Carl Sagan,Stephen Hawking Tribute Video- 29OCT09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjb

by melodysheep

My own musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn - Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage taken from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series.

RIP Dr. Sagan, you will be missed!!

Please, click HQ to watch in better quality.

Go here to download the track:
http://www.colorpulsemusic.com/youtub...

And my website for more original music:
http://www.colorpulsemusic.com/

Enjoy!!

-John
boswelj3@gmail.com


Lyrics:

[Sagan]
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch
You must first invent the universe

Space is filled with a network of wormholes
You might emerge somewhere else in space
Some when-else in time

The sky calls to us
If we do not destroy ourselves
We will one day venture to the stars

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths
Of exquisite interrelationships
Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

But the brain does much more than just recollect
It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes
it generates abstractions

The simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has it's own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world

[Hawking]
For thousands of years
People have wondered about the universe
Did it stretch out forever
Or was there a limit

From the big bang to black holes
From dark matter to a possible big crunch
Our image of the universe today
Is full of strange sounding ideas

[Sagan}
How lucky we are to live in this time
The first moment in human history
When we are in fact visiting other worlds

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean
Recently we've waded a little way out
And the water seems inviting
---------------------------------------

Watch Cosmos for free on Hulu:
http://www.hulu.com/cosmos

Carl Sagan's Mii Character #(for Wii):
6774-1898-8986

Meteor/Meteorite News- 29OCT09

If sky is clear, meteors will put on a show

FayObserver.com
The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17. This annual shower produced a spectacular number of meteors in 2001 and less impressive numbers in years since. ...

Dwain Walden: Television can be educational

Americus Times-Recorder
It is believed that meteor strikes in Russia and down in Mexico millions of years ago destroyed the dinosaurs. Unless we have a plan, millions of years from ...

Alleged Latvia Meteorite A Hoax

RedOrbit
Yesterday it was purported to be the site of a meteorite crash, but today a telephone company admitted it was a hoax. Firefighters rushed to a farm near the ...

Marketing campaign behind meteorite hoax
Independent Online Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00 PM PDT
A Swedish cellphone operator has acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia.

SCIENCE CHANNEL COMMISSIONS NEW EPISODES OF METEORITE MEN The Futon Critic Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:41 AM PDT Six new episodes will roll out beginning Wednesday, January 20 at 9:00/8:00c.

Tele2 in a hole over 'meteor' publicity stunt CNN Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:18 PM PDT An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Mobile operator faces legal action over fake meteorite
telecomasia.net Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:52 PM PDT
It must have seemed a good idea at the time, but Swedish cellco Tele2 faces a hefty bill after creating a fake meteorite landing on a Latvian farm. When locals reported lights in the sky on Sunday evening, the Latvian government sent special forces and scientific experts to the scene.

Indonesien: Nach Ufo-Ente in Lettland - jetzt Einschlag von zehn ...

ShortNews.de - Germany
Wie die Raumfahrtbehörde von Indonesien am gestrigen Dienstag meldete, schlug bereits ein Meteorit am 8. Oktober im Landesteil Süd-Sulawesi ein. ...

SCIENCE CHANNEL COMMISSIONS NEW EPISODES OF METEORITE MEN

The Futon Critic
METEORITE MEN is scheduled to debut Wednesday, January 20, 2010, at 9 PM (ET/PT). Notkin and Arnold have searched the world for remnants of meteorites for ...

Q & A: How could a meteor *explode*?

ScienceBlogs (blog)
My answer: a large meteor or small asteroid/comet could have done this easily. How? Let me explain. When a meteor enters Earth's atmosphere, ...

Indonesia Meteor/Meteorite News- Bone, Indonesian ASTEROID 8OCT09 28OCT09

Space Weather News for Oct. 28, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

INDONESIAN ASTEROID: Earlier this month, with no warning, a ~10-meter wide asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere above Indonesia and exploded. The break-up was so powerful, it triggered nuclear test ban sensors thousands of kilometers away. A just-released analysis of infrasound data shows that the asteroid detonated with an energy equivalent of about 50 kton of TNT, similar to a small atomic bomb. This significant impact has received relatively little attention in Western press.

Details are available today on http://spaceweather.com

MORE:
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html

From the Telegraph (UK):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6444895/Asteroid-explosion-over-Indonesia-raises-fears-about-Earths-defences.html

*Asteroid explosion over Indonesia raises fears about Earth's defences*


*An asteroid that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere with the energy
of three Hiroshima bombs this month has reignited fears about our
planet's defences against space impacts.*

By Tom Chivers
Published: 10:23AM GMT 27 Oct 2009

On 8 October, the rock crashed into the atmosphere above South Sulawesi,
Indonesia <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia

The blast was heard by monitoring stations 10,000 miles away, according
to a report by scientists at the University of Western Ontario
<http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html

Scientists are concerned that it was not spotted by any telescopes, and
that had it been larger it could have caused a disaster.

