Will the Earth blackout in 2013?

If you’ve had your fill of apocalyptic scenarios, earthquakes, volcanoes and global warming, here comes a new threat which may wipe out the world in 2013. Imagine a scene from any of Hollywood’s disaster films. An eerie scene where mobile phones go on the blink, GPS is knocked out, TVs go blank and the world is plunged into chaos.

Looks like disaster flicks aren’t too removed from reality since all this could well be the potential result of a gigantic solar storm, according to a new report by NASA. The report, a warning, says Earth and space are coming together in a way that’s new to human history. A solar storm, which is essentially violent eruptions in the sun, can eject destructive radiation and charged particles into space.  These are closely connected to magnetic fields – which are hazardous for satellites and space stations.

There are reports of a geomagnetic storm sparked by a huge solar flare that swept over the Earth in 1859. Telegraph wires shorted out and set houses on fire. A brilliant aurora was seen in Hawaii—so bright that  "people could read newspapers by [its] red and green glow." Scientists predict  that in May 2013, the sun’s solar cycle will peak at about the same level as in 1859. (This content courtesy a post on Gawker.com)

High-tech systems are critical for life as we know it today. Everything that we depend on and take for granted – air travel, GPS navigation, banking services (even a credit card transaction uses a satellite) and emergency radio communications – can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. To get an idea of scale, a massive solar storm could result in 20 times more damage than the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina which hit south-eastern US in August 2005. The storm killed 1,800 people and caused damages worth $81 billion. Some good news is that some of the damage and destruction can be avoided with warning of an impending solar storm. There is technology to put satellites in ‘safe mode’ and disconnect transformers to protect them from destructive electrical surges.

The task of accurately forecasting a solar storm lies with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US. "Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy, but we’re making rapid progress," said Thomas Bogdan, director of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado. The key for Bogdan lies in NASA and NOAA collaborating. "NASA’s fleet of heliophysics research spacecraft provides us with up-to-the-minute information about what’s happening on the sun. They are an important complement to our own GOES and POES satellites, which focus more on the near-Earth environment."

Says Bogdon, "I believe we’re on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather." So far, we’ve been lucky to escape any big solar storms.  I guess we could send Bruce Willis (a la Armageddon) to save us from the Sun in true Hollywood style. But then I would rather wait for NASA and NOAA to save us from space weather.

Source: yahoo

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Sam

Earth's Atmosphere Came from Outer Space

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A new study finds the gases which formed the Earth's atmosphere as well as its oceans did not come from inside the Earth but from comets and meteorites hitting Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment period. A research team tested volcanic gases to uncover the new evidence. They found a clear meteorite signature in volcanic gases which could not have contributed in any significant way to the Earth's atmosphere. Therefore the atmosphere and oceans must have come from somewhere else, possibly from a late bombardment of gas and water rich materials similar to comets.

According to the theory of the Late Heavy Bombardment, the inner solar system was pounded by a sudden rain of solar system debris only 700 million years after it formed, which likely had monumental effects on the nascent Earth. So far, the evidence for this event comes primarily from the dating of lunar samples, which indicates that most impact melt rocks formed in this very narrow interval of time. But this new research on the origin of Earth's atmosphere may lend credence to this theory as well. Until now, no one has had instruments capable of looking for these subtle signatures in samples from inside the Earth.

Source: universetoday

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Sam

Rainbow at Night

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We have all seen rainbows during the day but what about rainbows at night? They are elusive, but powerful to see. Yes "Moonbows" are rainbows created by light from the Moon. Conditions have to be just right, and there are only a small number of places in the world where they regularly materialize, such as Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe as seen above, Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, Yosemite Falls in California, and Waimea on Hawaii. Because they are so faint, moonbows are difficult to see with the naked eye (they usually appear just white). But with long-exposure photography, all the colors of moonbows can be seen.

Moonbows are rare because moonlight is not very bright. A bright moon near to full is needed, it must be raining opposite the moon, the sky must be dark and the moon must be less than 42º high. Put all these together and you do not get to see a moonbow very often! To the unaided eye they usually appear, as in the small image, without color because their light is not bright enough to activate the cone color receptors in our eyes. Colors have been reported and might be seen when the moon is bright.

