Millions in India gather for world's largest religious event

Yahoo – AFP, January 14, 2019

Pilgrims travel from every corner of India for the ritual dip (AFP Photo/
CHANDAN KHANNA)

The largest religious gathering anywhere on earth gets underway Tuesday, with tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims congregating in India to bathe in sacred rivers for the Kumbh Mela.

Organisers are expecting the enormous spiritual festival in Allahabad to attract more than 100 million devotees over the next 48 days, with seas of pilgrims camped by the riverside.

The ancient city in northern Uttar Pradesh state rises alongside the banks of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers.

The confluence of the three -- known as Sangam -- is considered especially holy and Hindus believe bathing there during the Kumbh helps cleanse sins and brings salvation.

"This pilgrimage gives me peace of mind and an opportunity to reflect on my life," said Sangeeta Gangotri, a pilgrim who travelled 650 kilometres (403 miles) from Nagpur in western Maharashtra state to Allahabad.

Naked, dread-locked holy men smeared in ash and sadhus clad in saffron

robes wander the crowds (AFP Photo/SANJAY KANOJIA)

The riverbank has transformed into a riot of noise and colour.

Naked, dread-locked holy men smeared in ash and sadhus clad in saffron robes wander the crowds, offering blessings to pilgrims who have travelled from every corner of India for the ritual dip.

"All the Gods descend on this sacred place during this period. This is the most auspicious event for any human being," said Chandhans Pandey, a 60-year-old devotee.

"I have been planning to attend (for) many years."

The last major gathering in Allahabad in 2013 drew 120 million devotees, organizers said -- with 30 million plunging into the holy waters on a single auspicious day.

Nearly 30,000 police have been deployed to oversee crowds for the huge undertaking, and prevent stampedes that have marred previous gatherings.

A tent city with restaurants, roads and marketplaces has sprung up along

the river (AFP Photo/SANJAY KANOJIA)

A tent city with restaurants, roads and marketplaces has sprung up along the river, with pilgrims camped out across a sprawling 45-square kilometre zone specially earmarked for the Kumbh.

"More people are drawn to the Kumbh now," Ganeshanand Bharamachari, a 78-year-old pilgrim from nearby Varanasi and a Kumbh veteran, told AFP.

"People, mostly from cities, are becoming increasingly religious because the western life they were living has not led them anywhere."

The Uttar Pradesh state government, led by a firebrand Hindu priest, has heavily promoted this year's Kumbh, which comes as India prepares for a general election in April and May.

The Mela was recognised as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in

 2017 (AFP Photo/SANJAY KANOJIA)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in Uttar Pradesh, visited Allahabad in December to inaugurate a high-tech command centre to manage the Kumbh.

The historic city was even renamed Prayagraj in October by the state's conservative government, stripping its centuries-old Muslim moniker and replacing it with an ancient Hindu title.

But the city is still widely known as Allahabad, the name given by Islamic rulers that reigned over India hundreds of years ago.

The Mela, which runs until March 4, was recognised as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2017.

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Kryon  India-Nepal Tour Part 1 (10), Sep 29 - Oct 9, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Ganges Celebration)

Liquid water lake discovered on Mars

Yahoo – AFP, Kerry SHERIDAN, 25 July 2018

A photograph obtained from the European Space Agency on July 25, 2018, shows
an artist's impression of Mars Express over a background based on an actual
image of the Red Planet taken by the spacecraft

A massive underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that more water -- and maybe even life -- exists there, international astronomers said Wednesday.

Located under a layer of Martian ice, the lake is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide, said the report led by Italian researchers in the US journal Science.

It is the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet.

"Water is there. We have no more doubt," co-author Enrico Flamini, the Italian space agency's Mars Express mission manager, told a press conference.

Mars is now cold, barren and dry but it used to be warm and wet. It was home to plenty of liquid water and lakes at least 3.6 billion years ago.

Scientists are eager to find signs of contemporary water, because such discoveries are key to unlocking the mystery of whether life ever formed on Mars in its ancient past, and whether it might persist today.

"This is a stunning result that suggests water on Mars is not a temporary trickle like previous discoveries but a persistent body of water that provides the conditions for life for extended periods of time," said Alan Duffy, an associate professor at Swinburne University in Australia, who was not involved in the study.

