What would be the point in the UFO jamming the aircraft radar???

Maybe the UFO picked up the radar and figured they were being scanned so they jammed the radar waves. ;)

Maybe the UFO picked up the radar and figured they were being scanned so they jammed the radar waves. ;)

Having spent a few years in ECM or radar jamming business, in its earliest stages, these pilots all said they had the craft in VISUAL sight. That being the case, what would be the reason to bother jamming aircraft radar???? It could outrun the aircraft with ease, why bother to jam one frequency?

Maybe the UFO picked up the radar and figured they were being scanned so they jammed the radar waves. ;)

That's what V'ger did in Star Trek I.

It could outrun the aircraft with ease, why bother to jam one frequency?

Because it could?

I'm a UFO skeptic, though I do think life exists elsewhere in the cosmos.

Aliens would need to have cracked the speed of light which is questionable.

Top secret military projects could be at work, either by the US or perhaps Russia. Instrument malfunction is a possibility though seems not in this case.

Aliens would need to have cracked the speed of light which is questionable.

Those telescopes we have in orbit have picked up objects in far off places that were moving faster than speed of light AWAY from us. No idea how those objects could be moving at those speeds. ;)

Because it could?

When you jam one frequency, your scope goes blank as your jammer overloads your receiver. Thus you are blind on that frequency. Your enemy CAN CHANGE FREQUENCY ON YOU AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW IT.

With visual contact, that negates the radar, these days the jammers we have are automatic but it still requires a human to monitor.

If extraterrestrial, having current radar jamming procedures makes no sense.

Visual contact with ET operating convential equipment does NOT COMPUTE.

Your enemy CAN CHANGE FREQUENCY ON YOU AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW IT.

They figured out during WW II that dropping CHAFF screwed up the enemy radar to the point they could track nothing. ;)

Because it could?

I'm a UFO skeptic, though I do think life exists elsewhere in the cosmos.

Aliens would need to have cracked the speed of light which is questionable.

After 25 years military/FAA I am not a skeptic, but do want to SEE the evidence.

Remember, Columbus wrote in his ships log about watching something come out of the ocean and hover in the sky, his second mate was with him.

The queen did not lock him up.

Into Korean thing, we had chaff dispensers, they had limited success as you moved away, the chaff stayed behind.

Very true. Now planes such as Air Force One have flares they drop behind the aircraft to hopefully distract those heat seeking missiles. ;)

It requires thinking far far beyond our capability. See if you can "visualize not carrying ANY FUEL".

The Warp drive on Star Trek used Dilithium crystals as a power source for matter-antimatter reactions. ;)

Those telescopes we have in orbit have picked up objects in far off places that were moving faster than speed of light AWAY from us.

Never heard that claimed before.

When you jam one frequency, your scope goes blank as your jammer overloads your receiver. Thus you are blind on that frequency. Your enemy CAN CHANGE FREQUENCY ON YOU AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW IT.

With visual contact, that negates the radar, these days the jammers we have are automatic but it still requires a human to monitor.

If extraterrestrial, having current radar jamming procedures makes no sense.

Nothing can be predicted in regards to an counterparty with extreme advanced tech. We have absolutely no idea what their capabilities are and consequently, second guess as to why things happen with them, or even if such things are intentional. Seems safe to say any such aliens are not enemies as no apparent attacks took place, which again, with extreme advanced tech, is something that could be safely presumed to be within their capabilities.

The Warp drive on Star Trek used Dilithium crystals as a power source for matter-antimatter reactions. ;)

Namibia is the only place Dilithium can be mined, legally. Want to go in on buying a used back-hoe with me? Oh, and a boat, duh! :)

Ping...There is one possibility of how these craft are powered. It requires thinking far far beyond our capability. See if you can "visualize not carrying ANY FUEL".

What for? Nuclear powered units have an extreme power density and requires very little space. Anti-matter units might have exponentially more power density.

For me, cracking the speed of light is something that would challenge any intelligent life forms in this universe. If it cannot be cracked, then the prospect of aliens being here seems remote as intergalactic travel would seem to be futile no matter what other advances a civilization would possess.

