PHENOMENA 

01/27/12

SPACE ROCK COMES CLOSE:

Bus-size asteroid passed Earth only 37,000 miles away at 10:30 am EST Friday

01/26/12 

SOLAR STORM:

Sun's flares spark brilliant northern lights

Solar flares on the sun Tuesday 01/24/12 sparked spectacular northern lights shows

over Norway on Thursday, 01/26/12.

(Composite image by WydeWorld.com from NASA photo on left and articlightphoto.com on right)

NASA:

Twin NASA probes start new year in lunar orbit

2012 doomsday predictions debunked by NASA

RESEARCHERS:

Earth has 2 'moons' right now, including a small "space rock" 

NAMIBIA:

Mysterious 'space ball' crashes in desert

The so-called "space ball" is 14 inches wide, weighs 13 pounds, and consists of 2

welded halves. It crashed to the earth in a desert area 480 miles north of the

capital city of Windhoek, leaving a crater 13 inches deep and 12.5 feet across.

Namimbian officials have contacted both NASA and the European Space

Agency to report the find and figure out where it came from.

(Photo courtesy AFP/Getty Images)

NASA:

Distant star hosts two Earth-size planets

CHINA:

Rumors swirl over Gobi Desert's mysterious patterns

An image taken by a commercial satellite, GeoEye's Ikonos, shows a weird pattern

in the Gobi Desert. Experts have tried to interpret the meaning or use of the lines,

which were first noticed in July. Theories range from some sort of Chinese military

or intelligence significance to far-out speculations about extraterrestrials.

(Photo courtesy GeoEye)

NASA:

Launches monster $2.5 billion rover to Red Planet

America's latest attempt to explore for life on the planet Mars is called "Curiosity." The size of a

mid-size car, it weighs 2,000 pounds and is over 5-times the size of the 2 previous Mars rovers,

"Spirit" & "Opportunity". It has far more sophisticated devices on board to check for weather

patterns and explore the terrain. It sports a 7-foot arm on the end of which is a jackhammer

designed to bore into solid rock. Successfully launched on board a specially-designed Atlas

rocket on Saturday, 11/26/11, the new rover is scheduled for a tricky landing on Mars in August

of next year employing technology never attempted before. It's a rocket-powered sky-crane,

designed to lower the huge rover to the Mars surface using tethered cables.

(Photo courtesy NASA JPL/CalTech)

NASA

Scientists have now discovered over 700 distant planets

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered a world where two suns set over the horizon instead

of just one. The planet, called Kepler-16b, is not thought to be habitable. It is a cold world,

with a gaseous surface, and it circles two stars, just like "Star Wars" Tatooine.  It's one of

over 700 planets now recorded by scientists.

(Photo courtesy NASA JPL-CalTech)

RARE AURORAS:

Northern Lights put on a show Monday night, 10/24/11 

People report auroras as far south as Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio

An image of the powerful aurora as seen by an observer in Iceland Monday, 10/24/11.

It's one of the strongest ever seen as a huge solar wind hit the earth's magnetic field.

(Photo courtesy Christian Praetorius)

SCIENTISTS: May have broken speed barrier with particles traveling faster than light

NASA:  Satellite fell in South Pacific, experts say

An artist's rendering of NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Not in use since 2005,

the bus-size object was deliberately put into a "disposal orbit" months ago. It finally came down

sometime early on the morning of 09/24/11 and somewhere over the Pacific with a piece the size

of a refrigerator landing in the Ocean. Most of the rest of it burned up on re-entry,

(Image courtesy NASA)

'Star Wars' planet found with two suns

NASA:

Unveils giant rocket design

$35 billion project would produce history's most powerful launch vehicle

An artist's rendering of NASA's new giant rocket launch vehicle with a 6-person capsule on

board. The vehicle is designed for long space flights and could conceivably carry up to 165

tons of payload. That compares to only 27 tons carried by the now-retired Space Shuttle.

The new configuration is dubbed SLS for Space Launch System. The capsule, called Orion,

would take crews on deep-space flights. Testing is designed to start in 2017.

