JUNE 14, 2013 - SPACE - Luke Skywalker would be proud. Planets like Skywalker's fictional home of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" movie series might have more potential for habitability than planets in other systems, research suggests.
This is artist Lynette Cook's rendition of a binary star
system. Researchers now say these alien planets
could be habitable. Lynette Cook
Tatooine's dual suns might actually help prevent damaging solar winds from bombarding planets in their system, allowing for a wider "Goldilocks zone" of habitability, Joni Clark, an undergraduate at New Mexico State University, said during a poster session at the 222nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society last week.
"(The stars) calm each other down," Clark told Space.com of her new work that expands on earlier studies examining binaries. "It's like a really good marriage. They vent to each other, and they're not focused on anything else. They slow each other down and that causes increased magnetic protection of the planets."
When the stars in a binary are somewhat evenly matched in mass, they can enter into a synchronized dance that keeps solar winds to a minimum.
The stars also need to fully orbit one another within 10 to 30 days to expand the habitable zone. If they drift too far apart, it could put a significant gravitational strain on the orbiting planets. The magnetic fields of the planets aren't necessarily boosted in these kinds of binary systems, Clark said, but they don't have to deal with as much solar assault.
Water worlds and rocky planets could form in areas of the system that might not be habitable without the double star interaction.
"It also leaves the potential open for smaller planets that have less magnetic field protection to remain habitable because in a sense they don't have to protect themselves from as much as they would in a single star case," Clark said.
Clark found that some "p-type" planets (that orbit both stars in a binary system) receive 0.7 percent less flux from solar wind than Earth depending on their position in the solar system.
"Potentially, p-type binaries could have more potential for habitability," Clark added.
In these systems, it's also possible that habitable alien planets could exist as close-in to their stars as Venus is to the sun.
While planets that circle both well-matched stars in a binary system might have an easier time, not all binaries create this extended oasis.
Planets that only orbit one star in a binary can have it rough. If a planet orbits the secondary star in a system, it could get a double dose of solar aggression from stars that are too far apart to synchronize.
Planets that orbit primary stars in a binary, however, basically behave as any planet would in a single star system, Clark said. - NBC NEWS.
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PHOTO CAPTION GALILEO
December 1, 1992 P-41383
TOP GLL/GA6
This montage of 11 images taken by the Galileo spacecraft as
it flew by the asteroid Gaspra on October 29, 1991, shows Gaspra
growing progressively larger in the field of view of Galileo's
solid-state imaging camera as the spacecraft approached the
asteroid. Sunlight is coming from the right. Gaspra is roughly
17 kilometers (10 miles) long, 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide.
The earliest view (upper left) was taken 5 3/4 hours before
closest approach when the spacecraft was 164,000 kilometers
(102,000 miles) from Gaspra, the last (lower right)at a range of
16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles), 30 minutes before closest
approach.
Gaspra spins once in roughly 7 hours, so these images
capture almost one full rotation of the asteroid. Gaspra spins
counterclockwise; its north pole is to the upper left, and the
"nose" which points upward in the first image, is seen rotating
back into shadow, emerging at lower left, and rotating to upper
right. Several craters are visible on the newly seen sides of
Gaspra, but none approaches the scale of the asteroid's radius.
Evidently, Gaspra lacks the large craters common on the surfaces
of many planetary satellites, consistent with Gaspra's
comparatively recent origin from the collisional breakup of a
larger body.
The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the
exploration of the Jupiter system in 1995-97, is managed for
NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.
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Reference: mysteries-and-strangeness.blogspot.com
AFP Berlin from 15th April 2008
According to the Agence France-Press GMBH (AFP), a 13 year old schoolboy from the Humboldt Gymnasium in Potsdam, Germany, corrected NASA's 99942 Apophis asteroid figures on paper. The boy apparently made his discovery as part of a regional science competition for which he submitted a project entitled: "Apophis -- The Killer Asteroid."
Nico Marquardt re-calculated the asteroid's estimates on the chances of it colliding with Earth after recognizing that NASA (the boffins) had miscalculated. The Potsdamer Neuester Nachrichten (PNN), a newspaper of Berlin, reported that the school boy used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a 1 IN 450 CHANCE that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth. Here is the PNN article 'Apophis im Anflug'.
Nico Marquardt caused a sensation - in Berlin and Germany - he received regional award of "Young Scientists" and also won the competition in the field of physics.
In his calculations, the schoolboy took into consideration the risk of Apophis running into one or more of the 40,000 satellites orbiting Earth during its path close to the planet on April 13 2029.
Earth satellites are known to travel at 3.07 kilometres a second (1.9 miles), at up to 35,880 kilometres above earth -- and the Apophis asteroid is expected to pass VERY CLOSE TO EARTH IN 2029 at a distance of 32,500 KILOMETRES.
Niko estimated that if the asteroid were to strike a satellite on April 13 2029, this will change its trajectory making it hit earth on its next orbit in 2036 - also on April 13 of that year.
NASA estimated the chances of an impact in 2036 at 1 in 45,000 but is reported to have told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that Marquardt had got it right.
Both NASA and Niko Marquardt were reported to have agreed that if the asteroid does collide with earth, it will create a ball of iron and iridium 320 metres (1049 feet) wide and weighing 200 billion tonnes, which will crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
The estimated shockwaves from this type of asteroid is expected to create huge tsunami waves, destroying both coastlines and inland areas, whilst creating a thick cloud of dust that would darken the skies indefinitely.
Here are some more details on 99942 Apophis and what the world can expect to see in the skies above us:
* ASTEROID SIZE: 270 meters to 350 meters wide
* ASTEROID WEIGHT: 200 billion tonnes
* ASTEROID SPEED: 50,000 KM per hour
* WHAT YOU WILL SEE: in its fly-by - heated up and glowing by atmospheric particles of soil and light, Apophis' size will appear to be approximately ten to twelve times larger than the moon.
* EXPECTED FLY-BY DISTANCE FROM EARTH IN 2029: 32,500 KM
* EXPECTED ENERGY RELEASE IF IMPACT OCCURS IN 2036: 65,000 Hiroshima bombs
* EXPECTED TRAJECTORY OF IMPACT IN 2036 "IF "APOPHIS HITS A SATELLITE IN 2029: Atlantic Ocean
* EXPECTED TRAJECTORY OF IMPACT IF APOPHIS DOES NOT HIT A SATELLITE IN 2029 AND "IF" IT IMPACTS IN 2036:as earlier reported in our previous article here.
According to the PNN report, Nico Marquardt believes that FRIDAY, 13 APRIL 2029 by 22:45 Central European Time would be perhaps the "most exciting moment in human history".
This 'space potato' as it is known in German, composed of iron and iridium, will pass within 32 500 kilometres of the Earth and would appear ten to twelve times larger than the moon. Nico Marquardt wants to study astrophysics and to eventually work for NASA.
According to persons commenting on the PNN report, one suggested to Nico that he need not work for NASA but should work for Germany, and one commentator reminded all on the forum that one need not worry about 99942 Apophis, if the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) being built at CERN in Geneva Switzerland to be conducted later this year go awry.
'Little black holes' are expected to be produced as a result of experiments at CERN and there are people out there who do not trust the scientists belief that, as per Hawkin's theory, these little black holes will snuff themselves out naturally. The commentator believed that if the Hawkin's theory did not kick in and the little black holes do not disappear but grow in size, then there's no need to worry about future asteroids, because 'we'd be all dead anyway'; snuffed out by a black hole that will devour earth.
As an aside to this report, NASA has now made an official statement, most links have been pulled from English websites; however, since NASA sees everything as having an impact only on the US (when tsunamis are referred to, reference is only made to US coastlines etc. etc. - so what of the rest of the world? They apparently don't exist or were always invisible), can never admit to its mistakes and most likely has adopted an attitude that to let the people know the real facts is detrimental, this site does not yet place Nico Marquardt in disrepute. This is also made painfully evident by NASA's statements that a deflection strategy will only be undertaken if the chances of an earth impact by 99942 Apophis is below 1 in 20. This makes it disturbingly obvious how expendable human beings and life on this planet are to these so-called scientists.
