Asteroid To Pass Near The Earth

On September 1st 2017, a massive asteroid will make a close pass near the Earth. According to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid, which has been named Florence, is the largest object to pass by the Earth in nearly a century and the largest since NASA began keeping track of such objects. The CENOS says that there is no danger that Florence will impact the Earth as it passes at a distance of 4.4 million miles.

Florence, named after Florence Nightingale, is huge. Its size has been measured at 2.7 miles across and is what NASA is calling a "world ender."  Australian astronomer, Schette "Bobby" Bus, was the first to spot the asteroid in 1981, at Australia's Siding Springs Observatory. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA has determined that Florence came close to the earth in 1890 and has projected that it won't return again until 2500. 

More Water On The Moon

On July 24th 2017, scientists posted a paper in the Journal Nature, that reported that there is evidence of water within the Moon's interior. A team of researchers from Brown University used satellite data retrieved from India's Moon Mineralogy Mapper on board its orbiting Chandrayaan-1 probe, to make their analysis. Measuring reflected sunlight at visible and near visible wavelengths, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper mapped large pryoclastic deposits on the moon's surface.  

Pyroclastic deposits are the result of volcanic activity. In 2008, moon rocks from the Apollo missions were examined and determined to be of volcanic origin. These rocks contained glass beads which held traces of water locked inside. Ralph Milliken of Brown University's Environmental and Planetary Sciences Department, and lead researcher, says that at that time no one was certain whether that finding meant that there was an abundance of water beneath the Moon's surface. 

However, Milliken went on to say that, "By looking at the orbital data, we can examine the large pyroclastic deposits on the moon that were never sampled by the Apollo or Luna missions. The fact that nearly all of them exhibit signatures of water suggests that the Apollo samples are not anomalous, so it may be that the bulk interior of the moon is wet."

The Total Solar Eclipse

On August 21st 2017, the continental United States will experience a total solar eclipse. Eclipses occur all the time, in fact the last partial solar eclipse over the U S took place in June of 2011.  The last time a total eclipse occurred crossing over the U S, from coast to coast, was in 1918.This particular total eclipse is generating a lot of excitement and expectation, because millions of people will be able to view it as it passes over 10 states.   

Everyone in the contiguous U S will be able to view at least a partial eclipse. People who live in a 70 mile wide zone called the "path of totality," will be able to watch the moon totally block out the sun for a period of up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The "path of totality," stretches across 10 states that include Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 

Eclipse watching experts are warning those wishing to view the eclipse to not look directly into the sun. Doing so will cause irreparable damage to your retina, or optic nerve. NASA is urging those planning to view the eclipse to purchase a pair of  total eclipse viewing glasses. They say that you should make sure that the glasses are ISO certified for safety. If you don't have or are unable to purchase a pair of glasses, you can still do so by the projection method.

Simply take a piece of paper and a piece of cardboard. Make a pin hole in the center of the paper. With you back to the sun, hold the paper so the sun light shines through the hole and onto the cardboard while you adjust the distance between the paper and the cardboard, until the eclipse is clearly visible.

Discovery Buys Scripps

On July 31st 2017 Discovery Communications announced that it is buying Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion dollars. Discovery has agreed to purchase Scripps for $90 a share and assume its debt of $2.7 billion for a total of $14.6 billon at closing. Discovery not only owns the Discovery Channel, but also TLC and Animal Planet, while Scripps owns Food Network and HGTV. The two companies will come together to produce a combined cable TV viewership of 20%.

Giant Antarctic Iceberg Breaks Free

On July 12th 2017, scientists reported that a giant piece of Antarctic ice had broken free from mainland Antarctica. The trillion ton iceberg, said to be the size of Delaware, with twice the volume of Lake Eire, is a piece of the Larsen C ice shelf. The new iceberg been dubbed A68, is now floating freely with several smaller icebergs each believed to be 11 miles in length each. Scientist had been expecting this development since a huge crack opened in the Larsen C ice shelf in 2014.

Martin Siegert, professor of geosciences at Imperial College in London said, "There is enough ice in Antarctica that if it all melted, or even just flowed into the ocean, sea levels would rise by 60 meters." While this is true, he and most scientists say that A68 is not expected to raise sea levels at all. Researchers go on to say that "calving," of ice shelves on the Antarctic continent goes on all the time, and that this may or may not be due to rising earth temperatures.