(Artist's image courtesy NASA)

NASA: 7-ton satellite slips out of orbit, will fall to earth in late Sept or Oct

ET?: Multicolored fireball in sky dazzles Southwest; likely asteroid fragment

Mars rover finds evidence of water at new hotspot

Super-Earth sits on the 'edge of habitability'

Sun unleashes spectacular solar flare

The massive solar flare, called a coronal mass ejection, was photographed 06/07/11

by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Scientists say this eruption was one of

the largest ever seen.

(Photo courtesy NASA & SDO)

Earth to get very close look Nov. 8 at a huge asteroid

SOLAR ERUPTION:  Solar eruption creates spectacular 'sun tentacle'

This spectacular eruption on the sun was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics

Observatory in March.  The eruption, referred to as a solar prominence, flew into space

in a rare and distinct twisting motion.  To give some perspective of its size,

the earth is about the size of the small white mass in the upper left quadrant.

(Photo courtesy NASA/SDO)

SATURDAY:  A 'supermoon' rising, the biggest in 18 years

The moon came closest to the earth Saturday 03/19/11 at 3 p.m., Eastern Daylight

Savings Time.  It came within 221,565 miles of the Earth, the biggest moon seen in

18-years, and appeared to be 14% larger and 30% brighter than a normal view.

(File photo)

STUDY:  6th mass extinction looms but preventable

 British government releases trove of classified documents on UFOs

PHILIPPINES:  Major volcanic eruption occures on Mt. Bulusan

People in the town of Irosin, about 370 miles southeast of Manila,

Philippines, watch as nearby Mt. Bulusan erupts Sunday, 02/20/11.

(Photo courtesy twitpic)

NEW FINDINGS:  50 billion planets in galaxy...top prospects for life

The Earth is the only known planet that has conditions to support life. Scientists have

postulated for some time now that there "probably" are other planets out there that

could have at least somewhat similar conditions to support some life forms.  The new

finding that there are 50-billion planets in our galaxy raises the "probability" to the level

of near certainty, if only from the standpoint of numerical chance.  To think otherwise

is an exercise in arrogance, not unlike the ignorant argument that there is no such

thing as global warming and that man cannot destroy his own environment.

(File photo courtesy NASA)

Mega solar flare disrupts communications, GPS

The huge solar flare, lower right, is rated X2.2, one of the largest of its kind.

It erupted 02/14/11 and within eight seconds (speed of light from the sun to 

earth) began affecting radio and GPS communications. The flare triggered

a geomagnetic storm in the earth's atmosphere.

(Photo courtesy NASA)

Rare daytime fireball lights up East Coast skies

Amazon drought led to huge CO2 emissions

 JAPAN: Volcano erupts with big blast of ash, lightening, lava & rocks

The Shinmoedake volcano in southern Japan erupted 02/02/11 in a huge display of

volcanic power.  Nearby towns were covered in foot-deep ash.  Some 1,000 people

living near the mountain were evacuated.  It had been dormant for 52 years.

(Photo courtesy Reuters)

NASA spots scores of potentially livable worlds

SOLAR EVENT:  Sun erupts in double whammy

A rare and spectacular double solar flare erupted Friday, 01/28/11, one on each side

of the sun. Solar flares can affect earth's polar regions, radio traffic and space

vehicles and satellites, but both flares burst into vectors not heading toward earth.

(Photo courtesy NASA)

Scientists size up monstrous black hole

NASA's Kepler probe finds 'planetary missing link'

RUNWAYS AFFECTED:  Magnetic pole shift forces Tampa airport makeover

A view of terminal C at Tampa International Airport.  Its main runway has was shut down

until January 13 in order to repaint the runway numbers used by pilots for navigation. 

Magnetic north, which has been drifting about 40 miles per year, has shifted toward

Russia in the last year.  It is not known if other airports will have to make similar

changes.  Speculation is rampant on the Internet that the magnetic pole shift had

something to do with the mass die-offs of birds and fish reported widely in the media.

Blackbirds, starlings and other birds have fallen dead from the skies by the thousands

in Arkansas, Louisiana, Sweden and most recently in Italy.  There have also been 15

reports from around the globe of mass die-offs of fish, including in the Arkansas River

and the Chesapeake Bay.