An image released by the European Space Agency on July 25, 2018, shows radar 

data collected by the Mars Express orbiter pointing to a pond of liquid water buried 

under layers of ice and dust in the south polar region of Mars

Being able to access water sources could also help humans survive on a future crewed mission to Earth's neighboring planet, with NASA aiming to send explorers in the 2030s.

This particular lake, however, would be neither swimmable nor drinkable, and it lies almost a mile deep (1.6 kilometers) beneath the icy surface in a harsh and frigid environment.

Whether microbial forms of life could lie within is a matter of debate.

Some experts are skeptical of the possibility since the lake is so cold and briny, mixed with a heavy dose of dissolved Martian salts and minerals.

The temperature is likely below the freezing point of pure water, but the lake can remain liquid due to the presence of magnesium, calcium and sodium.

"This is a discovery of extraordinary significance, and is bound to heighten speculation about the presence of living organisms on the Red Planet," said Fred Watson of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

"Caution needs to be exercised, however, as the concentration of salts needed to keep the water liquid could be fatal for any microbial life similar to Earth's," added Watson, who was not involved in the research.

Radar detection

The discovery was made using a radar instrument on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, which launched in 2003.

The tool is called the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), and was designed to find subsurface water by sending radar pulses that penetrate the surface and ice caps.

MARSIS "then measures how the radio waves propagate and reflect back to the spacecraft," said the study.

A photograph from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of Gorgonum Basin within

the Red Planet's Terra Sirenum region, which scientists think once had a large lake

These reflections "provide scientists with information about what lies beneath the surface."

A team of researchers led by Roberto Orosei of the National Institute for Astrophysics in Bologna, Italy, surveyed a region called Planum Australe, located in the southern ice cap of Mars, from May 2012 until December 2015.

A total of 29 sets of radar samplings showed a "very sharp change in its associated radar signal," allowing scientists to map the outlines of the lake.

"The radar profile of this area is similar to that of lakes of liquid water found beneath the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets on Earth, suggesting that there is a subglacial lake at this location on Mars," said the report.

Researchers said they are not sure how far down it goes, but that it may be around three feet (one meter) deep.

Confirmation needed

"This is the first body of water it has detected, so it is very exciting," David Stillman, a senior research scientist in the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, told AFP in an email.

However, Stillman, who was not involved in the research, said another spacecraft, or other instruments, need to be able to confirm the discovery.

He noted that a higher-frequency radar instrument made by the Italian space agency SHARAD, on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005, has been unable to detect subsurface water.

"It is strange that SHARAD cannot confirm this discovery. In fact, SHARAD cannot penetrate through the ice here and no one understands why it can't," Stillman said.

"This suggests that something strange is going on here. Thus, I'm skeptical about this discovery."

But researchers are excited about the potential for future finds, because if liquid water could be found at Mars's south pole, it might be elsewhere too.

"There's nothing special about this location other than the MARSIS radar on the Mars Express spacecraft is most sensitive to that region," said Duffy.

"There are likely similar water deposits below the ground all across Mars."

Infographic on Mars after a massive underground lake was detected on the Red Planet pic.twitter.com/o6lo8nQFbV

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 28, 2018

Moon could be wetter than thought, say scientists

Yahoo – AFP, Laurence COUSTAL, July 24, 2017

Scientists have found evidence of widespread water in the Moon's interior (AFP
Photo/PASCAL GUYOT)

Paris (AFP) - The Moon, long thought to be a dry, inhospitable orb, hosts surprisingly large sub-surface water reserves, which one day may quench the thirst of lunar explorers from Earth, scientists said Monday.

"We found the signature of the lunar interior water globally using satellite data," Shuai Li, co-author of a study by scientists at Brown University in the United States, told AFP.

"Such water can be used as in situ resources for future exploration," said Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii and Brown Ph.D graduate.

Li noted scientists had believed the Moon to be "bone dry" until about a decade ago, when scientists found evidence of water -- an essential ingredient for life -- in pebble-like beads brought back by Apollo missions.

