Asteroid Deflection Missions Underway

(Before It's News) Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online 

One mission aims to take a Bruce Willis approach in the movie Armageddon, by deflecting any future asteroids that might be headed towards Earth. 

The European Space Agency is looking for research ideas to help guide the development of an asteroid deflection mission study. 

ESA is asking for concepts based on both ground- and space-based investigations that could improve the understanding of the physics of very high-speed collisions involving man-made and natural objects in space. 

The space agency said it will be calling on help to guide future studies linked to the Asteroid Impact and Deflection mission (AIDA). 

This low-budget transatlantic partnership between ESA and U.S. researchers involves the joint operations of two small spacecraft sent to intercept a binary asteroid. 

The first Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is designed by the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and will collide with the smaller of the two asteroids. 

ESA's Asteroid Impact Monitor (AIM) spacecraft will survey these bodies in detail, both before and after the collision. 

The impact could help to change the pace at which the objects spin around each other, and AIM's close-up view will "ground-truth" these observations. 

“The advantage is that the spacecraft are simple and independent,” Andy Cheng of Johns Hopkins, leading the AIDA project on the US side, said in a statement. “They can both complete their primary investigation without the other one.” 

Andrés Gálvez, ESA AIDA study manager, said that by working in tandem, the quality and quantity of results will increase greatly. 

“Both missions become better when put together – getting much more out of the overall investment," Gálvez said. “And the vast amounts of data coming from the joint mission should help to validate various theories, such as our impact [modeling].” 

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2013-01-15 20:19:04

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112764600/esa-asteroid-impact-deflection-missions-aida-dart-aim-011513/

Rivers on Mars: In Pictures

DARMSTADT, Germany — ESA’s Mars Express imaged the striking upper part of the Reull Vallis region of Mars with its high-resolution stereo camera last year. Reull Vallis, the river-like structure in these images, is believed to have formed when running water flowed in the distant martian past, cutting a steep-sided channel through the Promethei Terra Highlands before running on towards the floor of the vast Hellas basin.

This sinuous structure, which stretches for almost 1500 km across the martian landscape, is flanked by numerous tributaries, one of which can be clearly seen cutting in to the main valley towards the upper (north) side.

Perspective view of Reull Vallis. – ESA /// CLICK TO ENLARGE

The new Mars Express images show a region of Reull Vallis at a point where the channel is almost 7 km wide and 300 m deep.

Topographic view of Reull Vallis. – ESA /// CLICK TO ENLARGE

The sides of Reull Vallis are particularly sharp and steep in these images, with parallel longitudinal features covering the floor of the channel itself. These structures are believed to be caused by the passage of loose debris and ice during the ‘Amazonian’ period (which continues to this day) due to glacial flow along the channel.

The structures were formed long after it was originally carved by liquid water during the Hesperian period, which is believed to have ended between 3.5 billion and 1.8 billion years ago.

Similar lineated structures, believed to be rich in ice, can also be found in many of the surrounding craters.

Reull Vallis in context. – ESA /// CLICK TO ENLARGE

In the wider context image, the tributary intersecting the main channel appears to be part of a forking of the main valley into two distinct branches further upstream before merging back into a single main valley.

The right (northern) part of the main image is dominated by the Promethei Terra Highlands with their high and soft-rounded mountains shown in these images, rising around 2500 m above the surrounding flat plains.

The perspective view below shows one of these mountains with nearby sediment-filled impact craters.

Perspective view of Reull Vallis. – ESA /// CLICK TO ENLARGE

This region shows a striking resemblance to the morphology found in regions on Earth affected by glaciation. For example, we can see circular step-like structures on the inner walls of the sediment-filled crater in the foreground of the second perspective view. Planetary scientists think that these may represent former high water or glacial levels, before ice and water sublimated or evaporated away in stages at various times.

