2 BILLION Year Old NUCLEAR REACTOR Discovered in Africa

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It is widely believed that the origin of earth was around 4.6 billion years ago, then about a billion years later life started to form. From there multicellular life evolved and then eventually modern humans started to populate the planet over 200,000 years ago. If you’re wondering where the 4.6 billion came from, scientists arrived at the number by finding the oldest piece of the planet they can, then figuring out how old that piece is. Of course this involves actually finding the oldest piece of the planet which is no simple matter because the Earth is always breaking down rocks into magma and then pushing it back up to the surface.

So what if we consider for a minute that our dating technique is not foolproof, maybe we didn’t find the oldest piece of the planet or perhaps radiocarbon dating isn’t as reliable as we think and what if the earth is much...MUCH older than we thought.

If you look around, there are clues found all around the world from the Great Pyramids of Egypt to the Sacsayhuaman ruins in Peru that point to the possibility that advanced prehistoric civilizations may have existed on this planet tens of thousands or even millions of years ago and in this article we will talk about one of the most intriguing finds, an ancient nuclear reactor.

In May of 1972 workers at a nuclear fuel processing plant in France found that ore sourced from a mine in the Oklo deposit in Gabon that was formed over 2 billion years ago had over 440 pounds of uranium 235 that appeared to be missing. This was scary because that much uranium could make at least 6 nuclear bombs.

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After scratching their head for weeks, researchers at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) came to the conclusion that the missing uranium must have gone through a nuclear fission and split into other atoms which was extremely unlikely as this would require some very specific conditions.

The first being the size of the uranium deposit needs to exceed the length that fission-inducing neutrons travel. The second is that there needs to be a lot of uranium 235. Thirdly, there needs to be a substance that can slow the neutrons that is released when uranium nucleus splits and finally there can’t be too much boron, lithium or anything else that absorb neutrons.

Although this seems highly unlikely to occur naturally, the conclusion was that...well, it just did. Because there was really no other possible explanations for it.

An Alternative Theory

Scientists who were sent to investigate the site concluded that This nuclear reactor came into being 1.8 billion years ago, and was operational for about 500 thousand years. The results of the research were made public at a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency and although many labeled the finding “wondrous” but “naturally occurring,” others concluded that this setup could not have occurred naturally, and therefore must have been man-made.

The case for the reactor not formed “naturally” was made by researchers who found enriched minerals at the site which would indicate that the reaction was produced and water was also found to have been used to moderate the reaction.

These findings were puzzling because it is not possible for natural uranium to go critical, except under very special circumstances such as the presence of graphite or heavy water as a moderator, neither of which could reasonably be expected to have been present in the vicinity of Oklo.

In his book Secrets of the Lost Races, author Rene Noorbergen says: "Following the publication of Dr. Perrin's report by the French Academy of Sciences, however, questions concerning his conclusions were raised by many experts. Glenn T. Seaborg, former head of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and Nobel prize winner for his work in the synthesis of heavy elements, pointed out that for uranium to "burn" in a reaction, conditions must be exactly right. This water must be extremely pure. Even a few parts per million of any contaminant will "poison" the reaction, bringing it to a halt. The problem is that no water that pure exists naturally anywhere in the world!"

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Another objection to the theory of a naturally formed nuclear reactor is because several researchers noted that there is no time in history at the site where the uranium ore would be rich enough in uranium 235 for a reaction to take place naturally. But because a reaction did take place, that means the uranium was far richer than what could have formed naturally. Also what’s surprising is that for a massive nuclear reactor like this the impact on the environment around it should have been devastation but instead it was only limited to around 130 feet on all sides and the nuclear waste was held in place because of the geological shape of the site. Which again may have all occurred naturally but to many researchers, this seems more like it was designed.

So was this ancient reactor just a natural marvel as many publications claim or could it have been constructed by a bygone civilization millions of years ago. Let us know your thoughts.