The asteroid <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space

>, estimated to
have been around 10 metres (30ft) across, hit the atmosphere at an
estimated 45,000mph. The sudden deceleration caused it to heat up
rapidly and explode with the force of 50,000 tons of TNT.
Luckily, due to the height of the explosion -- estimated at between 15
and 20 km (nine to 12 miles) above sea level -- no damage was caused on
the ground.
However, if the object had been slightly larger -- 20 to 30 metres (60
to 90ft) across -- it could easily have caused extensive damage and loss
of life, say researchers.
Very few objects smaller than 100 meters (300ft) across have been
spotted and catalogued by astronomers.

Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center
<http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html

> in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
warned that it was inevitable that minor asteroids would go unnoticed.
He said: "If you want to find the smallest objects you have to build
more, larger telescopes.
"A survey that finds all of the 20-metre objects will cost probably
multiple billions of dollars."

The fireball was spotted by locals in Indonesia, and a YouTube video
taken that day <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs

> "appears to
show a large dust cloud consistent with a bright, daylight fireball",
according to the Ontario researchers.

An asteroid or comet fragment around 60 meters across is believed to
have been behind the Tunguska Event
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

>, a powerful explosion that
took place over Russia in 1908. The blast has been estimated at
equivalent to 10-15 million tons of TNT -- enough to destroy a large city.

The White House
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/

>
is to develop a policy on the space object impact threat by October next
year.

More Yet:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html

Asteroid Impactor Reported over Indonesia
Don Yeomans, Paul Chodas, Steve Chesley
NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
October 23, 2008

On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball
blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The
blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid
about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated
in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of
50,000 pounds of TNT explosives).

The blast was recorded visually and reported upon by local media
representatives. See the YouTube video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90

A report from Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown at the University of
Western Ontario indicates that several international very-long
wavelength infrasound detectors recorded the blast and fixed the
position near the coastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, island of
Sulewesi. They note that the blast was in the 10 to 50 kT range with the
higher end of this range being more likely.

Assuming an estimated size of about 5-10 meters in diameter, we would
expect a fireball event of this magnitude about once every 2 to 12 years
on average. As a rule, the most common types of stony asteroids would
not be expected to cause ground damage unless their diameters were about
25 meters in diameter or larger.

A more extensive report by Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown of the
University of Western Ontario is here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


Summary of Preliminary Infrasonic Analysis of the Oct 8, 2009
Indonesian Superbolide

Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown
Meteor Infrasound group
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy,
Univ. of Western Ontario
London, ON
N6A 3K7
CANADA

Released: October 19, 2009

On Oct 8, 2009, media reports appeared in the local press in Indonesia
concerning a loud air blast occurring near 11am local time (0300 UT).
Subsequent to these first media reports, additional English language
reports appeared suggesting the event was meteoritic.

http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/mysterious-explosion-panics-locals-in-south-sulawesi-police-still-investigating/334246

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/08/blast-may-be-result-falling-space-waste-or-meteorite-lapan.html

Indonesian language reports more clearly identify a bright fireball,
accompanied by an explosion and lingering dust cloud as the origin of
the air blast. Finally, a YouTube video posted on the same day appears
to show a large dust cloud consistent with a bright, daylight fireball.

http://www.surya.co.id/2009/10/09/ledakan-misterius-guncang-sulsel.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90

Based on these initial reports, a detailed examination was made of all
International Monitoring System (IMS) infrasound stations of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). From this
initial examination, a total of 11 stations showed probable signals from
a large explosion centered near 4.5S, 120E, with an origin time near
0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009, consistent with the media reports. This signal
was notable for having been (a) detected at many IMS stations, including
five at ranges over 10,000 km (and one at a nearly 18,000 km range) and
(b) being confined to very low frequencies. Both of these observations
suggest the explosion source was of very high total energy. All signal
motions were between 0.27 - 0.32 km/s, consistent with stratospheric
signal returns.

