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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: July 2009
Basic Definition
I really like this. Many people in America have never understood this fundamental definition: I’d like to clarify something that some people seemed to be confused about. Health care is not a right. (Neither is education, or food, or housing, … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Politics
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MHI 1
Do you remember the Steve Martin movie “The Jerk”? The main character gets listed in the phone book, and when it is published he screams, “The new phone book’s here, the new phone book’s here! …. I am somebody”. Well … Continue reading
Posted in Reading
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What does it Take?
Have you ever wondered, “What does it take to…”? In this case, what does it take to be a “protector”? If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know what it take to be a sheep dog. Being … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Heroes
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Sotomayor
I have stayed away from the Sotomayor confirmation debate. This is a battle that is not going to go the way that I would like it to. There are too many in the Senate that need to play the political … Continue reading
Posted in Gun Control, Politics
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Friday Funny
Dave and his buddies were hanging out and planning an upcoming fishing trip. Unfortunately, he had to tell them that he couldn’t go this time because his wife wouldn’t let him. After a lot of teasing and name calling, Dave … Continue reading
Posted in Humor
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Unbelievable Behaviors
Life has a way of throwing us curve balls. When it does, the character of the individual usually comes out. Hopefully we all rise to the occasion but the reality is that in most of those cases our minds, and … Continue reading
Posted in Culture
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Comedy from yesteryear
Maybe I’ll do a series of posts like this… I do enjoy a lot of the older comedy.
Posted in Culture, Humor
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Knife Control
Stats can be twisted however you want but, at first blush this one gets the “Why am I not surprised” reaction. The number of knife deaths in areas targeted by an anti-knife crime scheme has risen, the Home Office has … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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“Sweet Shiva on a surfboard”
I love that quote. Tam had an epiphany. It is about the same one that I had when I discovered Zune and iPod both. These things are great for this reason. They are also great for those long flights. It … Continue reading
Posted in Culture
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Cane-Fu
Very cool new program. This is the new world of self-defense for seniors, at least as taught by Shuey, founder of Cane Masters, a Lake Tahoe, Nev.-based company that manufactures custom canes. Shuey, a tae kwon do and hapkido expert, … Continue reading
Posted in Martial Arts
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