UPDATE: Asteroid Disintegration Observed by HST Is A 1st

Hey Space Placers!

UPDATE: Ron Baalke of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), an expert in all things asteroids and comets, advised via Twitter that ASTEROID 2013 R3 was reclassified as a comet - P/2013 R3 on Sept. 27, 2013. Once again the line between what are comets and asteroids merges; they are probably one in the same in some instances only requiring a change in their environment to change over.

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Asteroids ruled my blog yesterday and they do today. Asteroid 2014 EC is flying by a bit closer at 36,000 miles at about 4:29 pm EST and newly designated 2014 EF flew by earlier today at about 104,000 miles. You can hear my interview about asteroids on WTOP here.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has photographed for the first time an asteroid, P/2013 R3, in the process of disintegrating.

Comet nuclei have been observed to break up approaching the Sun and Jupiter. But astronomers have never seen this happen to an asteroid in the asteroid belt before so it is getting quite a bit of attention.
There are about 10 pieces that have been observed so far.

The asteroid was unusual since its discovery late last year and follow up observations have chronicled the ongoing disintegration. Astronomers have ruled out a collision and some other possibilities. The likely cause is due to the effect of sunlight on the crumbly space rock.

You can read more about it here.

Sky Guy in Soon to be warmer VA

Metro Bus SIzed Asteroid to Flyby at 38,500 Miles - Asteroids, Asteroids, Asteroids

Hey Space Placers!

Asteroids are getting more headlines today - 3-5-14 - as 2014 DX110 (don't you love these designations???!!!!!) will pass about 217,000 miles from Earth at about 4:06 p.m. EST. There was another asteroid that flew by at over 2.5 million miles from us today. Both of these asteroids are about the same size or a little larger than Chelyabinsk and have been discovered in the past few days.

You can tune in to watch this flyby here at 4:00 p.m. EST.

What will really get people's attention is the official announcement that just came out as I am writing this blog about the newly discovered asteroid 2014 EC that is due to flyby Earth tomorrow at 38,500 miles - that's very close - at 4:29 p.m. EST. Depending on its composition our atmosphere would likely break it up and possibly meteorites would be produced. It would be one heck of a bright fireball but it will safely pass.

Another asteroid, VE1E9BE is due to flyby later tonight at 100,000 miles although there has not been an official announcement on that yet. This information is coming to me via Twitter and Listserv emails.

I will be on WTOP today at 5:10 p.m. EST discussing these asteroid flybys.

I think people are getting the idea that asteroids flyby all the time and the media is picking up on it. There are still sensational and WRONG articles on asteroids as I spotted 3 major errors in one major news organization's website - used comet instead of asteroid for one error. Another described 2014 DX110 as "Huge" - hardly at only 80-90 feet across. But such headline adjectives sell.

I might have more on this regarding the two close flybys depending on what if any news coverage develops.

Sky Guy in Thawing Out VA

NASA Budget Brief 3-4-14 @ 2 P.M. EST

Hey Space Placers!

From NASA:

March 3, 2014

MEDIA ADVISORY M14-039

NASA Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Briefing Now a Teleconference

Because of inclement weather in the Washington area, NASA's Fiscal Year 2015 budget media briefing on Tuesday, March 4 now will be a teleconference. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and NASA Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson will brief reporters starting at 2 p.m. EST.

Media can participate by dialing into a phone bridge instead of having to be in person at a NASA center.

Audio and visuals from the media teleconference will be carried live on NASA's Internet homepage and on Ustream.

Media who want to participate in the teleconference should contact Sonja Alexander in the NASA Headquarters newsroom at 202-358-1761 or sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov by 1 p.m. Tuesday.

During the budget briefing, NASA also will take as many questions as possible submitted via Twitter using the hashtag#askNASA.

To listen to the media briefing online or hear the teleconference with visuals on Ustream, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

NASA's fiscal year 2015 budget proposal and supporting material will be posted online at 1 p.m. Tuesday at:

http://www.nasa.gov/budget

Will be interesting to see funding allocations by NASA.

Sky Guy in Frozen & Snow Covered VA

NASA, 'Gravity' & the Twitterverse

Hey Space Placers!

I was launched into the Twitterverse (@SkyGuyInVA) last night during the Oscars and saw1st hand the power of Social Media.

The Oscar show last night was not the best for many reasons BUT Twitter was something to see. The two main threads were the star studded selfie taken at the Oscars that was reported to have beaten President Obama's all time Twitter Tweet and Tweets about 'Gravity'.

'Gravity' nabbed 7 Oscars which is an all time high for a space themed (or any) scifi movie. 1969's '2001: A Space Odyssey' was the last true ground breaker in space related story telling and Gravity was a worthy heir.

In a move of pure social media genius NASA shared with the Twitterverse "#RealGravity" Tweets that showed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as it really is. The images were remarkable and beautiful beyond description - you felt them as you viewed them.