We have used the Air Force Technical Application Centre (AFTAC)
period-yield relation as described by ReVelle (1997) as the most robust
basic indicator of source energy. To generate measured periods, the
average periods of all phase-aligned stacked waveforms at each station
were measured, according to the technique described in Edwards et al
(2006). These periods were then averaged to produce a single, global
average period of 13.4 sec and the AFTAC yield relation applied; this
produced an average source yield of 31 kT of TNT. Averaging the
individual yields from all stations produces a mean source energy near
50 kT of TNT while using only the eight stations having the highest
signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and using the local observed periods of the
waveform at maximum amplitude produces a yield estimate of 40 kT of TNT,
all of which are basically consistent. It is important to note, however,
that the standard deviation of this measurement is nearly 30 kT. That
is, the best source energy estimate would be 40 +/- 30 kT TNT. Note that
much of this variation may be due to the signal emanating from different
portions of the fireball trail as observed at different stations; each
period measurement is a "sample" of the size of the cylindrical blast
cavity at that particular segment of the trail detected by any one
station. As such, the out of atmosphere yield for this event is likely
higher than these measurements suggest - very probably in the ~50 kT range.

The yield estimates based on infrasonic amplitude are very uncertain in
this instance as the propagation distances are much larger than is
typical and outside the range limits where such relations have been
developed (e.g. Edwards et al, 2006) and hence the period relationship
(which was generated using a dataset of nuclear explosions having yields
in this range) is more applicable.

Some examples of the detected and processed waveforms are shown in the
appendix.

Based on these infrasound records, it appears that a large (40-50 kT
TNT) bolide detonation occurred near 0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009 near the
coastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The infrasonic
geolocation is not precise enough to determine if the bolide was over
water or land, but it was relatively near the coast.

Follow-on observations from other instruments or ground recovery efforts
would be very valuable in further refining this unique event.

Using an average impact velocity for NEAs of 20.3 km/s, the energy
limits (10 - 70 kT) suggested by this analysis correspond to an object
5-10 m in diameter. Based on the flux rate from Brown et al (2002), such
objects are expected to impact the Earth on average every 2 - 12 years

*References*

Brown P., Spalding R.E., ReVelle D.O., Tagliaferri E. and Worden S.P.
2002. The flux of small near-Earth objects colliding with the Earth,
Nature, 420, 314-316.

Edwards W.N., Brown P.G., ReVelle D.O., 2006. Estimates of Meteoroid
Kinetic Energies from Observations of Infrasonic Airwaves, Journal of
Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 68: 1136-1160.

ReVelle D.O. 1997. Historical Detection of Atmospheric Impacts by Large
Bolides using Acoustic-Gravity Waves, Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, Near-Earth Objects - The United Nations International
Conference, editor J.L. Remo, New York Academy of Sciences, 822, 284-302.

*Appendix : Example waveform detections.*

In each of the following the infrasound signals across each station have
been array processed in windows (typically of 30-60 second length) to
search for coherent signals with consistent back-azimuth measurements.
The top panel in each display is the F-statistic, a measure of the
relative coherency of the signal across the array elements in any
particular window (essentially a SNR measure). The second window shows
the apparent trace velocity of the acoustic signal across the array in
the direction of the peak F-stat. Similarly, the third plot shows the
best estimate for the signal back-azimuth in the direction of maximum
F-stat for each window. The fourth plot shows the raw pressure signal
for one array element bandpassed according to the chosen Low - High
frequency combination, shown in the boxes of the lower plot.

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS05AU (Australia) as a range of 5000 km - the
green area highlights the airwave signal

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS07AU (Australia) from a range of 2300 km.

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS13CL (Easter Island) at 13500 km range showing a
distinct signal with a dominant period near 16.5 seconds.

Meteor/Meteorite News- Bright light in sky causes commotion 27OCT09

Bright light in sky causes commotion

At 3:07 a.m. Tuesday, McPherson County Communications
officers received several reports from citizens and law enforcement officers
regarding a large blue light falling from the sky. Dispatchers spoke with
Saline and Reno County authorities and were advised that
they had also received reports of this phenomena.

The National Weather Service in Wichita, was
contacted and they advised they had received a report of this from Lincoln County.

The general consensus is that it was a meteorite, however there is no
determination as to where it made impact.
http://www.mcphersonsentinel.com/news/x1615057499/Bright-light-in-sky-causes-commotion

Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3- 28OCT09

Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3 Scheduled

http://asima.seti.org/2008TC3/workshop2008TC3.html

WORKSHOP ON ASTEROID 2008 TC3
University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
Dec 5-15, 2009

INVITATION

The University of Khartoum, Faculty of Sciences and Physics Department,
and the SETI Institute invite planetary astronomers and meteoriticists
to participate in a workshop dedicated to asteroid 2008 TC3. Asteroid
2008 TC3 was the first asteroid to be detected in space and subsequently
found to impact the Earth. Fragments were recovered in the Nubian Desert
of northern Sudan in the form of rare ureilite meteorites, called
"Almahata Sitta".