The Brown findings show numerous volcanic deposits distributed across the surface of the Moon contain "unusually high amounts of trapped water" compared with surrounding terrain.

They say discovery of water in the ancient deposits, which are believed to consist of glass beads formed by the explosive eruption of magma from beneath the Moon's surface, boosts the idea that the lunar mantle is surprisingly water-rich.

"The key question is whether those Apollo samples represent the bulk conditions of the lunar interior or instead represent unusual or perhaps anomalous water-rich regions within an otherwise 'dry' mantle," said Ralph Milliken, lead author of the new research, published in the Nature Geoscience journal on Monday.

"The distribution of these water-rich deposits is the key thing," Milliken said. "They're spread across the surface, which tells us that the water found in the Apollo samples isn’t a one-off," he added.

"By looking at the orbital data, we can examine the large pyroclastic deposits on the Moon that were never sampled by the Apollo or (Soviet) Luna missions," said the associate professor at Brown's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences.

"The fact that nearly all of them exhibit signatures of water suggests that the Apollo samples are not anomalous, so it may be that the bulk interior of the Moon is wet."

Scientists believe the Moon formed from debris left behind after an object about the size of Mars slammed into the Earth early in solar system history.

They had assumed it was unlikely that any of the hydrogen needed to form water could have survived the heat of that impact.

"The growing evidence for water inside the Moon suggests that water did somehow survive, or that it was brought in shortly after the impact by asteroids or comets before the Moon had completely solidified," said Li.

The volcanic beads contain only tiny amounts of water but the deposits are large and the water could potentially be extracted.

"Other studies have suggested the presence of water ice in shadowed regions at the lunar poles, but the pyroclastic deposits are at locations that may be easier to access," said Li.

"Anything that helps save future lunar explorers from having to bring lots of water from home is a big step forward, and our results suggest a new alternative."

Comet contains glycine, key part of recipe for life

Yahoo – AFP,  May 27, 2016

Glycine, an organic compound contained in proteins, was found in the cloud around
 Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the European Space Agency's probe,
Rosetta (AFP Photo)

Miami (AFP) - An important amino acid called glycine has been detected in a comet for the first time, supporting the theory that these cosmic bodies delivered the ingredients for life on Earth, researchers said Friday.

Glycine, an organic compound contained in proteins, was found in the cloud around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the European Space Agency's probe, Rosetta, said the study in the journal Science Advances.

The discovery was made using an instrument on the probe, called the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) mass spectrometer.

"This is the first unambiguous detection of glycine in the thin atmosphere of a comet," said lead author Kathrin Altwegg, principal investigator of the ROSINA instrument at the Center of Space and Habitability of the University of Bern.

In addition to the simple amino acid glycine, the instrument also found phosphorus. The two are key components of DNA and cell membranes.

Glycine has been detected in the clouds around comets before, but in previous cases scientists could not rule out the possibility of Earthly contamination.

This time, however, they could, because the mass spectrometer directly detected the glycine, and there was no need for a chemical sample preparation that could have introduced contamination.

"The multitude of organic molecules already identified by ROSINA, now joined by the exciting confirmation of fundamental ingredients like glycine and phosphorus, confirms our idea that comets have the potential to deliver key molecules for prebiotic chemistry," said Matt Taylor, Rosetta project scientist of the European Space Agency ESA.

"Demonstrating that comets are reservoirs of primitive material in the Solar System, and vessels that could have transported these vital ingredients to Earth, is one of the key goals of the Rosetta mission, and we are delighted with this result."

Scientists have long debated the question of whether comets and asteroids brought the components of life to Earth by smashing into oceans on our planet.

More than one hundred molecules have been detected on comets and in their dust and gas clouds, including many amino acids.

Previous data from Rosetta has shown that water on Comet 67P/C-G is significantly different from water on Earth, suggesting that comets did not play as big a role in delivering water as once thought.

However, the latest finding shows "they certainly had the potential to deliver life's ingredients," said a statement by the University of Bern.

