MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Amateur astronomers have for the first time spotted an asteroid that comes close enough to earth to pose a threat of impact.

Volunteers picked out the cosmic rock – named asteroid 2011 SF108 – last month from the observatory in the Canary Islands.

The breakthrough discovery could signal the first of many more asteroid sighting around the world as keen amateurs become more equipped with advanced technology.

Space experts said the sighting highlighting the value of ‘crowd-sourcing’ to science and planetary defense.

The discovery of asteroid 2011 SF108 was made by the volunteer Teide Observatory Tenerife Asteroid Survey (TOTAS) team during an observation slot sponsored by ESA’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program.

The four-night survey used the 1m-aperture telescope at ESA’s Optical Ground Station at Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

This is not the first asteroid found under SSA sponsorship, but it is the first that qualifies as a ‘near Earth object’ – an object that passes close enough to Earth during its orbit around the Sun that it could pose an impact threat.

During TOTAS observations, the telescope runs automated asteroid surveys for several hours using software developed by amateur astronomer and computer scientist Matthias Busch from the Starkenburg Amateur Observatory in Heppenheim, Germany.

However, potential sightings must still be evaluated by humans.

A team of 20 volunteers analyses each of the images to highlight anything that appears to be moving through space.” Read more.

By ALLAN HALL – “Earth has been told to brace for a possible satellite collision as an orbiting telescope weighing nearly three tons has spun out of control and is plummeting homewards.

ROSAT, a German X-ray telescope built with British and American technology, has been orbiting the Earth since 1990 and has provided invaluable data on stars. But they lost contact with it in 1999.

It is now predicted to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at the end of this month.

The German Aerospace Center has warned that 30 ‘individual pieces weighing a total of 1.6 tons may reach the surface of the Earth’.

ROSAT’s heat-resistant mirror in particular may not burn up upon re-entry and falling debris may include razor-sharp shards.

However Professor Heiner Klinkrad of the European Space Agency assured: ‘Until now in the more than 50-years of space history not a single person has been harmed [by pieces of falling satellites].’

ROSAT was launched on June 1, 1990, from U.S. launch site Cape Canaveral for what was originally intended as an 18-month mission.

It actually operated for more than eight years, finally shutting down on February 12, 1999. It is now expected to hit the Earth at some point between now and December.” Read more.

“A meteorite chose the roof of a house belonging to a Mrs Comette in the southern suburbs of Paris to make its acquaintance with the planet Earth.

The astral surprise hit the roof of the home in Draveil while the Comettes themselves were on holiday. On returning they discovered the encounter after a water leak led them to the roof, reported newspaper France Soir.

‘We got the roofer out and he was amazed’ said Martine Comette. ‘He said you’d have to be superman to break a roof tile like that. It must be a meteorite.’

The roofer was proved right when Alain Carion, a mineral scientist, authenticated the 88 gram meteorite. He described is as a ‘stone of black crusted rock which characterizes its passage through the atmosphere.’

‘This is super rare,’ he said. ‘There have been only 50 meteorite falls in France over the last four centuries.’

The scientist believes the egg-shaped meteorite came from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The meteorite that hit the Comettes was small-fry compared to some of the largest ever discovered. The biggest meteorite is believed to be the Hoba, a 60-tonne boulder which fell in Namibia around 80,000 years ago.” Read more.

By Tariq Malik – “A NASA camera that scans the night sky for meteors caught a stunning double feature when it spotted a fiery meteor breaking apart while a piece of an old Russian rocket zoomed overhead.

The space light show occurred Friday (Sept. 30) over NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at about 8:37 p.m. EDT (0037 GMT). A wide-field meteor camera, one of many in a network NASA uses to track fireballs, recorded the ‘spectacular meteor breaking up in Earth’s atmosphere,’ according to a blog post by meteor scientist Bill Cooke,head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office at the Marshall center.

A NASA video of the meteor’s fireball posted today (Oct. 5) shows the event. But the camera also recorded an extra surprise.

‘Also visible is a star-like object moving slowly toward the upper middle of the field of view — the upper stage of the Zenit booster that launched the Russian Cosmos 2219 intelligence satellite back in 1992,’ Cooke wrote. ‘Orbiting 500 miles above Earth, this empty rocket body can get bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye.'” Read more.

“On October 8th Earth is going to plow through a stream of dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and the result could be an outburst of Draconid meteors.

‘We’re predicting as many as 750 meteors per hour,’ says Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. ‘The timing of the shower favors observers in the Middle East, north Africa and parts of Europe.’

Every 6.6 years Comet Giacobini-Zinner swings through the inner solar system. With each visit, it lays down a narrow filament of dust, over time forming a network of filaments that Earth encounters every year in early October.

‘Most years, we pass through gaps between filaments, maybe just grazing one or two as we go by,’ says Cooke. ‘Occasionally, though, we hit one nearly head on–and the fireworks begin.’