Goal of the workshop is to discuss the results from ongoing research
into the properties of asteroid 2008 TC3 when it was still in space, its
nature and origin, the asteroid's impact in Earth's atmosphere, the
subsequent recovery, and the analysis of the recovered meteorites. Talks
on the origin of ureilites are invited, as well as discussions on how to
adjust observing strategies to increase the likelyhood of future
discoveries of small asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

By accepting this invitation, researchers will have a chance to examine
the collection of recovered meteorites and discuss how best to proceed
with the investigation of this small asteroid.

The workshop will be held on the days of December 6 and 7, 2009. The
University invites participants to take part in a banquet on the evening
of December 6 [Earliest return flight would be afternoon December 8].

In the week following, from December 8 to 15, there will be a site visit
to the area where Almahata Sitta was recovered . An effort will be made
to expand the diversity of recovered materials by finding more of the
fallen debris. Participants are asked to bring clothes and strong shoes,
suitable for outdoor camping and hiking. The weather can be cold at
night (bring woolen hat). Bring medication for a bad stomach,
anti-musquito spray, and sun-screen.

Itinerary: Dec. 8 - travel to Almahata Sitta; Dec. 9-12 - field survey;
[optional: Dec 13 - morning travel back to Khartoum (10-hr trip, arrive
3 pm afternoon at the earliest)]; Dec 13-15 - sight seeing along Nile,
back in Khartoum 4pm afternoon Dec. 15.

Abstract and registration <http://atv.seti.org/registration2008TC3.html

>
deadline is *November 1, 2009*. Please do not delay.

After registration (and sending us your passport pdf), you will receive
a letter of invitation from the University and a visa approval number
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sudan that should help expedite
the visa process. If there are any questions, please feel free to
contact us at: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov


Scientific Organizing Committee:

* Dr. P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute, USA (chair)
* Dr. S. Chesley, NASA JPL, USA
* Dr. A. Fitzsimmons, Queens U. Belfast, UK
* Dr. D. Nesvorny, SWRI, USA
* Dr. P. Scheirich, Ondrejov Observatory, Czech Republic
* Prof. C. Taricco, University of Torino, Italy
* Dr. M. H. Shaddad, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. M. Zolensky, NASA JSC, USA

Local Organizing Committee:

* Dr. Muawia H. Shaddad, University of Khartoum, Sudan (chair)
* Dr. Omer Eid, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. Arbab Ibrahim Arbab, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. Abbakar Ali Abdella, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Saadia Elsir, Juba University, Khartoum, Sudan
* Ayman Ismael Hamid, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Hosam Eldeen Babiker, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Ayman Kudoda, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Diya Numan, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Nesreen Shareef Hassan, University of Khartoum, Sudan

Contact information:
Muawia H. Shaddad, LOC chair, Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Khartoum. Email: shaddadmhsh [at] yahoo.com; Tel.:
+249-912-359317.

Omer Eid, Head of the Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Khartoum. Email: omereid [at] gmail.com; Tel.:
+249-11-780539.

Saadia Elsir, Juba University, Khartoum. Email: saadia.elsir [at]
yahoo.com; Tel.: +249-912-346333.

Peter Jenniskens, SOC chair, SETI Institute, 515 N. Whisman Road,
Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Email: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov;
Tel.: +1-650-8100216.

Meteor/Meteorite News- 28OCT09

Arizona Gold Adventures, Inc.

SBWire (press release)
Arizona Gold and Meteorite Adventures offers training and privately led placer gold prospecting expeditions in Arizona, less than 2-hours from Sky Harbor ...

Meteor shower allows one to get reacquainted with celestial friends

Coshocton Tribune
I saw on the Internet that 6 am, Wednesday, Oct. 21, was the best time to see this year's Orionid meteor shower. The article held out the promise of seeing ...

Mobile Firm's Meteor Stunt Backfires

Newser
... Posted 9 minutes ago| Share (Newser) – A Swedish mobile phone company has dug itself into a crater with a marketing stunt involving a fake meteorite. ...

Vor 65 Millionen Jahren: Meteoriten-Einschlag hatte für Europa ...

Neuß-Grevenbroicher Zeitung - Nordrhein-Westfalen,Germany
Vor etwa 65 Millionen Jahren war ein mehrerer Kilometer großer Meteorit nahe der heutigen mexikanischen Halbinsel Yucatan auf die Erde geprallt. ...

Fatalny pomysł Tele2 z łotewskim meteorytem

Forsal.pl - Warszawa,mazowieckie,Poland
Prawdziwy meteoryt odkryty w chińskiej miejscowości Fukang. Fot. Bloomberg Tele2 obiecało wczoraj zwrócić bałtyckiej republice koszty wysłania oddziałów ...

Meteorite stunt backfires on Swedish telecoms firm

Brand Republic
by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 28-Oct-09, 09:40 LONDON - A publicity campaign involving a hoax meteorite in Latvia has backfired spectacularly with ...