Related Article:

Discovery of oxygen on comet 'big surprise'

Discovery of oxygen on comet 'big surprise'

Yahoo – AFP, Marlowe Hood, 28 Oct 2015

In a "big surprise," scientists have found lots of oxygen on Comet

 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, captured by the European space probe Rosetta 

an hour before its closest approach to the sun on August 13, 2015 (AFP Photo)

Paris (AFP) - Stunned scientists announced Wednesday the unexpected discovery of large quantities of oxygen on a comet which streaked past the Sun in August with a European spacecraft in tow.

The find came as a "big surprise" and challenges mainstream theories on the formation of our Solar System, said scientist Andre Bieler of the University of Michigan.

Measurements made by the Rosetta probe suggested that oxygen molecules in the 67P comet's gassy halo must have existed "before or at" its formation, he told journalists.

This may have implications for mankind's understanding of the chemistry involved in the formation of the Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago.

"We believe this oxygen is primordial, which means it is older than our Solar System," said Bieler.

Scientists had previously ruled out the presence of oxygen (O2) on comets such as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the subject of intensive prodding and probing by a European robot lab.

As O2 mixes easily with other elements, "we never thought that oxygen could 'survive' for billions of years" in a pristine state, said Kathrin Altwegg of the University of Bern, who co-authored a study in the journal Nature.

"This evidence of oxygen as an ancient substance will likely discredit some theoretical models of the formation of our Solar System," she said.

The comet is being tracked on its deep-space journey around the Sun by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft.

The historic mission seeks to unlock the mystery of the origins of life on Earth.

Scientists believe that comets "seeded" early Earth with some of the ingredients for life.

The team monitored the ratio of oxygen to water on the comet for several months to see if the gas molecules would dissipate as solar winds ripped away layers of surface.

They did not -- proving the oxygen was embedded in the comet, not just hanging around its surface.

Prevailing theories of the Solar System's birth posit a chaotic, collision-strewn mixing of matter flowing toward and away from the newly formed Sun.

Pristine, icy grains containing oxygen would not have made it through such violence intact, the scientists said, leading them to speculate that the process was, in fact, "gentler".

The oxygen molecules must have "survived from the dark molecular clouds from which they were probably formed into comets as we have them today," said Altwegg.

Only twice before -- on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn -- have oxygen molecules been found in the Solar System beyond Earth's atmosphere, and never before on a comet.

Oxygen is difficult to detect with Earth-bound telescopes.

'Don't jump to conclusions'

Rosetta offered a rare opportunity to study 67P's "coma" -- the envelope of dust, gas and ice that forms as it nears the Sun on an elliptical orbit.

The new data suggests that water on comets is probably the rule rather than the exception, the scientists said.

Scientists not involved in this study underlined its importance, but said more time was needed to assess the implications.

The discovery "imposes a severe constraint on the mechanism for the formation of the Solar System," said French astrophysicist Francis Rocard.

"But we shouldn't jump to conclusions," he cautioned.

Oxygen molecules were the fourth-most common gas detected in 67P's debris halo -- after water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Their presence did not tell us anything about the origins of life on Earth, of the possibility of finding it elsewhere in the universe, Altwegg said.

In looking at exo-planets, "the combination of O2 and methane has been taken as a sign that you might have life underneath," she said.

"On this comet we have both, but we don't have life. So having oxygen may not be a very good bio-signature."

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'Strongest evidence yet' of liquid water on Mars: NASA

Yahoo – AFP, Mariette Le Roux with Jean-Louis Santini in Washington, 28 Sep 2015

An image made available by NASA on September 27, 2015 shows dark, narrow, 

100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars,

inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water (AFP Photo)

Paris (AFP) - Scientists announced Monday "the strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on Mars, raising the distant prospect of microscopic life on our neighbouring planet.

Curious lines running down steep slopes on the surface of the Red Planet may be streaks of super-salty brine, a team said.

Evidence of "hydrated" salt minerals in the streaks "strongly support the hypothesis" of liquid water on Mars -- though not H2O as we know it, concluded a research paper in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Image captured by NASA's Hubble 

Space Telescope shows Mars

(AFP Photo)

If anything, it was likely "wet soil, not free water sitting on the surface," study co-author Alfred McEwen from the University of Arizona, told AFP.

NASA said the findings, made with its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, "provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars."

"Mars is not the dry, arid planet we thought of in the past," Jim Green, the American agency's planetary science director told journalists in Washington.

