Tag: NASA

Return Of The Dust Bowl? The “Megadrought” In The Southwest Is Really Starting To Escalate

– August 28, 2020

Much of the southwestern portion of the United States has been gripped by a drought that never seems to end, and there is a tremendous amount of concern that patterns that we witnessed back during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s may be starting to repeat.  In a previous article, I discussed the extreme heat that we have been seeing in the region lately.  Phoenix has never had more days in a year when the high temperature has hit at least 115 degrees, and other southwestern cities have been smashing records as well.  At the same time, precipitation levels have been very low, and the combination of these two factors is starting to cause some major problems.

A couple of weeks ago, NASA posted an article on their official website about the horrible drought conditions that we are now witnessing…

As the United States moves into the last weeks of climatological summer, one-third of the country is experiencing at least a moderate level of drought. Much of the West is approaching severe drought, and New England has been unusually dry and hot. An estimated 53 million people are living in drought-affected areas.

Since NASA posted that article, things have gotten even worse.  If you go to the U.S. Drought Monitor website, you will instantly see why so many experts are deeply concerned.  The latest map shows that nearly the entire southwestern quadrant of the country is now gripped by either “severe” or “extreme” drought.  Needless to say, this is not good news at all for farmers and ranchers in the region.

Colorado is one of the states that is being hit the hardest.  At this point, more than 93 percent of the entire state is experiencing very serious drought conditions…

According to United States Drought Monitor, drought conditions have gotten significantly worse in Colorado in recent days and weeks.

Last week, approximately 72 percent of Colorado was experiencing “severe” drought conditions or worse. This has now jumped to just over 93 percent.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Mamma Mia! NASA Tracking Asteroid Nearly Double the Diameter of Roman Colosseum Approaching Earth

Sputnik News – August 31, 2020

The so-called ‘Near-Earth Object’, classified as such by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was first discovered by astronomers in 2010, and is set to cross Earth’s orbit on Sunday.

NASA is tracking a massive, 270 metre-wide asteroid that’s nearly double the diameter of the Great Roman Colosseum, and almost twice the height of Egypt’s iconic Pyramid of Giza.

The asteroid, formally known as object ‘465824 (2010 FR)’, is making its way toward Earth’s orbit at an incredible speed of approximately 50,530 km per hour (or 14 km per second), or over 1.5 times faster than what scientists call high-hypersonic speed.

The object, known as an ‘Apollo’ asteroid because it crosses Earth’s orbit, is not believed to be a threat to life on the planet, according to astronomers from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

Nevertheless, scientists are monitoring space rocks such as 465824 (2010 FR) due to the effects of the gravitational pull of the planets of our solar system, as well as the Sun, which can alter their trajectory.

The asteroid is expected to hit Earth’s orbit on September 6, and will be just one of about ten near-Earth orbit flybys next month. Two such asteroids – 2020 QG5 and 2011 ES4, will arrive on Tuesday. Two more, 2020 PG6 and 465824 (2010 FR) will arrive on September 2 and 6, respectively. NASA expects ten more asteroid flybys in October.

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos commented on 2011 ES4’s approach on Sunday, promising that the planet “won’t die” from the 25 meter diameter space rock as it zips by the planet at a distance closer to Earth than our Moon. According to Roscosmos’s figures, about 80 similar asteroids approached Earth in August.

Astronomers don’t manage to spot every single asteroid that approaches Earth ahead of time. Earlier this month, a 3 by 6 meter asteroid zipped past Earth just 2,950 km above the Indian Ocean.

https://sputniknews.com

NASA Keeping Tabs on Stadium-Sized Asteroid Headed Toward Earth

Amy Furr – June 4, 2020

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Wednesday that it was keeping an eye on several asteroids moving closer to Earth in the next few days.

“According to the agency’s asteroid watch, the largest of the five currently being tracked is 1,100 feet wide, roughly the size of a stadium,” WMBF reported.

However, the massive asteroid, expected to be nearest the Earth on Saturday, was not supposed to be a threat because the closest it was predicted to come was 3.16 million miles away.

“There are three others the size of a plane and one the size of a house also making their way to earth over the next few days,” according to Fox 2 Now.

“Scientists also don’t believe there are any concerns from those asteroids either. The closest one is expected to come within 1,830,000 miles of earth later today,” the article noted.