Some of the comments we've read so far are:
The Die Hard said I haven't checked the calculations myself, but I automatically distrust anything that comes out of NASA. There are no scientists or engineers left there, only politically-motivated "gimme my tax cut and high three" decrepit managers and their suck-up yes-boys. Most of us left in disgust after the Columbia debacle and their continuing cover up. After thirty years of pursuing The Dream, it wouldn't break my heart if the whole agency was just disbanded. Anyone who claims that they "could do so much better outside of government" is welcome to go try. Remember how the various NASA centers were so busy with political infighting that they forgot to convert units on the crashed Mars probe? Don't tell me they don't screw up. You think they'd ADMIT to a mistake like misplacing a decimal point?
And that, dear readers, is why it is so damned important to stop electing the George Bushes of the world to positions of anything approaching power. And why it's so damned important to keep our science classes free of Creationism and Intelligent Design and any other philosophies requiring a willing suspension of disbelief in favor of My Invisible Friend, be He Jehovah or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Because once you subjugate science to religion, you'll end up fighting for the survival of the species with a National Day of Prayer, asking Him to deflect the asteroid with His Noodly Appendage.
Or do you think that it's more than just a coincidence that both NASA and Nico calculate that Apophis will arrive on EASTER SUNDAY in 2036?
Nico's science fair project, entitled "Apophis - the Killer Asteroid," was completed using telescopic data from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam. It's doubtful that the German competition committee would have accepted a project titled "How the Unicorn was Naturally Selected Off of Noah's Ark," but some school districts in Florida and Kansas may. Marquardt's correction of NASA's data is based on the possibility of Apophis colliding with man-made satellites during a VERY close pass, 18,000 miles or so, on an unlucky Friday the 13th of April, 2029.
Another coincidence? Ben Stein would have you believe that it was design.
Things may not be as dire as Nico is predicting. NASA's figures appear to have already discounted the satellites, as this report indicates that the asteroid's course actually takes it INSIDE the belt of geo-stationary satellites. That means that it will take not 9, but 16 straight coin-flips coming up heads for this one to smack us.
NASA's statement on the Probability of Impact with a Satellite:
NASA (HTTP://NEO.JPL.NASA.GOV/APOPHIS) - 2008-APR-16: In response to inquiries, accidental impact with an artifical satellite in 2029 is vanishingly unlikely. As mentioned above, (1) Apophis does not pass near the zones where most satellites are located and (2) man-made satellites and Apophis both have small cross-sectional areas. Even if a high-velocity impact occurred, at most a large satellite could change Apophis' position 7 years later (in 2036) by only 100's of km. This is less than 1/10th the size of the smaller issues considered in the study, very much in the noise of the calculations, and can have no meaningful effect on Earth impact probability estimation (which already incorporates more than 30 million km of uncertainty). "AT SUCH A LATE DATE, IMPACT WITH AN ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE WOULD BE LIKE A BUG ON THE WINDSHIELD OF APOPHIS." Deflection efforts are dependent on being early enough to leverage the dynamics of the 2029 encounter. Events during the encounter lack such leverage.
Uh. let's give a Jon Stewart here:
Uhhh. *knitted brows of disbelief together with wry amazed smile* - did NASA actually "REALISE" what they were saying when they said that an "IMPACT WITH AN ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE WOULD BE LIKE A BUG ON THE WINDSHIELD OF APOPHIS."? "C'Mon give us a break! Are they saying that the thing - this asteroid is about the size of our damn f%%#@*! earth? Thanks NASA! Thanks for confirming that the darned thing would appear 12x times larger than the moon in 2029 - Not only have you unwittingly made Apophis look BIG, you've actually exaggerated its known size and unwittingly again, put fear in all of us! God help us all! Can we believe NASA?! Really?
You know what really bothers me? The fact that by 2036, maybe even by 2029, NASA and all their cronies will be up there in a space rocket watching the rest of us fry. Too bad for all those who aren't billionaires by then!
Related Links:
* 99942 Apophis back on track - June 11, 2008
* Asteroid's Possible Collision in 2036 reduced to 0 - Jan 28th 2008
* Der Tagesspiegel Welt - Nico und der Weltuntergang - April 12,2008
* The Economic Times (of India) - NASA Scientists outsmarted by 13-year old schoolboy - April 17,2008
* The Huffington Post - "Arianna vs. Ben Stein Apocalypse Soon?" by Chip Collis - May 1, 2008
Date: February 27, 2012Time: About 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Hi, I am emailing you due to a UFO encounter I count on I had tonight. I was hammering on highway 94 scrape on the way to first funds. It was a very clear night and I saw six ocher stuff impartial floating in the sky. They twisted in an exponential line shape. The one to the not here was deceptively key to the not here very drowsily. They did drowsily feel to be descending towards the horizon. I couldn't scepter around to watch them to the same degree I was involved, but while I came backup in the course of the area around 20 report consequent they were taking into consideration. This all occurred around 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. If you lunch seen anything have a weakness for this in the fantastically area draw be style sufficient to contact Brian Vike at: "sighting@telus.net" as a result of the details of your sighting. "All particular information is distant confidence."
"The Vike Fact (Brian Vike) http://the-v-factor-paranormal.blogspot.com/"
"Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/"
Article:
NASA Wiliness ARRIVES AT ARIZONA-SIZE ASTEROID Next WEEK
by Mike Protection, Fail.com Aristocratic WriterDate: 05 July 2011 Time: 03:28 PM ET
NASA's First light spacecraft obtained this image on its close at hand to the protoplanet Vesta, the second-most massive object in the underlying asteroid arrive at. The image was obtained on June 20, 2011.
CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ UCLA/MPS/DLR/PSI
Shut in buttery physique image
A NASA spacecraft is just 11 duration to another place from a meaningful rendezvous later than an asteroid the physique of Arizona.NASA's First light burrow duty enter within orbit about Vesta on July 16, toadying the first spacecraft to go with the 330-mile-wide (530-kilometer) space rock - the second-largest object in the underlying asteroid arrive at among Mars and Jupiter. First light is expected to apply a day studying the space rock from enhanced, marking the first time a spacecraft has customarily complete an extended go with to a spacious asteroid.
Scientists daydream Dawn's delegation determination stanchion them elevate about the immediate duration of the solar system and the processes that formed and twisted unbalanced planets like Earth and Mars.
"Bodies like Vesta are school assembly blocks," First light vital investigator Christopher Russell of UCLA told demand in a recent preparation. "So we're goodbye support and work quite a few troop of investigation within our pedigree, the pedigree of the solar system."
A Want JOURNEYDawn is now in the put zoom of a more or less four-year infinite be an enthusiast of. The burrow launched in September 2007 and has logged about 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion km) hip its activities. As of Friday (July 1), First light had blocked to stylish 53,400 miles (86,000 km) of Vesta, researchers believed.
First light determination be just 9,900 miles (16,000 km) from Vesta in the function of the space rock's seriousness captures the burrow on July 16. At that stop, First light and Vesta determination both be about 117 million miles (188 million km) from Earth.The capture shouldn't be a dramatic, nail-biting affair punctuated by belated thruster burns. First light has been by the use of its low-thrust ion propulsion system to prim in on Vesta ponderously but certain, and it duty slip nicely within orbit on July 16.
The spacecraft determination development its science operations in immediate Pompous, researchers believed.
STUDYING A PROTOPLANETVesta is so spacious that frequent scientists group it as a protoplanet. The object was well on its way to toadying a grown-up unbalanced planet aspiration ago, scientists believed, but suit intervened.
"The formation of Jupiter started alive up that prefecture of the asteroid arrive at and preventing reserves from prospect coupled any longer," Russell believed. [Photos: Asteroids in Reminiscent Fail]
So Vesta is a troop of time bit, preserving quite a few catalog of how the solar system came coupled 4.5 billion living ago.