The presence of hydrated salt minerals in the lines, indicates that "water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," according to Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, who co-authored the study.

The minerals, called perchlorates, contain water molecules in their make-up.

It is widely accepted that the Red Planet once hosted plentiful water in liquid form, and still has water today, albeit frozen in ice underground.

Earlier this year, NASA said almost half of Mars' northern hemisphere had once been an ocean, reaching depths greater than 1.6 kilometres (one mile).

Anybody out there?

Astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell of the University of Leicester Space Research Centre said the study, which he did not take part in, presented "very strong evidence that what we believe to be signs of liquid water trickling down the Martian surface is in fact that."

This, in turn, raised the intriguing prospect of life, he told AFP.

"If there is liquid water trickling beneath the surface, maybe that's an environment where bacteria and microbial life can survive... The results we've had this afternoon are very exciting because they increase the possibility that there is life alive on Mars today."

Others said it was early days yet.

"It's a smoking gun: Liquid water hasn't been seen directly in these 'dark stains'," Mark McCaughrean, senior science advisor at the European Space Agency, told AFP.

A handout image made available by NASA on September 27, 2015, shows 

dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill 

on Mars, inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water (AFP Photo)

"Rather, they've spotted the kind of hydrated minerals that could make water briny enough to enable it to flow as a liquid at the extremely low, sub-zero temperatures on Mars. That makes the hypothesis that liquid water is involved in making those stains quite plausible, but isn't really a direct detection."

And even if briny water does exist: "whether or not that substantially improves the chances of us finding life on Mars... the jury is definitely still out on that," McCaughrean added.

Scientists have long hypothesised that the seasonal streaks dubbed "recurring slope lineae" (RSL), may be formed by brine flows.

But spacecraft images have been unable to reveal detail of what exactly is in the lines -- the pixel resolution is coarser than the width of the streaks themselves.

Up to a few hundred metres in length and typically under five metres (16 feet) wide, they appear on slopes during warm seasons, lengthen, then fade as they cool.

For the new study, a team from the United States and France devised a method to extract more data from individual pixels in images from the CRISM spectrometer on NASA's Orbiter, and detected evidence of hydrated salt minerals in the streaks.

"Today we're revolutionising our understanding of this planet," said Green. "Our rovers are finding there's a lot more humidity in the air" and the soil is moister than anticipated.

An image made available by NASA shows dark narrow streaks called recurring

 slope lineae, hypothesized to be formed by flow of briny liquid water, emanating 

out of the walls of Garni crater on Mars (AFP Photo)

Added Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration programme: "It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future."

This was not the first time perchlorates were found on Mars.

In April this year, a different team wrote in the same journal that perchlorate salts were "widespread" on the surface of our neighbouring planet, and humidity and temperature conditions were just right for salty brines to exist.

Perchlorates are highly absorbent and lower the freezing point of water so that it remains liquid at colder temperatures.

Asked if the data was the final proof of liquid water on Mars, McEwen replied: "I would say almost."

"Strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on Mars, NASA says http://t.co/AuHWU3cjed pic.twitter.com/qSFurJ40aL

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) September 28, 2015

Related Article:

Methane ‘spikes’ fuel speculation of life on Mars

By Jove! Buried ocean makes Jupiter moon Ganymede possible cradle of life

NASA says it has confirmed that an ocean lies beneath the icy crust that forms the surface of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede. The presence of a deep ocean there means Ganymede may be capable of sustaining life.

Deutsche Welle, 13 March 2015

Ganymede - the largest moon in the solar system - has a salty ocean underneath the icy shell that surrounds it, NASA said on Thursday.

The ocean is believed to be far deeper than any on Earth - some 100 kilometers (60 miles) deep and buried under some 150 kilometers of ice.

The ocean was detected by scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope, which observed Ganymede's magnetic field. The telescope looked at changes that took place to the moon's colorful polar auroras - similar to the Earth's aurora borealis - which give an indication about what lies beneath the surface of moons and planets.

There has long been speculation that Ganymede could have an ocean, although proof had been elusive, despite tantalizing clues sent back by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Scientists now say they are sure.