2011 could be such a year. Forecasters at NASA and elsewhere agree that Earth is heading for three or more filaments on October 8th. Multiple encounters should produce a series of variable outbursts beginning around 1600 Universal Time (noon EDT) with the strongest activity between 1900 and 2100 UT (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT).

Forecasters aren’t sure how strong the display will be, mainly because the comet had a close encounter with Jupiter in the late 1880s. At that time, the giant planet’s gravitational pull altered the comet’s orbit and introduced some uncertainty into the location of filaments it has shed since then. Competing models place the filaments in slightly different spots; as a result, estimated meteor rates range from dozens to hundreds per hour.” Read more.

“For the next few nights, Draco the Dragon will be spitting out ‘shooting stars,’ also known as meteors. The Draconid shower is predicted to produce the greatest number of meteors on the night of October 8, 2011. Watch for them starting at nightfall. Unfortunately, the waxing gibbous moon will wipe many of these meteors from view, and oftentimes the hard-to-predict shower doesn’t offer much more than a handful of languid meteors per hour.

However, this shower produced major displays in 1933 and 1946 – with thousands of meteors per hour seen in those years – but since then has been so spotty that the tried-and-true Observer’s Handbook – source of so much wonderful sky info – lists a ‘?’ for the rate of meteors expected at the peak of the Draconids. This year, however, some astronomers are calling for a Draconid meteor shower to burst into storm in 2011, with rates of 1,000 meteors per hour.

The forecast calls for the peak to occur between 17:00 and 18:00 Universal Time on October 8, 2001. If the prediction holds true, that means Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East will get to watch the Draconids at their peak.” Read more.

By Vincent Funaro – “A massive solar flare erupted on the sun at the weekend and has continued to light up the Earth’s skyline throughout the week with watchers in Asia and Europe enjoying the display.

This 62,000 mile sun flare named AR1302 is gigantic, and the Earth pales in comparison when it comes to size.

The flare has produced electromagnetic storms which caused unique light displays in the sky on Earth’s Northern Hemisphere.

But these types of occurrences on the sun can also affect communication systems on the planet.

The flare was deemed ‘the geomagnetic storm that just won’t go away,’ by Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center out of Boulder, Colorado on its Facebook page.

The actual blasts emitted from the flare have not posed a threat to the Earth thus far.

‘None of the blasts have been squarely Earth-directed, but this could change as the sunspot turns toward our planet in the days ahead,’ says NASA. ‘AR1302 is growing and shows no immediate signs of quieting down.'” Read more.

“BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) –Argentina’s security ministry has an explosives team probing a mysterious blast that killed a woman and injured at least six other people in the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

The explosion occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Monday, destroying two houses, a business and several cars.

Several neighbors reported seeing a ball of fire fall from the sky right before the explosion.

Federal and provincial experts aren’t ruling anything out, but NASA has said that a satellite that fell to Earth sometime Saturday landed well clear of South America.

Provincial justice and security minister Ricardo Casal says experts ‘are evaluating all theories, from an explosion to something strange that came from the sky.'” Read more.

“People all across the Gulf Coast reported seeing a large, perhaps green object streaking through the skies about 7:20 p.m. Sunday.

So far, there’s no official word on exactly what the object was. NorthEscambia.com and other media outlets received sighting reports from around the area — Atmore, Walnut Hill, Cantonment, Mobile and Pensacola. WKRG TV reports that their meteorologist Johnathan Owens saw the object, which he described on his Facebook page as likely a small piece of an asteroid or a large meteor – and obviously completely burned up in the atmosphere.” Read more.

“A geomagnetic storm is raging in Earth’s atmosphere. If you’re lucky, you just might be able to see the results over the next few days.

On Monday, NASA reported that a strong to severe geomagnetic storm is in progress after large solar flares over the weekend spewed a cloud of charged particles toward Earth.

Joe Kunches, a space scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmostpheric Administration, put it this way in an interview with The Times: “The Earth’s magnetic field is pretty disturbed.”

A solar flare is an explosion in the sun’s atmosphere that sends out a burst of radiation. Sometimes that radiation is not directed toward Earth, and sometimes, like over the weekend, it is. If that burst hits Earth’s own magnetic field, strange things start to happen.

‘When these charged particles go by our own magnetic field, it’s like dumping gasoline on a fire,’ said Kunches. ‘Everything gets a lot hotter.’

He said we are officially entering the beginning of solar flare season — a rotation that lasts about 11 years.

Geomagnetic storms come with positives and negatives. One major plus for sky watchers: They can cause auroras to be brighter and closer to the equator, so that more people see them…

On the downside, geomagnetic storms can interfere with orbiting, human-made objects that we depend on — satellites that allow us to use our cellphones and access our GPS devices, for example.” Read more.