Each time Gravity won an Oscar NASA would release another Tweet. Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as on the ground Tweeted congratulatory messages to Gravity.

When the star studded selfie from the Oscars went out I wanted to send out what I consider to be the best selfie EVER as it was taken over the world:

Astronaut Clay Anderson took the selfie and you could say that the Earth Photobombed (appeared in) his selfie. The response from Twitterverse was gratifying last night but upon sending it out to today (3-3-14) in response to a HuffPost Tweet about the Oscar selfie it really took off with dozens of Tweeters responding by "favoriting" and "retweeting" the image.

Once again this shows me that many people on this planet are space oriented and care about humans in space. 'The movie 'Gravity' brought that out as people could see, experience and identify with space and humans in it through the images of LEO and the superb performances by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

NASA using the Twitterverse took people to the real deal or #RealGravity of humans in LEO in a way that only someone who has been there can do. Astronauts Tweeting from space in real time was surreal as were the images.

In 6 months NASA takes a giant leap forward with the launch of an unmanned test Orion spacecraft atop a Delta IV heavy for the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission. Orion will go out to 3.600 miles, a distance designed to test the re-entry capabilities of Orion, orbit Earth twice and re-enter at over 20,000 miles per hour, a speed not seen since Apollo astronauts returning from the Moon.

NASA is building the Space Launch System (SLS) which when combined with Orion can send astronauts to LEO, the Moon, Mars and asteroids. There are a lot of critics that say private industry can do it better than NASA, that we don't need to send humans out in space - let robots do it - that NASA is a dinosaur and is broken.

To all of them I say NASA is the only organization that currently exists that can stave off the extinction of humanity due to a space-related calamity and propel us into a space-based future. NASA is funding private sector space and developing new technology through R&D. ISS is learning about the effect of space on the human body. NASA has sent probes to very planet and is enroute to Pluto. It is not perfect by any means but nothing involving humans is.

I hope you see Gravity or view it again. It is not perfect in its science but it is perfect in its imagery and portrayals. Be sure to look at the real deal NASA LEO images afterwards and make it a point to wave at ISS when it flies over you.

Sky Guy in VA

Real Deal Gravity

Hey Space Placers!

As I recuperate from screaming my vocal chords into hoarseness at John Paul Jones Area last night (3/1/14) watching my beloved University of Virginia Cavaliers' Men's Basketball Team clinch their 1st ACC Regular Season Championship in 33 years I am preparing to watch "Gravity".

I know it will not win at the Academy Awards tonight as SciFi NEVER wins at the Oscars - 2001 anyone? As much as I loved the movie I want you to take a look at NASA Goddard's "Real Gravity" photos page to get a sense of the real deal in space…...http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/sets/72157641720644305

Follow me on Twitter @SkyGuyinVA to get all my instant Tweets and info.

Sky Guy in StormWarning Expecting 10-14" SNOW VA

Sky Guy Viewing ALERT! Mars Is Approaching

Hey Space Placers!

In between the unending line of winter storms (another one this Sunday-Monday) and bone chilling polar vortexes we in Virginia have had this hard winter, I had a chance to see Mars last night - 2/28/14 - with my unaided eye.

Mars is fast approaching for its closest approach to Earth which will be in mid-April (I will have more details in a future blog). The Red Planet is easy to see in the south eastern sky after 11 p.m. as it is the brightest "star" in that region of the sky.

What caught my attention last night however was that Mars, a reddish-orange orb in the sky has a similarly colored star, Arcturus, to its far left. Arcturus is known as the "star of spring" as when it becomes visible in the night sky it means spring is not far behind.

Arcturus is the second brightest star in Northern Hemisphere skies, second only to brilliant Sirius which dominates the southern skyline in winter. Overall it is the 4th brightest star in the night sky and is located in the constellation of Bootes.

Try going out at about 11 p.m in the next few nights before the Moon begins to light the sky up and see brightening Mars in the southeast and bright Arcturus on the east. Look to the southwest and you will see the retreating stars and constellations of winter, and that to me is a good thing after this year's winter!

Sky Guy in Another Winter Storm is a'comin' To VA

Mind Boggling Video Flies Through Galaxies

Hey Space Placers!

You owe it to yourself to watch this video made with real images the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These are REAL galaxies that you are seeing in a three dimensional view as you "fly" through and amongst the trillions upon trillions of stars and planets that reside within all of these island Universes.

I suggest that you download it watch it in a dark room with your screen at full brightness and do so several times as you will see something new each time.

What impressed me the most, besides the sheer number and variety of galaxies we see, are the strings and clusters of galaxies that we encounter. These are real structures and it is most enlightening to see them in all of their massive and far reaching splendor. Studying this structure may help us unravel the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.

Sky Guy in FRIGID COLD VA