A famous equation used in the search for alien life has inspired a new model that estimates the odds of COVID-19 transmission.
The new model — which is essentially a single equation with several terms multiplied together — estimates the risk of COVID-19 transmission through the air. The researchers were motivated in their work by another simple, yet historically significant mathematical formula known as the Drake equation, which estimates the chances of finding intelligent extraterrestrial life in our galaxy. Developed in 1961 by astronomer Frank Drake, the equation is based on just seven variables and provides an "easy-to-understand framework" for looking at something as seemingly unknowable as the number of alien civilizations, the authors said.
They wanted to provide a similar framework for understanding COVID-19 transmission risk.
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"There's still much confusion about the transmission pathways of COVID-19. This is partly because there is no common 'language' that makes it easy to understand the risk factors involved," study co-author Rajat Mittal, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement. "What really needs to happen for one to get infected? If we can visualize this process more clearly and in a quantitative manner, we can make better decisions about which activities to resume and which to avoid."
The new model, published Oct. 7 in the journal Physics of Fluids, breaks down COVID-19 transmission into three stages: the expulsion of virus-containing droplets from an infected person into the air; the dispersion of these droplets; and the inhalation of these droplets by a susceptible person. Overall, the model is composed of 10 variables involved in COVID-19 transmission, including the breathing rate of the infected and susceptible people, the amount of virus particles in the exhaled droplets and the amount of time a susceptible person is exposed, the statement said.The authors then used their model, which they call the Contagion Airborne Transmission (CAT) inequality model, to estimate the transmission risk in different scenarios, including ones in which people use face masks or practice social distancing, as well as when people exercise. In the inequality model, if the amount of virus inhaled is greater than the amount needed to cause infection, the other person would get sick. One big caveat: We currently don't know how many particles are needed to cause an infection. As a result, the model can't calculate an absolute risk of infection, but can only compare the level of risk of different activities.The authors then used their model, which they call the Contagion Airborne Transmission (CAT) inequality model, to estimate the transmission risk in different scenarios, including ones in which people use face masks or practice social distancing, as well as when people exercise. In the inequality model, if the amount of virus inhaled is greater than the amount needed to cause infection, the other person would get sick. One big caveat: We currently don't know how many particles are needed to cause an infection. As a result, the model can't calculate an absolute risk of infection, but can only compare the level of risk of different activities.
Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in its atmosphere — an extremely rare carbon-based molecule that's so reactive, it can only exist on Earth in laboratory conditions.
In fact, it's so rare that it has never before been detected in an atmosphere, in the solar system or elsewhere. The only other place it can remain stable is the cold void of interstellar space. But it may be a building block for more complex organic molecules that could one day lead to life.
"We think of Titan as a real-life laboratory where we can see similar chemistry to that of ancient Earth when life was taking hold here," said astrobiologist Melissa Trainer of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, one of the chief scientists set to investigate the moon in the upcoming Dragonfly mission launching in 2027."We'll be looking for bigger molecules than C3H2, but we need to know what's happening in the atmosphere to understand the chemical reactions that lead complex organic molecules to form and rain down to the surface."
Cyclopropenylidene — which even NASA researchers describe as a "very weird little molecule" — doesn't tend to last long in atmospheric conditions, because it reacts very quickly and easily with other molecules, forming other compounds.
Once it does so, it's no longer cyclopropenylidene. In interstellar space, any gas or dust is usually very cold, and very diffuse, which means compounds aren't interacting much, and cyclopropenylidene can hang around.
Titan is very different from interstellar space. It's sort of soggy, with hydrocarbon lakes, hydrocarbon clouds, and a predominantly nitrogen atmosphere, with a bit of methane. The atmosphere is four times thicker than Earth's atmosphere (which is also dominated by nitrogen). Under the surface, scientists think there's a huge ocean of salt water.
In 2016, a team led by planetary scientist Conor Nixon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to probe the moon's atmosphere, looking for organic molecules.
It was in the tenuous upper atmosphere, high above the surface, where they detected an unknown chemical signature. By comparing it to a database of chemical profiles, the team identified the molecule as cyclopropenylidene. It's likely that the thinness of the atmosphere at that altitude contributes to the molecule's survival, but why it appears on Titan and no other world is a mystery.
"When I realized I was looking at cyclopropenylidene, my first thought was, 'Well, this is really unexpected,'" Nixon said. "Titan is unique in our solar system. It has proved to be a treasure trove of new molecules."
Cyclopropenylidene is of particular interest because it's what is known as a ring molecule; its three carbon atoms are linked together in a ring (well, a triangle, but the principle is the same). Although cyclopropenylidene itself is not known to play a biological role, the nucleobases of DNA and RNA are based on such molecular rings.
"The cyclic nature of them opens up this extra branch of chemistry that allows you to build these biologically important molecules," said astrobiologist Alexander Thelen of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
The smaller the molecule, the more potential it has — reactions involving smaller molecules with fewer bonds are expected to happen faster than reactions involving larger, more complicated molecules. That means reactions involving smaller molecules, purely through numbers, are expected to result in a more diverse range of outcomes.
Previously, benzene (C6H6) was thought to be the smallest hydrocarbon ring molecule found in any atmosphere (including Titan's). Cyclopropenylidene has it beat.
Titan is already a hive of organic chemical activity. The nitrogen and methane break up in the sunlight, triggering a cascade of chemical reactions. Whether those reactions could result in life is a question scientists are dying to answer.
"We're trying to figure out if Titan is habitable," said geologist Rosaly Lopes of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "So we want to know what compounds from the atmosphere get to the surface, and then, whether that material can get through the ice crust to the ocean below, because we think the ocean is where the habitable conditions are."
Titan is already a hive of organic chemical activity. The nitrogen and methane break up in the sunlight, triggering a cascade of chemical reactions. Whether those reactions could result in life is a question scientists are dying to answer.
