Category Archives: astronomy

NEAT But Not Reassuring

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What were you doing on February 17, 2003? Did you know that date was almost the end of the world? We narrowly missed annihilation in 2003, and few knew about it. A comet called NEAT not so neatly came close to impacting the sun. This comet was over twice the size of jupiter. A well-timed solar flare blasted it out of its trajectory orbit and so disaster was avoided. NASA’s SOHO satellite camera caught it all on video. Go here to see the video. For perspective, the thick dark line at the left bottom is the arm of a mechanism … Continue reading →

Fireworks from Space

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Scientists were thrilled to have captured images from the largest supernova explosion known to humankind. The star, named SN2006gy (SN for Super Nova, and the date it was discovered…an example of the patently droll naming conventions of astrophysicists everywhere) emitted four gamma ray bursts; the only time an event has been visible with the naked eye. The actual explosions happened before Earth was even in existence–about 7 and half billion years ago in Earth-time, which is about the same amount of time it takes any tech support person to answer your email. That should, in any case, give you an … Continue reading →