Hubble Witnesses Mysterious Breakup of Asteroid

Sources:
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/march/nasas-hubble-telescope-witnesses-asteroids-mysterious-disintegration-1/#.UxlcFnU2Rud

http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroids-meteors-meteorites/hubble-witnesses-mysterious-breakup-of-asteroid-140306.htm#mkcpgn=fbdsc8

Comet ISON, SECCHI images

SOURCE: http://secchi.nrl.navy.mil/sccimages/

Comet ISON: Your Half-time Report

I sit writing this at 38,000 feet as I head out to Kitt Peak to join my fellow CIOC-ers Matthew and Casey for perihelion observations of Comet ISON, and I find myself having an early moment of reflection.
When I first heard about comet ISON and its sungrazing orbit in September 2012, I though, "this sounds promising, but there's a long time between now and perihelion, and anything could happen. I'm not going to get excited over this one just yet." In January 2013 I found myself at a meeting in Washington DC in which ISON was discussed and the representative from NASA Headquarters recommended that maybe the science community orchestrate an observing campaign centered on the comet. Having lived through a similar event before with the observing campaign to support the NASA Deep Impact mission, Dr. Casey Lisse volunteered to lead the effort and immediately tapped a couple of attendees on the shoulder, myself included, to join the Campaign team.
I've never been involved in something like this, so I really wasn't certain what to expect of the Campaign or of the comet. What has unfolded is simply beyond any expectation I could ever have had.

SOURCE: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2013/1126-comet-ison-your-half-time-report.html

UPDATE: http://www.space.com/23591-comet-ison-visibility-naked-eye.html

Comet to Make Close Flyby of Red Planet in October 2014

Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will make a very close approach to Mars in October 2014.

The latest trajectory of comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) generated by the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., indicates the comet will pass within 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) of Mars and there is a strong possibility that it might pass much closer. The NEO Program Office's current estimate based on observations through March 1, 2013, has it passing about 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) from the Red Planet's surface. That distance is about two-and-a-half times that of the orbit of outermost moon, Deimos.

Source and Read more: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/comet20130305.html

Comet C/2013 A1 and Mars in 2014

Discovery News

A recently discovered comet will make an uncomfortably close planetary flyby next year — but this time it’s not Earth that’s in the crosshairs.

According to preliminary orbital prediction models, comet C/2013 A1 will buzz by Mars on Oct. 19, 2014. The icy interloper is thought to originate from the Oort Cloud — a hypothetical region surrounding the solar system containing countless billions of cometary nuclei that were outcast from the primordial solar system billions of years ago.

We know that comets have hit the planets before (re: the massive Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9that crashed into Jupiter in 1994), Mars in particular. It’s also believed that Earth’s oceans were created by water delivered by comets — cometary impacts are an inevitable part of living in this cosmic ecosystem.

SOURCE: http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/could-a-comet-hit-mars-in-2014-130225.htm

Raw Story

Astronomers say that a comet will make an close flyby next year, not of Earth, but of our neighbor planet, Mars. According to a Monday report on Discovery.com, the recently discovered comet, named C/2013 A1 will fly close to Mars on Oct. 19 of 2014.

Comets are balls of ice and debris flung off in the process of forming planets and stars. Comet c/2013 is believed, like many others that pass through our solar system, to have originated in what is known as the Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud is a massive field of many billions of comets that surrounds our solar system. The cloud was theorized by astronomer Jan Oort in 1950, but it has never been seen and scientists, while mostly accepting that it exists, argue about its size and where the comet nuclei floating in it came from.

SOURCE: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/26/comet-could-collide-with-mars-in-2014/

Meteor Strikes 2013-02-15 [ALERT]

source: www.eumetsat.int

In this photo taken with a mobile phone, a meteor contrail is seen in Chelyabinsk region of Russia, Feb. 15, 2013.

/ AP

[CBS News]

A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and injuring more than 500 people, many of them hurt by broken glass.