"We're trying to figure out if Titan is habitable," said geologist Rosaly Lopes of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "So we want to know what compounds from the atmosphere get to the surface, and then, whether that material can get through the ice crust to the ocean below, because we think the ocean is where the habitable conditions are."
Michelle Starr
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ - Are you feeling ALIENated? Well, Middlesex County has the cure for you!
The public is invited to East Jersey Old Town Village for some old-fashioned sci-fi fun.
Visit the Village to join in the excitement and to make a non-perishable donation. Visitors will receive a bag packed with candy and other fun gifts in exchange for canned and dry goods, or monetary donation to our County food banks.
The historic Village grounds will be open during park hours and a UFO will be on display in the park for the perfect photo op! Costumes are encouraged!
Can't make it out to the park to see the spaceship?
Enjoy spooky fun at home, thanks to some of Middlesex County’s most talented local artists. Log on to the virtual celebration now on Middlesex County’s website for festive fun including creepy makeup tutorials, crafts, photos, recipes and more.
Starting October 28 and on view through November 1, virtual visitors will be treated to a “War of The Worlds” performance with Raconteur Radio. This theatrical group will be recreating Orson Welles’ famous radio play where the Garden State faces invaders from Mars.
Food Drive/ East Jersey Old Town Village Activities
October 28 through November 1, 10 to 4pm
East Jersey Old Town Village
1050 River Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Virtual Celebration
Now through November 1 http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Departments/BDE/Pages/Halloween-at-EJOTV.aspx
The similar lights spotted from Campbeltown in 2018.
The unidentified flying object (UFO) featured in last week’s Courier and shared on our Facebook page has caused a bit of a stir, with many suggestions as to what the lights in the photograph could have been.
Some people, including a couple from Campbeltown, claim to have seen similar ‘strange’ lights over Kintyre, some recently and some as long ago as a decade.
The Campbeltown couple, who wished to remain anonymous, sent in photographs of the lights they spotted in the sky while standing on a Kinloch Green path, facing south west, at 1.40am on November 25 2018, which look similar to those spotted from Southend just a few weeks ago.
They said: ‘We saw motionless lights in the distance, in the direction of Drumlemble and Machrihanish. We watched for about five minutes until cloud obscured them.’
A Wonderland anche un omaggio a Vincenzo Mollica
I tredici premi dell’edizione 2020 di Lucca Comics & Games saranno annunciati in esclusiva su Rai4, all’interno di una puntata speciale del magazine Wonderland, in onda sabato 31 ottobre, alle 22.55.
Quest’anno,
per la prima volta, Rai4 “si fa luogo” per l’importante cerimonia di
chiusura in cui vengono annunciati i premi Gran Giunigi e Yellow Kid,
ovvero gli “oscar” del fumetto italiano, i premi ai giochi e gli altri
riconoscimenti. L’annuncio sarà accompagnato da un breve racconto delle
opere vincitrici e dal commento dei principali protagonisti.
La cerimonia di chiusura è solo uno dei tre speciali dedicati alla
manifestazione dal magazine Wonderland. Venerdì 30 ottobre, sempre su
Rai4, alle 23.05, andrà in onda Vincenzo Mollica: una vita tra i
fumetti, l’omaggio di Lucca Comics & Games al giornalista Rai,
grande esperto e divulgatore del fumetto in Italia, intervistato da
Riccardo Corbò. Con interventi di Silver, di Milo Manara e del direttore
di LC&G Emanuele Vietina e con l’ausilio di materiali delle Teche
Rai, l’omaggio si concentrerà sul racconto dei primi anni ’80. In quegli
anni fu proprio Vincenzo Mollica a raccontare opere e personaggi, da
Hugo Pratt ad Andrea Pazienza, da Gianluigi Bonelli a Bonvi a Federico
Fellini, superando steccati, tradizionali e artificiosi, tra medium
diversi e pubblici diversi.
Martedì 10 novembre, sempre in seconda serata su Rai4, il terzo e ultimo
speciale Wonderland racconterà, come negli scorsi anni, tutti i
principali eventi e protagonisti dell’edizione Changes di Lucca Comics
& Games.
Un immagine di un edizione del LUCCA COMICS passata
Rai4 è presente nel programma di Lucca Comics & Games 2020 anche con
un evento online, sabato 31 ottobre, alle 15.00. Il giornalista, e
coautore di Wonderland, Andrea Fornasiero presenterà, con il supporto di
clip in anteprima, tre serie televisive in prima visione assoluta su
Rai4 dal mese di novembre: Ransom, Tribes and Empires: Le profezie di
Novoland e Project Blue Book.
Ospite d’eccezione in videoconferenza Frank Spotnitz, già sceneggiatore e
produttore esecutivo di X-Files, più recentemente autore
dell’adattamento da Philip K. Dick The Man in the High Castle, oltre che
firma di prestigio di una grande coproduzione internazionale di
RaiFiction, I Medici. Spotnitz racconterà la prima delle tre novità, una
delle sue più recenti creazioni, la serie poliziesca in tre stagioni
Ransom, in onda su Rai4 dal 2 novembre. Liberamente ispirata alla vera
storia di Laurent Combalbert e Marwan Mery, negoziatori specializzati in
sequestri di persona, la serie ha per protagonisti Luke Roberts e Sarah
Greene.
Tribes and Empires: Le profezie di Novoland è un’inedita produzione
cinese, che aggiorna la gloriosa tradizione nazionale del filone wuxia,
con le sue storie cavalleresche a sfondo storico/mitologico, guardando
alle geografie immaginare e al respiro corale tipico del fantasy
d’Occidente, come nell’esempio de Il Trono di Spade.
Project Blue Book omaggia invece la fantascienza più classica, quella
americana degli anni ’50, degli alieni e delle teorie del complotto,
ricostruendo, tra storia, fantasia e thriller, le segretissime ricerche
dell’aeronautica militare statunitense sui dischi volanti. Protagonista
Aidan Gillen – il Ditocorto de Il Trono di Spade – nei panni di un
professore combattuto, nel solco del mitico Fox Mulder di X-Files, tra
scienza e fascinazione per l’ignoto, libertà e ragion di stato.
