Asteroid Hurtling Towards Earth Today
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known to us as NASA, has sent out an alert that a 570-foot wide asteroid is hurtling towards Earth today.
Don’t worry though, NASA also says this particular asteroid, known scientifically as 2010 XC15, will miss our planet. However, it will come closest to Earth today in its orbit around the Sun. According to an article by Hi Tech posted on Tech.Hindustantimes.com, this asteroid is the size of a skyscraper, and it is hurtling towards us at the speed of 36,358 kilometers per hour, or approximately 22,591 miles per hour! 2010 XC15 will come within 772,318 kilometers of Earth today, which is approximately 479,386 miles from our planet.
Apparently, NASA issues regular alerts about small asteroids which will come close to Earth during their orbits. Per the Hi Tech article, “NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which keeps an eye on Near Earth Objects (NEO’s), has red-flagged Asteroid 2010 XC15 due to its extremely close approach to the planet.” The article also goes on to report that NASA states it would take an asteroid about 60 miles wide to kill our planet. So, this smaller asteroid of about 570-feet wide, would not destroy Earth if it hit us. However, it could take a lot of human lives if it hit a crowded city at such a high rate of speed. In fact, its traveling faster than a hypersonic ballistic missile.
While this news can be shocking, I noticed that when I scrolled down to the bottom of the Hi Tech article, I saw similar articles from the past few days. Apparently, there are lots of asteroids which do come within striking distance of Earth, and NASA sends out alerts about all of them. It is hard to believe we rarely hear about these alerts, but I guess its like the “boy who cried ‘wolf.'”
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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
Stunning First James Webb Telescope Images Released
Carina Nebula
The final image released during the event was probably the most visually spectacular. This Carina Nebula image shows a collection of stars and gas some 8,000 light years away – relatively close. The area shows stars we’ve never seen before, and even elements that scientists have never seen before, thanks to the infrared capabilities on Webb.
Every bright dot in the image is a star, many of which are similar to our Sun, so many of them also likely have similar planetary structures nearby.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI (Click on image for high resolution version.)
The Southern Ring Nebula
The second image released was of the Southern Ring Nebula.
“The Southern Ring nebula is a planetary nebula. (Despite “planet” in the name, these aren’t planets — they’re shells of dust and gas shed by dying Sun-like stars.) The new details from Webb will transform our understanding of how stars evolve and influence their environments.”
Some stars save the best for last. The dimmer star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is cloaked in dust.
Stephan's Quintet
This image shows five giant galaxies, containing hundreds upon hundreds of billions of stars.
Four of the five galaxies visible are actually interacting with each other, while the fifth (the one on the left) is actually much closer to Earth, so is nowhere near the others.
There are 150 million pixels in this image, and it’s actually a composite of about 1,000 image files.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI (Click image to see high resolution image.)
The First Image - Webb's First Deep Field
The first image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been released, and it’s a stunning look at a cluster of galaxies from 4.6 billion years ago. (Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)
“If you held a grain of sand up to the sky at arm’s length, that tiny speck is the size of Webb’s view in this image. Imagine — galaxies galore within a grain, including light from galaxies that traveled billions of years to us! Why do some of the galaxies in this image appear bent? The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a “gravitational lens,” bending light rays from more distant galaxies behind it, magnifying them.”
Webb's Deep Field
This image is a remarkable showcase of the Deep Field from the first Webb image, but in different waves of light.
“Compare Webb’s Mid-Infrared (L) & Near-Infrared (R) views. Lens flares? Nope, the spikes you see are when light from bright objects like stars is bent by the edges of the telescope. They’re less prominent in mid-infrared.”