London destroyed by space meteor - actually a hoax

The Spoof (satire)
This week, 24 hour world news coverage has been depicting London as a huge flaming crater after a devastating meteor impact. But when humanitarian aid ...

Don't blame media for 'balloon boy' hoax

Enid News & Eagle
Just Monday it was revealed what scientists originally thought was a large impact crater in Latvia caused by a meteorite was actually a hoax. ...

Asteroid blast reveals holes in Earth's defences

Courier Mail
Oh Dear, I expect greenhouse gases have increased because of this meteor/asteroid blast, and that means more tax increases doesn't it? ...

Tele2 in a hole over publicity stunt

Financial Times
An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a ...

Tele2 in a hole over 'meteor' publicity stunt

CNN International
By Andrew Ward, The Financial Times An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow ...

Telco admits meteorite hoax
The New Zealand Herald Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:25 PM PDT
RIGA - A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all costs spent by police, rescue and military workers in the incident.Vita...

Tele2 to pay up for publicity stunt Financial Times Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:18 PM PDT An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Mobile Phone Firm Behind Latvia Meteorite Hoax KFWB News 980 Los Angeles Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:18 AM PDT A Swedish mobile phone operator admitted the move was designed "to draw attention away from Latvia's economic crisis and toward something else more interesting."

Alleged Latvia Meteorite A Hoax redOrbit Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:08 AM PDT Yesterday it was purported to be the site of a meteorite crash, but today a telephone company admitted it was a hoax.Firefighters rushed to a farm near the northern town of Mazsalaca at 5:30 p.m.

Mobile Firm Admits 'Meteor' Was A PR Stunt SkyNews via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:40 AM PDT A mobile phone company has admitted being behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia.

Latvian police reject criminal case over meteorite hoax Russian Information Agency Novosti Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:31 AM PDT Latvian police decided not to initiate a criminal investigation over the hoax meteorite strike staged in the Baltic state by a Latvian mobile operator, the Delfi web portal said on Tuesday.

Huge Meteorite Crater Deemed a Hoax Discovery Channel Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:55 AM PDT The large hole found in a Latvian field was made by spades, not a giant meteorite.

Mobile phone firm behind meteorite hoax Independent Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:45 AM PDT A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged today it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all costs spent by police, rescue and military workers in the incident.

Swedish telecoms firm admits to Latvia meteorite hoax The Local Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:34 AM PDT Swedish-owned telecoms company Tele2 admitted on Monday it was responsible for staging a meteorite crash near a small village in the Latvian countryside.

BLAST OVER BONE WATERS RESULT OF FALLING METEORITE, SAYS EXPERT
Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:30 AM PDT
JAKARTA, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- After a three-week investigation, astronomers at the Indonesian National Aeronautics and Space Agency concluded that an air explosion over Bone waters in South Sulawesi on Oct 8 was the result of a falling meteorite.

Brits Getting Worried Our Black President Is No Morgan Freeman

Gawker
Just another thirty feet across, and it would have been a weapon of mass destruction, that petit meteor that recently exploded in the skies above Indonesia. ...

Bright light in sky causes commotion

McPherson Sentinel
The general consensus is that it was a meteorite, however there is no determination as to where it made impact. ...

Lettischer Meteoriten-Scherz wird teuer

Nürnberger Nachrichten - Nurnberg,Bayern,Germany
RIGA - Der medienwirksame Scherz über einen angeblichen Meteoriten-Einschlag kommt eine lettische Telefongesellschaft teuer zu stehen. ...

Sky News

Mobile Firm Admits 'Meteor' Was A PR Stunt

Sky News
She said nine people dug the hole and burned chemicals at the bottom to create the illusion of a meteorite crash. Their video of a smoking hole later ...

Did a Meteorite, or Nerdy Hoaxsters, Strike Latvia?

Wired News
But something about this presumed meteorite impact seemed fishy and conflicting reports emanated from the Baltic state about the nature of the incident. ...

The Tech Herald

Video: Amazing meteorite footage thought to be student prank

The Tech Herald
What a real meteor crater generally looks like. Image: kevinzim/Flickr. More pointedly, scientists descending on the town of Mazsalaca in Latvia to examine ...
See all stories on this topic

Mobile firm behind meteorite hoax

The Press Association
A Swedish mobile phone operator has acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all ...

Mobile Phone Firm Behind Latvia Meteorite Hoax New York Times By AP RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged Tuesday it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse ... See all stories on this topic

Pocket-lint.com Mobiado Grand 350 Pioneer meteorite-toting mobile announced Pocket-lint.com With the new handset, the Grand 350 Pioneer, Mobiado is paying homage to NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft and it boasts the "compelling beauty of meteorite". ... See all stories on this topic

The Next Reporter (blog) Scientists doubt 'meteor crash' in Latvia The Next Reporter (blog) Scientists have launched an investigation of a meteorite-like object that has crashed near a farm in northern Latvia. Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the ...