Avvistate nella serata di mercoledì 28 ottobre. Numerose le segnalazioni inviate all'Associazione Ricerca Italiana Aliena
Savona. Mercoledì 28 ottobre avvistate due luci lampeggianti rosse. Numerose le segnalazioni e i video ricevuti da A.R.I.A (Associazione Ricerca Italiana Aliena) da parte di molti savonesi, ma l’ufologo Angelo Maggioni spiega: “Si trattava di un elicottero”.
“Non è anomalo che luci intermittenti rosse di elicotteri vengano scambiati per ufo – spiega il fondatore di A.R.I.A -. Proprio un anno fa si è verificato un caso analogo a Pratica di Mare, dove un probabile elicottero veniva scambiato per ufo e rilanciato da chi, evidentemente non sa indagare, come oggetto volante non identificato”.“Il caso straordinario di mercoledì è che questo avvistamento è stato seguito e segnalato da molti cittadini savonesi, sintomo di una particolare attenzione e interessamento a ciò che passa sopra le nostre teste – sottolinea – Ildy Uldvar, una delle tante testimoni della sera del 28, ha filmato il passaggio delle luci rosse, rivelatosi poi essere un elicottero partito appunto da Albenga Villanova e come tanti è rimasta attratta dal movimento di queste luci nel buio, il loro lampeggio e l’andare e venire sul tratto costiero aveva indubbiamente acceso anche la speranza di assistere ad un fenomeno ufologico”.“Per quanto riguarda la Liguria quest’anno c’è stato un vistoso calo di avvistamenti di oggetti non identificati, siamo nell’ordine di massimo cinque segnalazioni su tutto il territorio in un anno indubbiamente complesso, sotto pressione per le problematiche del coronavirus, ma che ha regalato a molti la possibilità, durante il lockdown, di ammirare il cielo stellato e a riconoscere almeno il passaggio dello Starlink”.
“A.R.I.A – precisa Maggioni – si dissocia da quegli ufologi che, incuranti dei danni che provocano su un tessuto sociale povero di conoscenza ufologica, cercando col sensazionalismo di acchiappare qualche like in più divulgando false informazioni o falsi casi ufologici (Caso Amicizia, , Caso Ummo, Caso Caponi ecc ecc), che incuranti associano l’intervento alieno al covid o alle antenne 5G, o di chi crede davvero di fare fessi gli appassionati parlando di astronavi aliene in avvicinamento e riprese dalla sonda Stereo A (come ad esempio ha fatto il socio onorario del CUFOM). È un dato di fatto che molti ufologi approfittano della carenza culturale sociale per far leva su argomenti complessi e misteriosi come l’ufologia pur di attirare attenzione, ricavarne visibilità e forse anche tirar su qualche soldino con la stampa di libri pieni del vuoto cosmico”.
For the first time, an informant inside the DIA complex confirms the existence of a massive underground military facility located under the Denver airport. Denver International Airport (DIA) is located on a vast 53 square kilometer complex and is owned and operated by the City of Denver. In fact, it is the largest airport in the United States, in terms of land mass collected, and the second largest airport in the world after Saudi Arabia's King Fahd International Airport.The airport "hosts" over 50 million passengers a year and now incorporates a massive new project called "City Airport", an aerotropolis that was publicly unveiled by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. However, it is interesting to note that the new aerotropolis will integrate an expansive neighborhood with new housing, as well as an agricultural and technical district within the confines of the airport property, in order to attract more revenue to grow Denver's economy. In fact, among Colorado's aerotropolis and booming marijuana industries, DIA may just be the most important thing after sliced bread.
The concept is innovative, a first for an airport in America, and is destined to become the envy of other airports around the world. In fact, according to the official website of the City of Denver, in 2010, the DIA and the Denver County Administration made an important decision in the evolution of the DIA itself to fulfill its role as a gateway by inviting businesses from all over the world to make proposals to assist the DIA in planning, evaluating and creating a City Airport as the accelerator and competitive core for the emerging Denver Airport.
Local residents and other citizens found themselves in a discussion and confrontation with the administration on the new construction and around the airport property, raising the controversy. In fact, since the early stages of construction of the airport, which began in the early 1990s, there have been several reports that something may be in place above or below the grounds of the 53-square-mile complex.7
The bottom
Some speculate that a deep underground military facility, which would be part of the planned Continuity of Government (COG), is on the site. A huge underground city, which to be used by the US government in case Washington or our central governments are compromised. According to some investigative reports, including one led by former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, the underground city that sits beneath the airport most likely connects to other deep underground military installations across the country.
Now, a source inside the airport has confirmed for the first time surprising information regarding the underground structure, providing details unknown to airport staff and the general public until now.
Below are the details regarding a deep underground military installation, located based on DIA information, as predicted by the source:
• Level 1 of the airport is inserted into the ground to protect against vibrations coming from below.
• Airport gates and numbers correspond to the emergency action and response plans which indicate specific details for people "who are in the know".
• For unknown reasons in the "United Airlines, Inc." of one of the underground floors, an infectious bio-hazard or a fungal outbreak has placed the quarantined areas outside the subsoil, making them inaccessible to airport staff and staff. The quarantine section of the subway, as confirmed by the informant, is located in lower lateral levels of corridor B to the east.
• The landfill located off Torre Road. two miles west of Terminal Jeppesen was added in early 2000 despite the airports appealing to the District Court against the landfill in 2002, claiming it was a FAA safety hazard.
• A militarized intermediate entrance is located in the “United Airlines” section of the metro. The actual port number was reported by a source with great fear. The current port code is “BE64B” unknown until now to the general public.
• A quick closing and opening door will also allow access to the intermediary entrance of the structure if you have a "specific pass".