#D View of Reull Vallis. /// CLICK TO ENLARGE

The morphology of Reull Vallis suggests it has experienced a diverse and complex history, with analogies seen in glacial activity on Earth. These analogies are giving planetary geologists tantalising glimpses of a past on the Red Planet not too dissimilar to events on our own world today.

http://moonandback.com/2013/01/17/rivers-on-mars-in-pictures/

Solar activity: geomagnetic storms expected!

January 18, 2013 - THE SUN - According to Space Weather, decaying sunspot AR1654 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. In addition, two Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are expected to impact the earth in the next 24 hours and a G1-Class Geomagnetic storm will be possible shortly after. Solar activity is expected to go quiet again after these active regions rotate off the earth-facing disk over the next 36 hours.

CHANCE OF STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of polar geomagnetic storms today. The reason is an incoming CME, which could deliver a minor blow to Earth's magnetic field during the next 24 hours. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras. - Space Weather.

SOLAR UPDATE: Solar activity is currently low with minor C-Class flares detected off the northwest limb near departed region 1652. The Earth facing side of the Sun is down to two remaining visible sunspots. Former monster 1654 is no longer a threat for strong solar flares. Solar activity is expected to continue at low levels in the short term. A brief period of minor geomagnetic activity was observed at very high latitudes on Thursday and was the result of a southward Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), combined with weak effects of a CME impact. - Solar Ham.

GEOPHYSICAL SUMMARY: The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to active levels for the past 24 hours. Solar wind speed, as measured by the ACE spacecraft, reached a peak speed of 456 km/s at 17/0305Z. Total IMF reached 16 nT at 17/1526Z. The maximum southward component of Bz reached -14.1 nT at 17/1448Z. Protons greater than 10 MeV at geosynchronous orbit reached a peak level of 2 pfu at 17/1415Z. Electrons greater than 2 MeV at geosynchronous orbit reached a peak level of 1135 pfu. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at minor storm levels on day one (18 Jan), active levels on day two (19 Jan), and minor storm levels again on day three (20 Jan). - NOAA/SWPC.

More aggressive eruptive activity seen at many of world’s active volcanoes

January 17, 2012 – EARTH – Stromboli (Italy): The lava overflow that started on Monday and reached about 400 m elevation on the Sciara del Fuoco has stopped (for now).  Strong explosions felt in houses in the village continue to occur frequently and tremor remains elevated. Etna volcano: The strombolian activity inside Bocca Nuova crater has ended abruptly yesterday. Colima (Mexico) has entered a new eruptive phase withmore explosions during the past days. Popocatépetl (Mexico): Activity has not changed significantly: there are 1-2 weak emissions per hour, sometimes producing small quantities of ash. Glow from the summit remains visible at night. Some small volcanic earthquakes (below M2) have been occurring in the past days as well. Santiaguito (Guatemala): The activity has remained essentially unchanged but lower than last week. During 14-15 Jan, few weak explosions occurred from the dome, and glowing avalanches were observed from the fronts of the active lava flows on its flanks. Pacaya (Guatemala): Increased steaming has been observed today, but otherwise, there has not been any new activity. Numerous small earthquakes continue to be visible as evidence of fluid movements under the volcano. Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has been decreasing with few explosions and the lava flow reducing its length to 300 m. Nicaragua’s San Cristobal, Masaya and Concepcion volcanoes have not shown appreciable changes in their (seismic) activity of varying amounts of volcanic earthquakes and tremor. Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): No other activity than degassing has been reported recently. Seismic activity remains elevated but at relatively low levels. A swarm of earthquakes occurred under the volcano on 15 Jan afternoon. Very small, but numerous, earthquakes are occurring at Machin, Galeras, and Cumbal volcanoes in Colombia. Reventador (Ecuador): Strong seismic activity including some explosion signals and a hot spot visible on satellite images suggest that the lava dome in the summit crater continues to be active. Tungurahua is currently calm. Copahue (Chile/Argentina border): No surface activity and no glow has been observed, but there is elevated seismic activity of low energy with more than 1700 events detected between 15-16 Jan. Alert level remains