Fragments of the meteor fell in a thinly populated area of the Chelyabinsk region, the Emergency Ministry said in a statement. About 6,000 square feet of a roof at a zinc factory collapsed, but it was unclear whether that was caused by meteor fragments impacting the building, or by a shock wave from a nearby impact.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57569551/meteorites-slam-into-russia-as-meteor-seen-streaking-through-morning-sky/


[Wikipedia]

The 2013 Russian meteor event occurred on the morning of 15 February 2013 over South Ural, Russia, at approximately 09:15 local time (03:15UTC).^[1][2] At least one object streaked across the early morning sky at a speed of at least 54,000 km/h^[3] and shattered over the city ofChelyabinsk. The main object seems to have hit Lake Chebarkul.^[4] The Russian news agency RIA Novosti said officials detected a mid-air blast at an approximate altitude of approximately 10,000 metres.^[5] The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that the meteor weighed 10 tons.^[6]

Location of the meteor event

Local residents said they witnessed extremely bright burning objects in the sky of the Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, and Orenburg regions and neighbouring regions in Kazakhstan.^[7][8] Amateur videos showed what appears to be a fireball streaking across the sky and a loud sonic boom^[9]afterward. At times the object was so bright that it cast shadows.^[10][11] At least 20 children were injured when the windows of a school and kindergarden burst at 09:20.^[12] The Associated Press quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying that approximately 600 m² of a roof at a zincfactory collapsed during the event.^[13]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_Meteor_shower

[2012 DA14]
2012 DA₁₄ is a near-Earth asteroid with an estimated diameter of 50 meters (160 ft) and an estimated mass of 190,000 metric tons.^[4] It was discovered on February 23, 2012, by the Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra, Granada in Spain (J75)^[1] seven days after passing 0.0174 AU(2,600,000 km; 1,620,000 mi) from Earth.^[3] Calculations show that on February 15, 2013, the distance between the asteroid and the center-point of Earth will be 0.0002276 AU (34,050 km; 21,160 mi).^[3] The asteroid will pass 27,700 km (17,200 mi) from the surface of Earth.^[2] This is a record close approach for a known object of this size.^[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_DA14

[the guardian Live Updates]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/15/meteorite-explodes-over-russian-urals-live-updates

Giant asteroid will buzz the Earth on February

The massive asteroid weighs approximately 143,000 tons and measures 148 feet long. That means that the asteroid is roughly half the size of a football field. According to scientists Don Yeoman this massive asteroid is similar to the one believed to have leveled hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest back in 1908.

That massive impact is called the “Tunguska Event.” According to NASA, this particular asteroid will pass harmlessly by the Earth. However, on a cosmic scale it is passing quite close to our planet. NASA estimates the asteroid will pass 17,200 miles above the earth.

The asteroid flyby will be close enough that skywatchers with a decent backyard telescope should be able to view the asteroid says NASA. However, the speed of the asteroid will make it hard to track with NASA saying that it will move twice the width of the moon across the sky for every minute that it’s visible.

Source: http://www.slashgear.com/giant-asteroid-will-buzz-the-earth-on-february-15-30267325

JHV movie created 2012 10 25 19 37 12

Meteor Shower Spawned By Halley’s Comet Will Peak Over The Weekend

A big celestial light show is underway as the Orionid meteor shower will reach its peak over the weekend. The Orionids are named after their source of origin in the constellation Orion (The Hunter). Historically, the Orinoid meteor shower has produced an average of 20 meteors per hour at its peak but it has been especially active in recent years.

The Orinoid meteor shower is one of two annual celestial events produced by pieces of the tail of Halley’s Comet. The other meteor shower from this source is called the Eta Aquarids and peaks every spring. Halley’s Comet returns to our solar system every 75 and is one of the largest–and certainly most famous–comets in existence. Halley’s comet last appeared in the mid 1980′s and is expected to return in 2061. Halley’s Comet is named after English astronomer Edmond Halley who originally spotted it and determined the timetable for its return. When it returned on schedule it was named ‘Halley’s comet’ as a posthumous honor.

Read more http://maboot.com/meteor-shower-spawned-by-halleys-comet-will-peak-over-the-weekend/

Felix Baumgartner encounters UFO just before jump [video]

UFO WITNESS DECLARATION

Read more Here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/110033910/UFO-Witness-Declaration

Curiosity discovers unidentified, metallic object on Mars

A few hundred million miles away on the surface of the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has discovered… an unidentified, shiny, metallic object.

Now, before you get too excited, the most likely explanation is that bright object is part of the rover that has fallen off — or perhaps some debris from MSL Curiosity’s landing on Mars, nine weeks ago.

There is the distinct possibility, however, that this object is actually native to Mars, which would be far more exciting. It could be the tip of a larger object, or perhaps some kind of exotic, metallic Martian pebble (a piece of metal ore, perhaps).

Read more: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/137570-curiosity-discovers-unidentified-metallic-object-on-mars

NASA discovers new black hole in Milky Way

Washington: NASA's Swift satellite has found evidence of the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole in our Milky Way galaxy.

Named Swift J1745-26 after the coordinates of its sky position, the nova is located a few degrees from the centre of our galaxy towards the constellation Sagittarius, NASA said.