• The dirt in some parts of the railway tunnels looks unnatural.
• The exits would be blocked in some sections of the airport in an emergency.
• A tunnel about 3 miles long would be located outside the intermediary entrance "BE64B", for a full-blown Defense Department (DOD) in case of crossing the tunnel, the staff would receive disciplinary sanctions; a militarized entrance, consisting of 5 buildings, would be located in the north-east area of the Jeppesen terminal.
• All important activities generally come from the northwest section of "Corridor C".
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- When Chinese clone Donald Trump squares off against Satan himself in the year 2044, he's in for the fight of his life to save the human race from an evil alien race known as the Illuminati.
Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker B.C. Fourteen and starring Wes Bruff, Marco Guzmán and comedian Timothy Banfield.
The film's hero and savior of the human race is a Chinese clone of 45th U.S. president, Donald J. Trump whose petri dish body has been fused with the latest AI technology. He's destined for eternal life and really large hands.
Advanced AI robots drain the Earth of its natural resources, leaving it as a barren shell. Humanity is forced adrift in space fighting for survival. Trump survives the planet's destruction by escaping his maximum-security lab and stowing-away aboard the last space-bound shuttle.
The ship crashes on Mars, stranding Trump's clone on a barren prison planet for 1,000 years. Blazing hot days turn into subfreezing nights, as he joyrides in his only toy -- a souped-up surface rover., while across space the human race continues to fight its most costly battle ever for survival with The Illuminati.
Upon discovering he's been prophesied to destroy The Illuminati, Trump's clone joins forces with surviving human allies to bring the battle straight to Illuminati headquarters -- in hell. When Donald Trump meets Satan himself, he's in for the fight of his cloned life.
B.C. Fourteen is a screenwriter, novelist, film director, and editor. He has worked in various capacities of motion picture production and literary publishing and is responsible for a wide variety of genre, documentary, and animated feature films.
He began his career with a slate of award-winning short films and music videos. Some of his notable works include New Terminal Hotel released as 2013's Do Not Disturb, Werewolf Rising in 2014, Go Big Or Go Home in 2018 and Bigfoot vs the Illuminati.
Timothy Banfield is an actor and comedian known for his voicework in numerous animated features and videogames. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Warmhammer 40,000.
You can see a quick teaser or a two-minute trailer and Trump's dance scene as he prepares battle the Illuminati.
The one hour and nine-minute film was released to limited U.S. and Canadian theaters on Oct. 6, 2020 in English. The genre of the film is classified as a comedy, action, Sci Fi, adventure, and animation.
It's available on DVD and video on demand at Amazon Prime, Vimeo, DirectTV, Amazon, and Walmart. Follow us online at Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook.
For further information or to schedule an interview contact Evan Tramel at 257697@email4pr.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Evan Tramel
Trump vs. The Illuminati
www.trumpvstheilluminati.com
Ruthless Studios
P.O. Box 6919972
Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: (202) 456-2121
Email: 257697@email4pr.com
Se empieza alimentando una pasión enfebrecida por una película y se acaba montando un museo. Así lo vive Luis Nostromo, cuyo alias lo dice todo, aludiendo a la nave emblemática de 'Alien', filme que adora y al que rinde pleitesía con una insaciable alma de coleccionista que ha derivado en un museo que va creciendo en el corazón de un barrio de Barcelona. Fascinado por toda la saga cinematográfica y lo que ha significado en la historia del cine en general y la ciencia-ficción en particular, fiel devoto de la criatura alienígena diseñada por H. R. Giger, decidió un buen día ampliar su afición más allá de las paredes de su casa cuando se quedó sin espacio para guardar sus cosas en la vivienda familiar. «Decidí entonces llevarme todo a un lugar con más espacio», relata con entusiasmo. «Poco a poco me dí cuenta de que con simples estanterías no luciría el material y pensé que sería una buena idea que estuvieran en decorados inmersivos, como si estuvieras dentro de las propias películas». Encontró el local adecuado -cerca de 70 metros cuadrados, aunque el sitio ya se le queda pequeño-, y se puso manos a la obra con la ayuda de un colega. «Llevo más de 3 años construyéndolo y creo que me hará falta un año más», cuenta. «Primero decidí cuántos metros ocuparía cada película y dividí los espacios, hice bocetos de lo que quería construir y me puse a ello». El resultado, que atiende a visitas concertadas por anticipado, es espectacular. Se nota en cada detalle el mimo con el cual está creciendo la exposición, donde se pueden encontrar sets de las populares películas, fotografías de rodaje, storyboards, vestimenta y elementos de atrezzo originales, réplicas perfectas de armas, imágenes de los actores con sus correspondientes firmas, maquetas y figuras espectaculares.
El Museo Alien, situado en el barrio de Navas, consta de cuatro espacios diferenciados, correspondientes a los cuatro primeros títulos de la conocida saga audiovisual. Al levantar la persiana del local, el visitante inquieto penetra en las tripas de la nave Nostromo y puede observar a un ejemplar de facehugger bajo un microscopio. Hay más elementos icónicos de 'Alien' por toda la primera sala, construida de manera impecable, con algunos secretos que es mejor no desvelar para un mayor deleite como espectador virgen. Al entrar en las diferentes habitaciones, a veces por puertas inesperadas, la sensación se asemeja a penetrar en un escape room, formato de moda, sin juegos ni jeroglíficos, aunque está permitido hacerse selfies en puntos de referencia. La labor de documentación para la construcción milimétrica del museo ha sido ardua. Luis ha tenido que dar al pause más de una vez visionando las películas «para hacer fotos de algunas escenas». También ha utilizado imágenes de detrás de las cámaras y de algunos libros esenciales. «Me fijé, por ejemplo, a qué altura quedaban las pantallas del laboratorio de Ash teniendo en cuenta cuanto medía el actor Ian Holm y dónde llegaba su cabeza en las fotos». Las piezas de coleccionista, algunas míticas, las ha conseguido en foros de compra venta, en webs especializadas y en subastas.