"Since the 1970s, there were speculations and models that Ganymede could possess an ocean," said Joachim Saur of the University of Cologne in Germany. "We do not have these ambiguities anymore," he told reporters, with the Hubble findings providing: "the best evidence to date for the existence of an ocean on Ganymede."

The four big moons, with Ganymede
 the largest, were all discovered the
same year - in 1610 - by Galileo

With a diameter of 5,260 kilometers, Ganymede is slightly larger than the planet Mercury.

More 'waterworlds' dicovered

On Wednesday, a separate team of scientists reported that one of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, may have hot springs bubbling beneath its cold surface. There is also believed to be water below the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, while another of the planet's moons, Callisto, is thought to have subterranean water.

"The solar system is now looking like a pretty soggy place," said NASA headquarters head of planetary science Jill Green, after the latest find.

Ganymede is one of dozens of confirmed moons that orbit Jupiter, and it is among the four large moons of the planet that were discovered in 1610, by the Italian scientist Galileo.

The prospect of a "deep ocean under the icy crust of Ganymede opens up further possibilities for life beyond Earth," said John Grunsfeld, a NASA administrator.

A European Space Agency mission to be launched in 2022 is expected to circle Jupiter and take a closer look at the moons, including Ganymede.

rc/bw (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Bright lights on dwarf planet perplex NASA as probe nears

Yahoo – AFP, 27 Feb 2015

A NASA Dawn spacecraft image of the dwarf planet Ceres on February 19,

2015 (AFP Photo)

Washington (AFP) - The discovery of another bright light on the dwarf planet Ceres has NASA scientists perplexed as the US Dawn probe prepares to enter the orbit of the largest object in the asteroid belt and possibly resolve the mystery.

The images taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres show that a bright spot on the planet scientists previously discovered appears next to another slightly darker spot, NASA said in a news release.

The light appears in the same basin as the other spot, images released by NASA show.

"This may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we will have to wait for better resolution before we can make such geologic interpretations," Chris Russell from the Dawn mission said.

The Dawn probe will enter the orbit of Ceres March 6. Scientists expect to receive better views of the mystery lights as the spacecraft closes in and spirals nearer the dwarf planet.

"The brightest spot continues to be too small to resolve with our camera, but despite its size it is brighter than anything else on Ceres. This is truly unexpected and still a mystery to us," said scientist Andreas Nathues who is in charge of the camera.

Scientists detected water vapor emitting from Ceres in 2012 and NASA reports the surface of the body contains "water-bearing minerals."

Launched in 2007, the Dawn probe was sent to investigate the two largest bodies in the asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn explored giant asteroid Vesta starting in 2011, providing measurements and images. After 2012, the probe left Vesta's orbit and began its journey to Ceres.

Ceres has a diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers) and Vesta has a diameter of about 326 miles (525 kilometers).

Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, Jan 11, 2015)

Matthew Ward - January 11, 2015

Matthew Ward

With loving greetings from all souls at this station, this is Matthew. Before we speak about recent events, we say that throughout this year you will see the pace and number of significant occurrences increase as vibrations heighten. Earth’s energy field of potential, which looks like perpetual fireworks, reflects the light’s accelerated momentum due to lightworkers’ efforts and our universal family’s stepped-up activity on your behalf.

Two “accidents” have been the cause of both grief and gratitude. It was not “good luck” that some individuals who intended to be on AirAsia Flight 8501 were not: Their time was not up. They don’t know that is why they missed the flight; they and all who love them simply are grateful that they did. As heartbreaking as it is for families and friends of everyone who went down with the plane, the soul contracts of all aboard called for their transitioning at that time. Had they not left by that means, they would have departed suddenly in some other way soon afterwards.

The same would have been true about the persons who transitioned after fire broke out on the ferry boat in the Adriatic Sea. In this incident, contracts of all except those few souls did call for longer lifetimes. The hundreds who were rescued aren’t consciously aware of that, nor need they be to feel grateful, and the same is so with their families and other dear ones.

The outrage in the United States about the shooting of two police officers in a patrol car is serving to bring a degree of balance to the outrage about police using excessively harsh tactics with African American males. You could think of this as an emotional pendulum that’s been stuck on the end where law enforcement is perceived as biased in judgment and treatment, and suddenly the pendulum darts to the other end. Feelings on both sides are justified indeed, but the pendulum has to move away from both perception extremes so balance can come in police actions and the public’s reactions.

