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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: History
GO TELL THE SPARTANS
Today in 400 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae took place. If you don’t know the story you should. Read about it here: GO TELL THE SPARTANS
Posted in Heroes, History
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1903
Living up to the goals of this blog, and publishing whatever strikes an interest at the time… it’s time to bounce off to something completely different from normal. Moving pictures from 1903 London. One of my grandfathers was born in … Continue reading
Posted in History
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Independence Day 2011
235 years ago today, the Declaration of Independence was signed and published. A declaration of revolution, against the crown. The beginning of a long war on our shores, and the birth of this Republic. Celebrate, the freedoms that our ancestors … Continue reading
Posted in History, Holidays
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D-Day
The Marine landings through out the Pacific in WWII are legendary. Being a Marine, I often put the landings in Europe in the backseat. They do not belong there. The beaches of Normandy, Salerno, Sicily, Calabria, Taranto all were pivotal … Continue reading
Posted in Heroes, History
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Shocked…
It appears that the International Atomic Energy Agency agrees with what the world has assumed to be true for four years now. Well, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency has come out and said that it strongly thinks … Continue reading
Posted in Foriegn Policy, History, Terrorism
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It Ought to be
A national holiday. At least it should get as much attention as Elvis’ birthday. On May 26, 1907 Marion Robert Morrison came into the world in Winterset, Iowa. When he left on June 11, 1979 he was John Wayne, an … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Heroes, History
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Videos, The Internet, and Creativity
The internet is an amazing thing. The blossoming of electronics, digital media, and the venue to publish has created opportunities for people to do things that they might never have had an opportunity to do in say the 1980′s. There … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, History, observations
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The Pacific
If you missed The Pacific on HBO, the have released it on DVD. Historically, a lot has been written and produced about the war in Europe. The Pacific campaign was an entirely different world. Island hopping, jungles, malaria, amphibious landings … Continue reading
Posted in History, USMC
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National Anthem
Here’s a little more detail about the history of our National Anthem for you. I always knew the high level story behind it. This little clip, turns that history into a compelling narrative.
Posted in History
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Happy New Year
This seems like an appropriate way to start the New Year.
Posted in History, Holidays
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