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A weird object that left some observers wondering if it was a piece of space junk is most likely just a small asteroid, and will zoom close by Earth Wednesday, NASA scientists say. It may be visible to seasoned amateur astronomers as it passes harmlessly by the planet.
The space rock won't hit the Earth, but it will make its closest approach at 7:45 a.m. EST (1245 GMT) when it comes within 80,000 miles (130,000 km) of our planet. That's nearly one-third the distance between the Earth the moon.
Astronomers announced the discovery of the asteroid, which they named 2010 AL30, on Monday. It is relatively small, about 36 feet (11 meters) wide, NASA researchers said.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label nasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nasa. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Monday, 4 January 2010
NASA's Kepler probe finds five strange new planets
In what astronomers called an exciting step toward detecting Earth-like planets, a spacecraft operated by NASA's Ames Research Center has found five strange new planets, beginning to reveal how the structure of our solar system fits into the rest of the universe.
The five planets announced Monday by scientists working on the Kepler probe are an exotic bunch, one with a density as light as styrofoam. The large planets orbit so close to their stars that they may glow with the heat of a blast furnace, as hot as the melting point of iron.
"It's certainly no place to look for life," said Bill Borucki, the principal investigator with the Kepler mission at Ames. "That will be coming later."
Launched in March, the 2,300-pound spacecraft detects the transit of a planet across the star's face. These are the first new planets found by the probe.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
The five planets announced Monday by scientists working on the Kepler probe are an exotic bunch, one with a density as light as styrofoam. The large planets orbit so close to their stars that they may glow with the heat of a blast furnace, as hot as the melting point of iron.
"It's certainly no place to look for life," said Bill Borucki, the principal investigator with the Kepler mission at Ames. "That will be coming later."
Launched in March, the 2,300-pound spacecraft detects the transit of a planet across the star's face. These are the first new planets found by the probe.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
NASA Preps for Ares I-X Rocket Launch
Engineers made final preparations Tuesday morning for the long-awaited launch of NASA's towering Ares I-X rocket - the 33-story centerpiece of a $445 million test flight expected to generate valuable engineering data for development of a post-shuttle replacement.
The planned launch comes on the heels of a report by a presidential panel of space experts that concluded NASA's current plans to build new Ares rockets and establish bases on the moon by the early 2020s is not feasible without an additional $3 billion to $6 billion a year.
The slender Ares I-X, its second stage wider than the first, stands twice as tall as a space shuttle "stack." But its pencil-thin appearance quickly led to a somewhat derisive nickname: the "stick."
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
The planned launch comes on the heels of a report by a presidential panel of space experts that concluded NASA's current plans to build new Ares rockets and establish bases on the moon by the early 2020s is not feasible without an additional $3 billion to $6 billion a year.
The slender Ares I-X, its second stage wider than the first, stands twice as tall as a space shuttle "stack." But its pencil-thin appearance quickly led to a somewhat derisive nickname: the "stick."
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Tourists may land on the moon by 2020
AUSTRALIAN astronaut Andy Thomas says NASA's groundbreaking space rocket test could help put tourists on the moon by 2020.
The test launch of Ares I-X, expected to take place late tonight (11pm AEST), will deliver the agency vital technical information that could help it set up a manned space station on the moon within a decade.
Thomas, 58, said moves towards commercial funding for NASA could mean tourists would have the chance to experience space soon after professional astronauts arrived on the moon.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
The test launch of Ares I-X, expected to take place late tonight (11pm AEST), will deliver the agency vital technical information that could help it set up a manned space station on the moon within a decade.
Thomas, 58, said moves towards commercial funding for NASA could mean tourists would have the chance to experience space soon after professional astronauts arrived on the moon.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Friday, 16 October 2009
NASA surprised with strange ribbon circling solar system
THE NASA spacecraft IBEX is making a comprehensive map of the heliosphere, the magnetic boundary formed by the solar wind at the edge of the solar system--around 75 to 90 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun (where one AU is the mean distance between the Sun and Earth).
Unexpectedly, the IBEX spacecraft imaged a “bright, winding ribbon of unknown origin” that goes about 80% around the solar system
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Unexpectedly, the IBEX spacecraft imaged a “bright, winding ribbon of unknown origin” that goes about 80% around the solar system
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Fortress Moon
Anyone with two brain cells to rub together had to wonder what was up with NASA bombing the moon last week. They were looking for water? Really? The entire surface of the moon is pitted with craters. They had to gouge out two more to look for water?
Nobody bought it. The conspiracy theories sprouted instantly all over the Internet. One of the funniest is my friend Alan Cabal's, on this CounterPunch site, managing to link President Obama's Nobel to the deaths of two Jewish astronauts to the old saw about secret Nazi fortresses on the moon. (I think maybe Robert A. Heinlein was the first to expound that one, in his 1947 novel Rocket Ship Galileo.)
Or it was alien moon bases they were bombing. Or it was to alter the moon's gravitational effect on earth's tides. Or to stop the gradual expansion of the moon's orbit, which they tell us is increasing at 3.8 centimeters a year. Or — this was as inevitable as the tides — it was yet another attempt to cover up the fact that the Apollo landings were faked.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Nobody bought it. The conspiracy theories sprouted instantly all over the Internet. One of the funniest is my friend Alan Cabal's, on this CounterPunch site, managing to link President Obama's Nobel to the deaths of two Jewish astronauts to the old saw about secret Nazi fortresses on the moon. (I think maybe Robert A. Heinlein was the first to expound that one, in his 1947 novel Rocket Ship Galileo.)
Or it was alien moon bases they were bombing. Or it was to alter the moon's gravitational effect on earth's tides. Or to stop the gradual expansion of the moon's orbit, which they tell us is increasing at 3.8 centimeters a year. Or — this was as inevitable as the tides — it was yet another attempt to cover up the fact that the Apollo landings were faked.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
Friday, 9 October 2009
Nasa Moon bombing: LCROSS mission crashes into Moon
The Nasa LCROSS mission to discover how much water is on the Moon has crashed into the surface of the satellite, causing a plume of rock and dust that was viewed live by millions worldwide.
At 12:31pm British time an empty rocket plunged into the Moon's south pole at 1.6 miles per second. A probe followed close behind, flying through the six-mile-high shower of debris kicked up by the impact, before crashing into the surface itself four minutes later.
Read more here.
weirdnewsroundup.blogspot.com
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