment, which outlines the main effects of the proposed policies, found that the changes would have minimal administrative impact on member states beyond the one-time headache of aligning policies with the Space Act.

The impact on the commercial sector, however, would be more material.

• The assessment found that satellite operators’ manufacturing costs could increase as much as 10%.
• Launch service providers could end up incurring expenses of €1.5M for heavy launchers, and €200,000 for small and medium launchers, to meet the new launch requirements.
• Risk management costs for the industry are estimated at 10% of a company’s IT budget.
• Implementing environmental protection rules would cost as much as €8,000.

On the plus side, having a single market and a single set of rules for all EU member states would answer the complaints of many in the industry, who have criticized Europe’s slow-moving, fragmented regulatory process.
The assessment estimates that shifting from individual to constellation-wide satellite authorizations could save operators €68M over the next decade.

Increasing the minimum lifespan of LEO sats from five years to six years could have a €1.3B annual economic benefit.

Higher cyber security standards could save operators and manufacturers €320M annually.

New checklists: The Space Act isn’t just concerned with boosting the region’s space economy, however. Many of the articles focus on standardizing the technical requirements for launch and satellite operators; the aim is to ensure the region’s space industry is safe, resilient, and environmentally sustainable.

• The act requires that launch operators implement flight safety systems and space debris control measures to ensure safe launch and reentry.
• It mandates that spacecraft operators subscribe to collision-avoidance services, maintain a level of maneuverability, draw up space debris mitigation plans, and do their best to limit light and radio pollution.
• The Space Act asks space operators to calculate the environmental footprint of their entire mission lifecycle, and submit these findings as part of their authorization applications.
• Space operators will be expected to equip themselves with in-space servicing interfaces. They must also follow orbital traffic rules, including new procedures for collision avoidance that follow a “right of way” approach.

Lastly, the Space Act creates a series of supporting measures—guidance materials, technical assistance, and a new digital information portal—to help ease the compliance burden on smaller space companies.

Published 26th June 2025 by Douglas Gorman – Payload Space
https://payloadspace.com/eu-watch-th...the-space-act/

[Bluegreen]

Clouds and the Golden Moon by Alexsandro Mota



https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

As the Sun set, a bright Full Moon rose on July 10. Its golden light illuminates clouds drifting through southern hemisphere skies in this well-composed telephoto image from Conceição do Coité, Bahia, Brazil. The brightest lunar phase is captured here with both a short and long exposure. The two exposures were combined to reveal details of the lunar surface in bright moonlight and a subtle iridescence along the dramatically backlit cloudscape. Of course, July's Full Moon is a winter moon in the southern hemisphere. But in the north it's known to some as the Thunder Moon, a nod to the sounds of this northern summer month's typically stormy weather.

[Johnnycomelately]

Hey BG, thought you might like this vid abt small airplane safety considerations at the biggest small airplane gathering. I attended in iirc ‘78. Somebody died on the runway, too slow and stalll-spin, and the USMC flew their Harrier version
(AV-8B?).

Posted by Johnnycomelately (here)
You might think that the word brasher means “more brash” like bolder means more bold. But it’s probably named after somebody.

Brasher is a regulatory term in civil aviation, dealing with procedural screwups by pilots. The vid here describes common issues of flying into Airventure, an annual pilgrimage for airplane heads. This big show at Oshkosh Wisconsin, busiest airport in the world for 1 week every year (and one other big yearly show at Lakeland FL, called Sun ‘n Fun) is somehow not enforced. Regular mayhem, some crashes including fatalities. “Welcome to the show” - air traffic controllers, often.

Dan is a rough communicator, pulls no punches. I think he has a heart of gold, and I support his quest to educate to save lives in general* aviation.

* he covers the odd airliner incident too, and has had a full career flying various types of airliners. Am pretty sure that when airliner pilots are radioed a phone number, which they must call (after landing) to do some ‘splaining, that’s a brasher.

The Oshkosh NOTICE. The Untold Information.

Probable Cause: Dan Gryder
122K subscribers

7.20.25

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qoyqc6zHYeg

[Bluegreen]

Earth | Space

A Stormy Summer Night by Stefanie-Ann

Stefanie-Ann took this electrifying shot showing a recent storm in Leduc, Alberta, Canada.




A Town Cut Off — A Sky Still Connected by Dale Lotherington

Dale Lotherington took this poignant shot of the flooded Bight Bridge, Wingham, New South Wales.




As Old As Time by Mark Ecob

Photographer Mark Ecob captured the obsolete and the eternal near Canberra, Australia.




Sunset of a Lifetime at Mono Lake by Lewis Kemper

Photographer Lewis Kemper shot this breathtaking scene near South Tufa, Mono Lake, California.




Milky Way And Lupines In Bloom by Marcin Ślipko

Marcin Ślipko shares a cool moment from the Kaczawskie meadows, Poland, where lupines are taking over as usual.



https://orbitaltoday.com/2025/07/22/...ek-15-22-july/

[Bluegreen]

A Gaping Hole Full of Milky Blue Water Appears at Yellowstone





In April, when Yellowstone National Park geologists made their first visit this year to the Norris Geyser Basin, they encountered a new feature they hadn't seen before.

They were checking the area's temperature logging stations, a routine maintenance job – but since their last visit, something was different.

Where previously there had been a rather featureless patch of ground at the northwestern tip of a landmark known informally as 'Tree Island', there was now a gaping hole about 4 meters (13 feet) wide, filled with milky, light blue water.