Sources/Sources

Meet The 256 YEAR OLD Man With 24 Wives & 200 Descendants

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If you research this topic, there are many reports from around the world about who is the oldest person to have ever lived.  There's the 131-year-old dad-of-three from Brazil, there are reports of a farmer and community elder who was said to be 160 years old in Ethiopia but none of them comes close to Li Ching-Yuen who purportedly lived to be 256.

According to his obituary titled “Tortoise-Pigeon-Dog,” published in 1933 and featured in the New York Times and Time Magazine. Li Ching-Yuen said he was born in 1736, but records discovered by Professor Wu Chung- chien , of Minkuo University, showed Li was actually born in 1677 in Qing Jiang Xian in Sichuan province China. and there were even congratulatory letters from the Imperial Chinese Government wishing him well on his 150th and 200th birthdays.

According to an article published by the Pittsburgh Press on October 2, 1929:

In the opinion of Professor Wu Chung-Chieh, dean of the department of education at Minkuo University here. The man in question is Li Ching-Yung. Dynastic records verify to the professor’s satisfaction that Li is now in his two hundred and fifty-second year, or more than one-fourth as old as Methuselah, the old man of the Bible who lived 969 years.

Li Ching-Yun, according to professor…. has records to show he was born in 1677, during the reign of the emperor Kang Hai, the second emperor of the Manchu dynasty. When Li attained the age of 100 years, in 1777, his “old age” was considered remarkable, and the provincial authorities petitioned the imperial government for an appropriate recognition. The government at Peking consented, and it is declared the order for this action is contained in the dynastic records.

But Li kept on living, the reports go, and astonished his neighborhood by reaching his two hundredth year. The imperial government was surprised to get a petition urging further recognition and, according to Professor Wu, verified the old man’s great age in the records.

Professor Wu understands that Li speaks readily concerning events in his life, and has no trouble recalling incidents which occurred more than 150 years ago.

A 1933 Times article further noted that:

Li Ching-yun, a resident of Kaihsien, in the Province of Szechwan, who contended that he was one of the world’s oldest men, and said he was born in 1736 — which would make him 197 years old — died today.A Chinese dispatch from Chung-king telling of Mr. Li’s death said he attributed his longevity to peace of mind and that it was his belief every one could live at least a century by attaining inward calm.

Li was a doctor specializing in herbs, he was a qigong master, and tactical consultant. There’s not much information about the earlier years of his life but supposedly Li was a child prodigy and avid traveler who had already trecked to Manchuria, Thailand, and Tibet in his search for herbs by the time he was 10 years old. Li worked with herbs, searched for them and sold them for the next 100 years of his life. 

In regards to his personal life, Li was said to have married 24 times and outlived 23 of his wives. Another report says that at the time of his death Li had 180 - 200 living descendants, spanning eleven generations.

The secret to a long life

 Li once told Wu Pei Fu a Chinese warlord that his secret of longevity is:

“Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.”

That’s kinda different from how I do things as I tend to sleep like a tortoise and eat like a dog. Li’s life was fairly simple. He did not drink hard liquor or smoke and ate his meals at set times. He was a vegetarian and frequently drank goji berry tea. He went to bed early and got up early and he meditated daily, something he supposedly learned from Taoist priests.

Li was also a very kind and generous individual, it was said that In his spare time he liked to play cards and would often lose on purpose, but just enough to pay for his opponent’s meals for that day. Because of this, he was very well liked.

 

Brain Implants Boost Memory for First Time Ever

Are we living in the Matrix or in a futuristic RoboCop world with cybernetic people?

Neurologists and high-tech engineers have joined forces to create what we thought was only science fiction: the BRAIN-BOOSTING IMPLANT. Specifically, this chip works on memory and can boost short-term memory by 15% and working memory by 25%.

Now students around the world can study less and spend more time on Facebook... Actually, scientists intend to use this technology to help people with memory problems like Alzheimer's and other degenerative brain diseases. 

The University of Southern California (USC) seems to believe this is a step towards a bright cybernetic future. Professor Dong Song presented this “memory prosthesis” at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington D.C. as the first of its kind to improve human memory.