 at Orange because of the risk of sudden phreatic explosions. Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): Another explosionoccurred this morning at 09:33 local time. It was weaker than the previous ones and produced a plume rising to about 12,000 ft (3.6 km) altitude and drifting NE, VAAC Darwin reported. Kilauea (Hawai’i): Activity has been stable with good magma supply maintaining relatively high levels of the lava lakes and feeding lava flows that continue to reach the ocean. Sakurajima volcano in Japan has maintained a rythm of 2-3daily explosions with ash plumes rising to 6-10,000 ft (1.8-3 km) altitude. White Island (New Zealand): The tremor has increased significantly during the past 24 hours. If this is caused by the volcano (and not wind), it could suggest a new eruption under way, but there have been no reports of any activity so far. Kizimen (Kamchatka): The new lava flow from the summit dome continues to be active on the north-eastern flank of the volcano. Incandescence of the volcano summit, hot avalanches and strong degassing accompany this process, KVERT reports. Tolbachik (Kamchatka): The eruption still continues with active lava flows being fed by the southern vent. KVERT reports tremor at higher levels than during the past week.  –Volcano Discovery

Hawaiian lava lake hits new record high

January 17, 2012 – HAWAII – The orange glow atop Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea was a little stronger yesterday (Jan. 15) than it has been in recent weeks. The volcano’s lava lake lapped over the inner ledge of its vent, reaching a new high and bring molten rock closer than ever to the floor of Halema’uma’u crater. The level was about 80 feet (25 meters) below the crater floor, the highest level reached since the summit vent blasted open in March 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The lava lake last surged on Oct. 23, 2012, when the high mark was measured at 100 feet (31 m) below the crater floor. Since fresh lava appeared atop Kilauea in 2008, the lake level has varied from near the crater to out of sight, more than 650 feet (200 m) beneath the crater floor. The lake sits in a vent, which is actually a pipe-like crater within the smaller crater called Halema’uma’u. And Halema’uma’u is also a crater within a crater — the giant Kilauea caldera, the bowl left behind when the volcano blew its top about 1500 A.D. The USGS also reports that activity is up at Pu’u ‘O’o crater, 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the summit in the volcano’s East Rift Zone. The crater was awash with lava flows in recent days, and lava overflowed from its northeast lava lake and north spatter cone, the USGS said in a statement. At the coast, oozing flows continues to slowly drop into the ocean. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the eruption at Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. The volcano’s longest continuous rift zone eruption since the 15th century, the massive upwelling has created more than 500 acres of new land. -OAP

Extraordinary: New island rises from the sea off German coast

January 12, 2013 – GERMANY – An island the size of 25 football pitches has appeared seemingly out of nowhere off the coast of Germany. The landmass, which is composed of sandbanks, gradually emerged from the violent waters of the North Sea over the past few years. It lies 24 kilometres off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany’s far north in a stretch of coastline known as the Wattenmeer, a marine national park. Nature lovers and yachtsmen noticed the appearance of Bird Island – named after the seabirds who rest, nest or feed on the sand dunes that are up to almost five meters high. Winds blew seeds from across Europe, and 49 species of plants have been detected on it. Detlef Hansen, head of the national park, said: “This is, for us conservationists, anything but ordinary.” -News

The sun could be on the threshold of a mini-Maunder event right now

his week, scientists from the US Solar Observatory and the US Air Force Research Laboratory have discovered - to their great surprise - that the sun's activity is declining, and that we might experience the lowest solar output we've seen since 1645-1715. The Registerdescribes it in dramatic tones: 

What may be the science story of the century is breaking this evening.

Scientists who are convinced that global warming is a serious threat to our planet say that such a reduced solar output would simply buy us more time ... delaying the warming trend, but not stopping or reversing it. 

