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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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Category Archives: GWOT
New Book Out
So Michelle Malkin had good things to say about this book (The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America), in her blog today. Any bets on a sales spike?
Posted in Culture, GWOT, Terrorism
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Inappropriate Actions
There are a lot of actions that people take in this world that are often considered inappropriate. They range from politically incorrect, to insulting, to just plain criminal. This morning I read a headline “U.S. Orders Covert Military Action in … Continue reading
Posted in Counter Intelligence, GWOT, Iran, Politics
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Middle East Developments
Well it looks like the Iranian’s are taking some interesting tactical and strategic steps, In some ways this is reminiscent of the Cold War concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). You can find an interesting description and analysis of the … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Iran
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Changing the Axis of Attack
A couple of interesting pieces showing up on various sources this week. In the past I have posted about Iran’s continuing thrust into Latin America, and from there the potential for infiltration across our southern border. Douglas Farrah has an … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Iran, Terrorism, Threats
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Counter Terrorism
An interesting Op-Ed piece today by Matthew Levitt that lays things out without any sugar coating. The startling and depressing truth is that eight years after Sept. 11, we cannot say with confidence that we are likely to prevent the … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Terrorism
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Helluva Shot
This is one hell of a shot. 8100 ft. 1.54 miles. 3 seconds time of flight. Man sized target. Hit. Not once, but twice. At that range, and assuming max zoom on any rifle scope your heartbeat is going to … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT
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Unintended Consequences
The phrase of the year (or two), “Unintended Consequences”. I think we have certainly seen a lot of that out of our current administration. Today, we see reports of the transfer of significant military hardware within the middle east. Specifically … Continue reading
Posted in Foriegn Policy, Politics, Terrorism
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AP At it Again
It looks like the AP is at it again. There was another bombing today in Iraq. A women wearing an explosive belt mixed amongst the pilgrims making their way to Karbala. The AP characterizes this as a homicide bomber. Let’s … Continue reading
Marine Corps Spirit
There is nothing quite like the confidence of The Marine. We have seen this throughout the history of The Corps, and we are seeing it again in Helmand province. “We’re going to go in big,” Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Marines
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Tip of the Spear
Deployed at Christmas? It is tough. Technology has improved things to some degree but, in general terms it is one of the tougher things to mentally deal with. Don’t forget the guys that are out there at the tip of … Continue reading
Posted in GWOT, Heroes, Holidays
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