via io9.com
This is incredible. NASA has just released a never-before-seen video of a solar eruption from July of last year that shows a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection, and loops of solar rain all occurring in one breathtaking sequence.
On Friday evening asteroid 2012 DA14 skims closer to our planet than any other known asteroid. Although invisible to the naked eye, binoculars can bring the space rock into focus. Or simply watch the webcast.
Space rock 2012 DA14 is only 50 metres across. It will pass the Earth on Friday evening (UK time) just 17,100 miles above our heads. There is no danger of a collision. Nevertheless, this is closer to the Earth than many artificial satellites.
It will pass from the southern to northern hemisphere and set the record for the closest pass of any known asteroid since systematic surveys of the sky began in the mid-1990s.
Animated visibility map for asteroid 2012 DA14 between 18:00 and 21:30 GMT. The asteroid will be visible from green areas. Image: Geert Barentsen
According to Don Yeomans of Nasa's Near-Earth Object Observation Programme, an asteroid like 2012 DA14 flies this close on average only once every 40 years.
via edition.cnn.com
Moscow (CNN) -- A meteor streaked through the skies above Russia's Urals region Friday morning, before exploding with a flash and boom that shattered glass in buildings and left hundreds of people hurt.
The number of injured continues to rise as new reports come in from across a wide area.
Is this one of the sign of the times, I wonder…
via archdaily
Foster + Partners, in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA), has undertaken a study to explore the possibilities of using 3D printing to construct lunar habitations on the moon’s southern pole (where there is near perpetual sunlight). The firm has already designed a lunar base that could house four people, and has begun to test the structure in a vacuum chamber that echoes lunar conditions.
The shell of the base, which has a hollow closed cellular structure inspired by natural biological systems, should be able to protect potential inhabitants from “meteorites, gamma radiation and high temperature fluctuations.” According to Xavier De Kestelier, Partner at Foster + Partners, the firm is ”used to designing for extreme climates on earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials – our lunar habitation follows a similar logic.”
The study will also address the challenges of transporting materials to the moon, and is investigating the use of lunar soil, known as regolith, as the potential building matter.
via THE BLAZE
Time-lapse videos of meteor showers are stunning. Footage of alleged UFOs are intriguing. But what do you get when you put the two of them together? A “dreamlapse.”
The video “Death Valley Dreamlapse” shows one team’s trek to the Eureka Dunes on Dec. 13, 2012, to catch the peak of the Geminid meteor shower.
” … we had to conquer epic climbs, sand roads with the 4×4 Jeep, and the occasional UFO,” Sunchaser Pictures writes on the video’s description.
UFO or not, this clip is absolutely beautiful and intriguing.
via FUTURITY.ORG
Up to half of all life on Earth consists of simple microorganisms hidden in rocks beneath the surface and for some time scientists have suggested that the same may be true for Mars. Now this theory has been supported by new research, which suggests that the ingredients for life have been present in the Martian subsurface, a zone of more than three miles below ground, for much of the planet’s history.
When meteorites strike the surface of Mars, they act like natural probes, bringing up rocks from far beneath the surface. Recent research published in the journal Nature Geoscience shows that many of the rocks brought up from the Martian subsurface contain clays and minerals with a chemical make-up that has been altered by water, an essential element to support life.
Do you remember the film clip called “Power of Ten” released back in 1977?
I was so mesmerized by that film and watched it over and over again.
Well, this graphic tour somewhat resembles that idea, only updated and very much fun to click through.
Enjoy!
via space.com
NASA has successfully beamed a digital image of the Mona Lisa to a satellite near the moon with a laser, part of an effort to upgrade communications with active spacecraft.
by Mashable
via www.bbc.co.uk
An amateur prospector in the Australian state of Victoria has astonished experts by unearthing a gold nugget weighing 5.5kg (177 ounces).
OMG, it looks like something Organic!!!
Kick off the New Year with the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, which will peak tonight into tomorrow morning.