20 volunteers allowed Song's team to implant electrodes into their brains to treat epilepsy and he collected their brain activity data during memory exercises. The research team found the pattern for best memory function and stimulated the electrodes with it during future tests. These showed 15% and 25% memory improvements over no stimulation and even more so over random stimulation. 

Song said “We are writing the neural code to enhance memory function. This has never been done before.”

 

Worth It?

The cost to deal with memory disabilities in the US cost $236 billion in 2016, plus the emotional stress of family members helping their loved ones. Financially, it seems totally worth implanting a small device to prevent or reduce the debilitating effects of memory loss. 

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However, what about the slippery slope of cybernetic enhancements and technological control over our lives? Would it be wise to implant something in your brain that can monitor and even control your thoughts? Can such devices really stay offline for privacy? 

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are talking about cybernetic brain enhancements and mind reading A.I. but the potential dangers are quite obvious to those with even the same level of imagination as those that dreamt up these technologies in the first place. So why be tempted to stray away from natural solutions rather than towards new shiny double-edged artificial swords? Do you really want to live under an artificially intelligent supercomputer than governs your daily life and that can punish you wirelessly instantly? 

It's ironic that in trying to improve our memory rushing towards technology, we may have actually forgotten who we are and what we are truly capable of. 


Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/brain-implant-boosts-memory-first-time-ever-ncna821016

Ancient 'Hell Ant' Impaled Victims with Metal Spike and Drank Their Blood

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P. BARDEN, H.W. HERHOLD, D.A. GRIMALDI

Sealed away in an amber prison for all time, this evil "Hell Ant" looks like it can't wait to break free and devour its next victim.

This 99-million-year-old piece of amber from Myanmar contains a specimen of Linguamyrmex vladi and is kept safe in the American Museum of Natural History. They found several with dates ranging from 99 to 78 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period, meaning these devilish creatures walked the earth for 20 million years.

New Jersey Institute of Technology's evolutionary biologist Philip Barden and his team found this in Myanmar. They noticed that instead of the usual ant mouth, this one has tusk-like blades pointing upwards and a large metal horn! Reminiscent of Vlad the Impaler, this ancient Hell Ant would use these tusks to lift its prey onto its horn to impale them. What's even more gruesome is it would use the groove in its jaws to channeling other insects' blood into its mouth while wriggling on the hellish spike. 

Besides these viscous offensive weapons, the Hell Ant also has armor. Its head is equipped with a plate naturally reinforced with metal that stops its own or an enemy's blades from piercing through. 

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“This reinforcement occurs primarily along the center of the paddle and, as the specimen is preserved with the mandibles largely ‘closed’ and positioned near this spot, suggests that the reinforcement is intended to accommodate mandibular impact,” explain Barden's team.

Talk about a monster! If this is what a prehistoric ant was like, I'm dreading what creatures may be hidden in other amber tombs. What a relief that none of them are around today. Scientists agree that their specialized predatory behavior and attack strategy are not found among today's ant species. 

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Sources:

http://csglobe.com/ancient-hell-ant-metal-horns-trap-jaw-found-inside-amber/

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/hell-ant-found-amber

250 Million Year Old Microchip Found in Stone

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Russian researchers found a tiny microchip inside ancient stone.

Researchers are excited about this discovery as it opens the possibility of ancient advanced civilizations hundred of millions of years ago with technologies perhaps even greater than ours. However, only the organic material around the "microchip" was dated to between 225 and 250 million years ago, not the rock or chip itself. 

It was found in the Krasnodar, Russia by a local fisherman named Viktor Morozov. He donated his finding the University of Southern Polytechnic Nowoczerkaskiej where scholars ran tests and concluded there to be some kind of strange "device" embedded in the rock that looks like a modern microchip. They dare not try to cut it out fearing it may break, so they've left it there for the world to see. 

This has people around the world speculating what it actually is. There are many such mysterious artifacts found in Russia that also go unexplained. Some researchers say it may be a natural part of a stem plant like lilies, while skeptics dismiss it as nothing special.