Meteor/Meteorite News- 27OCT09

Meteoriten-Scherz wird teuer

20minuten - Zürich,Switzerland
Der medienwirksame PR-Aktion einer lettischen Telefongesellschaft über einen angeblichen Meteoriten-Einschlag findet die Regierung des baltischen Landes gar ...

Krater wykopano w pobliżu miasta Mazsalaca na północy Łotwy , Ints Kalnins , Reuters

Drogi dowcip z meteorytem

eFakt.pl - Poland
Operator sieci komórkowej Tele2 wymyślił akcję z meteorytem na Łotwie. Teraz drogo za to zapłaci Akcja, która miała być genialną reklamą, ...





Blast in Bone a result of falling meteorite: Experts

Jakarta Post
Lapan expert Thomas Djamaluddin said the meteorite struck the atmosphere at a speed of 20.3 kilometers per second, causing a major blast that equaled an ...

Meteorit: Lettischer Mobilfunker Tele 2 wird Strafe zahlen

Baltische Rundschau - Vilnius,Lithuania
Kein Meteorit bzw. kein Teil eines Erdsatelliten sei entdeckt worden. “Diese ganze Geschichte hat sich als eine Ente erwiesen. Der 'Meteorit' ist eine ...

Meteorit entlastet russische Kampfjets in Indonesien

RIA Novosti - Moscow,Russia
Wie ein Sprecher der indonesischen Raumfahrtbehörde am Dienstag erklärte, war ein Meteorit mit zehn Metern Durchmesser am 8. ...

Smuggler carried snakes in clothes

Herald.ie
A meteorite-like crater found in northern Latvia is probably man-made and a hoax, experts said. The nine-meter wide and three-meter deep crater wasn't ...

Είδηση «μαϊμού» ο μετεωρίτης στη Λετονία

Ελευθεροτυπία - Greece
Η λετονική εταιρεία κινητής τηλεφωνίας Tele2 παραδέχθηκε το απόγευμα της Δευτέρας ότι σκηνοθέτησε για διαφημιστικούς σκοπούς την «πτώση μετεωρίτη» σε χωριό ...

Harri Koposen telekonserni pudotti meteoriitin Latviassa

Digitoday - Finland
27.10.2009 10:10 Ruotsalainen telekonserni myönsi olevansa Latviassa kohua herättäneen meteoriitti-iskun takana. Meteoriitti oli osa Tele2:n mainoskampanjaa ...

Lettland: Meteorit von Mobilfunkfirma inszenierter Gag

russland-aktuell.ru - Moscow,Russia
Der angeblich auf einem Feld in der lettischen Provinz eingeschlagene Meteorit war ein Gag einer Mobilfunkfirma. Janis Sprogis, der Marketing-Chef von ...

Experts diuen que la caiguda del meteorit va ser un engany

Diari de Girona - Girona,Girona,Spain
Geòlegs van confirmar ahir que la suposada caiguda d'un meteorit d'abans-d'ahir a la nit en una granja de Letònia va ser un ?engany escenificat per persones ...

Meteorite is a flash in the pan

Independent Online
Riga - A remote field in northern Latvia briefly became the site of a media feeding frenzy on Monday after local media reported a meteor strike on Sunday ...

Baltic 'meteorite' a flaming hoax

USA Today
In a nationalistic publicity stunt to "inspire Latvia" to be all it can be, telephone company Tele2 staged a phony meteorite impact near the near the ...

Meteorite expert Mike Reynolds chats about falling stars

Astronomy Magazine
Astronomy Contributing Editor Mike Reynolds presented a talk at the 2009 Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show about meteorite collecting. ...
See all stories on this topic

SkyCenter Hosts Special Leonid Meteor Program Nov. 17

University of Arizona News (press release)
(Credit: David Harvey) If you've never experienced a Leonid meteor shower at the 9157-foot summit of Mount Lemmon, here's your chance. ...

Day in pictures

BBC News
Latvian authorities at first suspected a meteorite was the cause of a 15m (49ft) crater which appeared near the northern town of Mazsalaca, but some experts ...

BBC News

The hole was too tidy to have been caused by a meteorite, he said.

BBC News
It would be unusual for such a large meteorite to hit the Earth, as most objects burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the surface. In 2007, a meteorite ...
See all stories on this topic

RT

Latvian UFO revealed to be PR trick

RT
Fire fighters and police worked at the scene, where the crater was first believed to be the result of a meteor strike. Later the owner of the property ...