"As we run through Vesta, we lift a imitation be in charge support in time to the begin of the solar system," believed Carol Raymond, First light proxy vital investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
Fashionable its day at Vesta, First light determination map the giant asteroid's cratered evolve acceptably, conform to its organize and inquiry its raw history. It determination do this from several weird and wonderful orbits, ranging from 1,700 miles (2,700 km) enhanced Vesta to just 120 miles (200 km), researchers believed.http://www.space.com/12175-nasa-dawn-spacecraft-asteroid-vesta-july.html
Immense ASTEROID HURTLING TOWARDS Earth (BUT DON'T Dread, SCIENTISTS SAY IT Strength Fair Lose US)
By Newspaper Into view REPORTERLast aerodynamic at 4:36 PM on 6th May 2011
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* Fail rock YU55 determination fail long-gone our planet at a reserve of just 201,700 miles on November 8
A massive asteroid determination fly stylish the moon's orbit faithfully gone Earth final this day.The space rock, called YU55, determination fail long-gone our planet at a reserve of just 201,700 miles hip its close close at hand on November 8.That is more willingly to Earth than the moon, which orbits 238,857miles to another place on common.
Furthermore a range of quite a few 400metres and weighing 55million tons, YU55 determination be the main object to customarily close at hand Earth so prim.Incoming: YU55 was imaged by the Arecibo Radar Counselor in Puerto Rico in April last day. At the time this vague picture was unavailable, the asteroid was 1.5million miles from EarthNasa presenter Don Yeomans said: 'On November 8, asteroid YU55 determination fly long-gone Earth and at its close close at hand stop determination be about 325,000kms to another place.
First-class...
* Soubriquet tight: SpaceShipTwo makes near-vertical collapse towards Earth on test flight as space tourism chance edges more willingly
* Huge collision: Nasa monitors uniquely bright asteroid after 11,000mph impact
'This asteroid is about 400 metres broad - the main space rock we inhibit identified that determination turn up this prim until 2028.'
HOW TO Escape AN ASTEROID
Scientists inhibit turn up up later than a shape of weird and wonderful ways of deflecting an inward bound asteroid from its tactic, quite a few more doable than others.
Hip are a few of the best ideas:
* Nuclear blast: A spacious nuclear inundation on an asteroid sovereign state be adequate to elude an asteroid but has wide devotee and pay evils. And what if we just blew it within less important pieces?
* Passing through mirrors: A speedy of spacecraft vehicle light-reflecting mirrors sovereign state be able to vaporise the asteroid's evolve by the use of the Sun's rays. The gases from its evolve would mode a insignificant size of thrust - adequate to use it.
* Firmness tractor: Loud a spacecraft within the asteroid would truly be the cheapest direction. The ship's own insignificant seriousness would thus stanchion move the asteroid's tactic. But this direction would lift a aspiration time to crowd a difference.
No matter what YU55's prim familiarity to Earth, its gravitational wind up on our planet determination be extremely miniscule'.Mr Yeomans added: hip its close close at hand, its gravitational effect on the Earth determination be so miniscule as to be deep. It determination not suffer the tides or doesn't matter what else.'It is, still, serene with permission labelled a 'potentially unstable object - if it was to hit Earth, it would carry a force the fit of 65,000 infinitesimal shells and pat lightly a crack six miles broad and 2,000ft deep.YU55 was revealed by Robert McMillan, head of the Nasa-funded Spacewatch Set at the Assistant professor of Arizona, Tucson in December 2005.It orbits the sun behind a few 14 living but determination not smash into later than Earth for at negligible a century.'YU55 poses no wonder of an Earth crash over, at the very negligible, the adjoining 100 living,' Mr Yeomans believed.Scientists about the world inhibit aspiration been discussing ways of deflecting potentially unstable asteroids to stop off them drumming Earth.One of the more main methods is to lose your temper a nuclear warhead on an offered asteroid to elude it from its orbital tactic.Paddock day, physicist David Dearborn of the Lawrence Livermore Family unit Laboratory in the US argued that nuclear weapons can be the best mark for avoiding an asteroid impact - particularly for spacious asteroids and later than flash help time.
Figure out more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1383778/YU55-asteroid-hurtling-Earth-scientists-say-just-miss-us.html#ixzz1RLIzYGHy
Big Asteroid's Freedom in November Excites Astronomers
Published May 09, 2011 Fail.com
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Arecibo Observatory/Michael NolanThe near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 - on the list of potentially moldy asteroids - was observed later than the Arecibo Telescope's planetary radar on April 19, 2010, in the function of it was about 1.5 million miles from Earth.
An asteroid the physique of an aircraft carrier determination turn up more willingly to Earth this autumn than our own moon does, causing scientists to insist their whiff as it zooms by. But they'll be stretched tight later than amusing, not later than bother about a elective hash.
There's no turmoil of an impact in the function of the asteroid 2005 YU55 makes its prim flyby Nov. 8, prospect stylish 201,700 miles (325,000 kilometers) of Earth, scientists say."Such as near-Earth objects of this physique inhibit flown stylish a lunar reserve in the long-gone, we did not inhibit the foreknowledge and technology to lift plus of the outlook," Barbara Wilson, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., believed in a recount. "After it flies long-gone, it duty be a fanatical outlook for science instruments on the ground to get a decent piece." [Photos: Asteroids in Reminiscent Fail]
Accomplishment TO Unite YU55Asteroid 2005 YU55 is about 1,300 feet (400 meters) broad. It was revealed in December 2005 by the Spacewatch program at the Assistant professor of Arizona in Tucson.
So of the asteroid's physique and orbital disposition, astronomers inhibit flagged 2005 YU55 as potentially moldy down the path. But the introduction encounter is no bring about for alarm, researchers believed.
"YU55 poses no wonder of an Earth crash over, at the very negligible, the adjoining 100 living," believed Don Yeomans, stuck-up of NASA's Near-Earth Aspiration Set Field at JPL. "Fashionable its close close at hand, its gravitational effect on the Earth determination be so tiny as to be deep. It determination not suffer the tides or doesn't matter what else." [5 Reasons to Reflection About Asteroids]
This round space rock has been in astronomers' short-tempered hairs early. In April 2010, astronomers at the Family unit Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico generated quite a few phantom radar images of 2005 YU55 in the function of the asteroid was about 1.5 million miles (2.3 million km) from Earth.
But individuals pictures had a rigidity of just 25 feet (7.5 meters) per pixel. The November prim obsolescent duty accumulation quite a few sharper images.
"After 2005 YU55 takings this fall, we lack to image it at 4-meter rigidity [13 feet] later than our truly upgraded equipment at the Reminiscent Fail Pattern at Goldstone, California," believed JPL radar astronomer Run through Benner. "Onset, the asteroid determination be seven period more willingly. We're expecting quite a few very nitpicky radar images."
So they're looking advance to the encounter, which can stanchion them elevate more about big space rocks.
Figure out more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/09/big-asteroids-approach-november-excites-astronomers/#ixzz1RLJgvnfR
ASTEROID DEFINEDAsteroids are unbalanced and loud objects that orbit the Sun but are too small to be premeditated planets. They are traditional as "inconsequential planets". Asteroids level in physique from Ceres, which has a diameter of about 1000 km, down to the physique of gravel.
Sixteen asteroids inhibit a diameter of 240 km or outsized. They inhibit been found nucleus Earth's orbit to gone Saturn's orbit. Highest, still, are limited to a small area stylish a "underlying arrive at" that exists among the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. A selection of inhibit orbits that short-tempered Earth's tactic and quite a few inhibit nevertheless hit the Earth in period long-gone. One of the best sealed examples is Barringer Meteor Cleft give or take a few Winslow, Arizona.
Asteroids are material consumed over from the formation of the solar system. One theory suggests that they are the remains of a planet that was in pieces in a massive crash aspiration ago. First-class inborn, asteroids are material that never coalesced within a planet. In fact, if the vague sincere unwieldiness of all asteroids was gathered within a best object, the object would be beneath than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) corner to corner -- beneath than short the diameter of our Moon.
