Space News thread

[Takeovers]

Nice post. I was about to do one. Rosetta will do another braking burn today and is expected to arrive on August 6. At the moment it is abut 500km from the comet core but with a target so small and light they really have to approach slowly and carefully. That shape will make going into orbit and then deploy a lander even more challenging than expected before.

Here a recent real photo, not an artists impression. It shows why they talk about duck shape. The shape came as a real surprise. Scientists are quite excited.

Rosetta was discussed on this thread before. Here a link on trajectory and planned entry into orbit.

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...ml#post2676115 (Space News thread)

[Takeovers]

A newer much better photo showing unexpected details.

[harrybarracuda]

And worse they've found an eerie human-life face on it.

[Latindancer]

I'm sure ENT can give a very good explanation.

[Takeovers]

I'm sure ENT can give a very good explanation.

There is even a scientific term for it, but I forgot. The way the human brain filters visual data has a tendency to find familiar patterns and imposes them on an unknown object. It allows you to recognize an enemy or a animal - dangerous or prey - in the jungle even if you see only a very small fraction of it.

[Latindancer]

Pareidolia - a psychological phenomenon where we think we see actual objects such as faces or animals in a random image.

It's hardwired into our brains at a very basic level. If there is one thing our brains do that emphasizes how social we are, it is recognizing faces. Babies — before they learn to speak or even babble — are instinctively drawn to look at faces, and by four months of age are already processing faces as distinct objects. There is a good reason for this — faces are incredibly informative. A single glance reveals much about a person’s identity, gender, ethnicity, emotion, and truthfulness.


BTW, the Rosetta comet is actually an alien equivalent of a stonefish :

[Latindancer]

Sometimes faces can be seen in unbelievable things :

Two scientists were surprised to see such a vision... in a testicular tumour.The distressed face with a gaping mouth was spotted in the ultrasound scan of a 45-year-old man who had been suffering from testicular pain.
It made such an impact on Dr Greg Roberts and Dr Naji Touma from Queen's University in Ontario, that they submitted the startling image to the journal Urology.




Face in testicle scan: Startled scientists spot face in tumour | Mail Online

[slackula]

Somebody made a nice mock-up pic of the comet on Earth over LA to give an idea of scale:

[harrybarracuda]

Fook me.

[Umbuku]

Can't see the image. Reposted in case others cannot either.

[Takeovers]

I too could not see it, thanks.

Not small it seems. I am looking forward to the deployment of the lander. It is difficult with almost zero gravity to get it attached and not bounce back into space. As it has no drive of its own it would be lost. No second attempt. It will try to lock on by using harpoons and then reeling itself in.

[slackula]

^ ^^ Sorry about that, hand an extended power cut and so computer was down. Could somebody confirm that it is showing again now?

..Back to your regular programming now

[BaitongBoy]

It shows, thanks...

[Necron99]

^ ^^ Sorry about that, hand an extended power cut and so computer was down. Could somebody confirm that it is showing again now?

..Back to your regular programming now

Power cut huh.....
Are you sure it was a power cut......

[slackula]

Power cut huh.....
Are you sure it was a power cut.....

Yep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Takeovers]

A nice video mainly about the comet chaser Rosetta but other probes are also mentioned. You may want to skip the first minute of introduction.

[harrybarracuda]

NEWLY FOUND ASTEROID PASSING CLOSE TO EARTH ON SUNDAY
335 Earth will have a close encounter with an asteroid this Sunday.
BY RACHEL PAXTON-GILLILANA

The asteroid doesn't present any danger, but at only one tenth the distance between Earth and the moon, it is expected to pass "very close."

"While this celestial object does not appear to pose any threat to Earth or satellites, its close approach creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids," says NASA.

The asteroid is about 60 feet in size and too small to see with the naked eye. But it may be possible for amateur astronomers with a small telescope to catch a glimpse. It should safely pass over New Zealand at about 2:18 p.m. ET.

