INCOMING - Russians spot GIANT Asteroid!!!
(http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/10/11/iss_russianmissile2.jpg)
"It sounds like a scene from Gravity: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station Thursday saw a weird, glowing cloud of light in the distance, most likely caused by a fuel dump or leaking fuel from a Russian missile launch. The extended life of a Topol missile was being tested in a ballistic launch to a test target in Kazakhstan, and the astronauts were able to take pictures of both the launch vapor trail and the glowing cloud. This event is similar to the eerie spiral lights seen over Norway in 2009 caused by a Russian missile launch as well."
Well okay so that image is not the space rock... unless Russia shot it down with that missile :D
Russians Discover Kilometer-Wide Near-Earth Asteroid(http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2324211.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/asteroid-earth-2324211.jpg)
QuoteMOSCOW, October 11 (RIA Novosti) – A near-Earth asteroid about a fifth the size of the space rock thought to have killed the dinosaurs has been discovered by a Russian-operated observatory in New Mexico
The kilometer-wide asteroid, dubbed 2013 TB80, was first spotted on Wednesday by the remotely run ISON-NM observatory and was later confirmed by US and Japanese astronomers, the International Astronomical Union said in an online statement.
The asteroid, believed to be the 704th largest with an orbit that comes relatively near Earth, does not pose a danger of crashing into our planet, said the head of the observatory that made the discovery.
"It's a big asteroid, but it poses no danger for us," Leonid Elenin, who lives in the Moscow Region, told RIA Novosti on Friday.
Near-Earth celestial bodies are defined as those that come as close to the Sun as the Earth does, which means they have a chance of colliding with our planet.
NASA estimates that mankind is currently aware of 93 percent of near-Earth asteroids that are above one kilometer in diameter. None of them is expected to collide with the Earth in the foreseeable future.
The space rock discovered Wednesday is between six and 18 times larger than the one believed to have crashed in 1908 near Russia's Tunguska River, a meteorite whose impact is considered the most powerful in recorded history.
Size estimates for the newly discovered asteroid, though, could undergo dramatic revision after astronomers define its composition.
http://en.ria.ru/science/20131011/184076455/Russians-Discover-Kilometer-Wide-Near-Earth-Asteroid.html
Okay so the glowing cloud.... Missile fuel dump? Exploding Asteroid?
The day before from Kapustin Yar in the Astrakhan region was conducted test-fired a ballistic missile RS-12M "Topol". Residents of several regions of Russia, in particular, Yekaterinburg and Omsk, who saw in the sky trail from the rocket, reported seeing a falling meteorite.
(http://cdn4.img22.rian.ru/images/96941/50/969415045.jpg)
Topol launch from Kapustin Yar tests new combat payloadQuoteThe Strategic Rocket Forces carried out a successful test launch of a Topol/SS-25 missile on October 10, 2013. The missile was launched at 17:39 MSK (13:39 UTC) from Kapustin Yar to the Sary Shagan test site in Kazakhstan. According to a representative of the Rocket Forces, the test was used to confirm characteristics of the Topol missile, to test the systems of the Sary Shagan test site, and "to test new combat payload for intercontinental ballistic missiles."
Previous test launch of a Topol missile from Kapustin Yar to Sary Shagan took place in June 2012.
UPDATE 10/11/2013: As it turns out, the missile was seen from the International Space Station:
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/10202751515_e1ac9d7e4a.jpg)
http://russianforces.org/blog/2013/10/topol_launch_from_kapustin_yar_1.shtml
discovered by a Russian-operated observatory in New Mexico
say what.?.?.?
Quote from: sky otter on October 12, 2013, 11:57:27 PM
discovered by a Russian-operated observatory in New Mexico
say what.?.?.?
LOL ;D
You will be shocked to hear then that ze Luftwaffe flies from Almagordo regularly. :o
Quote from: sky otter on October 12, 2013, 11:57:27 PM
discovered by a Russian-operated observatory in New Mexico
say what.?.?.?
(http://www.spaceobs.org/header.jpg)
http://spaceobs.org/en/news/
spaceobs I work in Russia and anywhere from here is not going to leave. And one of our telescopes is in the U.S.. There's a good astroclimate. - See more at: http://spaceobs.org/en/observatory/contacts/#sthash.CSSNibjv.dpuf
So it appears the 'Observatory' is a Russian guy with a private scope living in New Mexico... with a Russian website and a Facebook page
::)
Quote from: starwarp2000 on October 13, 2013, 01:38:50 AM
LOL ;D
You will be shocked to hear then that ze Luftwaffe flies from Almagordo regularly. :o
And YOU will be shocked to hear that Boeing sold out their portion of Sea Launch to the Russians, who still operate it out of Long Beach :D
Four companies from four countries shared the original ownership of Cayman Islands-registered Sea Launch. It has been sold to Russian interests in October 2010 after going through Chapter 11 regulations.
I think we sold out our Space program to Russia :P
would be interesting to know WHAT hasn't been sold..sigh :(
probably be a short list
The Whitehouse... it's still available :P
Want to buy the White House? It would cost you $294.9 million
(http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2013/January/130118/1B5587373-130117-white-house-423p.blocks_desktop_medium.jpg)
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/want-buy-white-house-it-would-cost-you-294-9-1B8022564
@ Z, does that price include the current administration?
If so, what a deal it would be to get rid of that house and them.
;D
THAT first picture you posted looks a lot like one of your plasma critters, Zorgon: is that a possibility?
Also this seems to fit in with Rosen's "timeline". eh? So much bull feces out there now...
Seeker
Quote from: the seeker on October 13, 2013, 02:19:37 PM
THAT first picture you posted looks a lot like one of your plasma critters, Zorgon: is that a possibility?
I was hoping someone would notice that... :D
Has the hole and the notches too ;)
100 Gold for spotting that
8)
Quote from: zorgon on October 13, 2013, 08:51:01 PM
I was hoping someone would notice that... :D
Has the hole and the notches too ;)
100 Gold for spotting that
8)
I do try to pay attention to the details, Z: ;D
Now about this asteriod... it has been verified by 2 seperate groups beside this dude, right? Not a Scorchie Fail fomentation?
would be interesting if the crew on the ISS managed to snap some decent pics of what they witnessed...
seeker
Quote from: the seeker on October 14, 2013, 03:20:20 AM
would be interesting if the crew on the ISS managed to snap some decent pics of what they witnessed...
As far as I understand it, the first image is what they witnessed, it's a photo taken by Luca Parmitano.
You can see the original photo on the Volare Mission's Flickr page, here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/volaremission/10202751515/).