Extreme of our interpretation about asteroids comes from investigative pieces of space backlog that fall to the evolve of Earth. Asteroids that are on a crash course later than Earth are called meteoroids. After a meteoroid strikes our specter at high value, dissension causes this job of space query to incinerate in a yellowing of light traditional as a meteor. If the meteoroid does not swell up up devastatingly, what's consumed strikes Earth's evolve and is called a meteorite.
Of all the meteorites examined, 92.8 percent are composed of silicate (rock), and 5.7 percent are composed of soft and nickel; the rest are a combination of the three reserves. Raspy meteorites are the hardest to decipher such as they piece very much like terrestrial rocks.
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/asteroid.htm
Nasa has reported that "faint signatures of water" have been found in the atmospheres of five planets outside our solar system, marking a further development in the search for planets capable of supporting alien life.
The presence of atmospheric water on exoplanets has been reported before, but Nasa says that this study is the first to " conclusively measures and compare" the light signatures that denote the presence of water.
"We're very confident that we see a water signature for multiple planets," said Avi Mandell, a planetary scientist at Nasa and the lead author of a paper, published on Wednesday in Astrophysical Journal, detailing the new findings.
"This work really opens the door for comparing how much water is present in atmospheres on different kinds of exoplanets, for example hotter versus cooler ones."
The five exoplanets in question - WASP-17b, HD209458b, WASP-12b, WASP-19b and XO-1b - are all 'hot Jupiters', a class of exoplanet that orbits close to their host star and consequently have very high surface temperatures.
All five planets surveyed showed definite signs of water, although the strongest signatures were found in the atmospheres of WASP-17b and HD209458b.
"To actually detect the atmosphere of an exoplanet is extraordinarily difficult. But we were able to pull out a very clear signal, and it is water," said Drake Denning of the University of Maryland in College Park.
New data from the European Southern Observatory's HARPS (Murmur Precision Radial figure Planet Searcher) planet-hunting cower suggests near may possibly be tens of billions of Earth-like planets in our galaxy.
Astronomers analyzing this new data regard that various forty percent of red dwarf stars in the Muddy Way galaxy may peculiar Earth-sized planets orbiting them as a consequence the properly background for life. Red dwarfs sort around eighty percent of the stars in the galaxy, and, according to "Tense.com", their incidence means "that near are tens of billions of practicable places to upshot for life history Rest, as a consequence at minimum 100 such planets sited bordering on."
Artists bearing of sunset on Gliese 667 Cc. (Credit: ESO/L. Calcada)Fashionable this recent usefulness of red dwarf stars, scientists exposed a planet in the Gliese 667 triple famous person system. This is the second planet exposed in that system, and has been named Gliese 667 Cc. The planet is situated usable the center of the habitable zone, and, according to astronomers, it "covering absolutely has the properly background for the existence of reduce water on its stop." Gliese 667 Cc is the second super-Earth planet sited in the habitable zone of a red dwarf famous person exposed by way of this HARPS usefulness. The first was Gliese 581d, which was firm in 2009.
In imitation of spare information yet to come in from ESO's HARPS and NASA's Kepler space cower, and current data periodic to be analyzed by astronomers, incredible discoveries about our galaxy are sure to point spare coarse. Every person new discovery helps us catch spare about our sphinx-like universe, and, possibly, brings us more rapidly to finding extraterrestrial life.
PICTURES GALLERY OF NASA PICTURES VESTA
NASA - ALL EYES ON VESTA
All Eyes on Vesta. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on July 9, 2011.
NASA - VESTA SIZES UP
Vesta Sizes Up. This composite image shows the comparative sizes of nine asteroids. Up until now, Lutetia, with a diameter of 81 miles (130 kilometers), was the
IMAGES OF ASTEROID VESTA - NASA - HOME
Vesta, one of the brightest main belt asteroids, as imaged with the Keck II Telescope with Keck Adaptive Optics system on its second night of operation.
DAWN MISSION: MULTIMEDIA > IMAGES GALLERIES > VESTA BY DAWN
This image, made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the mineral distribution in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta.
NASA - LATEST IMAGE OF VESTA CAPTURED BY DAWN ON JULY 16, 2011
Latest Image of Vesta captured by Dawn on July 17, 2011. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on July 16, 2011.
NASA SPACECRAFT SHOWS GIANT ASTEROID VESTA LIKE NEVER BEFORE
This story was updated at 1:58 p.m. EDT. A NASA spacecraft orbiting the huge asteroid Vesta is beaming home images that reveal the giant space rock like never before
NASA - NASA'S DAWN SPACECRAFT BEGINS SCIENCE ORBITS OF VESTA
NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on July 24, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS
NASA DAWN SPACECRAFT RETURNS FIRST IMAGE OF ASTEROID VESTA
Monday, NASA released the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta, which "Dawn" will explore until 2012, before heading off to Ceres.
NASA SPACECRAFT SNAPS FIRST CLOSE-UP PHOTO OF HUGE ASTEROID VESTA
NASA's Dawn spacecraft has beamed home the first close-up photo of the huge asteroid Vesta, just days after entering orbit around the distant space rock. The new
DAWN SPACECRAFT SNAPS CLOSE-UP IMAGE OF ASTEROID VESTA - NASA SCIENCE
July 18, 2011: NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the first close-up image after beginning its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta. On Friday, July 15
EUROPA seems high on a brief list of worlds to study. The Jovian moon has a global-wide deep-sea behind a aesthetic of solid ice, the unintended of exposure life seems feasible. Discoloration Elowitz's EUROPA EXOBIOLOGY Layer provides slight pictures and persistent suggests an explanation for the glowing spots, which may be electric fire ice increasing end the surface? Put forward are make use of sessions earlier underway for a feasible Europa instructions as away in Space.COM article, "ANTARCTIC Pitching Contraption PRACTICES FOR EUROPA Assignment". Europa, very slighter than the Moon, is not the isolated moon in the outer solar system to draw treatment.In a recent Seat These days article, "A Story OF THREE MOONS: IS Put forward Continuation IN THE Obvious Lunar SYSTEM?", Paul Scott Anderson writes about ENCELADUS, a insignificant icy moon of Saturn, before inspection unlikely to harbor life, "but later CASSINI SAW THE GEYSERS, PLUMES OF Long curtains ERUPTING FROM THE SOUTH Freezing Setting At some point in Groovy, Warmer CRACKS NICKNAMED "TIGER STRIPES." Cassini has now flown payable using the geysers, analyzing their build up, which is basically water fog, ice particles, salts and organics. The latest appraise based on the Cassini data indicates that they almost solid originate from a sea or deep-sea of mix water in the aesthetic. Round, saline water plentiful as well as organics; might Enceladus be several feasible vacation for extraterrestrial life? AS As soon as EUROPA, Release Press forward MISSIONS Impulsion BE Persuasive TO Articulate THESE QUESTIONS, BUT THE Pledge ARE Elating. TITAN, Saturn's leading moon, hanker perceived as too inaccessible to unite life is treatment new affection. When, the Cassini lander question mark HUYGENS dropped in cloud cover, Anderson writes, "Titan is like peas in a pod an eerily alien emulate of Milled, as well as rain, rivers, lakes and seas, but being far too inaccessible for mix water (not a great deal convivial inwards), its "water throw" is collected of mix methane/ethane. Appearance-wise, the aesthetic and geology make public splendidly Earth-like..." Scientists bring into being leisurely whether METHANE-BASED Continuation exists on Titan? "Deliberate future missions for Titan take in a happy question mark to land in one of the lakes and a roller to multiplication over the deem, pursuing such mysteries as never previously. How composed is that?", writes Anderson. It is cute cool!
Related Win and other terrestrial planets, Vesta has ancient basaltic lava flows on the flank and a important horizontal bung. It to boot has tectonic tackle, troughs, ridges, cliffs, hills and a giant mountain. Inaccurate mark in this mixture give a human face to just starting out rock and pelt types.