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Sam

The Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy may collide In about 3 billion years

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If mankind can stick it out on Earth for another two billion years, our descendants may witness quite a show in the night sky. Researchers estimate that the Milky Way will collide with its nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, at around that time—well before the sun collapses into a white dwarf, perhaps destroying the Earth in the process. This close encounter of the galactic kind could easily kick our solar system to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and there is a small chance we might even take up residence in Andromeda.

Astronomers simulated the collision by estimating the relative speed between the two galaxies and the amount of gas and dark matter in the intervening space, which exerts a drag on their motions. Andromeda is currently 2.3 million light-years from our galaxy. Researchers know that the two neighbors are approaching each other at 120 kilometers per second, but they are far less certain of Andromeda's sideways speed. If moving fast enough to the side, it would miss us entirely.

Taking their cue from the latest models of the galaxies' structures, Andromeda would first graze the Milky Way two billion years from now, they report in a paper submitted to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The two galactic cores would orbit each other for another three billion years before merging.

During that time, the stars making up the two spiral galaxies would slowly coalesce into a more elliptical combo galaxy, "Milkomeda" (or the Andromedy Way, if you prefer). Although most of the stars would be too sparsely spaced to bump together, one galaxy's gravity would jostle the other stars.

The fate of the sun, which is expected to last at least until the simulated merger, would depend on where it was in its 24,000 light-year-wide orbit around the galactic core. The researchers estimate that by the time the cores had fused, the solar system would have a 50 percent chance of being swept to a wispy tail extending from Milkomeda, three times further out from galactic center than it is now. There is 3 percent chance of the sun being nudged into orbit around Andromeda when the two galaxies first collide. Of course, they note, different assumptions for the simulation would likely result in different outcomes.

Wonderful Album: How Small We Are [Dont Miss]

Source: ScientificAmerican

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Sam

Astronomers Compile Most Detailed Map of Nearby Universe

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A new detailed map of the nearby Universe reveals not only where local galaxies are currently, but where they are heading, how fast and why. “It’s like taking a snapshot of wildebeest on the African plain,” said Dr. Heath Jones of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO), lead scientist for the Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey (6dFGS), the most detailed survey of nearby galaxies to date. “We can tell which waterholes they’re heading to, and how fast they’re traveling.” it has recorded the positions of more than 110,000 galaxies over more than 80% of the Southern sky, out to about two thousand million light-years from Earth, Galaxies are tugged around by each other’s gravity.

By measuring the galaxies’ movements, the researchers were able to map the gravitational forces at work in the local Universe, and so show how matter, both seen and unseen, is distributed. Giant superclusters of galaxies are huge concentrations of mass, but they can’t be weighed accurately by looking at their light alone.

“Light can be obscured, but you can’t hide gravity,” said Dr. Jones.

The survey shows strings and clusters of nearby galaxies on large scales in unprecedented detail, and has revealed more than 500 voids—”empty” areas of space with no galaxies. The special aspect of this survey is that it will let the researchers disentangle two causes of galaxy movements. As well as being pulled on by gravity, galaxies also ride along with the overall expansion of the Universe. For about 10% of their galaxies, the 6dFGS researchers will tease apart these two velocity components: the one associated with the Universe’s expansion, and the one representing a galaxy’s individual, “peculiar”, motion.

Source: Universe Today

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Sam

Warp Drives Probably Impossible

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Just when I was getting excited about the possibility of traveling to distant worlds, scientists have uncovered a deep flaw with faster-than-light-speed travel. There appears to be a quantum limit on how fast an object can travel through space-time, regardless of whether we are able to create a bubble in space-time or not. We have no clue about how to generate enough energy to create a “bubble” in space-time.

This idea was first put on a scientific grounding Michael from the University of Mexico in 1994, but before that was only popularized by science fiction universes such as Star Trek. However, to create this bubble we need some form of exotic matter fuel some hypothetical energy generator to output 10⁴⁵ Joules.

If a advanced human race could generate this much energy, we would be masters of our Universe.


