Mindy Weisberger
Latest articles by Mindy Weisberger
![A government employee photographed a UFO that hovered for 15 minutes near Holloman Air Development Center in New Mexico, on Dec.16, 1957.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2FKoKbPwVbFZZ7DJJgTpA8-320-80.jpeg)
Pentagon's long-awaited UFO report to Congress due this month
By Mindy Weisberger published
U.S. lawmakers called for an official assessment of UFO sightings in December, and the six-month deadline is up.
![The auction of this so-called evidence of extraterrestrials has an opening bid of $1 million or 450 Ethereum (a network for the cryptocurrency Ether).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jfsj62GZHDcuZQqhRxpAzV-320-80.jpg)
1947 'alien autopsy' film frame is up for auction as an NFT
By Mindy Weisberger published
A film frame allegedly showing the autopsy of an extraterrestrial that crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico has an opening bid of $1 million.
![The footage was allegedly filmed in the Combat Information Center of the USS Omaha on July 15, 2019.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WwzL6dJA8fRa3VoFZK56AJ-320-80.jpg)
Spherical UFO plunges into the ocean in US Navy footage
By Mindy Weisberger published
A clip of a mysterious spherical object hovers over the horizon, in footage released by a filmmaker who produces UFO documentaries.
![A man models an astronaut undergarment — known as a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment — that was designed for the Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit, photographed in 1994.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ArD2NiYCcGcFm66UraAnNY-320-80.jpeg)
Astronauts may finally start cleaning their space underwear (with microbes)
By Mindy Weisberger published
Bacterial compounds could provide antimicrobial protection in undergarments shared by astronauts during spacewalks.
![Volcanic lava tubes on Earth serve as analogs for similar environments that astronauts may one day visit and explore on Mars and the moon.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GycYtS3U4DBrDudt5tfZsF-320-80.jpeg)
Lava tubes in Hawaii could be a dress rehearsal for Mars colonies
By Mindy Weisberger published
Exploring volcanic lava tubes in Hawaii helps researchers understand how humans should prepare for living and working on worlds other than Earth.
![A starry sky above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KA3rd9gt8uAUZetpr92zHB-320-80.jpg)
Legacy of shattered alien-seeking Arecibo telescope will live on for millions of years
By Mindy Weisberger published
Arecibo Observatory's collapse on Dec. 1, 2020 was a devastating blow for science, but its decades of observations will inform research for years to come.
![A 2007 image from the APL-built STEREO B spacecraft of the moon crossing in front of the sun. A new conceptual study proposes to observe the Earth in a similar way, to learn if the transit method can determine a planet’s habitability.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zAd8qfid2UKrAYK7TBhtwV-320-80.jpeg)
How to spot aliens? Look at Earth, scientists propose.
By Mindy Weisberger published
Revisiting how Earth looks from space could offer scientists clues for finding alien life on distant worlds.
![Evolution of a dawn storm in Jupiter’s polar auroras. This animation was created from observations made by Juno’s UVS (Ultraviolet Spectrograph) instrument.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tiAdDaBFdsQjC8pqAcA5XK-320-80.gif)
Glowing 'dawn storm' auroras that blaze in Jupiter's morning skies are born in darkness
By Mindy Weisberger published
New images of Jupiter's polar auroras, captured by the Juno spacecraft, revealed the full cycle of intense and unusual polar light displays.
![The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter has spotted NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, along with its parachute and back shell, heat shield and descent stage, in the Jezero Crater region of Mars.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DuCYHs5zn8c2Znm9Snctxb-320-80.jpg)
Perseverance is a tiny pale speck on Mars in this orbiter's eerie photo
By Mindy Weisberger published
A camera on the ExoMars orbiter recently captured a photo showing a very, very tiny Perseverance on Mars.
![A portion of the Seymchan meteorite from Siberia was ground into a gem-studded metal sphere.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jExTwzP9SwQPM9AFL9MYsd-320-80.jpg)
'Extraterrestrial crystal ball' hits the auction block at Christie's
By Mindy Weisberger published
Spectacular space rocks from Mars and the moon could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at a Christie's auction.
![During Operation Upshot-Knothole, the U.S. Army exploded 11 nuclear bombs at a test site in Nevada between March and June in 1953. In the last of those tests — code name "Climax" — a 61-kiloton device was detonated on June 4, 1953.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sWmNEoTD9gWNW5TQnGBxa7-320-80.jpg)
Doomsday Clock stands at 100 seconds to midnight
By Mindy Weisberger published
The Doomsday Clock — a hypothetical clock that measures our nearness to utter annihilation, represented by the midnight hour — maintains last year's time.
