Avi Loeb is no stranger to controversy. The prolific Harvard University astrophysicist has produced pioneering and provocative research on black holes, gamma-ray bursts, the early universe and other standard topics of his field. But for more than a decade he has also courted a more contentious subject—namely, space aliens, including how to find them. Until relatively recently, Loeb’s most high-profile work in that regard was his involvement with Breakthrough Starshot, a project funded by Silicon Valley billionaire Yuri Milner to send laser-boosted, gossamer-thin mirrorlike spacecraft called “light sails” on high-speed voyages to nearby stars. All that began to change in late 2017, however, when astronomers around the world scrambled to study an enigmatic interstellar visitor—the first ever seen—that briefly came within range of their telescopes.

The object’s discoverers dubbed it ‘Oumuamua—a Hawaiian term that roughly translates to “scout.” The unavoidably cursory examinations of this celestial passerby showed it had several properties that defied easy natural explanation. ‘Oumuamua’s apparent shape—which was like a 100-meter-long cigar or pancake—did not closely resemble any known asteroid or comet. Neither did its brightness, which revealed ‘Oumuamua was at least 10 times more reflective than one of our solar system’s typical space rocks—shiny enough to suggest the gleam of burnished metal. Most strangely, as it zoomed off after swooping by the sun, the object sped up faster than could be explained by our star’s waning gravitational grip alone. Run-of-the-mill comets can exhibit similar accelerations because of the rocketlike effect of evaporating gases jetting from their sunlight-warmed icy surfaces. But no signs of such jets were seen around ‘Oumuamua.

To Loeb, the most plausible explanation was as obvious as it was sensational: taken together with its possibly pancakelike shape and high reflectivity, ‘Oumuamua’s anomalous acceleration made perfect sense if the object was in fact a light sail—perhaps a derelict from some long-expired galactic culture. Primed by years spent pondering how we might someday find evidence of cosmic civilizations in the sky’s depths, he became increasingly convinced that, with ‘Oumuamua, the evidence had instead found us. In late 2018 Loeb and his co-author Shmuel Bialy, a Harvard postdoctoral fellow, published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters arguing that ‘Oumuamua had been nothing less than humanity’s first contact with an artifact of extraterrestrial intelligence.

The paper has been a smash hit with journalists but has fallen flat with most of Loeb’s astrobiology-focused peers, who insist that, while strange, ‘Oumuamua’s properties still place it well within the realm of natural phenomena. To claim otherwise, Loeb’s critics say, is cavalier at best and destructive at worst for the long struggle to remove the stigma of credulous UFO and alien-abduction reports from what should unquestionably be a legitimate field of scientific inquiry.

The observations suggest this unusual object had been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system.

“For decades we’ve theorized that such interstellar objects are out there, and now―for the first time―we have direct evidence they exist,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, in November 2017.

Immediately after its discovery, telescopes around the world, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, were called into action to measure the object’s orbit, brightness and color. Urgency for viewing from ground-based telescopes was vital to get the best data.

Oumuamua (First Contact Album Version)

Lilly

Composed, arranged, performed, and produced by
Carlos Vivanco

El Puente De Los Suspiros

All We Ever Do

It’s a sun brightened morning
the night chill’s finally warming
and the birds are all horning in
with their melodies
as if their bird brains 
are filled up with pure jealousy
because they can’t sing like me.

As I play my guitar and 
my voice is exploring
lyrics that fit to 
my latest outpouring

Then a chipmunk pops up
to see what’s going on
cause the world 
was so peaceful
since he woke up at dawn
and he squats and he listens 
for a moment or two
so I throw him a cheeto
and he squats and he chews
for what seems like long, hours
cause that cheetos so "BIG!"
then he dashes away
to perch high on a twig
sitting up in a cheap seats
far from my latest gig
"Go Fig!"

Then my song 
at last reaches
a point to record
as I head on inside
where my dreams 
are transformed
cause the birds won’t be 
giving me any awards
and all their chirping
and a chipmunk burping
will not enhance the sound
found in my soundproof Studio
where I can get it all down.

So I drop a few cheetos 
on my deck as a gift
for the birds and the chipmunk 
who gave my day a lift.

I do most of my writing when
I’m enjoying nature
it’s beauty and fresh air
help me much when I labor
to blend words with the notes
in a way that is pleasant
although it’s not made me rich
as I 'm still a poor peasant.
 
But I entertain birds and 
I make chipmunks happy
until something big occurs
and I win my first grammy
then I’ll raise up a monument 
near my deck where it’s grassy
perhaps a marble bird bath
for the birds, nothing flashy 
with a cheeto dispenser
at the bottom to please
My furry, little friend 
who comes to visit me.

And a plaque at 
he base that 
gives thanks to 
the creatures
who were there 
when I’d written
my chart topping feature...
though I don’t expect 
this will be my latest hit
though It’s cute and it’s funny 
and it holds some great wit….

But my soul doesn’t care 
I just like sitting there
making music from nothing
in my plastic lawn chair
with all my work for the birds
and a cute chipmunk's stare. 

Whether it's just for birds
or for chipmunks you see
I was born to play guitar
and make melodies

I'm not really bothered
by the bird's jealousy
as I'm munching on Cheeto's
and trying to be
a Rock Star someday
going down in history
and sipping my coffee
on a sun brightened morning
and the birds are all horning 
in with their melodies
as if their bird brains 
are filled up with pure jealousies
because they can’t sing like me.
(bird Song)


Superbly Composed and Played 
Music by Ingvar Tautra-©-2021-
Vocals & Lyrics Sung & Written by
Matthew F. Blowers III--©-2021-
Art~Whimsically Yours Studoi
Photo by-unsplash.com
Cheeto by me.......

"On A Sun Brightened Morning."-by-Ingvar Tautra & Matthew F. Blowers III

Torment In The Vacuum

As you may notice after the introductory segment of the track, this is a remix/reimagining of ‘Graham’s Theme’ by Michel Rubini. Part of the OST for Michael Mann’s stylish and heavily stylised movie ‘Manhunter’, the original track hit me hard while watching the movie, and it quickly became apparent that I had no choice but to do something with it. There are a few covers out there and they are all really great, but, as usual, I had little interest in attempting a straight cover. However, it was super important to borrow heavily from Mr. Rubini, with upmost respect to him, of course, making this work essentially a remix.

So, I wanted the operative chord progression to stand out and slightly jar the listener when introduced, drawing more attention to the change, so the intro’s chords are of my own creation and do not flow into the next segment as naturally as Michel Rubini’s did. Also, this remix is less melodic than the original, due in part to my utter laziness and incompetence, but there is the introduction of an interesting bass instrument and you might notice a lot of ‘synthy’ fun with arpeggiation towards the end of the track, which hopefully compensates for my previous slack.

The finished result is a track that I hope is complimentary to the original, not it any way an attempt at betterment or dismissal of Michel Rubini’s track, which is a true masterpiece and infinitely superior to my version.

If you enjoy this work, then please like, comment and repost. Massive thanks in advance.

Manhunter

Flow ! - enjoy :-) ...... photo: Fabrício Severo on unsplash

flow

starlite (slow)

Life goes on prod Bombkidd 
Only instrumental 
#trap #instrumental #producer #beat #newmusic #synth #synthesizer

Life goes on - Bombkidd.m4a

An assortment of tracks that either didn't make the cut this year or weren't previously released for one reason or another. 

Friends (Instrumental)

Any perceived signs of musical or technological competency will appear by random chance only.

Seriously, I have no idea what I’m doing or what on God’s green earth is going on.

Manhunter

Usul Foundation