Una de las estancias del museo, con un alien saliendo del conducto de ventilación.
Por supuesto, Luis Nostromo ya ha visitado en dos ocasiones el museo dedicado a la obra de Giger en Gruyères (Suiza), una cita obligada para todo seguidor de 'Alien'. «Es un sitio especial», relata. «La segunda vez fui a la celebración del 20 aniversario de la película, invitado por una expareja de Giger. Me contó muchas cosas sobre él y su obra». Recomendamos, aprovechando la circunstancia, 'Dark Star: El universo de H.R. Giger ', un documental indispensable para conocer mejor al creador de uno de los grandes iconos del cine fantástico moderno. En la segunda entrega, 'Aliens', la presencia de tan letal especie, el dragón espacial, se multiplicó por mucho. En el Museo Alien podemos convertirnos por un rato en un marine y enfrentarnos a la Reina Alien. Algunas generaciones no paramos de comprar objetos de culto que nos recuerdan a las cintas que veíamos de niños. Alimentamos la nostalgia. «Así mantenemos viva la memoria de esas películas», afirma el alma máter del espacio objeto de estas líneas. «De algún modo, hacemos que las nuevas generaciones sigan conociendo e interesándose por películas como 'Alien', por eso sigue habiendo merchandising de ellas». En su deseo de ampliar la colección, Luis sueña con conseguir algún día la maqueta original de la nave Nostromo que se empleó en el filme: «Hay muchas cosas que me gustaría tener, pero si tuviera sitio y dinero, sin duda la Nostromo. Mide tres metros de larga y hace poco se subastó y quedó sin vender porque ninguna puja llegó a los 300.000 € que se pedían. A ver si me toca la lotería y me la llevo la próxima vez».
Otra de las estancias del museo.
«Si tuviera mucho dinero haría la Nostromo entera, escaleras arriba y abajo incluidas», remarca Luis, que no tiene problema alguno en emplear el tiempo que haga falta en construir su sueño. ¿Qué tipo de público visita el museo? «De todas las edades», responde. «Gente que vio Alien en el cine, algunos ya jubilados, gente de mi generación que la vio siendo un crío… Y me ha sorprendido cuantos niños de 10-12 años vienen sabiéndose la peli de memoria, y todos los personajes. Imagino que los padres tendrán mucho que ver en ello, pero es bonito». Lo es, y no hay ningún lugar similar en todo el planeta Tierra. «No, que yo sepa. Hay muchos coleccionistas y algunos con más cosas que yo, sin duda, pero no se de nadie que haya reproducido decorados de la película». Luis se ilusiona con la posibilidad de que visite la muestra gente que admira, relevante para la franquicia: Ridley Scott, Sigourney Weaver, James Cameron, algunos actores de las películas... Es fácil buscarlo en las redes sociales, la manera ideal de contactar para una reserva. Hay turistas foráneos que visitan Barcelona y lo primero que hacen al pisar la ciudad es tocar la puerta del Museo Alien. «Me escribió por Instagram un chico de Reino Unido para felicitarme porque su padre trabajó en los sets originales de Alien, y éste le decía que lo que yo había hecho estaba muy bien. Ambos planean venir, me dicen...». De algún modo, el espíritu de Ripley ha estado ya en la réplica de la nave. La actriz de doblaje María Luisa Solá, la voz de Sigourney Weaver en 'Alien', estuvo hace unos meses. «Vino y le hicimos una entrevista aquí. Pudo leer el informe final de Ripley y a los presentes nos puso la piel de gallina». En el fidedigno espacio arquitectónico se han rodado ya spots y videoclips. El resto de entregas de la saga también cuentan con un hueco en el brutal templo. Auguramos que va a estar muy solicitado.
Borja Crespo
Whether it’s friendly little green men or scary mind-reading creatures, humans love to imagine what alien life will look like when we find it. But the human-created image of alien life is not completely unrealistic. In fact, they’re a combination of human’s experiences, science and space exploration.
New York Times bestselling author of science fiction works and co-editor of The Big Book of Science Fiction Jeff VanderMeer said images of alien life have been around for centuries but it wasn’t until the 1960s that images of extraterrestrial life transformed into what we see on screen today.
Space exploration kindled curiosity but also worries about the appearance and intentions of inhabitants in other worlds. “A lot of times it would be about either aliens coming to earth and being in some way horrifying, or going to Mars and finding that life was pretty horrifying there, too,” VanderMeer said.
“They’re reflections of our hopes and fears, and not necessarily an accurate feeling of what an alien might be, you know, it’s like not biologically correct,” he added.
The author said the inspiration behind the aliens comes from the mystery of the emergence of life on Earth and all the unknown organisms living among us.
“I think sometimes we forget that there’s a lot of alien life on our planet,” VanderMeer said, explaining that his creative process comes from looking at studies of organisms here on Earth and imagining how they would look in space. “There’s a lot of really beautifully strange organisms that we don’t even understand,” here on Earth he added.
“I sometimes feel like we are the aliens, coming down to a planet that we don’t fully understand and we’ve settled on and live on without fully grasping the ecosystems here,” he said.
Just like VanderMeer, scientists look at the start of life on Earth as one big mystery and focus on discovering what ecosystems in our early years might have prompted it.
Laurie Barge, an Astrobiologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said that discovering the conditions that helped create life on Earth can help understand how life could form in other worlds.
Barge’s research focuses on recreating hydrothermal vents, chimney-like systems discovered more than 40 years ago in our oceans. She studies the habitability — or ability for an environment to support life — of these systems and how life came out of them.
“By understanding how life currently lives in vents, it may also give us some insight into how life lived on the Earth, and then if hydrothermal vents were a primordial environment for life, then perhaps that could give us insight also into how metabolism began,” she said.