While astronomers do not know its precise distance, they think the object resides about 20,000 to 30,000 light-years away in the galaxy's inner region.

Helix Nebula Photo: Giant 'Eye' In Space Spotted By NASA Telescopes

A pair of NASA space telescopes have captured a spectacular new photo of the Helix Nebula, a glowing celestial vision that resembles a giant cosmic eye.

The Helix Nebula (also known as NGC 7293) represents a dying star known as aplanetary nebula. The new picture, released Wednesday (Oct. 3), combines data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which observes in long-wavelength infrared light, and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which picked out the short-wavelength ultraviolet light coming from the object.

The Helix Nebula is located about 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. It provides a sneak peak at the future of our own sun, which is expected to turn into a planetary nebula in about 5 billion years. 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/06/helix-nebula-photo-giant-eye-space-nasa-telescopes_n_1943656.html

Sun Shock Waves: New Theory Could Predict When Planets Form

Our solar system's planets may have formed at differing times, determined by shock waves flowing from the young sun, one astronomer suggests.

This theory posits that Earth is one of the youngest planets in the solar system, along with Mercury, Venus and Mars.

In a new paper, Tagir Abdylmyanov, an associate professor from Kazan State Power Engineering University in Russia, describes his idea and suggests it presents a possible new way of predicting where planets will form in young star systems.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/sun-shock-waves-predict-planets-form_n_1928624.html

Charles Halt, Former Air Force Colonel, Accuses U.S. Of UFO Cover-Up

LAS VEGAS -- Former Air Force Col. Charles Halt accused the federal government of a UFO cover-up that involves a secret agency to deal with what might be extraterrestrial visitations.

"I'm firmly convinced there's an agency, and there is an effort to suppress," Halt told an audience of 200 people Saturday night at the Smithsonian-affiliated National Atomic Testing Museum.

Two former Air Force officers who were part of the infamous Project Blue Book -- the military's official UFO investigation in the 1950s and '60s -- and a former investigator with Britain's Ministry of Defense were among the panel of speakers for a program entitled "Military UFOs: Secrets Revealed."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/ufo-secrets-turn-out-to-be-strong-opinions_n_1907492.html

UFO Secrets To Be Revealed At National Atomic Testing Museum

Four retired Army and Air Force colonels and a former British Ministry of Defense investigator join forces this weekend at the National Atomic Testing Museum to speak on a subject public officials rarely address -- UFOs.

The Smithsonian-affiliated museum's special lecture, "Military UFOs: Secrets Revealed" is open to the public and has been long anticipated by researchers of unexplained phenomena.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/ufo-secrets-national-atomic-testing-museum_n_1902019.html

Air Force mystery plane set for next mission

The U.S. military's mysterious X-37B space plane is headed back into the great beyond to do… whatever it does up there.

The X-37B is slated for its third launch in October, the Air Force said, but like its two orbital predecessors, the mission of the unmanned spacecraft remains shrouded in secrecy. The exact timing of the October spaceflight, dubbed Orbital Test Vechicle-3 or OTV-3, is also tentative.

"We are on track for the launch of the X-37B to occur next month, but the exact date of the launch is dependent on a number of factors including range conditions and weather," Air Force spokespersonLt. Col . John Dorrian told ABC News. The 29-foot-long vehicle is set to launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from the Florida station of Cape Canaveral.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/air-force-mystery-space-plane-set-next-secret-200448511--abc-news-topstories.html

Super-earth close to red dwarf star Gliese 163 'top contender' for supporting life

A newly-discovered 'super-earth' at the edge of a star's habitable zone could be a top contender for an alien planet beyond ours which supports life.

Gliese 163c, which lies beside a red dwarf star, has a mass of 6.9 times that of Earth and an orbital period of 26 days.

Researchers believe the new-found world's location means it could be a super-earth where liquid water could exist.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2198884/New-super-earth-discovered-red-dwarf-star-Gliese-163-support-life-Earth.html#ixzz277q0tr8f 

Pyramids on Mars? Curiosity discovers mysterious rock on the red planet (and Nasa name it Jake after late scientist)

Looking uncannily like an Egyptian pyramid, it is not something you would expect to see on the surface of Mars.

Nasa engineers were so intrigued by the unique, football sized rock, they have driven the Curiosity rover up to it for a closer rock.

The football-size rock will be the first on Mars to be examined by rover's robotic arm .

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2205952/Pyramids-Mars-Nasa-engineers-drive-Curiosity-investigate-mysterious-rock-red-planet.html#ixzz276MQ4f60