Maybe we should ask that Russian boy from Mars if he recognizes it.

What do you think? Is this a real ancient artifact of advanced technology or just some modern day junk?

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Sources:

http://csglobe.com/250-million-year-old-stone-with-microchip-discovered/

New Company is 3D Printing Rhino Horns to Defeat Poachers

Seattle biotech startup beating rhino poachers by 3D printing horns.

Pembient corporation developed a "bio-fabricated" rhino horn made out of keratin, the same substance of our fingernails.

The CEO and co-founder, Matthew Markus, says these are "absolutely identical to real rhino horns on a macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular level." Collectors supposedly cannot distinguish real horns from Pembient's fabricated ones. 

So, instead of killing rhinos for their horns, you can now 3D print them. 

Save the Rhino non-profit group calculates that about 1,054 rhinos were poached in 2016 in South Africa, up from only 13 in 2007. Although, poaching has decreased recently. They know the largest horn market is in China where people consider them as collectible investments. 

Some may argue that the price for real organic rhino horns may rise as they become rarer in a synthetic market.

“More than 90% of ‘rhino horns’ in circulation are fake (mostly carved from buffalo horn or wood), but poaching rates continue to rise annually." - The International Rhino Foundation and Save The Rhino International

But since telling them apart is basically impossible and with so many manmade ones flooding the market, the price should drop. Pembient will prioritize selling their horns to Asian horn-carving jewelry makers as the place to inject their 3D printed ones into the black market. 

“If you cordon rhino horn off, you create this prohibition mindset,” Pembient CEO Matthew Markus said. “And that engenders crime, corruption, and everything else that comes with a black market.”

Hopefully such technologies can reduce the harm to animals and natural resources. Perhaps this may encourage artistic creativity and craftsmanship instead. 

$80,800 rhino head is stolen from British auctioneer for 'black-market' trade

$80,800 rhino head is stolen from British auctioneer for 'black-market' trade


Sources:

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/11/20/startup-company-plans-to-3d-print-rhino-horns-to-undercut-poachers/&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjixuPx2NLXAhWnQd8KHXv2Dx0QFggIMAE&client=internal-uds-cse&cx=partner-pub-9229289037503472:6795176714&usg=AOvVaw0f04U8a1yOlbqF6M4kQ9fr

Amish DNA Holds Key to Immortality

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Amish people live longer thanks to mutated DNA.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine conducted a study examining the Amish people in Indiana and found a gene called "SERPINE1" that is “one of the first clear-cut genetic mutations in human beings that act upon aging and aging-related disease.”

It works by eliminating the Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI1) protein from building up in our bodies and thereby preventing aging. Lead researcher Dr. Douglas Vaughan, says there are “a number of factors that drive PAI-1 production in the body, including glucose and insulin and inflammation and oxidative stress. All of those factors, in a roundabout way, contribute to aging, and they all sort of converge on PAI-1.” His 40-person team was surprised how cooperative this Amish community was, allowing them to test ~200 people. 

 

 

Other schools are studying how to block this age-inducing protein. In Japan's Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Dr. Toshio Miyata started drugs trials attempting to replicate SERPINE1's affects to reduce the PAI1 protein. If successful, they may have one of the most valuable drugs ever created and that people, even emperors, have been seeking for thousands of years: the ELIXIR OF IMMORTALITY!

Well, it may not be that effective, but would still be a great breakthrough in medicine and bio-engineering. At least it could slow aging and help elderly people regain some more youthful state towards the end of their life. 

Yet, while looking for a way to live longer, let's not forget to realize our purpose for living in the first place. Many traditional and ancient cultures have long taught to live in alignment with nature and universal principles such as being compassionate to others, seeking higher and higher levels of truth and wisdom, and even giving up worldly temptations. They say our immortal life lives on beyond the physical realm that science can measure. 


Sources:

http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/11/20/genetic-key-to-longevity-discovered-in-indianas-amish-community/

Real Animal-Shaped Rocks Sculpted by Nature

Astonishing Animal-like Natural Rocks Found Around the World

Can these be mere coincidences or is there something more profound at work here? 

