Also, ever wanted to see the Northern Lights? Well, you can register for e-mail or SMS alerts here to give you every chance when they can be seen from the UK (Cloud cover permitting ):- http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/
Also, ever wanted to see the Northern Lights? Well, you can register for e-mail or SMS alerts here to give you every chance when they can be seen from the UK (Cloud cover permitting ):- http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/
Joined: Feb 17 2002 Posts: 28357 Location: MACS0647-JD
Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
A year before my 40th Birthday - no midlife crisis for me. Interesting stuff though.
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
Joined: Apr 13 2002 Posts: 3569 Location: enjoying the fresh air,moors and beaches of devon and cornwall
I doubt i ll be alive then, but if i am i ll be 76 and would be good to see if the end really is nigh then.
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion" – -- Unknown
Joined: Feb 17 2002 Posts: 28357 Location: MACS0647-JD
Great shot of the hexagon on Saturn, courtesy of the Cassini spacecraft. Nobody still ha sa clue how the hexagon is formed, but it's been stable, on a rotating gas planet, for the 20 years since first observed.
Last edited by Ferocious Aardvark on stardate Jun 26, 3013 11:27 am, edited 48,562,867,458,300,023 times in total
Joined: Feb 17 2002 Posts: 28357 Location: MACS0647-JD
Well, looks like I'm never going to see Comet PanSTARRS as it seems to be permanently cloudy, but it's still a big day for humanity as NASA has announced that the Voyager I spacecraft has become the first man-made object to leave the Solar System and fly into interstellar space.
Now travelling at about 17 km per second (away from the Sun), it will still take around 40,000 years to get within 2 light years of a nearby star, but its power source will run out in 10-15 years so it will be silenced.
It is incredible we still receive data and communicate with it - the strength of signal is about a millionth of a billionth of 1 watt, and a signal now takes over 17 hours to reach Earth.
Maybe one day some alien will pick it up and decipher our message. One of mankind's greatest achievements.
Last edited by Ferocious Aardvark on stardate Jun 26, 3013 11:27 am, edited 48,562,867,458,300,023 times in total
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
Sounds excellent, so we'll get seven years notice of the death star returning ?
Easily enough time to stock up on tin hats and baked beans.
Ferocious Aardvark wrote: It is incredible we still receive data and communicate with it - the strength of signal is about a millionth of a billionth of 1 watt, and a signal now takes over 17 hours to reach Earth.
Maybe one day some alien will pick it up and decipher our message. One of mankind's greatest achievements.
Somewhere, sometime, on a planet far, far away some alien lifeform is listening to that very faint signal and trying to work out what the looped tape of Lionel Richie's "Hello" song all means.
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:Well, Asteroid Apophis missed us, so there went another doomsday scare. But while it passed at a relatively comfy 18m km away, on Friday 13 (naturally) April 2029, it will make a close pass at a distance of about 30,000km. That's about 10% of the Earth-Moon distance.
And if you are still about in 2036, that might be it. Genuinely, for once. There is a small "keyhole" of space which there is a 200,000-1 chance it could go through and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit Earth on 13 April in 2036. Note the word "will". The boffins will be able to say with absolute certainty, one way or the other, once they have tracked the precise path on the 2036 fly-by. This is because it will be close enough to bounce a radar signal off, and from that they will get the exact speed and exact distance.
Sounds excellent, so we'll get seven years notice of the death star returning ?
Easily enough time to stock up on tin hats and baked beans.
Ferocious Aardvark wrote: It is incredible we still receive data and communicate with it - the strength of signal is about a millionth of a billionth of 1 watt, and a signal now takes over 17 hours to reach Earth.
Maybe one day some alien will pick it up and decipher our message. One of mankind's greatest achievements.
Somewhere, sometime, on a planet far, far away some alien lifeform is listening to that very faint signal and trying to work out what the looped tape of Lionel Richie's "Hello" song all means.
Someday everything is gonna be different, when I paint my masterpiece ---------------------------------------------------------- Online art gallery, selling original landscape artwork ---------------------------------------------------------- JerryChicken - The Blog ----------------------------------------------------------
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