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- Portrait of a Doomed Asteroid
A new study provides a possible explanation of mysterious X-ray flares detected by the Chandra K-ray Observatory for several years in the region of Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*. The study suggests a cloud around Sgr A*, a supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, which contains hundreds of trillions of asteroids and comets that have been stripped from their parent stars. The flares occur when asteroids of six miles or larger in radius are consumed by the black hole. An asteroid that undergoes a close encounter with another object, such as a star or planet, can be thrown into an orbit headed towards Sgr A*. If the asteroid passes within about 100 million miles of the black hole, roughly the distance between the Earth and the sun, it is torn into pieces by the tidal forces from the black hole. These fragments would then be vaporized by friction as they pass through the hot, thin gas flowing onto Sgr A*, similar to a meteor heating up and glowing as it falls through Earth's atmosphere. A flare is produced and eventually the remains of the asteroid are swallowed by the black hole. Image Credit: Illustrations: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Target?
Well it seems that the new adminstration is bringing some baggage with it. No not all of the scandels that you are hearing about… some security worries. Seriously, there are probably a ton of security changes that are made on … Continue reading
Posted in Presidential Politics, Technology
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Commercial Air Travel – Baghdad
I have been watching this BBC report scroll by on my ticker for a while now, it took a little bit for me to realize how momentous an event this really is. COMMERCIAL AIRLINE TRAVEL FROM EUROPE TO BAGHDAD HAS … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Iraq
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Solar Car?
You may recall that alternate energy is one of my side interests, although I do not do a lot of posting on the topic. Frankly, most people find the topic dry and the reality of the situation is that it … Continue reading
Posted in Energy
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Terrorist Tactics
WARNING: Raw footage below.There is a reason why terrorism is called terrorism. The goal is to impose your will and agenda on others through fear and intimidation. Watch the SUV weave through and concrete barriers, and time it’s approach to … Continue reading
Posted in Evil walks the earth, Terrorism
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Semper Fidelis
Words on paper. Most people read those words and don’t really absorb or understand what they truly mean. Deeds speak … The sun had barely risen when the two sentries spotted a 20-foot-long truck headed toward the gate, weaving with … Continue reading
Posted in Heroes, Iraq, Marines
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Dave Berry on 2008
Dave Berry has his 2008 in review column up at the Washington Post. He is a funny guy, go give it a read here. How weird a year was it? Here’s how weird: # O.J. actually got convicted of something. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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