All around the world, boulders and other rock formations are naturally sculpted into all kinds of animal shapes. Over a mind-boggling number of years, wind, water, and other kinds of erosion have gradually brought these rocks to life, so to speak. 

Let's take a look

 

Polar Bear. Credit: italyfaves

Polar Bears

Found in La Maddalena Archipelago, Italy, how can you not see a white polar bear sitting there? The slope of the back, the head and neck, and it even has two ears!

 

 

 

Cats, Snakes, and More

Near an extinct volcano on the Easter Islands, lots of unusual forms appear.

A river rock in Oregon's Willamette River hides a giant snake!

In Moab, Utah there's a place called Hole in the Rock with weather-worn cat-like stone sculptures.

And some kind of creature in Japan's Matsushima Bay.

 

Camels

Giant rock camels were found in the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and in Cappadocia, Turkey.

The last one in Illinois' Garden of the Gods, is missing its head because vandals destroyed it. 

 

Elephants

There seems to be a lot of elephant gods because one of the most common rock animals is the elephant. 

Pt. Reyes National Seashore, California.

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Middle Left: Queen Valley, Arizona.

Middle Right: Elephant Rock, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Bottom Left: Stone Forest, Shi Lin, China

 

Elephant, Alligator, Lion

Arizona's Monument Valley is home to more examples of these natural beauties.

Bottom Left: Alligator in Valley of Kings, Egypt.

Bottom Right: Lion in Alisadr Cave, Iran.

 

Dogs & Penguins

Top Left: Dog in Albany, Australia

Top Right: Turtle in Hundred Islands National Park, Philippines

Middle Left: Bird in Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, Australia.

Bottom Left: Yawning Hippos in Wave Rock, Australia

Bottom Right: Penguins Snuggling in Head on the Isles, Scilly, Italy

The Next BIG Earthquake?

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The recent earthquake tragedies in Iran and Iraq that killed 400 people last Sunday may come as no surprise to some as fault lines run through Iran and Iraq, so their recent earthquake should come as no surprise. However, the 7.3 magnitude is much higher than the 2012 6.4 and 6.3 quakes that killed 300 people. 

The rural regions are especially hard hit with mud-brick homes collapsing and kerosene heater and lamps igniting fires. There were even mudslides triggered by aftershocks creating a chaotic situation amidst the suffering. Iranian officials said 70,000 people are homeless.

This is a big reminder to us all around the world but perhaps especially to those living in the Pacific Northwest where the next "big one" is expected to cause a catastrophe of epic proportions. 

Let's take a look at the anatomy of earthquakes

 

1) Invisible Origins

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When our Earth's huge underground tectonic plates grind into each other, we experience shaking above ground. The electromagnetic forces churning at around the core of the planet cause these shifts, which occur gradually all the time until some pressure points build to a dangerous crescendo. 

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The tectonic plates can slide over and under each other or slide across each other along fault lines. 

“Our understanding of these within-plate earthquakes is not as good,” said Stanford University geophysics professor Greg Beroza. “These two earthquakes that happened in Mexico are the latter,” he added, noting that an earthquake within a tectonic plate has fewer telltale signs than those that occur at fault lines.

 

2) Measuring Earthquakes

The Richter Scale was invented in 1935 by Charles Richter and uses a logarithmic scale, rather than a linear scale. A logarithmic scale shows a magnitude 7 earthquake as 10 times stronger than a magnitude 6, and 100 times more than a magnitude 5.

However, it's actually a very limiting perspective as it only measures the peak of an earthquake's seismic waves. It misses the size of the triggering force and the radius of the affects.

“We can’t use that in our design calculations,” said Steven McCabe, leader of the earthquake engineering group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. “We deal in displacements.”

Displacement of the ground it another method.

Moment Magnitude Scale measures different seismic waves with precise instruments but is just a size proxy of the earthquake. It can take up to a year to calculate a quake because of indirect measurements.

Peak Ground Acceleration measures speed and directional changes. 