Because the idea of asteroids hurtling towards Earth is pretty scary, NASA makes it a point to continually watch for this type of near-Earth threat. Currently, it's estimated that there are over a thousand asteroids with the potential to make "threatening close approaches" to Earth, which are all closely monitored.

But this asteroid, likely due to its small size, was discovered just earlier this week. The asteroid's future orbit will bring it back to our planet's neighborhood eventually, but it doesn't appear to be a threat.

[Latindancer]

It should pass over New Zealand.

It doesn't appear to be a threat.

Except to ENT, the paranoid schizophrenic

Maybe he can track it with his mobile phone ?

[BaitongBoy]

That'll do, pig...


Wait for it...

[harrybarracuda]

We're doomed!

Planet earth faces 100 YEARS of killer strikes starting in 2017

ASTEROIDS could rain down on the earth for 100 years, shocked experts have just warned.

A previously unknown asteroid belt has been located in deep space and is now hurtling towards our part of the solar system.

It means a 'global killer' could collide with Earth as soon as 2020, wiping out life as we know it and changing the climate for millennia.

The terrifying predictions came as NASA revealed disturbing new data showing 400 impacts are expected between 2017 and 2113, based on new observational data of objects seen in space over the past 60 days.

Most will have a maximum diameter of around 100 metres - the size of seven double decker buses - and the potential to cause significant damage.

But concerned scientists warned a colossal "monster" is also heading our way, with one 'mega' asteroid threatening earth in just SIX years.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature...sa-Destruction

[Takeovers]

Planet earth faces 100 YEARS of killer strikes starting in 2017

[ENT]

It should pass over New Zealand.

It doesn't appear to be a threat.

Maybe he can track it with his mobile phone ?

Are you totally nuts?

[Latindancer]

No, but by your own evidence, you ARE :

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...insane-17.html

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...insane-23.html

[harrybarracuda]

No, but by your own evidence, you ARE :

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...insane-17.html

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...insane-23.html

[harrybarracuda]

September 2014 Last updated at 09:19 GMT

Meteorite leaves crater in Nicaraguan capital Managua







A small meteorite landed near the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, on Saturday night, government officials say.

Residents reported hearing a loud bang and feeling the impact, which left a crater 12m (40ft) wide and 5m deep.

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the meteorite seemed to have broken off an asteroid which was passing close to Earth.

She said international experts had been called in to investigate further.

No-one was hurt when it hit the wooded area near the international airport and an air force base.

'Like a bomb'
An adviser to Nicaragua's Institute of Earth Studies (Ineter), Wilfried Strauch, said he was "convinced it was a meteorite" which caused the impact.

The meteorite landed in a wooded area near the international airport and an air force base

Nicaragua has asked experts for help to determine whether the meteorite came from the 2014RC asteroid

Experts studying the crater said it was not clear whether the meteorite had disintegrated upon impact or had been blasted into soil.

Locals said they heard a large blast just before midnight local time and reported a burning smell.

"We thought it was a bomb because we felt an expansive wave," Jorge Santamaria told Associated Press news agency.

Ineter scientist Jose Millan said that "we need to celebrate the fact that it fell in an area where, thank God, it didn't cause any danger to the population".

Managua, which has more than a million inhabitants is densely populated.

"All the evidence that we've confirmed at the site corresponds exactly with a meteorite and not with any other type of event," he said.

"We have the seismic register which coincides with the time of impact, and the typical characteristic that it produces a cone in the place of impact," he added.

Managua was hit by a meteorite in 1997, but this time there was no tell-tale streak of light, experts said

Astronomer Humberto Saballos said the meteorite could have broken off from the 2014RC asteroid which passed Earth at the same time.

2014RC, which is the size of a house, came closest to earth at 18:18 GMT on Sunday, when it passed over New Zealand at a distance of about 40,000km (25,000 miles).

The asteroid was first discovered on 31 August and, at its closest approach, was about one-tenth of the distance from the centre of Earth to the Moon, Nasa said in a statement.

It is expected to orbit near Earth again in the future.

In February 2013, a meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Central Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people.

Nasa currently tracks more than 11,000 asteroids in orbits that pass relatively close to Earth.