(Photo courtesy WikiMedia)

UPDATE:  Experts say mass bird deaths are not apocalyptic

Showers of blackbirds air out conspiracy theories

Hundreds if not thousands of dead red-wing blackbirds and some starlings

fell on the Morganza Highway in Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana Monday,

three days after a mass die-off in Arkansas of the same species.  Tests on

the birds in Arkansas found no poisons responsible.  Mass die-offs of birds

have also been reported in Kentucky, Sweden and Italy.

(Photo courtesy The Advocate) 

STUDY:  Viking lander found organics on Mars

10-year-old girl discovers a supernova

SHOWTIME:   A total lunar eclipse

The moon as seen in early December through a telescope in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

North and South America had the best views, but parts of it were visibile around the world.

(Photo courtesy Reuters)

NEW ERA?:  SpaceX launches test capsule on first orbital flight

The SpaceX rocket with the Dragon capsule on top as it was being

readied for launch at Cape Canaveral 12/07/10.  The privately-run program is

working with NASA to provide low earth-orbit vehicles for future missions.

(Photo courtesy Reuters)

Oxygen-rich atmosphere found on Saturn moon

An artist's rendering of the fly-by of the Cassini spacecraft earlier this

year near the Saturn moon, Rhea.  Data it sent back to Earth has been

analyzed to show the presence of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

(Image courtesy JPL/NASA)

Asteroid dust successfully brought back to Earth

PENTAGON:  Mystery 'missile' likely a plane

The Pentagon claims, that after two days of research, this is a vapor trail

from an airplane.  It looks suspiciously like a vapor trail from a missile. The

event sparked concerns, even fear that a missile was secretly launched for

some reason.  The question remains; what kind of plane moves at such

a high-rate of speed leaving a vapor trail that mimmicks a rocket?

(Photo grab from video supplied by KCBS/KCAL)

Black hole eruption seen in Milky Way heart

New Amazon species found every 3 days

Scientists see farthest galaxy

The galaxy, known as UDFy-38135539, is circled in red in the upper left hand corner

of the sky image above. It has been identified as the most distant place known in

the universe and is estimated to be 13.1 billion light years away. 

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Huge alien planet has mysterious hot spot

PRIVATIZING SPACE: SpaceShipTwo flies free for first time

Virgin Galactic's private spaceship successfully completed its first solo glide test

flight today, Sunday, 10/10/10 over the Mojave Desert. The spaceship can be seen

nestled in the center of the mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, being carried aloft for

free-flight release.  The for-profit venture will charge customers $200,000 for one

of six seats on SpaceShipTwo which will carry them to the edge of space for a

sub-orbital flight. So far, 340 people have signed up for the experience.

(Photo courtesy space.com)

Small asteroid zips close by Earth

OCTOBER 20:  Comet and Earth to have rare close encounter

Alien planet looks 'just right' for life

University of Toronto engineers create the first flapping wing aircraft, the "Snowbird": How it works  

A NEW ERA BEGINNING:  Boeing aims for space tours by 2015

Artist's rendering of the Boeing space capsule system that would

be used to carry citizen passengers into space for orbital trips by 2015.

(Image courtesy the Boeing Corporation)

AN OLD ERA ENDING: Space shuttle Discovery readied for its final mission

Discovery is NASA's oldest shuttle still in service.  It was bolted this

week to its external fuel tank in preparation for its 39th and final

mission, scheduled to launch November 1.

(Photo courtesy NASA) 

A SPACE FIRST:  Identical twins headed for space station

STEPHEN HAWKING:   Time travel should be possible

NEW DISCOVERY:  14 big space rocks discovered beyond Neptune

Jupiter makes closest approach to Earth until 2022

The solar system's largest planet came within 368-million

miles of earth on Monday, September 20. 

(File photo)

14 big space rocks discovered beyond Neptune

  2 asteroids passed Earth closer than the moon

Scientists say asteroids have passed close to Earth before, but not two at

nearly the same time, 11 hours apart.  They zoomed past Earth

Wednesday,  09/08/10.  One came as close as 49,000 miles, not too far

from the highest geosynchronous orbits of communication satellites.