Evidence of a violent birth lay scattered around the tranquil, warm waters: many rocks about 30 centimeters (1 foot) across, covered with a fine silt of light gray mud that matched the exposed walls of the young spring.

All this was evidence of a hydrothermal explosion. The team checked satellite images of the park to narrow down the timing. In December 2024, there was no sign of the hole, but by 6 January 2025, a small depression had formed. By February 13, the water-filled hole was well and truly established.


(L) - Lidar shaded relief map of the Porcelain Basin and Back Basin areas of Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.  Orange star indicates the location of a new thermal 'blue pool'.



(R) - Satellite images of the Porcelain Basin area of Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, revealed the development of a new thermal pool in the circled area.


But the equipment Yellowstone park geologists use to detect hydrothermal activity had received no signal of the kind of major explosive event that could form this pool in one dramatic burst.

"Clearly the new thermal feature did not form in a single major explosive event," USGS geophysicist Michael Poland and Yellowstone National Park geologist Jeff Hungerford wrote. "Rather, it appears that the feature formed via multiple small events that initially threw rocks and later threw silica mud a short distance, creating a small pit that became filled with silica-rich water."

This is good news, really. One of the reasons we keep such a close eye on Yellowstone's hydrothermal activity is because of the caldera's propensity for massive, explosive eruptions. It is a supervolcano, after all.




https://www.sciencealert.com/a-gapin...at-yellowstone
https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/y...s-geyser-basin

[Bluegreen]

Scientists Make First Antimatter 'Qubit.'

Here's why it could be a big deal

Although the antimatter qubit won't find use (yet) in quantum computing, it will be used to test the differences between matter and antimatter.




It may look like a tangle of pipes, wires and vats, but the BASE experiment is able to hold antimatter in magnetic traps. (Image credit: CERN)

Physicists at CERN — home of the Large Hadron Collider — have for the first time made a qubit from antimatter, holding an antiproton in a state of quantum superposition for almost a minute.

This landmark achievement has been performed by scientists working as part of the BASE collaboration at CERN. BASE is the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment, which is designed to measure the magnetic moment of antiprotons – in essence, how strongly they interact with magnetic fields.

However, while qubits are commonly associated with quantum computing, in this case the antiproton qubit will be used to test for differences between ordinary matter and antimatter. It will specifically help probe the question of why we live in a universe so dominated by ordinary matter when matter and antimatter should have been created in equal quantities during the Big Bang.

They're opposites of one another, right?

A proton and antiproton have the same mass but opposite charges, for example. In physics, the mirror-image properties between matter and antimatter is referred to as charge-parity-time (CPT) symmetry. CPT symmetry also says that a particle and its antiparticle should experience the laws of physics in the same way, meaning that they should feel gravity or electromagnetism with the same strength, for example (that first one has actually been tested, and indeed an antiprotons falls at the same rate as a proton).

So, theoretically, when the universe came into existence, there should have been a 50-50 chance of antimatter or regular matter particles being created. But for some reason, that didn't happen. It's very weird. Even the BASE project found that, to a precision of parts per billion, protons and antiprotons do have the same magnetic moment. Alas, more symmetry.

However, the BASE apparatus has enabled physicists to take things one step further.

When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate one another in a burst of gamma-ray photons, so BASE has to keep them apart. To do so, it uses something called Penning traps, which can hold charged particles in position thanks to the careful deployment of electric and magnetic fields. BASE has two primary Penning traps. One is called the analysis trap, which measures the precession of the magnetic moment around a magnetic field, and the other is the precision trap, which is able to flip the quantum spin of a particle and measure that particle's oscillation in a magnetic field.




The BASE-STEP portable Penning trap, being lowered by crane (bottom left) at CERN.

"This represents the first antimatter qubit and opens up the prospect of applying the entire set of coherent spectroscopy methods to single matter and antimatter systems in precision experiments," said BASE spokesperson Stefan Ulmer, of the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute in Japan. "Most importantly, it will help BASE to perform antiproton moment measurements in future experiments with 10- to 100-fold improved precision."

Currently, BASE's experiments have to take place at CERN, where the antimatter is created in the Large Hadron Collider. However, the next phase of antimatter research will be BASE-STEP (Symmetry Tests in Experiments with Portable Antiprotons), which is a device that contains a portable Penning trap, allowing researchers to move antiprotons securely away from CERN to laboratories with quieter, purpose-built facilities that can reduce exterior magnetic field fluctuations that might interfere with magnetic moment experiments.




Study author Barbara Latacz working on the BASE experiment. (Image credit: CERN)

"Once it is fully operational, our new offline precision Penning trap system, which will be supplied with antiprotons transported by BASE-STEP, could allow us to achieve spin coherence times maybe even ten times longer than in current experiments, which will be a game-changer for baryonic antimatter research," said RIKEN's Barbara Latacz, who is the lead author of the new study.

Published 24th July 2025 by Keith Cooper – Space.com
https://www.space.com/science/scient...-be-a-big-deal

[Bluegreen]

Zoom Into The Baby Star HOPS-315

This video zooms into HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have identified gas condensing into solid minerals for the first time. This zoom was created with images from different telescopes stitched together, covering progressively smaller areas in the sky. Most of the video shows the night sky in visible light, and at the end we see an image taken with the ALMA telescope at sub millimetre wavelengths.

Published 16th July 2025 (0:55)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GnLMTY9cuiQ

[Bluegreen]

Secret Society

JFK

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=RdUsJHeVXiE

Bimbo

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iAThMCwckS8