The slaughter in Charlie Hebdo’s office and subsequent killings in Paris united your world in sympathy, compassion and condemnation of terrorist acts. If any aspects of such incidents can be described as “heartening,” then these are: The people of France are as One in fearless rebellion against savage efforts to muzzle freedom of expression and world leaders are demonstrating their solidarity; the Muslim assassins and all others like them are being seen as exactly what they are—brutal, tyrannical individuals acting upon a deranged ideology that has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam; and there is an international call to root out and cure the cause of that extremism. This vital move toward overcoming bigotry, resentment and fear of differences had to come so that unity in respect and appreciation of differences can take hold—that is the foundation upon which a civilization builds a peaceful, loving, harmonious world.

It may seem as if we speak of tragic events with emotional detachment—this is the higher purpose being served and that is that. That isn’t the case. We do honor all who are playing their parts in every divisive or abhorrent situation, yet it is deeply sad for us that gaining personal and planetary balance entails so much violence and sorrow within our beloved Earth family. Especially heart-wrenching are the massacres and kidnapping of children and other unconscionable atrocities. It is difficult for us, as for you, to see someone’s agony and view it as another milestone in the eternal cycle of shared lifetimes in physical worlds and reunions in spirit worlds. Please find a measure of comfort, as we must ourselves, in knowing that out of tragedies comes soul evolvement; out of horror come a more spiritually enlightened and compassionate society and, ultimately, Earth’s Golden Age in full bloom.

And, perhaps a tragedy seems greater when 12 or 100 or 400 die in the same incident, but every minute many thousands of souls are dying and this is sorrowful for everyone who loves them. We wish that all who are grieving could know that they and these persons dear to them chose their experiences to help each other evolve. They still would miss their loved ones, of course, but that knowledge could lessen the profoundness of their loss.

“You said in your last message that everything happening here is purposeful. I can’t see any purpose in ‘The Interview’ film or the backlash. How far will damage spread because North Koreans hacked into Sony’s computer system? Everything about this seems like a step backwards for the light.”

Everything happening in your world is purposeful! However, while some issues may seem to you logical in that context, others could be considered a far stretch, and the film and ensuing backlash may be an example of the latter.

In previous messages we have stated that the entertainment field has been an Illuminati stronghold because what they provide influences public opinions and actions. The prominence of crime, war and other violence in films and games is to inure society to those kinds of behavior and motivate unstable individuals to mimic it. The entertainment manipulators create “box office stars,” put them on pedestals and reward them with exorbitant payment and various awards; that exalts a few souls above all others and widens the disparity between the “haves” and “have-nots” in your world. Reasoning minds see those negative effects as well as the positive inroads in the industry, but what is not in the public eye is the Illuminati’s darkest camp in the entertainment field—Satanism, sex slavery, pedophilia and pornography.

All of those seen and unseen situations are devoid of light, and Earth has reached energy planes where everything in low vibratory levels is disintegrating. What has been going on back stage, so to say, is moving onto center stage where the play that’s unfolding can be viewed by the public.

Backlash from the film is keeping the spotlight on “cyberspace war.” Whatever is designed for positive use can be directed into negative means, and your advancement in computer technology is a prime example. On one hand, medical breakthroughs can be shared worldwide, communication is swift, whistleblowers have a forum to publish their findings, and an abundance of information not reported in mainstream media is available on the Internet. On the other hand, the Internet is used to disseminate false information and some individuals illegally enter computer systems to release proprietary data, introduce viruses and disrupt business operations. Your national leaders, who know the benefits of sharing valuable information, are seeing the need to protect their countries’ interests by working together to prevent hacking globally. Any issue that initiates or enhances cooperation across borders is to be welcomed.

We don’t see Sony’s experience leading to “all our private information and communication can be used by anyone and there can be widespread power outages” that is causing some concern. If that results in some cases, it would be temporary. Wrongful use of anything, be it information or technology or a natural resource, emits low vibrations and activity at that level cannot be sustained much longer.