(File photo)

SUICIDE MISSION:  Spacecraft to fly into the sun

Hurricane Earl from space

This photograph was taken 08/31/10 by astronaut Douglas Wheelcock on board

the orbiting International Space Station.  The eye can be clearly seen.

(Photo upload 08/31/10 courtesy Douglas Wheelcock) 

Mixed bag of space rocks found near Earth

Old star's super-hot water vapor surprises scientists

Phantom planet comes back from oblivion

Massive coral die-off hits Indonesia

Coral bleaches white as it dies.  A huge die-off has been recorded

in the ocean waters around Indonesia, where sea water temperatures

have risen into the 90's, setting records.  Over 60% of coral in the

area has been affected.

(Photo courtesy Wildlife Conservation Society)

Sponges identified as Earth’s oldest animal life

Planets spotted in changing orbits

The Kepler planet-hunting probe has spotted a system where 

two giant planets are locked in constantly changing orbits —

with a super-Earth potentially pinned down between them.

(Artist's rendering)

Sun caused partial collapse of Earth's atmosphere

Space station cooling normally after spacewalk fix

It took more than two weeks and several space walks to repair one

of the two main ammonia cooling pumps on the ISS.

(File photo courtesy NASA)

  China tests space station module for 2011 launch

  Moon may be shrinking, but very, very slowly

  Proof of aliens could come within 25 years, scientist says

Do we dare let aliens know we’re here?

Stephen Hawking: Let’s get off Earth by 2110

Perseid meteor shower lives up to its promise

 Giant ice island breaks off Greenland

  Huge ice island could pose threat to oil, shipping

This is a satellite image taken Thursday 08/05/10, showing the

ice island that broke off of the end of the Petermann Glacier west

of Greenland.  The ice island is about the size of Rhode Island.

Scientists believe it is the largest instance of calving in history.

(Photo courtesy Professor Andreas Muenchow, University of Delaware)

Briton first known man to walk entire length of the Amazon River

It took Ed Stafford, a former British Army captain, two years and four months to

complete the trek from the source of the Amazon in Peru to the river's mouth on

the Brazilian coast, a distance of some 4,000 miles.  He said he had to contend 

with giant snakes, man-eating fish, disease and hostile natives. His goal was to

bring attention to the destruction of the rain forest brought on by clear-cutting.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Another sun storm may be coming our way

Get the most out of the meteors

The big night for the Perseid Meteor shower is next Thursday,

but anytime now is a great time for skywatching.

(Photo courtesy Reuters)

British X-Files describe secret UFO study

Here comes the sun storm

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a global disturbance on the surface

of the sun 08/01/10. Scientists say a coronal mass ejection of plasma could create a

geomagnetic storm and a spectacular light show and possibly threaten certain 

satellites in orbit and certain communications.

(Photo courtesy NASA)

Area on Mars could hold fossilized remains of life

Asteroid could threaten Earth in 2182

Quark by quark, atom smasher closing in on 'God particle'

Buckyballs Found in Space

Video courtesy NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CalTech

Saturn's Moon Spawning Moonlets

Black hole knocked off axis by galaxy collision

Want to call aliens? Keep it simple, scientists say

Largest molecules ever known in space found

Most Massive Star Detected

Astronomers used the European Space Observatory's Very Large Telescope,

located in Chile's Atacama Desert, to discover the star, dubbed R136a1.

It's among the cluster of very large stars in a galaxy 160,000 light years

from our solar system.  The huge star's mass is estimated at over 300

times that of our sun and is believed to be about 1-million years old.

(Photo courtesy European Space Agency/AFP)

Solar flare activity continues to increase

Solar flare eruptions on the surface of the sun.

(Photo courtesy Solar.SEC.NOAA.gov)

The Universe is Precisely 13.75 Billion Years Old

 India is Sinking into Earth's Mantle

WISE Discovers 95 New Near-Earth Asteroids

The red dot in the center of the image above is an asteroid, .6miles in diameter,

one of 95 discovered in so-called 'near-earth orbit,' meaning 30-million miles or

less from our planet.  It was discovered by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,

or WISE for short, designed specifially to root out possible asteroid threats.

