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Hi all Thought I would start a thread on anything space related wether it be space travel, astonomy or anything related NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004. Image credit: UH/IA › Larger view PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA scientists at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., effectively have ruled out the possibility the asteroid Apophis will impact Earth during a close flyby in 2036. The scientists used updated information obtained by NASA-supported telescopes in 2011 and 2012, as well as new data from the time leading up to Apophis' distant Earth flyby yesterday (Jan. 9). Discovered in 2004, the asteroid, which is the size of three-and-a-half football fields, gathered the immediate attention of space scientists and the media when initial calculations of its orbit indicated a 2.7 percent possibility of an Earth impact during a close flyby in 2029. Data discovered during a search of old astronomical images provided the additional information required to rule out the 2029 impact scenario, but a remote possibility of one in 2036 remained - until yesterday. "With the new data provided by the Magdalena Ridge [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology] and the Pan-STARRS [univ. of Hawaii] optical observatories, along with very recent data provided by the Goldstone Solar System Radar, we have effectively ruled out the possibility of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively rule out an Earth impact in 2036. Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future." The April 13, 2029, flyby of asteroid Apophis will be one for the record books. On that date, Apophis will become the closest flyby of an asteroid of its size when it comes no closer than 19, 400 miles (31,300 kilometers) above Earth's surface. "But much sooner, a closer approach by a lesser-known asteroid is going to occur in the middle of next month when a 40-meter-sized asteroid, 2012 DA14, flies safely past Earth's surface at about 17,200 miles," said Yeomans. "With new telescopes coming online, the upgrade of existing telescopes and the continued refinement of our orbital determination process, there's never a dull moment working on near-Earth objects." NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet. The Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL manages the technical and scientific activities for NASA's Near-Earth Object Program of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. For more information about asteroids and near-Earth objects, visit:http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch Updates about near-Earth objects are also available by following AsteroidWatch on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch . DC Agle 818-393-9011 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. [email protected] Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726 NASA Headquarters, Washington [email protected] 2013-017

Sir Patrick brought space to the massesSir Patrick Moore, legendary astronomer and influential scientist has died, age 89 British astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore at his home in Selsy, West Sussex. Source: AP ASTRONOMER Patrick Moore, renowned for his work mapping the Moon's surface and for having popularised his subject with the British public, died Sunday at the age of 89, friends and colleagues announced. Moore, whose lunar research was used by both the US and Soviets space programs, died peacefully at his home in Selsey on the southern English coast. He had succumbed to an infection, colleagues said in a statement. "After a short spell in hospital last week, it was determined that no further treatment would benefit him, and it was his wish to spend his last days in his own home," they said. Besides his skill at explaining the universe, his monocle, wit, raised eyebrow and idiosyncratic style of speech endeared him to an army of space fans. Moore fronted the monthly BBC program "The Sky At Night" from its launch in 1957 and still running today, making him the world's longest-running presenter of the same television show. His last program was broadcast on Monday. Moore only ever missed one episode, in 2004, laid low by a contaminated egg. In 1959, the Soviets used his charts to correlate the first Lunik 3 pictures of the far side of the Moon. Moscow ensured he was the first Westerner to see the results, which he received mid-broadcast. His early shows went out live, with Moore once swallowing a fly on air. He was also involved in the lunar mapping in the run up to the NASA Apollo missions. "My own research -- mapping the Moon -- now belongs to the past, and my role, if I have one, is to try and urge others to do things which I could never do myself," he said in later life. "This century will be very interesting," he added. "The first man on Mars has probably already been born." Moore believed he was the only person to have met aviation pioneer Orville Wright; Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space; and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin, who accompanied Armstrong to the lunar surface, told the BBC in 2009 that Moore put astronomy "into perspective so that ordinary people understand the enormity of the universe". Moore first became fascinated with the stars aged six and two years later he was given the 1908 typewriter on which his vast array of books, papers and children's novels were written. He lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force at 16 and fight in World War II. He met Wright and Albert Einstein while on leave in North America, once accompanying the violin-playing Einstein on piano. His fiancee was killed by a bomb during the war, leaving Moore heartbroken. He died unmarried. Moore was also a skilled xylophone player who composed several pieces, as well as being a useful cricketer. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2001 for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting". The statement announcing his death said Moore had passed away in the company of close friends, carers and his cat Ptolemy. "Over the past few years, Patrick, an inspiration to generations of astronomers, fought his way back from many serious spells of illness and continued to work and write at a great rate, but this time his body was too weak to overcome the infection which set in a few weeks ago," it said. Queen guitarist Brian May, a doctor of astrophysics who co-authored two books with Moore, said the world had "lost a priceless treasure". "It's no exaggeration to say that Patrick, in his tireless and ebullient communication of the magic of astronomy, inspired every British astronomer, amateur and professional, for half a century." Former BBC science correspondent David Whitehouse also paid tribute to his colleague. Moore "was not a professionally trained astronomer and yet did professional quality work, particularly when it came to mapping the Moon in the 1950s," he told Sky News television. "I think every astronomer in the world owes something to Patrick Moore." Moore had asked for a "quiet ceremony of interment", said the statement from his friends. But a farewell event is planned in March, for what would have been his 90th birthday. OZ A great man of science that inspired a generation ,his insistence and knowledge will be truly missed