MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

—

“At the moment, Comet Garradd can only be seen through a backyard telescope (recommended: The Comet Hunter). It is, however, approaching the sun and brightening. Recent projections place it at peak magnitude 6, on the threshold of naked-eye visibility, in February 2012. Because Comet Garradd is a first-time visitor to the inner solar system, it could behave in unexpected ways, perhaps exceeding those expectations. Stay tuned…” Space Weather.

“Astronomers and other outer space experts are speaking out on a comet expected to make a close call with colliding into Earth later this year. The consequences could be dire, so why are so many people unaware of it?

‘I think it’s worth a raised eyebrow’ says author Brooks Agnew. He’s done a lot of research on Elenin and tells RT that there are some rather strange coincidences regarding the comet that people should take into consideration.

‘A lot of people are concerned about it,’ says Agnew. ‘We’ve done a lot of research on Comet Elenin and what we’ve found is there’s a lot of missing data on this comet’

Agnew says that NASA calls the comet just ‘a harmless little fuzzball of ice’ that won’t come within more than 20 million miles from Earth. Others, he says, are claiming that this comet should raise concern since it doesn’t look like a comet, doesn’t act like a comet and is coming from outside of the area where most comets are accustomed to originate out of.

‘There are a lot of things about this comet that don’t make sense,’ Agnew says.

Another thing raising concern for the author is that another large asteroid is expected to come close to Earth around the same time. Coincidentally, he says, a new emergency alert system has been announced to debut the same day that asteroid will rock right by our planet.” Read more.

Flashback: Asteroid 2005 YU55 to Approach Earth on November 8, 2011 – “Near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 will pass within 0.85 lunar distances from the Earth on November 8, 2011. The upcoming close approach by this relatively large 400 meter-sized, C-type asteroid presents an excellent opportunity for synergistic ground-based observations including optical, near infrared and radar data. The attached animated illustration shows the Earth and moon flyby geometry for November 8th and 9th when the object will reach a visual brightness of 11th magnitude and should be easily visible to observers in the northern and southern hemispheres. The closest approach to Earth and the Moon will be respectively 0.00217 AU and 0.00160 AU on 2011 November 8 at 23:28 and November 9 at 07:13 UT.” Read more.

By Gareth Finighan and Claire Bates – “A stunning cosmic jet from a super-massive black hole which shredded then swallowed a star has been observed by astronomers for the first time.

The extremely rare phenomenon caused by stellar debris being consumed by the hole has never been observed before.

Known as ‘relativistic jets’, they can reach hundreds of thousands of light years in length.

Most galaxies have super-massive black holes – regions of space that suck in everything nearby with their strong gravitation pull – at their core, with masses of millions or even billions of suns.

Scientists were first alerted to the phenomenon in March after Nasa’s Swift telescope detected several bursts of X-rays from a quiet patch of sky.” Read more.

It’s been an interesting week for America.  The strongest earthquake in 40 years shakes the midwest, the strongest earthquake in over 100 years — and perhaps in central Virginia’s history — strikes the eastern seaboard, and hurricane Irene is poised to become the strongest hurricanes to hit the northeast in decades with 2011 itself becoming the worst year for tornadoes in America in over 60 years.   And as for the world itself, this year is already being dubbed ‘The Year of Catastrophes‘ …

By Emma Woollacott – “Berkeley scientists this week discovered a new supernova, closer to Earth than any seen in the last 40 years, and believe they’ve spotted it within hours of its explosion.

Astronomers are now scrambling to observe it with as many telescopes as possible, including the Hubble Space Telescope, and it’s likely to remain a major target for research for the next decade or more.

Dubbed PTF 11kly, the supernova is about 21 million light-years away in the Pinwheel Galaxy, in the Ursa Major constellation. It was discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) survey, which uses a robotic telescope mounted on the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope to scan the sky nightly.

‘We caught this supernova very soon after explosion. PTF 11kly is getting brighter by the minute. It’s already 20 times brighter than it was yesterday,’ says Peter Nugent, the senior scientist at Berkeley Lab who first spotted it.

‘Observing PTF 11kly unfold should be a wild ride. It is an instant cosmic classic.’

Within 12 hours of its discovery, PTF 11kly had been observed by other telescopes around the globe, and it was found tobelong to the Type Ia category. Indeed, this is the earliest spectrum ever taken of a Type Ia supernova.

‘Type Ia supernova are the kind we use to measure the expansion of the Universe. Seeing one explode so close by allows us to study these events in unprecedented detail,’ says Mark Sullivan of Oxford University, one of the first to follow up on the discovery.