For scientists, the chemical reactions that hold life in our oceans are important in their efforts to study habitability in the underground waters of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa. However, Barge said such studies require a lot of effort.
“Even on Earth, exploring events is a very difficult activity,” Barge explained. “It’s hard to get robots down there, and it’s hard to get samples back, so exploring oceans can be quite a challenge,” she added.
Although Barge said it’s not easy to predict exactly what life will look like, the astrobiologist said that it all depends on the environment scientists decide to explore.
“If we find something microbial, then maybe we could look at it under a microscope,” she said. “But also, it’s possible that depending on what sort of signatures we’ve seen about life, we may or may not be able to actually look at it, and we might find signatures of [life] on things like minerals or rocks or chemicals.”
Scientists keep working on tracing biosignatures and minerals that might indicate habitability in space and potential alien life. Even if the discovery doesn’t look like a friendly Martian, the smallest sign of life will mean we were never alone in the universe.
Nelly Ontiveros
Una meteora precipitata nel lago ghiacciato nel Michigan, negli USA, contiene composti organici extraterrestri primordiali e potrebbe contenere la chiave per comprendere le origini della vita sulla Terra, secondo una ricerca pubblicata questa settimana sulla rivista Meteoritics & Planetary. Nella notte del 16 gennaio 2018, una meteora ha illuminato il cielo nordamericano prima di schiantarsi sulle acque ghiacciate del Lago Strawberry, vicino alla città di Amburgo, nel Michigan. Utilizzando un radar meteorologico, gli scienziati sono stati in grado di identificare rapidamente i detriti rocciosi e raccoglierli prima che l’ambiente alterasse la sua composizione chimica. “Un meteorite davvero unico, perché contiene un ricco inventario di composti organici extraterrestri “, ha dichiarato Philipp Heck, autore principale del nuovo articolo. Gli specialisti ritengono che questi tipi di composti organici siano probabilmente arrivati sul nostro pianeta e potrebbero aver contribuito agli ingredienti necessari allo sviluppo della vita.
Meno di due giorni dopo l’impatto, gli scienziati hanno trovato il primo pezzo di meteorite e lo hanno portato al laboratorio per l’analisi. “Con ogni meteora che cade, c’è la possibilità che ci sia qualcosa di completamente nuovo e totalmente inaspettato“, ha dichiarato Heck. I ricercatori hanno determinato che il meteorite fosse una rara classe di condrite H4. Una delle teorie sull’origine della vita sulla Terra è che un certo numero di composti organici si siano originati grazie ai meteoriti. Tutto ciò non significa che i meteoriti stessi contengano vita extraterrestre, ma piuttosto, che alcuni dei composti organici che aiutano a creare la vita potrebbero essersi formati per la prima volta in un asteroide che in seguito cadde sul nostro pianeta.
Angelo Petrone
28.10.2020 – 12.44 – Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, il più importante evento italiano dedicato all’esplorazione della fantascienza, festeggia i suoi primi 20 anni.
La manifestazione triestina inizierà questo giovedì 29 ottobre proseguendo fino a martedì 3 novembre per la prima volta online nella Sala Web di MYmovies, sito leader in Italia nell’informazione cinematografica.
Un formato sperimentale con una selezione di film, corti e documentari
distribuita per la prima volta online, con tantissime anteprime mondiali
e nazionali.
Film di apertura dell’edizione 2020 del festival nella sala web di MYmovies sarà Skylin3s di Liam O’Donnell, terzo capitolo della fortunata saga sci-fi, in programma giovedì 29 ottobre alle ore 20.00 sulla piattaforma del festival. Questo nuovo episodio, in concorso al Trieste Science+Fiction 2020 in anteprima nazionale grazie alla collaborazione con Blue Swan Entertainment, è incentrato sul personaggio del capitano Rose Corley (interpretata da Lindsey Morgan, già protagonista della serie televisiva The 100), un’umana dotata di superpoteri extraterrestri. Il capitano Rose è l’unica persona in grado di contrastare gli invasori alieni, ma necessita di trasfusioni di sangue costanti per fermare il suo accelerato tasso d’invecchiamento. Combattente di lunga data contro gli invasori, Rose è ora in fuga, ma verrà scovata nel suo nascondiglio da alcuni militari e, ancora una volta, arruolata per combattere. Gli ibridi tra umani e alieni – che costituiscono la maggior parte della popolazione terrestre – stanno per cadere sotto il controllo alieno. Rose, inviata in missione nella nave madre aliena, avrà solo 72 ore di tempo per salvare l’umanità.
Alle 22.30 sempre di giovedì 29 ottobre la programmazione su MYmovies proseguirà con la messa online degli 8 episodi di SF8, serie fantascientifica coreana già definita la risposta asiatica a Black Mirror, in anteprima internazionale per il pubblico online del festival. Dietro la macchina da presa i migliori registi di genere coreani, tra cui Jang Cheol-soo (Bedeviled) e Min Kyu-dong (Memento Mori), qui alle prese con i temi dell’intelligenza artificiale, della realtà aumentata, della realtà virtuale e del mondo dei robot. Un’imperdibile serie antologica che tratta i principali temi legati alla fantascienza e allo sviluppo tecnologico, dal gaming all’intelligenza artificiale, dalla robotica ai super poteri. La serie tv sarà disponibile in streaming per tutta la durata della manifestazione.
Italo Veneziani
Program
Tuesday 27 of October 2020 (14:00-17:30)
· Welcome
· ASI’s perspective of topics relevant to astrobiology
· Open discussion
Wednesday 28 of October 2020 (9:30 -18:00)
· Thematic Sessions
Thursday 29 of October 2020 (9:30 -16:30)
· Thematic Sessions
· Workshop synthesis and closing
There is water on the moon and it may be more accessible than expected
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) flying telescope revealed for the first time the "signature" of the water molecule (H20) on Earth's satellite. The announcement of the discovery, described in detail on the pages of the specialized journal Nature, comes directly from NASA, during the dedicated press conference, which began at 5.00 pm (Italian time), today, 26 October.