Krater na północy Łotwy nie powstał od uderzenia meteorytu

Gazeta Wyborcza - Warszawa,Poland
Ryga (PAP/AP) - Naukowcy badający w rejonie miasta Mazsalaca na północy Łotwy krater, o którym początkowo myślano, że powstał w wyniku upadku meteorytu, ...

Latvian meteoriitti olikin kännykkäoperaattorin julkisuustemppu

YLE - Finland
Maailmanlaajuisesti uutisoitu Latvian meteoriitti on paljastunut kännykkäoperaattorin julkisuustempuksi. Uutistoimistot ja useat tiedotusvälineet ehtivät ...

Day in Photos

Washington Post
Oct. 26: Officials stand next to a 49-foot wide crater near the Latvian town of Mazsalaca, where a suspected meteorite crashed into the earth. ...

Lotyšsko: Kráter po údajnom meteorite je v skutočnosti dielom človeka

DNES.sk - Slovakia
Odborníci skúmajúci neďaleko lotyšsko-estónskych hraníc rozsiahly kráter, o ktorom sa tvrdilo, že ho spôsobil meteorit, dospeli po podrobnejšej analýze k ...

Einschlag von Himmelskörper nur inszeniert

WELT ONLINE - Berlin,Germany
Berichte über den „gewaltigen Meteoriten“ aus dem All hatten zuvor auch international ... Einschläge von Meteoriten sind ausgesprochen selten, in der langen ...

„Gewaltiger Meteorit“ über Lettland nur ein Scherz

Bild.de - Germany
Nachwuchsbands haben die Chance auf einen Auftritt in der RTL-Soap „Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten“. Talente zwischen 18 und 30 Jahren können sich ab sofort ...

Łotwa: Meteoryt czy zwykły dół?

Polskie Radio - Warszawa,Mazowieckie,Poland
Krater, który powstał rzekomo po uderzeniu meteorytu w rejonie miasta Mazsalaca na północy Łotwy, to zwykła dziura wykopana przez człowieka - donoszą media. ...

Experts: Latvian Meteor Crater Probably a Hoax FOXNews That's the question Monday as geologists study a 30-foot wide crater that some claim was caused by a 3-foot meteorite, and others say is just the work of ... See all stories on this topic

Latvian meteorite impact: fake Discover Magazine I have been getting email from people talking about a possible meteorite impact in northern Latvia yesterday. I had a blog post all ready to go saying this ...

BBC News

Doubts over Latvia 'meteor crash'

BBC News
Scientists investigating a large crater in a field in northern Latvia, believed to have been caused by a meteorite, now suspect it was a hoax. ...

Wielki krater = wielka ściema

TVN24 - Warsawa,Poland
Wcześniej sądzono, że krater powstał po tym, jak w ziemię uderzył sporej wielkości meteoryt. W poniedziałek rano łotewscy strażacy poinformowali o tym, ...

Media duped again? Latvia meteor strike likely fake

INDenverTimes.com
Russian blogs claimed this image was taken from a video filmed on a mobile phone just after the meteor crashed to earth In the aftermath of the recent ...

Co to spadlo na Lotyšsko? Vědci zkoumají obří kráter

ČT24 - Czech Republic
Vědci začali pátrat po jeho původu, podle prvního dojmu jde o meteorit. ... Podle odborníků je ale neobvyklé, aby na Zemi dopadl tak velký meteorit. ...

Russian/Chinese Mars Mission Rescheduled for 2011- 27OCT09

Joint Russian and Chinese Mission to Mars Slips to 2011

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0909/19phobos/

Joint Russian and Chinese mission to Mars slips to 2011
BY CRAIG COVAULT
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
September 20, 2009

Planetary mission sources say the Russian Space Agency will officially
delay launch of its sample return mission to the Martian moon Phobos
until 2011 because of delays with integration and test of the vehicle in
time to make its originally planned October launch window.

The delay also affects China's first mission to Mars. The 240 lb.
Chinese Yinghou-1 spacecraft was to be mounted atop the Russian
spacecraft for transport to Martian orbit where it was to be released
before the Russian spacecraft landed on Phobos. The mission was to have
been launched on board a Zenit heavy booster from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome between October 6-16.


Credit: Lavochkin


Designed with its five primary elements stacked atop one another (see
graphic above) the Russian Phobos mission is one of the most daring
planetary flights ever planned by either the U.S. or former Soviet
Union. It is being built by the Lavochkin Association facility, which
has developed many previous successful Soviet planetary missions and
also builds Russian military spacecraft today.

Those elements include a planetary cruise stage and descent stage with
landing legs atop which are stacked an ascent stage and sample return
capsule. The Chinese spacecraft (not pictured) is to ride on platform
added above the sample capsule, but separated before the landing on Phobos.