The Warp drive on Star Trek used Dilithium crystals as a power source for matter-antimatter reactions. ;)

Yes, but according to the engineer, it can turn into bubble gum if they try to get too much power out of it.

What for? Nuclear powered units have an extreme power density and requires very little space. Anti-matter units might have exponentially more power density.

Rethink..."If they have propulsion but "CARRY NO FUEL".

What was the "act of war"???????

Good question. Pilot failed to name it.

Nowadays that is the "authorization" given the military to take action. You see "act of war" you can shoot to kill.

But whatever your point is, I'm missing it. Do tell.

Far beyond that is possibility of using the energy present between and among heavenly bodies. For instance the Sun expends energy to keep Earth and other planets from running away. Earth keeps a hold on the Moon by force. Manipulating the unseen energy of the Sun for instance requires no "fuel". ET, if he exists, would know how to zip from one force field to another.

Aliens would need to have cracked the speed of light which is questionable.

Two photons radiating from the same source in diametrically opposed directions must be distancing from each other at twice the speed of light, no?

The speed of light must be at least twice that customarily quoted in the books.

But I am sure that the snappy physicists among us have a smartass answer that neatly disposes of my question.

Two photons radiating from the same source in diametrically opposed directions must be distancing from each other at twice the speed of light, no?

LOL, good try, but each is still traveling from the same point at the same speed. Factor in solar drift (the universe is expanding) and you may have something. :)

and you may have something.

You may be right.

I may have a double Johnny Walker. This all so far beyond me. : )

NASA "thinks" they have been able to cause something to exceed the speed of light. Cannot recall what they called it.

You're thinking about the speed at which it takes a leftist DA to release a leftist arsonist/murderer out of jail.

They get released even before the crooked individuals even know what happened.

I think the terminology is TDS. It's almost like time travel.

Two photons radiating from the same source in diametrically opposed directions must be distancing from each other at twice the speed of light, no?

Up to 2x the speed of light relative to one another, yes that could be. But the photons would still be able to see each other as the light traveling at the SOL departing photon A would catch up to photon B which is going slower than the SOL.

Space does have an actual fabric, of sorts. The true speed of every object is in relation to that fabric, not other objects in the fabric as is normally done. I.e. speeds on earth are always measured in relation to the earth as though the earth is stationary. But of course it isn't stationary being in orbit around the sun and galaxy.

NASA "thinks" they have been able to cause something to exceed the speed of light.

I believe it.

There are phenomena out there operating on principles so far beyond our ken that it just doesn't bear speculation on the part of most of us mortals.

And I have heard stories from people close to me and people that I trust about events and objects in the skies that left me slack jawed.

I talked at length with pilots that tracked close-in objects with radar - objects that they should have been able to but couldn't lock onto visually. One of these guys remarked that just because some objects do weird things and maneuver at turns and speeds we can't explain does not mean that their origin is from beyond this Earth.

Far beyond that is possibility of using the energy present between and among heavenly bodies. For instance the Sun expends energy to keep Earth and other planets from running away. Earth keeps a hold on the Moon by force. Manipulating the unseen energy of the Sun for instance requires no "fuel". ET, if he exists, would know how to zip from one force field to another.

That's a little bit "out there", but okay. There is a difference between energy and force. Gravity is a force, but it is not energy, in of itself, though it can be utilized to store energy, such as when pushing a rock to the top of a mountain. That action stores potential energy which can be expended and tapped later.

But the speed of light barrier is, seemingly, unrelated to any energy sources, so exceeding it does not, again seemingly, depend on any amount of energy. It would probably be more of a technique that is devised, after which energy would be used to exploit the technique. A sci-fi example would be folding space itself, or utilizing worm holes so moving short distances would land an object else where in the universe.

BTW, what did one speeding photon say to the other?

"Hey do you need any help with your luggage?"

To which the other photon replied:

"No thanks. I'm traveling light."

Correct. If we were to to use the Sun as a fixed point of reference (orbit), we are traveling at an enormous speed through space as a fixed point on Earth. Even using the Earth's axis as a point of reference, especially at lower latitudes, the speed at which we are traveling is mind-boggling.

I've been to the highest elevated point on the earth's equator. I like to think that I was moving faster there than anything else on the planet. But it's probably not true. That credit would certainly go to much higher points near the equator, very possibly the volcano Chimborazo which is the highest peak in Ecuador. (Ecuador -- Spanish for Equator).