The Hubble Space Telescope will begin studying the supernova’s chemistry and physics this weekend.” Read more.

UCSB Scientists, Telescopes Help Discover ‘Once in a Generation’ Supernova – “A supernova discovered Wednesday is closer to Earth ––approximately 21 million light years away –– than any other of its kind in a generation. Astronomers believe they caught the supernova within hours of its explosion –– a rare feat for events of this type. The discovery of a supernova so early in its life, and so close to Earth has energized the astronomical community. Scientists around the world are scrambling to observe it with as many telescopes as possible, including the Hubble Space Telescope, and telescopes from the UC Santa Barbara-affiliated Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT).” Read more.

Seems to be moving awfully slow to be a meteorite.  Looks more like a chemtrail to me.  But I could be wrong …

“(CBS News) A suspected meteorite streaked across the Peruvian sky over the ancient city of Cusco on Thursday. Residents were surprised to see the object shooting across the horizon around 2 p.m. local time. A meteorite is a natural object from space that survives impact with the Earth’s surface. Local officials were trying to determine where the suspected meteorite may have landed.” Read more.

“NASA has clarified in a statement that comet Elenin, expected to come closest to Earth on October 16, 2011, will not collide with Earth.

As typical with most comets, Elenin will also not come closer to Earth than 22 million miles (35 million kilometers). That’s more than 90 times the distance to the moon, NASA said.

Comets are one of the most overrated subjects, often linked to destruction on Earth. The December 21, 2012 Doomsday prediction is also linked to comets that could hit the earth. However, NASA debunked any such theories of end of the world could have connections with astronomical events.

Claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth, stirred a Dec. 21 doomsday ‘Internet hoax’.’This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012,’ NASA explained.

The faux was further aggravated as some predictors likened it to the ancient Mayan Calendar that ends on December 21, 2012, giving rise to speculations of the end of the world on the same date.” Read more.

Elenin ‘Observed’ an ‘Astronomical’ Number of Times by NASA; Why Such Interest for a ‘Normal’ Comet? – “According to NASA, Comet Elenin is just an ‘ordinary’ comet. Then why, according to their own data, have they ‘observed’ Comet Elenin 2,181 times in less than 7 months while similar data for Comet Levy shows a mere 324 observations in more than 4 and a half years? In fact, no other Near Earth Object covered by NASA has been observed any where near the number of observations given to Elenin without an object size given. What is it that NASA is so interested in, if Elenin is only a ‘normal’ Comet? Additionally, why is it that NASA is still not giving us an exact size of Ele??? NASA’s watching Elenin like a fox!” Source.

‘Armageddon’? Scientists Plan to Deflect Earth-Bound Asteroids – “It’s not ‘Armageddon,’ but it’s close. The European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, the Secure World Foundation and others have been intently studying the skies lately — worrying about how to deflect a potential planet-shattering asteroid… ‘Anything more than 300 to 400 meters (983-1,312 feet) in diameter can cause continental-scale damage,’ Stephen Wolters, a research fellow at Caltech who studies near-Earth asteroids at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Space.com. That’s why the ESA program exists, as well as similar programs from NASA and other space agencies.” Read more.

“Increasing solar activity and the threat that coronal mass ejections (CME) pose to Earth has prompted NASA to convene a news briefing at its Headquarter building in Washington on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday’s briefing has been arranged, space agency officials say, in light of new information coming from NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), spacecraft and other NASA probes. The briefing will feature new details about the structure of solar storms and the impact they have on Earth.

The briefing panellists are Madhulika Guhathakurta, STEREO program scientist; Craig DeForest, staff scientist, Southwest Research Institute, David Webb, research physicist, Institute for Scientific Research, Boston College; and Alysha Reinard, research scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Colorado.

The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 2:00 PM EDT (7:00 PM GMT).

A massive solar flare, the largest recorded in four years, occurred last Tuesday prompting fears the blast could result in some disruption to Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) or communication signals around the world.” Read More.

Sun unleashes largest solar flare in five years, sending 10billion ton storm cloud hurtling through space at 5million mph – “The sun unleashed an unusually powerful solar flare yesterday, the largest in nearly five years. The eruption launched a ten billion ton storm cloud hurtling through space at five million miles per hour. Scientists said the event took place on the side of the sun that was not facing Earth, so there will be little impact to satellites and communication systems. Joe Kunches at the U.S. government’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado said there were reports of brief short-wave radio disruptions in Asia, but little else… Scientists have warned that solar storms could have ‘devastating effects’ on human technology when they hit a peak in two years’ time.” Read more.