The fully integrated spacecraft (see graphic below) has a launch weight
of more than 24,400 lb. including propellants. It is to fly to Mars
about 200 million mi. from Earth then land on the 15 mi. dia. moon that
orbits about 5,800 mi. above Mars.

[Graphic]
Credit: Lavochkin

Using a sample apparatus similar to that carried to Earth's moon on
three successful Soviet unmanned lunar landing missions, the Phobos
lander is to drill into the surface of Phobos to obtain a sample from as
deep as 3 ft. below the surface. The apparatus is also designed so
ground controllers using the spacecraft's television system can spot and
pick up rock pebbles for return to earth. Up to about 160 grams (5.5 oz)
of soil and rocks could be collected.

The sample is to be elevated to a soccer ball sized Earth return capsule
mounted atop a coffee table sized Earth return bus. Several days of
sample operations would be conducted before the ascent stage carrying
the Earth return capsule is fired off the lander. It will need only
about 22 fps of velocity to escape the small gravity of the moon.

Once back in the vicinity of Earth, the capsule would be separated from
the ascent stage and reenter the Earth's atmosphere for a parachute
landing and recovery in Australia.

Phobos is believed by many planetary scientists to be a captured
asteroid, but it could also be dotted with dust pockets of Martian
material that could have landed on Phobos after large meteor impacts on
Mars. This means that samples of the body could yield a bonanza of data
on the composition of both asteroids and Mars. That data is of
increasing importance given the emphasis being placed on other future
sample return flights, including possible manned missions, to asteroids
much closer to Earth, as well as Phobos and eventually Mars itself.

U.S. geologist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis (a
member of both the NASA Mars rover and Phoenix lander science teams)
says he has been helping the Chinese develop standardized data formats
for the mission. This is so the data from the Chinese orbiter can be
used by international planetary scientists.

The scientific payload on the Chinese spacecraft consists of several
instruments including a camera with 660 ft. resolution to monitor
Martian dust storms. It also carries a plasma package with electron and
ion sensors along with a mass spectrometer, a magnetometer and
radio-occultation sounder.

The shift to 2011 means that the U.S., Russia and China will all be
flying major missions to Mars in that same timeframe. NASA's Mars
Science Laboratory (MSL) rover was also delayed to the late 2011 Martian
launch window because of its own development and test problems.

Source: Ron Baalke, NASA

Meteroids 2010 Conference Scheduled- 26OCT09

Meteroids 2010 Conference Scheduled

http://www.cora.nwra.com/Meteoroids2010/

Meteroids 2010
Brekenridge, Colorado
An International Conference on Minor Bodies in the Solar System
May 24-28, 2010

*_FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT_*

Call for contributed talks and posters
Early registration DEADLINE TBD
Registration fee increases after TBD

*Please pre-register in order to help us with the planning of the logistics
of the conference*
****Click here to pre-register**** <http://www.cora.nwra.com/Meteoroids2010/Form.html

>

This conference will be the seventh in a series of meetings on
meteoroids and related topics, which have been held approximately every
three years since 1993. In 2007 the meeting was organized by the Institut
d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) and the /Institut de Ciencies de
l'Espai (CSIC) /and was held in CosmoCaixa, the science museum of the
Obra Social Fundacio La Caixa in Barcelona, Spain. The topics covered
during that meeting included the origin, nature, evolution and dynamics of
solar system minor bodies, with special emphasis on the study of
micrometer- to meter-sized fragments of comets and asteroids.

The 2010 meeting programme is expected to have sessions which cover the
following areas:


- Observational techniques and meteor detection programs

- Meteor shower activity and forecasting

- Dynamics, sources and spatial distribution of meteoroids including
sporadic, swarm and interstellar meteoroids

- Meteoroid interactions with Earth and planetary atmospheres;
ablation, fragmentation, deceleration.

- Atmospheric effects induced by meteors; Physics and chemistry of
meteor interactions processes in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

- Astromineralogy: properties of meteoroids

- Interrelationships: meteoroids - IDPs - dust - micrometeorites -
meteorites

- Meteoroid flux and impact hazard; Hypervelocity impacts
on the moon and spacecraft

- Meteor studies in astrobiology: organics and delivery process

- New techniques for detections of meteors and fireballs

- Meteor detection including cameras, telescopes, lidar, seismic and
infrasound sensors

- Radar observations and large aperture radars

Both invited and contributed talks, will be included in the program. The
program schedule will encourage informal interchange between the different
research communities. Deadlines for registration and abstract submission
for contributed talks and posters will be
announced in the Fall of 2009.

Source: Ron Baalke, NASA