A second study, published in Nature and conducted by the University of Colorado, estimates that more than 40,000 square kilometers of the lunar surface could trap water in the form of ice in small shaded cavities.
The discovery, as explained by NASA on its official website, will make an important contribution to its efforts to gain a better.
Oliviero Mannucci
Marc Barasch knows that, while many people are open to the idea of life on other planets, there’s still a lot of doubt around extraterrestrials, unidentified flying objects and the like.
“It sounds like the stuff of science fiction,” says Barasch, 71, of Berkeley, Calif. “It’s easy for all of us, myself included to say, ‘Well, it’s a maybe.’ ”
But the new documentary “The Phenomenon,” which Barasch wrote, aims to move the discussion of alien life onto more solid ground.
The movie, which was produced by 1091 Pictures and is available for digital download, contains testimony from astronauts, UFO investigators and also government officials, including former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon and former Senator Harry Reid.
The film, directed by James Fox, comes on the heels of the Pentagon’s announcement of the establishment of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, which is charged with studying any aerial phenomena that could pose a threat to U.S. security.
In “The Phenomenon,” multiple sources state that UFOs have been under investigation by the military since the 1940s. The movie aims to be a serious examination of UFOs and UFO sightings, says Barasch, the son of the late Norman Barasch, a playwright, comedy writer and longtime Greenwich resident.
Indeed, “The Phenomenon” seems more of a journalistic documentary than a disposable “conspiracy theory” film, right down to the use of actor Peter Coyote — a mainstay of Ken Burns’s longform documentary series — as the movie’s narrator.
“The goal was to make it unassailable as possible with something that is still unknown, to take something out of the realm of myth into the realm of certainty,” says Barasch, a journalist who has served as an editor at the New Age Journal and Psychology Today. He is also CEO of Green World Ventures, which has worked in Nigeria, Ghana and now focuses in Kenya to develop a regenerative food industry.
Barasch has a long history both with documentary filmmaking and the field of UFOs. His work includes producing “One Child, One Voice,” a 1992 special designed to promote awareness of the Earth Summit in Brazil, and a 1995 episode of the documentary TV series “Secret History” on the alleged crash of an alien spacecraft in Roswell, N.M.
For “The Phenomenon,” Barasch says, he assisted Fox in taking years of footage about UFOs and UFO sightings to shape a narrative not just about UFOs, but the people who saw them, investigated them and knew about them.
The film shows case after case of people credibly describing seeing aircraft more technologically sophisticated than anything produced on Earth.
“These were far, far advanced from anything in our military capability,” Barasch says, adding that the crafts were described as moving as a rate of speed that would obliterate a human pilot.
“We are and have been visited by craft that are not of earthly manufacture,” he says.
The original plan was for the documentary to be released and shown in AMC theaters, Barasch says. But like many film releases, it got scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is now available via digital download, and Barasch says it’s been doing well, thanks in no small part to the news about the formation of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.
President Donald Trump was even asked about the task force in recent interviews and vowed to look into the matter.
Barasch says he’s proud of “The Phenomenon” not just as a film, but as a step forward in proving that there is life beyond Earth.
“I think this film is a breakthrough,” he says.
For more information about the film, visit thephenomenonfilm.com.
Amanda Cuda
The next time you're looking for something out of this world, consider visiting St. Paul, Alta. The small town is home to the world's first UFO landing pad.
Built as part of the Canadian centennial celebration in 1967, the concrete splash weighs over 130,000kg and has a 2.4-meter pedestal. And it's not just the size of the landing pad that makes it impressive, but its history.
As UFO sightings began to increase across the world, this welcome mat in St. Paul quickly became a symbol of unity and universal acceptance.
- Big Things Small Towns host Tamarra Canu
St. Paul, Alberta's UFO Landing Pad in a painting by Margo Legacy, who worked on the design of the monument. (St. Paul Archives)
"In 1967, people were reaching to the moon and looking at opportunities — not necessarily for aliens to land, but to give that message that we are open not just to our surrounding area, but, you know, we are an open community," says Maureen Miller, mayor of St. Paul.
"This then put a mark in Canada's history that we are open to everybody."
Across from the landing pad is the town's museum. In it, there are binders and binders about the town's history, from UFO memorabilia to alleged landing sites. On this episode of Big Things Small Towns, you'll discover that art is an essential part of the St. Paul, Alta. community and how it specifically played an instrumental role in their historic landing pad through the prolific and talented multidisciplinary local artist Margo Legacy, who worked on the design of the landing pad.
(CBC Arts)
Watch the episode above and find out why this UFO landing pad has taken off with locals and visitors from around the world.
Big Things Small Towns is back for another road trip and it's bigger — and smaller — than ever. Watch Season 2 now on CBC Gem.