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According to new research on the subject, quantum physics has something to say about our dreams of zipping through space-time faster than it. What’s more, Hawking radiation would most likely cook anything inside this theoretical space-time bubble anyway. The Universe does not want us to travel faster than the speed of light.

In short, Hawking radiation (usually associated with the radiation of energy and therefore loss of mass of evaporating black holes) will be generated, irradiating the occupants of the bubble to unimaginably high temperatures. The Hawking radiation will be generated as horizons will form at the front and rear of the bubble. Remember those big numbers physicists aren’t afraid of? Hawking radiation is predicted to roast anything inside the bubble to a possible 10³⁰K (the maximum possible temperature, the Planck temperature, is 10³²K).

Source: UniverseToday

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Sam

Live Space Feed | ISS | International Space Station live

Live streaming video is now available every day of the week from the International Space Station. The video will show views of Earth and the exterior structure of the station, as seen from cameras mounted outside the ISS, and other times, activities going on inside the station. If you regularly watch NASA TV online, just go to the same website, and now there's another choice of channels. Just click on the "Live Space Station Video" tab to enjoy. The Earth views will usually be seen during what is the crew off-duty or sleep periods, usually from about 6 pm to 6 am GMT. During times when the crew is awake and working, selected video will be available, accompanied by audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts.



During times when the shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of those activities. Whenever video isn't available, a graphical world map will be shown that depicts the station’s location in orbit above the Earth using real-time telemetry sent to Mission Control from the station.

Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it sees a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but also may provide great views of city lights below.

The streaming video is being webcast as part of NASA's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the space station in orbit.

Source: NASA

Track Other Satellites Live [Not Video]

Spot ISS from your country

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Sam

How Small We Are

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An amazing picture of comparison of the earth size with the known biggest stars & planets in our Milky way Galaxy. The thing that I like the most is that, you can get a feeling of size and scale in the universe, look at how tiny the earth looks and imagine how tiny we are!!!

If you’ve ever had trouble grasping the true sizes involved in astronomy and the size of earth compared to other planets and stars, as you will see here the scales involved are mind blowing.

The VV Cephei is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 3,000 light years from Earth. It is 3rd largest star found in our galaxy.

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VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is a red hyper giant star located in the constellation Canis Major. It is 2nd largest known star in our galaxy and also one of the most luminous known. It is located about 4,900 light years away from Earth.

WOH G64 is a red super giant in the Large Magellanic Cloud. With 2000 times the radius of the Sun, it is the largest known star in our galaxy.

Here is the List of Largest Known Stars


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These are the findings within a small part in our Milky way galaxy. Our technology and research has reached only a fraction of % in our galaxy. There is yet to discover more.

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is 26000 light years away from us. Even If you travel at the speed of light it will take thousands of years to reach the center of our galaxy. Like our Milky Way galaxy there are Billions of galaxies!!!

Its unimaginable to think the size of the universe holding billions of galaxies. We can only think on how wonderful and supernatural the God's creation is.

Wonderful Album: How Small We Are [Dont Miss]
 

Related: Milky Way Could Have Billions of Earths

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Sam

Invisible Threats [Dark Comets]

The biggest threat to our little blue planet may turn out to be something that we don't see/detect an approaching deadly comet . Yes, "Dark Comets" are invisible and very hard to detect.

"Dark Comets" are formed when an active comet's reflective water ice has evaporated away, leaving behind an organic crust that only reflects a small fraction of light. Astronomers have previously spotted comets heading towards earth just days before they passed. In 1983 a comet called IRAS-Araki-Alcock passed at a distance of just 5 million kilometres, the closest of any comet for 200 years, but it was noticed just a fortnight beforehand.

A composite of images from NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft shows features of comet Borrelly's nucleus, dust jets escaping the nucleus and the cloud-like coma of dust and gases surrounding the nucleus.

Hazardous comets and asteroids are monitored by various space agencies under an umbrella effort known as Spaceguard. UK-based astronomers Bill Napier claim that many comets could be going undetected.