Our colleagues in Nirvana cannot verify that the complex hacking process originated in North Korea or elsewhere. It could be the work of black ops agents in the Illuminati-controlled faction of the CIA—they are here and there around the world—or a malicious, perhaps vindictive, individual or group. But whoever the responsible person or persons are, they did not intend their efforts to aid the light by producing the positive effects we mentioned.

“President Obama finally has done something ‘light’ in my opinion, with that executive order. It’s absurd that our government has blackballed Cuba for 50 years when right after WWII, we helped Germany and Japan get back on their feet. There wasn’t even a war with Cuba! Why is there opposition in both parties to what Obama did?”

President Obama’s executive order that opens the door to normalizing the country’s relationship with Cuba evoked that reaction from members of Congress who routinely oppose what he does, but a few who responded angrily did so on an emotional basis more so than political. Their hearts and minds are rooted half a century in the past, which precludes their seeing that resolution of a longstanding issue is in the best interests of both countries’ peoples. This step toward living together respectfully and cooperatively also is evidence that behind-the-scenes efforts are coming to fruition in consonance with ever-increasing vibrations.

Dear family, you may tire of our attributing everything to vibrations, but they are the “fabric” of this entire universe! Everything in existence is energy vibrating at one rate or another, and the light increases as the vibratory rate accelerates. Every thought, feeling and action emits vibrations that accordingly manifest situations and their outcomes, and the amount of light in individuals determines how far along—or if—they are on the ascension pathway.

Let us clarify any misunderstanding that ascension is in conjunction with transitioning from physical life to life in spirit. Ascension is an evolutionary process and entering Nirvana is automatic ascension in location only. Persons who advance from third to fourth density spiritually and consciously during Earth lifetime enter Nirvana’s fourth density residential areas; persons who don’t achieve that status prior to transition enter at the lower density of their lifetime energy registration. Nirvana does offer opportunities to attain a higher density status, but that doesn’t come automatically. Many residents prepare via specific studies and the aid of more evolved souls to strengthen character frailties so the next personage in the lineage is better equipped to evolve during the physical lifetime.

It may be helpful if we remind you of density’s two definitions, scientifically speaking. One is mass or the location of a mass. Earth is third density in mass and fourth in location; Nirvana is fourth density in mass and location. The other definition is soul evolvement status. Gaia, Earth’s soul, always has been fifth density regardless of what density her planetary body is in; and Nirvana’s residents range from second to fifth and higher in some cases.

To continue our clarification, during this unprecedented time in the universe there are exceptions to the law of physics that governs ascension, and the misunderstanding may derive from what we have told you about souls whose original contracts are amended. Persons whose experiences exceed the severity of some contract provisions may petition at soul level to leave this lifetime before completing remaining provisions. Divine grace honors these requests by permitting the individuals to either experience the rest of the contract choices in Nirvana or be given full credit for completion. Either way, they evolve into fourth density during their stay there.

Personal ascension has been going on at an increasing rate ever since the planet started ascending 70-some years ago. Almost all persons who responded to the massive infusion of light at that time and advanced from third to fourth density spiritually and consciously transitioned to Nirvana some time ago. A multitude of souls who were born during more recent decades also transitioned after attaining fourth density status; all whose contracts were amended to permit early entry to Nirvana have it; and many persons in your society today have advanced to that status. All in all, several billion souls have evolved during Earth’s ascension process to date, and her journey into successively higher energy planes assures that many more will do so.

One last word about vibrations. We have mentioned before the importance of words, how their vibrations affect the persons who use them and all who hear them. Experiments performed by Masuru Emoto are evidence of this, which you can see in the Water and Words part of this site http://www.masaru-emoto.net/english/water-crystal.html. Dr. Emoto came from a highly evolved civilization specifically to endow your world with those scientific discoveries, and when he transitioned a few months ago, he was welcomed by a throng of souls who know that he fulfilled his mission with grand success.

Beloved brothers and sisters, you light up your life and the lives of others by speaking kindly, and the ripple effects of your words are immeasurable. We journey with you in spirit and unconditional love.

LOVE and PEACE

Suzanne Ward

Website: The Matthew Books

Email: suzy@matthewbooks.com

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