September 24, 2011

Watch Out For Satellite Junk! No Joke!

If you're reading this story somewhere in North America and wondering where NASA's aging UARS satellite will crash to Earth, the space agency says you can rest easy.

"Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time," said NASA in an update this morning. "The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period."

The Aerospace Corporation, a private firm that is tracking UARS, offered a more specific prediction, saying the satellite would likely come down off the coast of Chile at 6:06 p.m. EST. But William Ailor, who heads the company's center for orbital and re-entry debris studies, said the time and location would almost undoubtedly change as Friday afternoon approaches.

NASA repeated that the risk to people or property is "extremely small."

As of this morning, UARS had an altitude of about 115 miles, skimming the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere at more than 17,000 mph. At some point, a little like a stone skipping over a pond, it will encounter enough resistance that it will no longer be able to keep moving at orbital speeds.

READ MORE HERE.

September 21, 2011

Space junk to hit Earth this week – but where?

Skywatchers may be craning their necks this Thursday or Friday, trying to catch a glimpse of a dead NASA satellite which is expected to return to earth, creating perhaps a spectacular light show as some of it burns up upon entry in the atmosphere.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), which measured ozone levels, is supposed to fall out of orbit and into the atmosphere on Friday – give or take a day, according to Beth Dickey, a spokesperson for NASA.

The actual date and time of re-entry is very difficult to predict because it all depends on “solar flux and the spacecraft’s orientation as the orbit decays,” Dickey said in an email to the Star.

Equally difficult to predict is where the debris from the satellite will land, she said. But NASA officials have some clues.


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September 20, 2011

Whose Fault is it if One is FAT?

As obesity levels continue their inexorable rise, the Government’s official weight-loss message is still focused on four words: eat less, move more.

But if you are one of the estimated 20 per cent of people who are on a permanent diet, or one of the 40 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women who regularly exercise and still can’t seem to lose weight, it could be very tempting to start to wonder whether perhaps there’s something else going on.



Read more AT THIS LINK.

September 18, 2011

The Wayward Son Who Binged On....

This morning, I came across this article in The Sun (UK) on one of Gadaffi's sons. Believe me - I was shocked beyond words.


CLICK HERE to read that article!