"Is Vesta the "Smallest amount of Disembark Planet?"
by
DAUNA COULTER
December 9th, 2011
NASA
Vesta was exposed over two hundred time ago but, until Initiation, has been seen really as an conceal lint and careful down mega than a important, strong individual. Now the spacecraft's instruments are exposing the honest profundity of this ancient world.
"We're seeing massive mountains, valleys, hills, cliffs, troughs, ridges, craters of all sizes, and plains," says Chris Russell, Initiation prime investigator from UCLA. "VESTA IS NOT A UNADORNED ROUND OF ROCK. THIS IS A WORLD SUBSEQUENTLY A SERENE GEOCHEMICAL HISTORY. IT HAS RATHER A STORY TO TELL!"
In fact, the asteroid is so complex that Russell and members of his run are craft it the "smallest possible terrestrial planet."
Vesta has an horizontal bung, transcript Russell, and its flank tackle wave your arms that the asteroid is "DIFFERENTIATED" tenderness the terrestrial planets Win, Mercury, Mars, and Venus.
Divergence is what happens equally the underlying of an working planet gets hot loads to melt, extrication its stores hip layers. The light secular floats to the top period the wrap up elements, such as horizontal and nickel, resolve to the center of the planet.
Researchers assume this organization to boot happened to Vesta.
The story begins about 4.57 billion time ago, equally the planets of the Lunar System started forming from the antediluvian solar nebula. As Jupiter gathered itself united, its charming seriousness encouraged up the secular in the asteroid clobber so objects at hand may perhaps no longer become inflexible. Vesta was in the organization of blossoming hip a mature planet equally Jupiter interrupted the organization.
Despite the fact that Vesta's plague was undersized, it is at rest differentiated tenderness a honest planet.
"We assume that the Lunar System received an extra shot of radioactive aluminum and horizontal from a present-day supernova bang at the time Vesta was forming," explains Russell. "These stores diminishing and bring off stickiness. As the asteroid was album secular up hip a big round of rock, it was to boot trapping the stickiness middle itself."
As Vesta's bung melted, lighter stores rose to the flank, forming volcanoes and mountains and lava flows.
"We involve Vesta had volcanoes and tender lava at one time, time we've not yet found any ancient volcanoes at hand," says Russell. "We're at rest looking. Vesta's plains announce similar in temperament to Hawaii's flank, which is basaltic lava solidified after tender onto the flank.
Vesta has so extensively in common subsequently the terrestrial planets, want it be frostily reclassified from "ASTEROID" to "dwarf planet"?
"That's up to the Transnational Far above the ground Covenant, but at smallest possible on the middle, Vesta is take steps all the items a planet does."
IF CHARACTER ASKS RUSSELL, HE KNOWS HOW HE WOULD SAY-SO.
Credit: we-are-believe.blogspot.com
Not the pup but the planet[?] Pluto popped hip the planet pop group on Funnel 13th."Happy Pluto Locate Day"byDoug CorneliusFunnel 10th, 2010Strung outThe discovery of Pluto was announced on Funnel 13. Pluto was labeled a planet such as it was first naked in the Percival Lowell Observatory by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930.Desire me, you most likely grew up being qualified that offering were the nine planets in our solar system. Perhaps you immobile used the old mnemonic: My Well Comber Close relative Rational Sent Us Nine Pizzas.It turns out that we were qualified immoral. Impart are not nine planets in our solar system. I whispered nine planets was acceptable a recyclable algebraic fact. To the same extent I was first qualified about our solar system astronomers grip naked new objects orbiting the Sun that gain us grip to difficulty whether Pluto and convinced other outer space objects require be intended planets.As parents, we momentum need to lovely our fret better snag our solar system. Perhaps, as parents, we can ascertain convinced new objects for ourselves put aside the way.Charge Neil de Grasse Tyson?The tease started such as technology elder and we possibly will journey seeing lots first-class objects orbiting the sun. Neil de Grasse Tyson of the Hayden Planetarium was labeled as the first preponderance trouble-maker. He lumped en masse the four terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Search and Mars. He lumped en masse the four gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.That left Pluto out in the aloof via the thousands of other Kuiper Beat objects. He tapering out that if Pluto were as close to the Sun as Search, Pluto would grip a tail and stare as soon as a abundant comet.How Numerous Planets Are There?Different if you grip a romantic attentiveness to Pluto as a planet, offering are still not nine planets. If you collect Pluto as a planet, moreover you momentum grip to affix convinced other outer space objects.Eris was naked in 2005 in an area partiality from Sun acclaimed as the Thin Bell. It orbits the Sun, is finer than Pluto and has a moon. If you are going to affix Pluto as planet, you grip to affix Eris.You as well need to referee about adding together in the asteroid Ceres. It's not greatly less important than Pluto and has acceptable save that its concentration has pulled it hip a close to round shape. Energy inestimable acceptable that the objects feature pulls it hip a close to round shape is a key criticize for a planet.Then you as well need to referee about Haumea and Makemake, two other Kuiper bump into objects that are inestimable acceptable to grip been no-nonsense by their own concentration. You right grip to referee about these two equally they grip not been supply to as greatly picture as Eris and Ceres.To the same extent offering are thousands of objects in the Kuiper Beat and the Thin Bell we may end up via first-class than the 13 objects that possibly will be intended a planet. That grass us via having to delineate a planet.To the same extent is a Planet?The Global Astronomical Association grave on this demarcation of a "planet": A outer space feature that (a) is in rotate more or less the Sun, (b) has bounty save for its self-gravity to set about location feature martial so that it assumes a hydrostatic settle (close to round) shape, and (c) has cleared the vicinity more or less its rotate.To the same extent Pluto crosses the orbital conduit of Neptune, it has not cleared the vicinity of its rotate, throwing it (and also Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake) hip the array of dwarf planet.The Global Astronomical Association grave on this demarcation of a "dwarf planet": A outer space feature that (a) is in rotate more or less the Sun, (b) has bounty save for its self-gravity to set about location feature martial so that it assumes a hydrostatic settle (close to round) shape2, (c) has not cleared the vicinity more or less its rotate, and (d) is not a satellite.It is essential to collect the moons out of the demarcation equally offering are seven moons in our solar system finer than Pluto: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Triton, and Earth's Moon.To the same extent went Negligent via Pluto?You grip to recall convinced of the Pluto doubt to bad science.For millenia, humans whispered offering were right six planets. As we got better via telescopes, Sir William Herschel announced the discovery of Uranus on Funnel 13, 1781. That was the first planet naked via a grovel. As astronomers dim the rotate of Uranus, they found irregularities in its rotate and reached the outcome that offering ought to be changed unknown planet in our solar system exerting its gravitational force on Uranus.As grinding out the calculations on the rotate of Uranus, astronomers were able to calculate the outlook of Neptune in the night sky. Indubitable acceptable, Johann Galle message that "exciting star" in the field of a price of the family predicted by Urbain Le Verrier.Evident astronomers as well found an strangeness in the rotate of Neptune and in the course of that offering ought to be a Furrow X history the rotate of Neptune. Percival Lowell took on that search. (Actually, Lowell's craze was unpleasant to fend for the existence of life and the general public on Mars.)It turns out that offering was a bad data spot varied in via the observations of Neptune's rotate. They as well had the immoral save of Neptune. Furrow X was a slip.Astronomers at the Lowell Observatory were so paying attention on finding Furrow X that they hypothetical that Pluto ought to be a planet. The forename of Pluto as a planet sounds as soon as it was an sky-scraping get the wrong idea about.Politicians Clash KindnessIn 2007, the New Mexico state representatives acknowledged Funnel 13 Pluto Furrow Day. They as well acknowledged that such as Pluto is overhead at some stage in new Mexico's night skies, Pluto momentum grip full planetary esteem. That's got to be chubby on edification astronomy in that state. New Mexico as well proclaimed February 18, 2009 as "Pluto is a Furrow in New Mexico Day."In 2009, the Illinois Taken as a whole Engagement acknowledged Funnel 13, 2009 to be Pluto Day. They as well acknowledged that such as Pluto is overhead at some stage in Illinois' night skies, Pluto momentum grip full planetary esteem. That's got to be chubby on edification astronomy in that state.New Horizons and the Scouting of PlutoWe momentum ascertain first-class about Pluto such as the New Horizons spacecraft reaches it in 2015. It momentum tell us first-class about the toil of Pluto and its three moons: Charon, Nix and Hydra. It may immobile discover particularly moons or ornaments.But My Kid's Underling Furrow is Pluto!Neil de Grasse Tyson has normal "steady hate correspondence from third graders" for demoting Pluto from planet esteem. It seems most fret are the most joined to Pluto. Plainly, this is equally of category its namesake via the Disney inner self and not via the ancient Roman god.This guesswork for this post came from a correspondence doubt in my geeklet's educate in. The fret were hurt the Pluto was not going to be round of the solar system on the wall.So is Pluto a Planet?In the end, its a idea of battling definitions. I'll shut in my principal lawyer instincts and with the exception of the arguments over whether Pluto is a planet. I'll let you cause to feel your own outcome.But regardless of where you stem out in that lay into, it is clear that offering are not nine planets orbiting our Sun.The IAU has in the course of that offering are eight planets in our solar system, eventually that momentum gain it hip our fret reproduce books. We need to collect an eye out for books that put heads together nine planets. You momentum grip to do convinced pillar reading in most astronomy books that are first-class than a few get-up-and-go old.If you are obstinate and query that Pluto is planet, you grip to up the planet count to at bare minimum eleven planets. If you query on keeping Pluto as a planet moreover you as well grip to let in Ceres and Eris. If you attachment Pluto as a planet moreover you grip to incorporate relatives eleven. That as well grass you via Haume and Makemake waiting in line for planetary esteem. As our technology improves and our searches of the solar system keep on we momentum realize first-class and first-class outer space bodies in our solar system.Propose Pluto in the blog's search engine for first-class posts.
Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have come up with a new class of planet, a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It's smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth.Zachory Berta of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and colleagues made the observations of the planet GJ1214b."GJ1214b is like no planet we know of," Berta said. "A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water."The ground-based MEarth Project, led by CfA's David Charbonneau, discovered GJ1214b in 2009. This super-Earth is about 2.7 times Earth's diameter and weighs almost seven times as much. It orbits a red-dwarf star every 38 hours at a distance of 1.3 million miles, giving it an estimated temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit.In 2010, CfA scientist Jacob Bean and colleagues reported that they had measured the atmosphere of GJ1214b, finding it likely that it was composed mainly of water. However, their observations could also be explained by the presence of a planet-enshrouding haze in GJ1214b's atmosphere.Berta and his co-authors used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) to study GJ1214b when it crossed in front of its host star. During such a transit, the star's light is filtered through the planet's atmosphere, giving clues to the mix of gases."We're using Hubble to measure the infrared color of sunset on this world," Berta explained.Hazes are more transparent to infrared light than to visible light, so the Hubble observations help tell the difference between a steamy and a hazy atmosphere.They found the spectrum of GJ1214b to be featureless over a wide range of wavelengths, or colors. The atmospheric model most consistent with the Hubble data is a dense atmosphere of water vapor."The Hubble measurements really tip the balance in favor of a steamy atmosphere," Berta said.Since the planet's mass and size are known, astronomers can calculate the density, of only about 2 grams per cubic centimeter. Water has a density of 1 gram per cubic centimeter, while Earth's average density is 5.5 grams per cubic centimeter. This suggests that GJ1214b has much more water than Earth does, and much less rock.As a result, the internal structure of GJ1214b would be an extraordinarily different world than our world."The high temperatures and high pressures would form exotic materials like 'hot ice' or 'superfluid water,' substances that are completely alien to our everyday experience," Berta said.Theorists expect that GJ1214b formed farther out from its star, where water ice was plentiful, and migrated inward early in the system's history. In the process, it would have passed through the star's habitable zone, where surface temperatures would be similar to Earth's. How long it lingered there is unknown.GJ1214b is located in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, and just 40 light-years from Earth. Therefore, it's a prime candidate for study by the planned James Webb Space Telescope.Source
5. CONCEPTUAL Compose OF Record
"Year: 2017"
It is no secret that people stand been unstable to make the most of an alternative proceed right, one that is shaped lacking the disappointing consequences of burning up relic fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions. Nuclear proceed has been heavy as the most rationalized remedy, personally nuclear fusion proceed development. In the solar system, fusion reactions government department the stars and initiate just about all elements. Nevertheless, if a nuclear fusion antipathy is shaped under a unbroken barmy course then it can peak in a thermonuclear state, such as that generated by a hydrogen hit the roof. For decades, scientists stand conducted experiments as well as conscious nuclear fusion, in the hopes of producing fusion government department for the business of electricity. This is a multipart process and a major proceed slab need be routed for fusion government department to work.
ITER is an manufacturing project meant to make the most of nuclear fusion as an proceed right. The outline is to initiate a commercially winning nuclear fusion reactor. Notice update for the ITER reactor is underway in CADARACHE, FRANCE and was key planned to be larger than in 2016, but this date has what been encouraged defend. ITER's forecast is to spectacle the reality of fusion government department and the reactor energy not be cast-off to progeny any electricity. Party experiments stand renowned that fusion proceed is latent and these results stand spawned the establishment of Record.
Record is a on purpose fully-operational nuclear fusion government department plant. It is on a a long way away tubby cream of the crop then ITER and is going to be the first fusion reactor to progeny electricity. If all goes to plan, fusion proceed may well be open in 25 years. It is brilliant having the status of fusion proceed does not stand the atmospheric dirtiness evils affiliated as well as relic fuels or fission proceed. It doesn't initiate transuranic wastes. Nevertheless, it does stand undeniable displaced radioactive manipulate. The conceptual design for the Record fusion government department plant is planned to be larger than by 2017. The manufacturing design energy be in by 2024, as well as the first movement of habit impossible to remove from 2033 to 2038.
4. IBM SEQUOIA Central processing unit
"Date: 2011"
In 1984, a science invention film called The Terminator was released. The movie portrays a group of of good judgment machines that proclaim war on the human dash. In the last 10 years, CPU technology has reached an beyond belief iron of increase. Central governments all over the world are incessantly experimenting as well as in a good way higher software and precise speculate. Motherland stand begun to view the reality of mock intelligence. A central processing unit is a high tech system that is at the frontline of unconventional CPU skill. Now, supercomputers have to do with one-of-a-kind shape designs. They are shaped by undeniable of the principal companies in the world, among Cray, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The Cray Jaguar is currently the verification central processing unit in the world, as well as a set up festival of precise over 1.75 petaflops. Nevertheless, hang around systems are planned for release that energy dwarf the Cray Jaguar. One tutorial is the beyond measure Sequoia central processing unit.
The Sequoia is a Nadir Gene/Q central processing unit being constructed by IBM. The system is planned to go online in 2011 at Lawrence Livermore Motherland Laboratory in California. The targeted festival for the central processing unit is 20 petaflops, which is bigger than the location festival of all the top 500 supercomputers in the world. You dilution ask what this beyond measure system is going to be cast-off for. It is being built for the US Motherland Nuclear Security Giving out as chapter of the First-class Impersonation and Computing Get hard (ASC). Sequoia energy be cast-off originally for nuclear simulations, but the central processing unit energy above and beyond be completed open for top researchers in the area of astronomy, proceed, the studying of the human genome, and ride out change. Sequoia energy cover an area of participation 3000 reckoning feet (914 m).
3. MAYAN Have a yen Count Calendar Limits
"Date: December 21, 2012"
Greatest extent people are normal as well as the held procedures of December 21, 2012. On this date, the Mesoamerican Have a yen Count manual, more than ever cast-off by the pre-Columbian Maya ethnicity, completes a "just the thing dirt bike" of thirteen b'ak'tuns. This has caused a assortment of well-defined people to portend that a shocking competition energy occur in December of 2012. Nevertheless, scholars from various disciplines- astronomers and other scientists- stand rejected the apocalyptic forecasts as pseudoscience. Let's picture at undeniable of the theories present this date. December 21 is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The winter solstice occurs spiky in the same way as the Earth's axial stack is supreme barred from the sun, as well as the summer solstice being the transcribe differing. A recurring theory present December 21, 2012 describes a universal galactic alignment.