On its website, NASA posted an Asteroid Watch Widget to track the asteroids and comets that would make relatively close approaches to our planet.

“The Widget displays the next five Earth approaches to within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers or 19.5 times the distance to the moon); an object larger than about 150 meters that can approach the Earth to within this distance is termed a potentially hazardous object,” the site read.

Although it was unlikely for an asteroid to collide with Earth in the near future, scientists from all over the world gathered at a 2019 conference to discuss how to respond to one big enough to destroy a major city, according to CBS News.

“All we have to do is change its speed a little faster or a little slower so that when it crosses Earth’s orbit, it crosses either in front of us or behind us,” stated Dr. Lori Glaze, who is the director of planetary science at NASA.

https://www.breitbart.com

Statue of Liberty-sized ASTEROID barrelling towards Earth as six space rocks set to skim past

RT – May 22, 2020

A huge asteroid that’s roughly the size of the Statue of Liberty is set to fly past Earth on Saturday. The enormous object is among a clutch of six space rocks that will whizz past our planet this weekend.

The largest of the half-dozen space visitors is dubbed 2020 JX and it measures up to 100 meters in diameter, making it around the same size as the icon on Liberty island in New York.

NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is tracking the flying chunk of space material in case it poses any danger to our planet. Thankfully, its calculations forecast that the space boulder will safely pass by at a speed of nearly 18,000 miles per hour at around 19:00 GMT.

The US Space Administration has classified 2020 JX as an Apollo asteroid, the same classification as the meteor that injured hundreds of people when it exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013.

It has also been designated as a ‘Near Earth Object,’ the term NASA uses to describe “comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth’s neighborhood.”

Asteroid 2020 JX is the largest of four space rocks that will fly near Earth on Saturday. Two additional asteroids will sail past on Sunday and NASA says that all six will pass at a safe distance. The closest visitor will be around 900,000 miles from Earth at its closest point.

Astronomers are currently monitoring nearly 2,000 asteroids, comets and other objects that could be a danger to Earth. However, experts have also warned that undetected asteroids could also pose a threat to our planet.

https://www.rt.com

‘Potentially Hazardous’ Asteroid the Size of Golden Gate Bridge Approaching Earth at 11 km/s

Sputnik News – May 11, 2020

Several space rocks are expected to cross paths with earth this month, but the largest one, and potentially the most dangerous, is the Apollo-class 1997 BQ asteroid, as researchers believe that any space objects measuring close to one kilometre in diameter could have devastating consequences for our planet.

NASA disclosed that 1997 BQ asteroid, also known as 136795, will “closely approach” Earth on the evening of 21 May, sweeping round at a speed of around 11.6 kilometre per second. The space rock was first observed back in January 1997 and is measured at between 0.668 and 1.493 kilometers in diameter, judging by its brightness, which makes it “roughly” comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge, the space agency notes.

The asteroid is deemed “potentially hazardous” by NASA, as it belongs to the Apollo category of space rocks, the trajectory of which crosses the orbit of our planet. It might be too early to sound an alarm though, as 1997 BQ will only approach our home from a distance of 0.04115 astronomical units, or 6.156 million kilometres in human terms.

However, NASA’s Centre for Near Earth Object Studies is closely monitoring the object which is considered to be larger than 97% of other space asteroids. Any rocks that are close to one kilometre in size can be potentially dangerous to our planet, the National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy revealed in 2018, as they can create a significant regional impact with secondary effects such as tsunamis, without even making contact with the earth.

https://sputniknews.com

NASA Missed an Asteroid that Came Closer to Earth than the Moon

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz– April 16, 2020

An asteroid the size of a house was discovered by NASA last week, which was just in time to announce its near-miss on Wednesday night. Asteroid 2020 GH2 is estimated to be 43 to 70 feet wide according to Space.com.

NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office assured Earth-dwellers that our planet was safe from destruction, tweeting a video that attempted to put a near-earth pass into perspective.

The video depicted the Earth as a basketball, the moon as a tennis ball 25 feet away, and the asteroid responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs as a grain of salt “a couple of blocks away.” But GH2 was not a couple of blocks away. GH2 passed by the Earth at a distance of 220,000 miles, which put it about 16,000 miles closer than the moon.

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com