Kiah Welsh
Il cantante dei Radiohead ha esordito, sul red carpet dell'Auditorium Parco della Musica, parlando delle difficoltà di chi oggi organizza eventi: "È difficile farlo in modo che tutti siano protetti e ne so qualcosa visto che mi sono appena sposato con la mia adorabile moglie", ha detto, indicando l'attrice italiana Dajana Roncione. Poi, nella Sala Sinopoli, ha parlato del suo rapporto con le colonne sonore e la settima arte. Annunciando di essere al lavoro con la sua band
L'ha scelto Thom Yorke, voce dei Radiohead, che nella Sala Sinopoli dell'Auditorum Parco della Musica è stato protagonista di uno degli eventi più attesi della Festa di Roma, nell'ambito degli Incontri Ravvicinati
(una citazione nella citazione, dunque), la sezione in cui registi,
attori e grandi personalità del mondo della cultura sono protagonisti di
interviste a tutto campo. Yorke, autore della colonna sonora di Suspiria di Luca Guadagnino, di recente infatti ha scelto di cimentarsi anche con il cinema tanto che il brano Suspirium, nominato agli Oscar, ha vinto il Soundtrack Stars Award alla 75esima Mostra del Cinema di Venezia."Probabilmente la cosa che più mi ha colpito sin da piccolo erano i
suoni, le tonalità attraverso cui gli umani scoprono di poter comunicare
con gli extraterresti", esordisce Yorke, "all'inizio pensavo che
fossero realizzati tutti con il sintetizzatore, invece poi ho scoperto
che ci sono degli strumenti appositi, la tuba in particolare, uno
strumento da cui, anche se è semplice da usare, si possono trarre
sonorità molto particolari. John Williams era molto moderno, non so come
abbia lavorato ma era già all'avanguardia, con quella sequenza di suoni
che viene ripetuta e modificata: è una cosa che oggi troviamo spesso
nella musica ma che allora era completamente inedita. Riguardandolo oggi
mi sono reso conto di questa modernità che coincide con la crescente
emotività delle scene. Ricordo benissimo la prima volta che vidi il
film, perché è stato il secondo della mia vita, il primo era La spia che mi amava (un film della serie di 007 con protagonista Roger Moore, diretto da Lewis Gilbert, 1977, ndr).
Avevo otto anni e mi sconvolse completamente, a diversi livelli. Gli
alieni, divennero una piccola ossessione. Ancora oggi continuo a
disegnarli, mi capita di scarabocchiare queste figure. Ho persino
comprato il pessimo libro che all'epoca uscì seguendo la sceneggiatura
del film, in particolare c'era una stranissima sequenza - inventata -
dove risultava che il sintetizzatore era stato preso in prestito da Stevie Wonder. Da piccolo sognavo di potermi impossessare di quel sintetizzatore...".
Thom Yorke prosegue nel suo 'lavoro' di commentatore. Passa così in
rassegna altri selezionati momenti da film entrati nell'immaginario di
tutti. Dopo Incontri ravvicinati del terzo tipo ("Se devo
essere sincero con voi non sono un grande ammiratore di John Williams in
altri film ma forse è dovuto alla mia ignoranza, perché quando un
compositore diventa molto famoso viene anche molto copiato e in queste
scopiazzature poi si perde il gusto per l'originale", dice) c'è,
inevitabilmente, 2001: Odissea nello spazio di Stanley Kubrick a cui segue Oltre il giardino (Being There), diretto nel 1979 dal dimenticato Hal Ashby ("è spudoratamente 'disco' e 'sexy'", dice).
E, ancora, Taxi Driver di Martin Scorsese, con le musiche composte da Bernard Hermann (premiato con l'Oscar per la colonna sonora di L'oro del demonio, di William Dieterle,
nel 1942): "Quando uscì non andai al cinema, francamente non mi ricordo
neppure quando lo vidi per la prima volta ma ricordo invece l'ultima in
cui l'ho voluto vedere: solo poche settimane fa perché mia figlia, che
ha 16 anni, voleva guardare un film. Lei ha scelto Taxi Driver.
Forse avrei dovuto dirle di no, ma alla fine ho acconsentito... Una
vera rivelazione. Sono rimasto sconcertato perché in questo momento, in
studio di registrazione, sto cercando di fare esattamente quello che è
stato già fatto negli anni Settanta, con quelle stesse progressioni. Ho
alzato il telefono per parlarne con Jonny Greenwood (il multistrumentista e mente musicale dei Radiohead, ndr), per discuterne. È evidente nelle musiche di Taxi Driver l'influenza di Charles Mingus anche
se non sappiamo se Hermann si ispirò effettivamente a lui. Quello che
mi interessa ora è come fare a riappropriarmi di certe sonorità".Il fatto che Thom Yorke abbia sentito Greenwood
significa solo una cosa: che un nuovo disco è in lavorazione. Una
notizia che colpirà molto il pubblico dei Radiohead, amatissimi anche in
Italia e da molti considerati come la band contemporanea più originale e
innovativa, visto che l'ultimo disco di inediti del gruppo di Oxford, A Moon Shaped Pool, risale a oltre quattro anni fa - era il 2016.
Dopo la colonna sonora del remake di Suspiria e l'album Anima, con il quale Yorke ha continuato a portare avanti la carriera solista parallela (iniziata nel 2006 con The Eraser, il primo suo lavoro senza i Radiohead), forse è venuto il momento di riunirsi. Insieme, con il resto del gruppo, oltre a Jonny anche Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood e Philip Selway.Inevitabile a questo punto una domanda su come, Yorke, habbia lavorato
per comporre musica per un lungometraggio, un'impresa molto diversa
rispetto a quella a cui un artista, che ha carta bianca come lui, è
abituato. Scrivere per il cinema infatti è, per definizione, un lavoro
su commissione che deve tener conto di vari parametri. Si ritorna dunque
a Suspiria, il remake del classico dell'horror di Dario Argento
che Luca Guadagnino ha portato al cinema - tra critiche ed entusiasmi -
nel 2018. "Quando mi proposero di realizzare la colonna sonora ero
estremamente teso", ha spiegato Yorke, "facendo finta di nulla, dissi a
Jonny che mi avevano chiesto di lavorare alla colonna sonora di un film
horror. Mugugni. Poi aggiunsi: è Suspiria. Altri mugugni.
Infine Jonny cominciò a darmi consigli, su come avrei potuto lavorare.
Mi disse di cominciare a pensare e lavorare alle sonorità e alle melodie
prima di vedere il film: 'Perché nel momento in cui lo vedrai non
riuscirai a fare niente, ti bloccherai!'. Aveva ragione. Se non avessi
avuto diversi mesi a disposizione per prepararmi, lavorando senza sosta e
basandomi sulla sceneggiatura, sui personaggi e parlando direttamente
con Luca, non ce l'avrei mai fatta. Alla fine in realtà è stato
relativamente semplice. Ho messo tutto me stesso in quel lavoro".
Valeria Rusconi