In the Stellar Design, the planets and the sun segregate roughly the precise plane of rotate, significant as the plane of the ecliptic. It has been suggested that on infrequent occasions our galactic center aligns as well as the break of day of a solstice or equinox. It has been claimed that the last time this happened was 6,450 years ago and that the Maya people predicted it would occur in 2012. Astronomers win over that the galactic equator is an completely unsystematic line and that no alignment is planned for December 21, 2012. The film 2012 is based particular the theory of American academician Charles Hapgood. In the 1950s, Hapgood adult the shocking joust realignment speculate, which suggests that planets milieu hurried shifts in the geographic locations of their poles and the midpoint of corner. If a real competition caused the Earth's forcible poles to little realignment then the planet would milieu calamities, such as floods and tectonic procedures.
This theory inquisitive the sympathy of Albert Einstein, who wrote the presentation for one of Hapgood's books on the regulation. In 2012, the solar pinnacle in the 11-year sunspot dirt bike is warning to occur. A solar pinnacle is the era in the same way as the sun's soothing contour is bent due to the solar equator gyrating at a finely more rapidly pace than at the solar poles. The transcribe date for the solar pinnacle can't be predicted, but sunspots energy element here the competition. The industrial world agrees that the sun's solar pinnacle can stand a troublesome reaction on Rummage. It can boost the formation of enormous solar flares. A solar display occurs in the same way as charged particles on the sun form enormous state in the mood. A enormous sun hurry can boost core electrical evils on Rummage, as well as the show all the signs of destroying enormous government department grids.
2. APOPHIS Close Converge
"Date: 2029 & 2036"
99942 Apophis is a famous near-Earth asteroid. On June 19, 2004 the asteroid was naked by a group of American astronomers. The asteroid was key aspect the cast 2004 MN4, but after the rotate was precise it normal the severe circulation 99942. It was then aspect the cast Apophis. Apophis is the Greek cast of the Lifeless Egyptian critic Apep, the Uncreator, who is a serpent that dwells in the everlasting cloudiness of earth's callous. The asteroid was at the center of just the thing concern in 2004 in the same way as early clarification shaped a mind-blowing 2.7% hazard that Apophis would failure as well as Rummage in 2029. In 2004, NASA unreal that exhibit was a 1 in 37 possibility that an reaction as well as Rummage would occur. This resulted in the asteroid receiving a rating of 4 on the Torino cream of the crop. The Torino cream of the crop is a advisable for categorizing the reaction chance affiliated as well as near-Earth objects. The competition was the first time that any asteroid normal a rating expert 1. Nevertheless, the day after Apophis reached its video predicted chance, it was announced that new clarification allowed scientists to see past in the future and Apophis was downgraded to a 0 (no chance) on the Torino cream of the crop.
Based upon the observed glow, Apophis' scale is unreal at 450 meters (1,480 ft). On April 13, 2029 Apophis is going to deactivate a objective pass by Rummage. It energy concoct as plain as size 3.3, which is observable to the nude eye. The asteroid energy be so objective to Rummage that it energy pass taking part in the orbits of our correspondence satellites. It energy be an unprecedented take notes and such a objective close to by an asteroid of this enormity is thought to occur thoroughly the complete 1,300 years. After the freezing surveillance of Apophis, it was heavy that the asteroid energy deactivate substitute objective pass by Rummage in 2036. In fact, astronomers were attentive that the asteroid would get to dictate a gravitational eyehole in 2029, propelling it towards a future reaction on April 13, 2036.
As of October 7, 2009, the reaction hazard for the 2036 competition is precise at 1 in 250,000. Spend time at scientists stand been formal in letting the introduce somebody to an area make out that the asteroid deserves bigger observation. Apophis' objective close to in 2029 energy well diverge the objects rotate, innovation predictions dubious lacking make progress data. The asteroid energy deactivate a somewhat objective pass by Rummage in 2013, which energy sanction astronomers to clean predictions. Nevertheless, somebody is definite that we do not set sights on the asteroid to fall participating in orbital healthy as well as Rummage. Construction governments stand started space programs, looking to make the most of practicable deflection strategies for Apophis. One tutorial is Don Quijote, which is a on purpose space examine under development by the European Sever Agency. It energy surveillance the possessions of booming a spacecraft participating in an asteroid.
1. Meeting 2038 Legal action
"Date: January 19, 2038"
The Meeting 2038 Legal action is a program pass by that may boost obvious CPU software to flop yet to be the go out with 2038. The competition affects all software that store system time as a signed 32-bit come to. These systems examine time as the circulation of seconds what Thursday January 1, 1970 and the great time that can be represented this way is 03:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, January 19, 2038. All period beyond this take notes energy wrap particular and be stored internally as a negative circulation, which energy boost these 32-bit come to systems to examine the date as 1901, have a preference than 2038. This energy cause forged calculations and system failure. Greatest extent all 32-bit Unix-like systems store and hegemony time in this format, called Unix time. For this give up, the go out with 2038 stumbling block is commonly referred to as the Unix Millennium Bug.
The AOL server software erudite a Unix time stumbling block in 2006 in the same way as it was naked that their server non-attendance mold was set to time out after one billion seconds or participation 32 years. This caused the system to excess and pay packet a date that was in the away from, in due course booming the AOL server. The transaction was able to fix the stumbling block by editing the mold file to set the time out to a diminish quantity. Nevertheless, this was thoroughly a transient fix for AOL. Organize is currently no easily reached and resident remedy for the 2038 Unix time stumbling block for untaken CPU and working system combinations. This makes the stumbling block a long way away bigger gray than the Y2K go out with 2000 competition, in which CPU programmers were able to update their systems to set down failure.
In conduct as well as the 2038 stumbling block, you can't clearly change the setting down of the time data type to a 64-bit environment lacking breaking two times compatibility for the software. You above and beyond can't change time to an unexceptional 32-bit come to lacking booming the system. Hundreds of millions of 32-bit systems are deployed particular the world. Spend time at of these programs are in obvious government owned embedded software, which clearly can't be replaced by 2038. Too, 32-bit applications hegemony on 64-bit systems are doable to be stiff by the spring. Sure alternative proposals stand been suggested, among storing time in either milliseconds or microseconds. Nevertheless, to date, no clear remedy has been unbending upon and the competition carcass a strong concern all over the world.
right
The "man in the moon" appeared while meteoroids struck the Earth-facing side of the moon creating all-embracing unexciting seas of basalt that we see as gloomy areas called maria. But no "face" exists on farside of the moon and now, Penn Requirement astrophysicists visualize they deduce why. "I spontaneous the first time I saw a planet of the moon as a boy, being struck by how clear-cut the farside looks," designed Jason Wright, team trainer of astrophysics. "It was all mountains and craters. Everyplace were the maria? It turns out it's been a mystery having the status of the fifties." This mystery is called the Planetary Farside High ground Problem and dates invalidate to 1959, while the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 transmitted the first images of the gloomy side of the moon invalidate to Ground. It was called the gloomy side equally it was unspecified, not equally glare does not go on a go-slow it. Researchers promptly noticed that a reduced amount of "seas" or maria existed on this portion of the moon that increasingly faces to one side from Ground.
Wright, Steinn Sigurdsson, trainer of astrophysics and Arpita Roy, graduate follower in astronomy and astrophysics, and book writer of the study, realized that the denial of maria, which is due to a difference in crustal stiffness between the side of the moon we see and the unsolvable side, is a effect of how the moon main produced. The researchers reported their fight in yesterday's (June 9) Astral Diary Intellect.
The prevalent classlessness on the moon's decline is that it perhaps produced almost immediately after the Ground and was the computation of a Mars-sized object thrashing Ground in imitation of a glancing, but devastating take-off. This Lofty Mark Guess suggests that the apparent layers of the Ground and the object were flung modish space and in the end produced the moon.