On the other hand, scientists who are skeptical about global warming say that the threat is a new mini ice age. (Remember that scientists have been convinced in the past that we would have a new ice age, and even considered pouring soot over the arctic in the 1970s to help melt the ice - in order to prevent another ice age. Obama's top science advisor wasone of those warning of a new ice age in the 1970s. And see this.)

NASA reports this week that we may be on the verge of another Maunder Minimum (a period with an unusually low number of sunspots, leading to colder temperatures): 

Much has been made of the probable connection between the Maunder Minimum, a 70-year deficit of sunspots in the late 17^th-early 18th century, and the coldest part of the Little Ice Age, during which Europe and North America were subjected to bitterly cold winters. The mechanism for that regional cooling could have been a drop in the sun's EUV output; this is, however, speculative. 

The yearly averaged sunspot number for a period of 400 years (1610-2010). © NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

The sun could be on the threshold of a mini-Maunder event right now. Ongoing Solar Cycle 24 is the weakest in more than 50 years. Moreover, there is (controversial) evidence of a long-term weakening trend in the magnetic field strength of sunspots. Matt Penn and William Livingston of the National Solar Observatory predict that by the time Solar Cycle 25 arrives, magnetic fields on the sun will be so weak that few if any sunspots will be formed. Independent lines of research involving helioseismology and surface polar fields tend to support their conclusion.

NASA explains that interactions between the sun, sources of cosmic radiation and the Earth are very complicated, and it takes an interdisciplinary team of heliophysicists, chemists and others to quantify what is really going on. And the Earth's climate is also affected by cosmic radiation. So - even if NASA's prediction of a period of an unusually low amount of sun spots is proven correct - it is hard to know whether that will lead to a large or small reduction in temperature trends.- Washington's Blog.

http://thecelestialconvergence.blogspot.it/2013/01/monumental-earth-changes-is-planetary.html

Two giant whales found beached in Long Island

January 15, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Marine officials say two whales washed up on New York's Long Island just hours apart. One was dead and the other was later euthanized.

Newsday says they were discovered Sunday on separate stretches of East Hampton beaches.

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation said they don't believe the two events are connected.

The first whale was found dead around 8 a.m. in Napeague. Officials say there were no outward signs of what may have caused the death of the 59-foot-long finback whale.

At around 2:30 p.m., officials got a report of a 5-foot-long juvenile pygmy sperm whale in nearby Amagansett. The foundation says it was euthanized because it had skin lesions and appeared "sickly."

Necropsies will be performed on both mammals on Monday. - FOX News.
http://thecelestialconvergence.blogspot.it

Heightened activity at Italy’s Stromboli volcano frightens residents

The flanks of the Stromboli volcano north of Sicily spews lava towards the sea on January 14, 2013 after one of Europe’s most active volanoes churned into activity. Spectacular lava flows and smoke from an active volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli on Monday sparked fear among inhabitants but geophysicists said the situation was under control.

January 15, 2013 – ITALY – Spectacular lava flows and smoke from an active volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli on Monday sparked fear among inhabitants but geophysicists said the situation was under control. Stromboli is part of the seven-island Eolian Archipelago just off Sicily in southern Italy. The volcano is active but on Monday there was a particularly powerful eruption and sustained lava flows, following four days of heightened activity. Stromboli mayor Marco Giorgianni told the island’s 500 inhabitants that they were not at risk and experts from Italy’s civil protection agency are due on the island for further controls shortly. “We are afraid,” one resident, Pier Paolo Cincotta, was quoted by the ANSA news agency as saying. “No-one has really explained to us what the situation is and what we should do,” he said. Italy’s National Geophysics Institute is monitoring the situation. –France 24

Chinese Village Is Being Swallowed Up By Monster Sinkholes

The land in a Chinese village is quite literally disappearing before the residents' eyes with large sinkholes swallowing up vast spaces. In the past five months villagers from Lianyuan in southern China's Hunan Province have been left alarmed after seeing over 20 holes suddenly open up in the ground. From last September the cave-ins, which range in size, have seen houses collapse and rivers dry and left villagers terrified about where the next will be.