(Photo courtesy (NASA/JP-Caltech/UCLA)

China UFO sightings Alarm Residents)   

This object was videotaped on July 9th in China. It appeared over Hangzhou,

in eastern China, shutting down air traffic at the local airport.  Chinese Authorities

had no explanation.  There have been several other non-similar UFO sightings over

various areas of China in the past year.

(Video courtesy State-run Xinhua News Agency 

Earth atmosphere collapse puzzles scientists

A NASA graphic illustrating the various atmospheric levels. One scientist said of the

collapse of the upper level, the thermosphere by as much as 28% was unprecedented

and, to quote: "Something is going on that we do not understand."

(Image courtesy NASA)

Deep-ocean cameras capture ‘living fossils’

On the left, a fierce-looking deep-sea angle fish.  On the right, a deep-sea amphipod,

a shrimp-like crustracean. The photos were taken recently by Scientists from the

Queensland Brain Institute have used high-tech cameras to photograph sea creatures

at a depth of 4,600 feet at the Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.

(Composite image by WydeWorld.com from photos courtesy Getty Images)

Comet Probe Visits An Asteroid

A startlingly clear image of the asteroid known as Lutetia in an orbit 280-million

miles from earth between the planets Jupiter and Mars.  It is believed to be

about 83-miles in diameter.  The image was snapped by 'Rosetta,' a European

Space Agency satellite launched in 2004 to chase down the Comet known as 

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with which it is to rendezvous in 2014.

(Photo courtes European Space Agency) 

Solar plane completes historic 24-hour flight

 Raw footage of the 'Solar Impulse' plane in flight and landing at Payerne

Airport in Western Switzerland 07/08/10.  The prototype was built to test

the ability to collect enough solar energy and store it for powered flight

through the darkness of night. The flight was deemed a complete success.

(Video courtesy Russian Television)

 Stargazers in awe as total eclipse arcs across Pacific

Total eclipse of the sun as seen Sunday 07/11/10 from Easter Island.

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

 Scientists find surprises in deep Atlantic Ocean

One of the deep sea creatures photographed in the Atlantic Ocean off the mid-

Atlantic Ridge.  This translucent species is known as Benthic Holothurian.

Using remote-controlled deep-sea vessels, the research was conducted by

the MAR-ECO International Research Program. 

Air Force plans to launch satellite that would keep tabs on space junk

Successful second try at space station docking

An image of an unmanned Russian resupply ship, Progress 26, launched

in 2007. A similar ship, Progress 38, sailed right past the ISS 07/02/10

into its own orbit instead of docking on autopilot.  Engineers figured out

what the problem was and the craft docked with the ISS 2 days later.

The ship was carrying 2.5 tons of resupplies for the ISS crew,

including fresh food, clothing and assorted equipment.

(File photo)

NASA delays end of space shuttle program to 2011

Indonesia's last glacier will melt within years

The last receding glacier in the Puncak Jaya mountain range in eastern Indonesia.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Mars Rover Sees Huge Crater Better Than Ever

A higher-resolution shot of the rim of the Endeavor Crater on Mars taken by NASA's

Mars Rover Opportunity.  The crater is 13-miles wide.

(Photo courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University)

Mars Was Wet, Globally

Solar cycle sparks doomsday buzz

Don’t panic over reports that solar storms could cause high-tech disruptions

in 2013. But scientists say don’t ignore them either.

(Solar photo courtesy Yohkoh / Montana State)

7th-Graders Discover Mysterious Cave on Mars

Real tornado hits farm featured in movie 'Twister'

 NBC News posted the above raw video taken of a massive tornado

as it moved across South Dakota farmland.

Scientists: Giant meteor caused Jupiter fireball this month

Moon may have more water than believed

New Comet Visible in Early Morning Sky

The newly discovered comet, McNaught C/2009 R1, has turned out to be

so bright that it could be seen for a time with the naked eye in the northeastern

morning sky away from urban areas.  It was discovered last September.

(Photo courtesy Michael Jäger of Austria)

Hubble catches planet being devoured by its star

Artificial gravity could solve space problems

Out-of-control satellite threatens other spacecraft

The Intelsat Galaxy 15 has moved out of its orbital position

and space experts are worried it could crash into other

orbital objects, like another communication satellite.