A sci-fi example would be folding space itself, or utilizing worm holes so moving short distances would land an object else where in the universe.

If worm holes exist (not saying they do), it would be concrete proof that space can be folded (aka warped in Rodenberry terminology).

I just don't know enough to say yea/nay as to whether it's possible, but it sure would be great of it was. Until the Dems try to use it to tax the entire freaking universe. :)

I've been to the highest elevated point on the earth's equator. I like to think that I was moving faster there than anything else on the planet. But it's probably not true.

If you were 2' from the North Pole you would be traveling in a 4' circle every 24 hours. At the Equator you are 4,000 miles from the axis, which I think would be about 24,901 miles. That quite a trek every 24 hours. :)

"Ooo, Kuiper Belt, Kuiper Belt!"

Effing ANTIFA for planets. Sheesh.

That's a little bit "out there",

I asked a former German aero engineer to explain it to me in dummy language.

He said "space" is filled with energy exerted by all heavenly bodies. Anyone having ability to switch from one field to another with some device could travel forever with no engine and no fuel.

Recorded history tells us that "sightings" have always been with us, indicating modern man is not "seeing things".

The question remains, are we alone in the Universe????? Odds are against that being true.

At the Equator you are 8,000 miles from the axis, which I think would be about 24,901 miles. That quite a trek every 24 hours.

In the Northern hemisphere that's why they launch rockets as far South as possible. A 1,000mph head-start.

Bonus round: Do they launch E-W or W-E?

Edited my earlier post, 8000 is diameter, meant 4000 mi (radius).

Eh, don't worry about it, close enough is good enough.

New Horizons crew might've needed a little closer math to hit something 3 billion miles away, though.

I can see a use for something like that.

Edit: This is cool...

These guys made a model of the solar system to scale:

If worm holes exist (not saying they do), it would be concrete proof that space can be folded (aka warped in Rodenberry terminology).

Well, if they exist, then it's one thing for matter to go in one side and come out the other. Quite another for a functioning space ship to do so without getting converted to cosmic particles.

He said "space" is filled with energy exerted by all heavenly bodies. Anyone having ability to switch from one field to another with some device could travel forever with no engine and no fuel.

Sounds like gravity, which works, but takes millions or billions of years.

Bonus round: Do they launch E-W or W-E?

They launch in the direction from which the sun and moon appear to rise. East.

Except that the scale is off.

It has to be. Even with our tiny system, the distances mean little. On a galactic scale, even less. On an intergalactic or universal scale, incomprehensible. I think the radio (light) time from New Horizons (at Pluto) was ~4.5 hours each way.

Probably the best mainstream depiction of that was the movie (something or other with Jodie Foster) where they started from Earth and used TV/radio signals of the time as they moved outward. I don't remember where they were when Marconi's arcs ended. I remember the horse head nebula, in the scene.

I've seen the vid you posted. Cody (Cody's Lab) did something similar, but I think it was to some nearest stars. Lot of miles.

How big do you suppose the universe is? Where did it come from? What is the Great Void?

I kinda felt bad for the farmboy Clyde Tombaugh getting his planet taken away. The "blink comparator" method he used is being used by municipalities to catch folks improving their properties so as not to lose tax income. All done by computers now.

Effin' bastards.

Probably the best mainstream depiction of that was the movie (something or other with Jodie Foster) where they started from Earth and used TV/radio signals of the time as they moved outward.

Movie was "Contact". I think based on a book by Carl Sagan. Though he was ridiculed for his iconic "billions and billions" quote that he used often in TV programs, I think he had a remarkable mind for rationally depicting how alien races might communicate with humanity when language commonality would be completely non-existent. He's had time to think about it though, as he was in charge of creating the golden disks that were made part of Voyager I & II.

Though I expect that the intelligent space faring race that will intercept the Voyagers will be human, assuming we don't drown in our own stupidity and wipe ourselves out first.

How big do you suppose the universe is? Where did it come from? What is the Great Void?

My personal theory is the universe was created with intelligent design and intent. Given it's incomprehensibly huge, the question of how big it is is pointless to ask.