“A NASA spacecraft aimed at the sun shifted its unblinking gaze to an approaching comet last week to snap a new photo of the icy object as it flew by.

The image shows the comet Elenin as it passed within 4.3 million miles (7 million kilometers) of one of NASA’s twin Stereo sun-watching spacecraft during a series of deep space photo sessions that began on Aug. 1. NASA rolled the Stereo-B satellite to give its instruments a view of the comet flyby, officials said.

From Stereo’s observations, the fuzzy comet Elenin can be seen streaking across a small portion of the sky. The comet was seen by Stereo’s HI-2 telescope between Aug. 1 to 5, and by the higher resolution HI-1 telescope between Aug. 6 to 12, NASA officials said. Stereo mission scientists planned to take photos for one-hour every day through Aug. 12.

‘From August 15 onward, the comet enters the HI-1 telescope’s nominal field of view, at which time we should enjoy continuous viewing of the comet,’ NASA researchers explained in an update posted to the Stereo mission website.

Comet Elenin is expected to become brighter over the next few days, and could be detectable using Stereo’s coronagraph instrument between Aug. 20 and Sept. 1, NASA officials said. Mission managers are then expecting the comet to become visible to another sun-watching spacecraft – NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) – for six days, beginning on Sept. 23.” Read more.

Flashback: Russian Warning Issued Over ‘Controlled’ Comet Headed Towards Earth – “A chilling report prepared for President Medvedev by Minister Serdyukov of the Russian Defense Ministry on the building of an additional 5,000 underground ‘bomb’ shelters in Moscow warns that even though progress is being made, the appearance of the new Comet Elenin in our Solar System means ‘additional resources’ will have to be added ‘immediately’ as the 2012 timeline for completion ‘may not be soon enough’. Sparking the fears of Minister Serdyukov, he says in this report, is that based upon the new orbit calculations for Comet Elenin, it appears in ‘all likelihood’ that this celestial object is under some type of ‘intelligent control‘ and will approach our Earth ‘much closer’ than originally thought this coming fall season.” Read more.

By JUSTIN HO – “Energy released from solar plasma blasts will reach Earth throughout Friday and Saturday, potentially disrupting communications and electrical grids, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The explosion on the sun’s surface could affect precision satellite systems such as GPS and high-frequency radio waves, which airlines use for communication.

‘High-precision GPS navigation systems may not work as well today,’ said Joseph Kunches, a space scientist for the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Friday’s explosion is second of three recent blasts on the sun’s surface directed toward the Earth. The experts said the current wave could go on until Saturday night at the latest.

‘You can think of them as sort of tsunamis in space,’ said SWPC Director Tom Bogdan. ‘The first one was fairly weak, and we’re now seeing the next one coming in.’

However, Bogdan said these effects will be more potent throughout the next few years, adding that Friday’s storm is a ‘two or three out of five’ in terms of its potential impact. This kind of activity will increase in frequency, he said, peaking sometime around 2013.” Read more.

“For the third day in a row, active sunspot 1261 has unleashed a significant M-class solar flare. The latest blast at 0357 UT on August 4th registered M9.3 on the Richter Scale of Flares, almost crossing the threshold into X-territory (X-flares are the most powerful kind). The number of energetic protons around Earth has jumped nearly 100-fold as a result of this event.

The eruption propelled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. Click on the image to view a movie of the expanding cloud recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory:

Moving at an estimated speed of 1950 km/s, this CME is expected to sweep up two earlier CMEs already en route. Analysts at the GSFC Space Weather Lab say the combined cloud should reach Earth on August 5th at 13:55 UT plus or minus 7 hours: ‘The impact on Earth is likely to be major. The estimated maximum geomagnetic activity index level Kp is 7 (Kp ranges from 0 – 9). The flanks of the CME may also impact STEREO A, Mars and Mercury/MESSENGER.’ High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.” Read more.

“An enormous plasma twister rising from the sun’s surface has been caught on video by a Nasa satellite.

And the twirling eruption, which swirled up to 93,206 miles above the solar surface, has a remarkable resemblance to an angel.

The tornado-like solar twister lasted just a few hours, when an eruption of magnetic plasma, called a prominence, whirled up from the sun before splitting into four different strands and fading away.

Solar astrophysicist, C. Alex Young of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told Space.com: ‘Its height is roughly between 10 to 12 Earths’.

The magnificent display happened on July 12 and Mr Young said that the angel-like formation was down to a matter of perspective.” Read more.