(Image provided by Orbital Sciences Corp.)

Are We Infecting Mars With Our Germs?

Ice Asteroids Likely Source of Earth's Water

Science Fact?  Hawking says Aliens may pose risks to Earth

Britain's astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking, one of the world's leading scientists,

says it's a simple mathematical certainty that aliens exist.  In a new documentary

for the Discovery Channel, Hawking warns humans not to try and interract with them.

(Photo courtesy AFP)

Dark matter can clump into cigar shapes

Shedding New Light on a Pulsar Mystery

VISTA telescope Captures the Cat's Paw Nebula

This is the first image inside the so-called 'Cat's Paw Nebula' taken by the VISTA

telescope in Chile that uses both natural an infrared light to 'see' into gaseous

regions of space.  It's a stunning look into the birth of young stars.  VISTA is an

acronym for Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy.

(Photo courtesy Discovery News)

Hubble team marks 20 years with a new view  

The latest image from the Hubble orbiting space telescope.

It's a view of a pillar of space gas and dust, about three light

years tall in the Carina Nebula, 7,500 light years from earth.

(Photo courtesy NASA)

Is Time Travel Possible?

Oregon Fungus Spreading South

Acidic oceans worsening, experts warn

Flowering Plants Bloom Earlier With Warming

‘Spectacular’ sights come from new spacecraft observatory

A multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun taken

by the new Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 30, 2010.

 The probe was launched on an extended mission in February.

(Image provided by NASA) 

The Neutron Star Cooling Mystery

Piece of Midwestern Meteor Found

Saturn's North Pole Hexagon Mystery Solved?  

Boom! On 04/13/10, the Sun Unleashes a Huge CME

NYT: Scientists discover heavy new element

Climate link found in strange Arctic bird deaths

Earth Gets Geomagnetic Wallop

A huge blast of solar wind pummels Earth's magnetosphere, creating powerful geomagnetic

storms, with northern skies brightly-lit with dancing auroras like this over Alaska.

(Photo courtesy Discovery News)

Rogue Brown Dwarf Lurks in Our Cosmic Neighborhood

Comet That Killed Mammoths Could Strike Again

Comet-Kaze Strikes The Sun

In amazing imagery, a comet fragment, lower left, approaches the

sun (blanked out in center by observation disc) at 300 miles per second.

The object in the lower right is not a space ship, but the planet Mercury.

(Image provided by SOHO, The NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)

Watch the impact sequence of two fragments below.

NASA: Chilean quake may have tipped the earth's axis 

Scientist: Alien Life Forms May Be on Earth

No, not little green men, but Paul Davies, an Arizona State University

physicist believes alien life forms could be microbial.  He says

less than 1% of earth's microbes have been identified or studied.

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Thousands of strange creatures found deep in ocean

The Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations Comes of Age

Meteorite Crashes Through Virginia Doctor's Office

Past Decade Warmest Ever, NASA Data Shows

Mystery object whizzes past Earth harmlessly

Near-earth object identifed as 2010 AL30 passed Earth only 80,000 miles away,

extremely close by planetary standards.  It was believed to be an errant asteroid. 

More information about the object can be found at : NASA's Solar System Dynamics Web site

(Image courtesy AFAM/CARA)

Kepler telescope discovers five new planets, all bigger than Earth

Incoming asteroid under close watch

The orbit of Adophis, an 885 foot-long asteroid.  Some scientists predict it's course will

intersect with earth in 2036.  Russian scientists are urging an "intervention," to force

the object off course.  NASA says the chances of Adophis hitting earth is 1 in 250,000.

(Graphic courtesy MSNBC)

Mystery Spiral Appears Over Norway

(Photo of mystery spiral in the sky over Norway by Jan Petter Jørgensen via Vaeret.  It appeared

just 2 months after another mystery spiral, different in shape, appeared over Moscow, pictured below.)

Mystery halo cloud that appeared over Moscow in October, 2009.

 This page was last modified on Saturday, January 28, 2012 12:36:43 PM