Guessing game: The constant developments have left villagers terrified about where the next will be.

Investigator: It is not clear what steps are being taken to prevent further sinkholes from appearing but the local government has started an investigation.

Initial investigation showed reckless coal mining has damaged the underground water system and caused cave-ins in farm fields and riverbanks in recent months, the China News Service reported today. Over 4,000 villages have now been left with a water supply problem as land subsidence has blocked some creeks, reported Sina. It also cracked the walls of about 20 houses, forcing two families to evacuate.

Cut off: Over 4,000 villages have now been left with a water supply problem as land subsidence has blocked some creeks.

Alarmed: Villagers from Lianyuan in southern China's Hunan Province have been left alarmed by continuous sinkholes that have seen over 20 holes suddenly open up in the ground over the past five months.

Holes: According to the Lianyuan government, preliminary investigations found that the coalmines are the main reason for the cave-ins.

Read more HERE: The CELESTIAL Convergence

Onslow,Australia: a big tsunami of red dust!

January 11, 2013 - AUSTRALIA - Mother Nature put on a spectacular display off the coast of Onslow yesterday, where a menacing-looking storm was captured on camera by a tug boat worker. Jurien Bay man Brett Martin and his colleagues were working west of False Island when the thunderstorm, which had gathered dust and sand as it developed, passed over Onslow and out to the Indian Ocean. Mr Martin said the storm built up in a matter of minutes. 

"We were steaming along in the boat just before sunset and the storm was casually building in the distance, then it got faster and faster and it went from glass to about 40 knots in two minutes," he said. "It was like a big dust storm under a thunderhead, there was a lot of lightning but not a lot of rain." Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Austen Watkins said the stunning view was created as wind and rain caused the storm to dump the sand and dust it had ingested while passing Onslow. He said gusts of up to 102km/h were recorded from the thunderstorm at about 7.30pm on Wednesday, and such storms were normal for the region at this time of year. The storm was unrelated to the looming Tropical Cyclone Narelle, he said. -Yahoo.

Extraordinary: New island rises from the sea off German coast

January 12, 2013 – GERMANY – An island the size of 25 football pitches has appeared seemingly out of nowhere off the coast of Germany. The landmass, which is composed of sandbanks, gradually emerged from the violent waters of the North Sea over the past few years. It lies 24 kilometres off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany’s far north in a stretch of coastline known as the Wattenmeer, a marine national park. Nature lovers and yachtsmen noticed the appearance of Bird Island – named after the seabirds who rest, nest or feed on the sand dunes that are up to almost five meters high. Winds blew seeds from across Europe, and 49 species of plants have been detected on it. Detlef Hansen, head of the national park, said: “This is, for us conservationists, anything but ordinary.” -News

Over 100 dead in French strikes and fighting in Mali

January 12, 2013 – AFRICA – An army officer at the headquarters of Mali’s former military junta in Bamako said nearly 30 vehicles carrying Islamist fighters had been bombed and “over 100” rebels had been killed in fighting. “We have driven them out, we are effectively in Konna,” Malian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Diaran Kone told Reuters. “We don’t know if they have planted mines or other traps, so we are moving with caution. There were many deaths on both sides.” A shopkeeper in Konna said he had counted 148 bodies in four different locations in the town. Among the dead were several dozen uniformed government soldiers. Others wore traditional robes and turbans. Fighters from the Islamist coalition that currently controls northern Mali do not wear military clothing. A resident in the town of Gao, the stronghold of the MUJWA Islamist group, said fighters had begun arriving with their dead on Friday. “Electric power is available at the mortuary, which is not always the case. And the Islamists have bought plenty of burial mats,” the man said. –Reuters