![Who's a good boy?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s5PoA7GNDDcR2mwtCXBAMK-320-80.jpg)
Meet Au-Spot, the AI robot dog that's training to explore caves on Mars
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Scientists are equipping four-legged, animal-mimicking robots with artificial intelligence (AI) and an array of sensing equipment to help the bots autonomously navigate the Red Planet.
![Optical micrograph of the complete Strawberry Lake meteorite (Hamburg ME 6108) before cutting.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zyNMJzzdhcWhApBPzZ7pT8-320-80.jpg)
'Fireball' meteorite that crashed in Michigan holds extraterrestrial organic compounds
By Mindy Weisberger published
A fireball meteor lit up midwestern skies on Jan. 16, 2018, then landed on a frozen Michigan lake. Analysis of the space rock revealed a rich array of extraterrestrial organic compounds.
![NASA astronaut Charles Duke filmed Commander John Young as Young drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle, in footage shot on April 21, 1972 during the fifth day of the Apollo 16 moon landing.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fzeW656zcu8yvEG8QKpEAV-320-80.jpg)
Astonishing AI restoration brings Apollo moon landing films up to speed
By Mindy Weisberger published
Artificial intelligence transformed NASA footage of Apollo missions to the moon, making decades-old events look like they were shot on high-definition video.
![The RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912, four days before the disaster that claimed more than 1,500 lives.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hsHLp3K6PDj86Qybk9yzqP-320-80.jpg)
An aurora that lit up the sky over the Titanic might explain why it sank
By Mindy Weisberger published
A geomagnetic storm that sparked spectacular aurora displays could also have contributed to the sinking of the Titanic.
![The unusual perspective in this photo of the Andromeda galaxy nabbed accolades for French astrophotographer Nicolas Lefaudeux.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/j24dtvELsE8qS6CQWgoRj5-320-80.jpg)
Mind-blowing Andromeda galaxy and 'Cosmic Inferno' earn space photo contest's top prizes
By Mindy Weisberger published
An international contest for space photography awarded its top prize to the photographer who captured a unique view of the Andromeda galaxy.
![Satellite animation shows the collapse of the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada, from July 30 to August 4.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FmbjR68fXUmkmXTxHBqztY-320-80.gif)
Canada's last intact ice shelf just collapsed
By Mindy Weisberger published
In less than 48 hours, the last intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic collapsed, losing more than 40% of its mass.
![Is the Pentagon secretly investigating UFOs or not?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hWhUaN6t9C3ysq4aMeice6-320-80.jpg)
Pentagon's secret, defunct UFO-hunting program may still exist
By Mindy Weisberger published
A federal program for investigating UFOs was purportedly discontinued in 2012, but the Pentagon's search for UFOs never stopped. Its findings may soon be released to the public.
![A tubby tardigradelike shape appeared in recent images of the sun, captured by the NASA and ESA mission Solar Orbiter.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ioUEJXNURhe3fyWfHsEwoG-320-80.jpg)
Tubby 'tardigrade' crawls across sun's surface in spectacular images
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
New images of the solar surface, the closest ever seen, included a flaw that resembled a tardigrade.
![This shot shows Iceland's famous geyser, the Great Geysir, preparing to blow, with the aurora behind it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7TVZUseSUSATrntSM3hqUQ-320-80.jpg)
'Geyser' aurora and 'cosmic bat' nebula shortlisted for astronomy photo prize
By Mindy Weisberger published
An astrophotography competition run by London's Royal Observatory Greenwich, announces a shortlist of exceptional images for its 2020 contest.
![Original artwork depicting the moment the asteroid struck 66 million years ago, in what is now Mexico.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kP2gJGGJYEadkSmhq8jtcQ-320-80.jpg)
Fiery meteor that doomed the dinosaurs struck at 'deadliest possible' angle
By Mindy Weisberger published
The asteroid that sealed the dinosaurs' fate at the end of the Cretaceous struck at an angle that was the worst-case scenario for life on Earth.
![A mysterious blast in 1908, thought to have been caused by a meteor, flattened a Siberian taiga forest. This photo was taken in 1938, during an expedition by Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik, investigating the event.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eJcoKn3Z5EbKap5QuTBUc3-320-80.jpg)
Meteor that blasted millions of trees in Siberia only 'grazed' Earth, new research says
By Mindy Weisberger published
Scientists have a new explanation for an explosive cosmic event in 1908 that flattened trees for hundreds of miles in a remote Siberian forest.
![U.S. Navy videos of alleged UFO sightings were previously available but had not been officially declassified.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zMLLEUU9rsGVGHh5KhmaRA-320-80.jpg)
'UFO' videos declassified by US Navy
By Mindy Weisberger published
Three videos captured by U.S. Navy pilots show unidentified aircraft flying at hypersonic speeds.