Solar flare could unleash nuclear holocaust across planet Earth, forcing hundreds of nuclear power plants into total meltdowns – “Forget about the 2012 Mayan calendar, comet Elenin or the Rapture. The real threat to human civilization is far more mundane, and it’s right in front of our noses. If Fukushima has taught us anything, it’s that just one runaway meltdown of fissionable nuclear material can have wide-ranging and potentially devastating consequences for life on Earth. To date, Fukushima has already released 168 times the total radiation released from the Hiroshima nuclear bomb detonated in 1945 … What if a global tidal wave could destroy the power generating capacities of all the world’s power plants, all at once? Such a scenario is not merely possible, but factually inevitable. And the global tidal wave threatening all the nuclear power plants of the world isn’t made of water but solar emissions.” Read more.

By John DeLapp – “SAN LEON — An object falling from the sky could be to blame for a Saturday grass fire.

‘When the call came in to the dispatcher, the person said that something fell from the sky and started the fire,’ Jeff Pittman, chief of the San Leon Fire Department, said.

The chief said an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the blaze at 18th Street and Broadway.

‘It could be awhile before we figure out what happened,’ he said. ‘It could be (today) because of the lighting.’

The call came in at 5:36 p.m. Saturday and the fire was under control by 7 p.m.

Along with San Leon, firefighters from Texas City, Dickinson, League City and Kemah responded to the call.

Galveston County sheriff’s deputies and Galveston Area Emergency Medical Services personnel also were on the scene.

Pittman said about 60 acres of grass and brush burned.” Read more.

9/24/2011 – “A huge mass of electrically-charged particles thrown out by a gigantic eruption on the Sun is due to strike the Earth tonight.

Scientists expect it to trigger one of the most violent geomagnetic storms ever recorded.

The result could be widespread power surges and even blackouts, disrupted TV and mobile phone signals, and broken down communication satellites.

At the same time the Northern Lights, normally confined to polar latitudes, may produce dazzling displays in the skies above southern Britain.

At least one satellite has already been knocked out of action by the storm. Japan’s space agency said its Kodama communications satellite had been temporarily shut down after malfunctioning.

The solar flare that caused the eruption burst out of a sunspot at 10.54am yesterday.

Experts said it was the strongest flare seen in the past 30 years. The explosion caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) which is now speeding towards Earth.” Read more.

Arizona, USA: Lights go out during Giants-D-backs game – “The D-backs offense seemed unstoppable Saturday night. Right up until the lights at Chase Field went out. With the D-backs up on the Giants, 11-2, Aaron Hill led off the seventh inning with a single up the middle and right after that the stadium lights went out at 7:46 p.m. MST. The scoreboard and sound system remained in working order.” Read more.

Idaho, USA: Power outage hits Boise, Garden City – “Over 1,000 people in Boise were without power Saturday afternoon. Around 4 p.m., an outage that ranged from Boise to Garden City affected 1,369 customers at its peak. Ada County Dispatch said that a blown transformer at the corner of Chinden and Maple Grove was the cause of the outage.” Read more.

Illinois: Three county power outage – “The failure of a ‘bus cable’ inside the Hennepin sub-station is the cause of a sizeable power outage in LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam Counties late Saturday afternoon. Leigh Morris, spokesperson for Ameren IP told AM 1220 WLPO news personnel were at the sub-station to make needed repairs around 5pm. Reports of restored service were coming into AM 1220 WLPO via Facebook around 6:25pm. At the height of the outage, 15-thousand Ameren IP customers were affected, according to Morris.” Read more.

Washington State: Power outage delays Point Defiance-Tahlequah ferry run – “The state Department of Transportation announced this afternoon that drivers should expect delays at the Tahlequah dock due to a power outage at the terminal. This likely means delays in and out of the Point Defiance ferry terminal as well. Updates will occur when more information becomes available.” Read more.

Chile: Massive blackout affects 9 million people – “More than nine million people were affected by a widespread power outage that plagued northern and central parts of Chile Saturday night, including Santiago the capital, officials said. Two and a half hours after the occurrence of blackout at about 2030 local time (2330 GMT), more than 90 percent of the capital region’s power supply were restored, but system instability and congestions of cell phone and Internet networks would remain for a while, Energy Minister Rodrigo Alvarez told press.” Read more.

Ontario, Canada: Power Outage in Kanata Around Eagleson and Terry Fox – “Over five thousand people are without power in and around Eagleson Road, Terry Fox Drive, and Stonehaven Drive. Hydro Ottawa is sending repair teams but isn’t sure what’s caused the outage or when they’ll have service restored.” Source.

Pakistan: Karachi without electricity for half a day – “The Karachi Electric Supply Company on Saturday increased the duration of unannounced power outages for domestic consumers to about 12 hours and for the industry to eight hours. Residents of North Karachi, parts of North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Federal B Area and PECHS block II complained that they suffered at least five spells of power outages of two-hour duration each.” Read more.