Hasta La Gadget!

Earth will likely get no warning of a doomsday asteroid, NASA has admitted, crushing dreams of sending Bruce Willis into space to save humanity at the final moment. “The most likely warning today would be zero” NASA sheepishly told Forbes, given “so many of even the larger NEOs [Near Earth Objects] remain undiscovered.” The surprise extinction possibility is at odds with the close flyby of asteroid Apophis this week, which astronomers spotted approaching back in 2004.

At the time, the scientists warned that there was a tiny possibility that Apophis could collide with the Earth, though that wouldn’t be expected until 2029. What the asteroid’s nearby orbit this week has revealed is that it is significantly larger than previously estimated – up 20-percent on the original figures – meaning, should it hit our planet, it would cause an explosion equivalent to 1,480 megatons of TNT.

Unlike movies, where teams of geologists, demolition experts, and astronauts are dispatched to safely blow up an asteroid before it can devastate Earth, NASA says that we’d likely have no warning whatsoever should an NEO be upon us. The most we’d see is a “flash of light and the shaking of the ground as it hit” the space agency says – hardly enough time to tweet “Did anybody else feel that? #doomsday”

On the other hand, if scientists spot a NEO – as was the case with Apophis – then we’d likely have decades of notice, given the predictable route they generally take. Ongoing projects like Spaceguard routinely monitor the area around Earth for potential NEOs, though exactly what we could do to prevent a subsequent collision is unclear.

While Bruce Willis used a huge bomb in the movie Armageddon, researchers last year decided that the size of the explosive would not have been sufficient to actually crack the space-rock open. In fact, more likely to succeed is an innovative system using five tons of colored paintballs, which would adjust the asteroid’s path thanks to a change in solar radiation pressure.

If an Earth-killing asteroid comes, you won’t have time to tweet about it is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re a sky watcher, you may be familiar with Vega. Vega is the fifth brightest star in the sky. Astronomers have recently made an interesting discovery that has to do with Vega. Using data from the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope and the ESA Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have discovered that Vega has two asteroid belts and may have an entire system of exoplanets.

Both the ESA and NASA orbital observatories use infrared light for their observations. Vega is 25 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Lyra. Astronomers discovered during their observations that the star has a warm inner belt of asteroids and a cool outer belt of asteroids. The outer belt of asteroids is roughly 10 times further from the star than the inner belt.

Vega’s two asteroid belts are separated by a gap. Interestingly, our sun also has two asteroid belts that use the same 1:10 ratio that has astronomers interest piqued. Other than having two asteroid belts, Vega and our sun are very different. Vega is twice as massive as the sun and significantly younger at approximately 600,000,000 years old compared to the sun’s 4 billion years of age. Vega is also much hotter and brighter than the sun.

Astronomers say that both Spitzer and Herschel were able to see the two belts of rocky debris from dust that the belts produced. This dust is created by the asteroids bumping and colliding together. The heat from Vega heats up this dust causing it to glow in infrared light allowing the orbiting observatories to view the dust clouds. The gap between the two asteroid belts suggests that planets are orbiting within the cloud of debris surrounding Vega. These plants have yet to be discovered but scientists are continuing their investigation.

[via Discovery]

Astronomers discover two asteroid belts around Vega is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The zombie planet saw a return from the dead back at the end of October 2012, however based on some new information, this planet may be on what is being referred to as rogue orbit. Or rather simply, it was said that the planet is in an “unusual” elliptical orbit and that it is currently moving further away from its home star.

Touching a little on the back story here, the zombie planet is actually called, Fomalhaut b. This planet is about three times the size of Jupiter and according to astronomers, it is the first planet ever imaged in visible light. The zombie planet name arrived back in October when researchers confirmed (by way of the Hubble) that the “sharp inner edge of the ring is consistent with the presence of a planet that gravitationally “shepherds” ring particles.”

In other words, the return to being a planet and the name zombie. Previous history aside though, the future for this planet is not looking all that certain at the moment. This stems back to the previously mentioned “unusual” elliptical orbit which according to astronomers, has it on a potentially destructive path. These astronomers noted that the planet is stuck in an orbit that is taking it through the star system’s debris disk.

And at the same time, the zombie planet continues to move farther away from its home star. Further research notes that these items (the orbit and it moving away) combined could be clues to a future planetary disruption in the system. In other words, this star system could collapse at some point and perhaps more exciting for astronomers here on earth — given this system is 25 light years from us, it could potentially offer something to see.

[via Science Recorder]

Zombie planet Fomalhaut b may be on a “potentially destructive path” is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Want to be a space pioneer? Not much tying you to planet Earth? Apply today and blast off for Mars! Yes, you really could be one of the first humans to set foot on the Red Planet, as Mars One is genuinely looking for new astronauts, and anyone anywhere can apply. More »

If you thought Mars was red, think again. When Curiosity gave the planet a New Year’s clean, she removed some of the red dust which covers the surface of the planet—and what lurks beneath is white. More »