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NASA Established a Planetary Defense Program

January 13, 2016 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

NASA and ESA managed to piece together a full-fledged planetary defense program aimed at protecting Earth from hazardous NEOs.

With all the space junk floating around Earth, it’s no wonder that people are beginning to thinks that apocalyptic scenarios like the one depicted in Armageddon can become reality. For this reason, NASA established a planetary defense program, a collaboration between several space agencies aimed at protecting the Earth from space threats.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to get hit by a big hunk of space debris, but it is very important to exercise caution in this matter. And as more NEO’s (Near Earth Objects) are being detected each day, NASA’s initiative couldn’t have come at a better time.

And so NASA officially announced its brand new space defense program called the Planetary Defense Coordination Office or PDCO for short.

PDCO’s mandate will be to identify NEO’s, assess the potential threat of the object, and, if necessary, to take any measures to prevent the object from colliding with our planet. I don’t think that we’ll be getting a Harry Stamper to drill the brains out of an asteroid, but we can sure that the boys and girls from NASA have some decent pieces of equipment standing by to offer protection from this kind of threat.

NASA established a planetary defense program in the hope that doomsday scenarios will never take place. As said, the Office has a dual mandate: to identify and catalog potential hazardous near-Earth object and, if it necessary, to coordinate a with other space agencies in order to protect Earth.

On the subject of protection against potentially hazardous NEOs, NASA has cooked up quite a plan. With the office in the state, the North American space agency was partnered up with the European Space Agency to refine the defense plan.

Moreover, it would seem that the ESA has worked, for some time now, on certain projects in involving planetary defense.

The Planetary Defense Coordination Office is run by NASA’s Science Directorate. As we mentioned, the program must be capable of detecting near-Earth objects large enough to pose a threat to our planet.

A space object can be regarded as a threat towards out planet if it has more than 30 to 50 meters in diameter. Also, the office would declare a critical condition if such an object gets within a range of 150 million kilometers.

The most common methods employed to identify hazardous space objects are NASA’s ground telescopes and the novel near-Earth object wise infrared telescope, which is NASA’s newest asset.

NASA established a planetary defense program in order to react in case an asteroid decides to pay us a visit.

Photo credits:www.wikipedia.org

Astronomers Claim; Comet Like Asteroid Discovered

November 13, 2014 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

A group of researchers discovered that a well known asteroid experienced identity crisis. The Lincoln near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) facility found this asteroid nearly ten years ago.

The asteroid that looks pretty similar to a comet move around the sun in the asteroid belt of solar system. Comets and asteroid are quite easy to distinguish since a comet consists of rock and ice. On the flip hand, asteroids are a mixture of carbon, silicon and some other compound.

Experts of Carnegie Institution for Science and drawf planet observed a really surprising tail on asteroid 62412. However, the tail compels the researchers Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo to recatogorize this ordinary asteroid as active asteroid. The experts evaluated it as the first asteroid of the Hygeia family that appears like a comet.

Active asteroids are usually located at the belt that separate Jupiter from Mars.

Unfortunately, astronomers failed to determine the reason behind the release of gas and dust and the formation of tails. Thus far, the group of researcher demonstrated numerous theories in order to describe this event.

Moreover, the researchers considered the asteroid as the 13^th active main belt asteroid. Thus far, scientists discovered nearly 12 active asteroids; therefore this one is listed as number 13.

The two researchers presented the data at the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences.

Water That We Consume Is Maybe Older Than The Sun, Study Briefs

September 28, 2014 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

‘Significant fraction’ of Earth’s water is older even before the existence of solar system and the birth of Sun, Boffins claimed.

The study conducted by Boffins Ilsedore Cleeves, at the University of Michigan states that, ‘significant fraction’ of Earth’s water was created by 4.5bn years ago.

This study is published in the Science journal, revealing the thought that water might be discovered elsewhere in the universe. And, where there is water, there is life.

The study stated that some parts of the water originated in ocean, comets, as well as meteorites and on the moon, which actually predate the sun’s origin. There is just one option that it is formed in the cold, the interstellar cloud from which the sun itself created, Boffins stated.

Boffins Ilsedore Cleeves revealed about the planet forming disks around young stars. These disks act as a shield from galactic rays developed due to strong solar winds which drastically changing the chemistry happening within the disks. He further told that, it seems very difficult for the region present within the disks to synthesize new molecules. Cleeves wrote in an email to Discovery News stating that “This was actually an ‘aha’ minute for us. The only place these gases would have come from, without creating water, was the chemically rich interstellar gas from which the solar system formed.”

The study result has implications concerning search for life beyond Earth, as water appears to be necessary for life.

Cleeves added, “If the sun was formed through the conventional interstellar ices, including water, are expected to have common elements needed for the creation of all planetary systems that set a magnificent view on the prospect of other life in the universe.”

Astronomers Revealed: Earth’s Water is Older than Sun

September 27, 2014 By Jason Leathers Leave a Comment

To find out the major source of Earth’s water is pivotal in order to learn how life sustaining circumstances grow and how prone they are to be revealed somewhere else in the Universe.

In fact, our solar system might be started off as ices, which developed in the interstellar space, researchers from the Carnegie Institution stated.

Recent insights revealed that, the solar nebula consists of less ionizing radiation than earlier believed. The models stated that some parts of the water originated in ocean, comets, as well as meteorites and on the moon, which actually predate the sun’s origin. There is just one option that it is formed in the cold, the interstellar cloud from which the sun itself created, researchers claimed.

Conel Alexander revealed about the planet forming disks around young stars. These disks act as a shield from galactic rays developed due to strong solar winds which drastically changing the chemistry happening within the disks. Though, the astronomers believed that it seems very difficult for the region present within the disks to synthesize new molecules.

In addition, it’s not believed to be only water which is expected to endure the solar system formation. “This might be true for the organic matters, which we all know is there in molecular cloud ices. So, I believe this actually strengthens the case that we have interstellar organic matters in comets and meteorites too,” Alexander wrote in an email to Discovery News.

The study is published in the ‘Science’ journal.

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