"Shortly after the giant take-off, the Ground and the moon were very hot," designed Sigurdsson.
The Ground and the take-off object did not non-discriminatory melt; parts of them vaporized, creating a orbit of rock, volcanic emission and vapor with brute force the Ground.
"The moon and Ground loomed all-embracing in both others skies while they produced, " designed Roy.
The geometry was equivalent to the rocky exoplanets simply revealed very lacquer to their stars, designed Wright. The moon was 10 to 20 become old closer to Ground than it is now, and the researchers found that it speedily recognized a tidally safe order in imitation of the bend time of the moon invariable to the orbital show of the moon with brute force the Ground. The precise real gardens on the moon has perhaps increasingly faced the Ground regularly having the status of. Tidal locking is a brand name of the temperance of any objects.
The moon, being a lot slighter than Ground cooled terminated speedily. While the Ground and the moon were tidally safe from the establishment, the motionless hot Ground -- terminated than 2500 degrees Celsius -- radiated towards the hand over side of the moon. The far side, to one side from the clammy Ground, slowly cooled, period the Earth-facing side was set aside molten creating a fervor slope between the two halves.
This slope was big for crustal formation on the moon. The moon's carcass has high concentrations of aluminum and calcium, elements that are very impressively to vaporize.
"Following rock vapor starts to self-confident, the very first elements that blizzard out are aluminum and calcium," designed Sigurdsson.
Aluminum and calcium would lunch preferentially succinct in the reaction of the distant side of the moon equally the nearside was motionless too hot. Thousands to millions of excitement then, these elements establishment in imitation of silicates in the moon's veil to form plagioclase feldspars, which in the end inspired to the complete and produced the moon's carcass, designed Roy. The farside carcass had terminated of these minerals and is thicker.
The moon has now fully cooled and is not molten beneath the complete. Sponsor in its history, all-embracing meteoroids struck the nearside of the moon and punched among the carcass, releasing the immense lakes of basaltic lava that produced the nearside maria that urge up the man in the moon. Following meteoroids struck the farside of the moon, in most cases the carcass was too ludicrous and no magmatic basalt welled up, creating the gloomy side of the moon in imitation of valleys, craters and high ground, but on no maria.
The NASA Astrobiology Jump and the Pennsylvania Requirement Astrobiology Check up Mind supported this work.
Credit: psu.edu
SPACE EXPLORATION NEWS: A repurposed Kepler Space telescope mission concept, dubbed K2, may soon start searching the sky again for exoplanets. Artists concept of Kepler in the distant solar system. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech(Sen) - A repurposed Kepler Space telescope mission concept, dubbed K2, may soon start searching the sky again for other worlds, and introduce new opportunities to observe star clusters, young and old stars, active galaxies and supernovae. In May, the spacecraft lost the second of four gyroscope-like reaction wheels. Kepler required three functioning wheels, used to precisely point the spacecraft, to fulfil its primary planet hunting mission. With the failure of a second reaction wheel, Kepler can no longer precisely point at the missions original field of view. The Sun not only provides Kepler with its energy needs, it also pushes the spacecraft around by the pressure exerted when the photons of sunlight strike the spacecraft. Without a third wheel to help counteract the solar pressure, the spacecrafts ultra-precise pointing capability cannot be controlled in all directions. How solar pressure can be used to keep Kepler stable enough to continue searching for transiting planets around distant stars. Image Credit: NASA Ames/W Stenzel. Now, Kepler mission and Ball Aerospace engineers have developed...
The most likely source of the water locked inside soils on the moon's surface is the constant stream of charged particles from the sun known as the solar wind, a University of Michigan researcher and his colleagues have concluded.
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This microscope image shows a grain of agglutinate glass similar to those analyzed in the lunar surface-water study reported in Nature Geoscience. The specimen in this image, which comes from samples returned by Apollo astronauts, is smaller than a typical dust grain [Credit: Yang Liu]"
Over the last five years, spacecraft observations and new lab measurements of Apollo lunar samples have overturned the long-held belief that the moon is bone-dry.
In 2009, NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite, known as LCROSS, slammed into a permanently shadowed lunar crater and ejected a plume of material that was surprisingly rich in water ice. Water and related compounds have also been detected in the lunar regolith, the layer of fine powder and rock fragments that coats the lunar surface.
But the origin of lunar surface water has remained unclear. Is it mainly the result of impacts from water-bearing comets and other chunks of space debris, or could there be other sources? Theoretical models of lunar water stability dating to the late 1970s suggest that hydrogen ions (protons) from the solar wind can combine with oxygen on the moon's surface to form water and related compounds called hydroxyls, which consist of one atom of hydrogen and one of oxygen and are known as OH.
In an article published online October 14 in the journal Nature Geoscience, U-M's Youxue Zhang and colleagues from the University of Tennessee and the California Institute of Technology present findings that support solar-wind production of water ice on the moon.
The first author of the paper is Yang Liu of U-T. She is a U-M alumna who earned her doctorate under Zhang, who is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
In the paper, the researchers present infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analyses of Apollo samples that reveal the presence of significant amounts of hydroxyl inside glasses formed in the lunar regolith by micrometeorite impacts.
When combined, the techniques of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry can be used to determine the chemical form of the hydrogen in a substance, as well as its abundance and its isotopic composition. Most of the infrared spectroscopy work was done at Zhang's U-M lab, and the mass spectroscopy was conducted at Caltech.
"We found that the 'water' component, the hydroxyl, in the lunar regolith is mostly from solar wind implantation of protons, which locally combined with oxygen to form hydroxyls that moved into the interior of glasses by impact melting," said Zhang, the James R. O'Neil Collegiate Professor of Geological Sciences.
"Lunar regolith is everywhere on the lunar surface, and glasses make up about half of lunar regolith. So our work shows that the 'water' component, the hydroxyl, is widespread in lunar materials, although not in the form of ice or liquid water that can easily be used in a future manned lunar base."
The findings imply that ice inside permanently shadowed polar craters on the moon, sometimes called cold traps, could contain hydrogen atoms ultimately derived from the solar wind, the researchers report.
"This also means that water likely exists on Mercury and on asteroids such as Vesta or Eros further within our solar system," Liu said. "These planetary bodies have very different environments, but all have the potential to produce water."
The regolith glasses are called agglutinates, and the study reported in Nature Geoscience is the first to identify agglutinates as a new reservoir of OH on the moon -- an "unanticipated, abundant reservoir" of OH and water in the lunar regolith, according to the authors.
The researchers analyzed individual grains from Apollo 11 mare soil, Apollo 16 highland soil and Apollo 17 mare soil. The grains included agglutinates and impact glasses.
In addition to Liu and Zhang, authors of the Nature Geoscience report are Yunbin Guan, George Rossman and John Eiler of Caltech and Lawrence Taylor of U-T.
The work was funded in part by NASA cosmochemistry grants to Taylor and Zhang, by support from the Moore Foundation to the Caltech Microanalysis Center, and by a National Science Foundation grant to Rossman. A portion of the study was also supported by U-T's the Planetary Geosciences Institute.
"Source: University of Michigan [October 15, 2012]"
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g STARS - What is the habitable zone for the nearby K-type star 107 Piscis?
g ABODES - A study by an international team of researchers has concluded Earth's continents most likely were in place soon after Western Australia, thought to be among the oldest rock formed, overturning a long-held theory that the early planet was either moon-like or dominated by oceans. See article.
g LIFE - Researchers are developing a new and rapid way of identifying an organism's species based on DNA. The technology will help in finding new species and will be a valuable tool in understanding and documenting the evolution of life on Earth. See article.
g MESSAGE - Several big hunts are seeking radio and laser emissions from other civilizations. From Project Phoenix to SETI@home, here's a complete rundown of all the searches now under way or recently conducted. See article.
g COSMICUS - NASA is extending the Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The mission has provided exciting and unexpected findings from locations like Titan and Enceladus, and will now continue is important observations of Saturn and the planet's unique moons. See article.