He warns that some of these comets may still be zipping around the solar system. Other observations support their case. The rate that bright comets enter the solar system implies there should be around 3000 dark comets buzzing around, and yet only 25 are known.

Source: Newscientist

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Sam

The Milky Way Could have Billions of Earths

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With the upcoming launch in March 5th 2009 of the Kepler mission to find extrasolar planets, there is quite a lot of buzz about the possibility of finding habitable planets outside of our Solar System. Kepler will be the first satellite telescope with the capability to find Earth-size and smaller planets. At the most recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago, Dr. Alan Boss is quoted by numerous media outlets as saying that there could be billions of Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone, and that we may find an Earth-like planet orbiting a large proportion of the stars in the Universe.

"There are something like a few dozen solar-type stars within something like 30 light years of the sun, and I would think that a good number of those — perhaps half of them would have Earth-like planets. So, I think there's a very good chance that we'll find some Earth-like planets within 10, 20, or 30 light years of the Sun," Dr. Boss said in an AAAS podcast interview.

Dr. Boss is an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, and is the author of The Crowded Universe, a book on the likelihood of finding life and habitable planets outside of our Solar System.

This sort of postulation about the existence of extraterrestrial life (and intelligence) falls under the paradigm of the Drake Equation, named after the astronomer Frank Drake. The Drake Equation incorporates all of the variables one should take into account when trying to calculate the number of technologically advanced civilizations elsewhere in the Universe. Depending on what numbers you put into the equation, the answer ranges from zero to trillions. There is wide speculation about the existence of life elsewhere in the Universe.

The speculation by Dr. Boss and others will be put to the test later this year when the Kepler satellite gets up and running. Set to launch on March 5th 2009, the Kepler mission will utilize a 0.95 meter telescope to view one section of the sky containing over 100,000 stars for the entirety of the mission, which will last at least 3.5 years.

The Milky Way From Earth

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If you look up into the night sky on a very clear night, in an area with very little light pollution, you will see a band of stars splashed across the sky. That band is the Milky Way, the spiral galaxy in which our Solar System lies, and where almost every object you can see with your naked eye calls home.

The Solar System is inside the disk of the Milky Way, and orbits in one of the spiral arms at 26,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. We can't see the spiral structure of the galaxy from our planet because we are inside the disk and have no means of taking images from above or below the galaxy. Images of the Milky Way's spiral structure are created from computer modeling based on information from stars as they orbit the galaxy.

Much of the Milky Way is invisible to us because we have to look through the plane of its disk - a lot of the Milky Way is on the other side of the galaxy, and there is so much dust and so many bright stars closer to us that we can't see the stars behind all of this matter. Of the 5,000 to 8,000 stars in the Milky Way visible to the human eye from Earth, one can usually only see about 2,500 at a time. In fact, the few thousand stars we can see of the Milky Way with our naked eye are only about 0.000003% of the 200-400 billion stars that inhabit the spiral.

Source: BBC
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html

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Sam

Satellites Collide In Earth Orbit

A commercial Iridium communications satellite collided with a Russian satellite or satellite fragment, on Tuesday, creating a cloud of wreckage in low-Earth orbit, according to CBS News. A source quoted in the article said U.S. Space Command is tracking about 280 pieces of debris, most of it from a non-operational Russian satellite. It appears the International Space Station is not currently threatened by the debris, but it's not yet clear whether the debris poses a risk to any other satellites in similar orbits. Iridium operates a constellation of approximately 66 satellites, along with orbital spares, to support satellite telephone operations around the world.

The unprecedented collision between two large satellites on February 10 has created a cloud of debris that likely will cause problems in Earth orbit for decades. To help understand the collision and potential future problems of the debris, Analytical Graphics, Inc., (AGI) of Philadelphia, working with its Colorado Springs-based research arm the Center for Space Standards & Innovation, has used its software to reconstruct the event, creating images and providing an interactive tool that allows the user to view the collision from any position or time. "We've worked around the clock since the collision to create these images and a video of the event," Stefanie Claypoole, Media Specialist with AGI told Universe Today. "Our software can also assess the possibility of additional collisions by applying breakup models for debris prediction."

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Sam