 

3) Predictability

There are many more wrong earthquake predictions than accurate ones but geologists have identified the fault lines where earthquakes tend to recur. See US Geological Survey’s interactive map of fault lines and NOAA’s interactive map of seismic events. So we know where but not when. 

Also, there are usually smaller tremors following large earthquakes. Countries are setting up electronic warning systems to buy a few minutes that can save lives.

 

4) Natural or Manmade Disasters?

Besides naturally occurring earthquakes there are some triggered by manmade hydraulic fracturing or the injection of millions of gallons of wastewater underground. This makes it easier for tectonic plates to move at fault lines

US Geological Survey map of natural and induced earthquake risk in 2017.

US Geological Survey map of natural and induced earthquake risk in 2017.

The US Geological Survey reported Oklahoma earthquakes exploded to 2,500 in 2014, 4,000 in 2015, and then down to 2,500 in 2016.

“The decline in 2016 may be due in part to injection restrictions implemented by the state officials,” the USGS wrote in a release. “Of the earthquakes last year, 21 were greater than magnitude 4.0 and three were greater than magnitude 5.0.”

Usually, there are only two quakes a year at magnitude 2.7 or greater.

 

It Pays to Prepare

90% of earthquakes happen in the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean that runs through the Philippines, Japan, Alaska, California, Mexico, and Chile. Oh yeah, 75% of all volcanoes are located here too, sounds cozy right?

After years of experiencing the devastation of earthquakes in crowded cities with tall buildings, engineers and architects learned to seismically retrofit old buildings and quake-proof new ones. This, of course, costs more so some people are resistant to implementing these changes. It's almost certainly worth the price to save lives in the future. 

A terrible example of poor building code is the 150,000+ deaths in Haiti's 2010 magnitude 7.9 quake. 

 

The "Big One" is Coming

The New Yorker won a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for reporting the potential massive earthquake in the Pacific Northwest — “the worst natural disaster in the history of North America,” affecting 7 million people over 140,000 square miles.

It could be a magnitude 8.7 up to 9.2, even bigger than the San Andreas Fault's expected max of 8.2.

“In the business, we’ve been talking about that [Pacific Northwest] scenario for decades,” Beroza said. “I wouldn’t say we’re overdue, but it could happen at any time.”

Since it's better to be safe than sorry, please consider preparing. Let the recent earthquakes around the world be reminders of the serious risks earthquake-prone regions face. 


Sources:

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2017/9/21/16339522/8-things-to-know-about-earthquakes-mexico

NASA Releases Spooky SPACE SOUNDS of Planets and Stars

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Jupiter's Massive Beats

NASA's Juno spacecraft went into Jupiter's massive magnetic field on June 24, 2016 and recorded the experience. Scientists converted the radio waves into sound waves. Listen to NASA's "Sounds of Space" with lightning on Jupiter and starlight percussion heard on a galactic journey through space. The plasma waves sound similar to ocean waves crashing on our planet's shores. Other particles hitting the instruments sound like strange crackles, whorls and snarls.

 

Sounds of Saturn

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Saturn seems to produce the most sound of any planet in our solar system, most likely caused by its massive rings and many moons. As these planetary objects float in their repeating pattern, their gravitational pulls create rhythmes that can then be converted into musical harmony.

'Wherever there is resonance there is music, and no other place in the solar system is more packed with resonances than Saturn,' said astrophysicist Matt Russo, a postdoctoral researcher at the CITA in the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T.

NASA's SoundCloud playlist also includes sounds of Saturn's moons and rings that astrophysicists converted into music. Before the Cassini probe observing Saturn crashed into the gaseous planet, completing it's 7-year mission, it also discovered some new faint rings of Saturn that added to the unusual sounds emanating from the planet. For some reason, NASA was expecting the gap between the rings and the planet would have lots of dust and debris but, to their surprise, Cassini only encountered a few particles as it crossed the gap and nothing larger than what we find in smoke (about 1 micron across).

In honor to the historic Cassini mission, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) researchers composed two pieces of music based on Saturn's moons and rings.