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Yet Another Fireball and Explosion, Over Colorado

Video of the fireball event over Colorado (Chris Peterson)

Early this morning, a huge explosion lit up the Colorado skies. According to one observatory that videoed the event with its ever-watching all-sky camera, the fireball (or bolide) peak brightness (magnitude -18) exceeded the brightness of a full Moon 100 times. An awesome event. The Cloudbait Observatory, near Denver, is calling on eye-witnesses to submit their reports so possible meteorite fragments can be found on the ground. Only last month, a similar effort resulted in Canadian meteorite hunters finding over two dozen fragments from the Saskatchewan fireball.

For all the information about the Colorado event, check out my Universe Today article Exploding Colorado Fireball, 100 Times Brighter than the Moon (Video).

I must admit though (as one of my readers pointed out), it is surprising to hear about this recent flurry of large fireball events. Some of these meteoroids are as big as 10 tonnes (in the case of the Saskatchewan fireball), and scattered meteorites are being found on the ground (fortunately over sparsely populated regions). Are these recent series of fireball spottings down to improved observation techniques and a bit of luck? After all, the October fireball was observed directly over several all-sky cameras dedicated to spotting meteors; the November fireball was seen by a huge number of people in cities across the Saskatchewan/Alberta border and last night’s fireball appeared above another dedicated meteor all-sky camera.

A few of these events are expected every year, so this is certainly nothing to be concerned about, we’re just getting better at observing these transient events…

The Cancer Spreads: Mars Science Laboratory Delayed Until 2011

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project is failing. But it is not suffering from technical failure en-route to the Red Planet, it hasn’t gotten itself stuck in a Martian sand-trap, it hasn’t even fallen foul of the “Galactic Ghoul”; the MSL is suffering from an overlooked space exploration hazard: bad management. According to today’s (not unexpected) NASA announcement, the MSL will not be launched until 2011.

I had a very bad feeling about today’s press conference, and it looks like my fears were justified. Due to technical difficulties, the launch of the MSL is being delayed by two years, as the overrun will ensure the mission misses the next Mars launch window. So I have to ask: why is an over-budget, behind schedule, poorly managed mission being allowed to sap the budgets of other NASA programs when the solution is so obvious?
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Interview with World of Weird Things: Colonizing Space, at a Profit

A manned outpost, could be a reality if the business opportunities are there.

This morning I had a thought-provoking interview with Greg Fish, owner and writer for the superb website World of Weird Things. Greg wanted to get my insight to the world of commercial spaceflight and future colonization of other worlds, writing up a brilliant article called Colonizing Space, At A Profit based on my interview.

We examined the benefits mankind can reap from the exploration of space, but the responsibility of doing so is not exclusive to NASA or any other government-funded agency. The future of spaceflight rests in the hands of entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and primarily, businessmen. Manned exploration of the Moon, Mars and the asteroid belt could open a new frontier of mineral exploitation, in turn opening a new era for mankind. It may be our best hope in the long-run to survive as a race.

We could be on the verge of a Solar System-wide “gold rush”, it just depends who will be the first to have the vision for such an endeavour.

“If you were the company to build the first colony on Mars, the planet is all yours for the taking,” – quote from Colonizing Space, At A Profit, on World of Weird Things

Thank you Greg for wanting to speak with me, and for preparing a very inspiring interview! Be sure to check out World of Weird Things, there are some very interesting articles and essays, delving into a huge array of topics, each written with a high degree of thought and intellect. A firm favourite on my reading list.

Astroengine Live #3: The Search for Life, What’s the Point?

Listen to Astroengine Live, today at 4pm PST (7pm EST).

Today’s Astroengine Live was going to be devoted to a discussion about the search for extraterrestrial life in the Universe, but the alien amoeba will have to make room for some news from the entire space blogosphere in this week’s Carnival of Space, plus a bonus look into the world of space tourism. Yesterday (Tuesday), I had the superb opportunity to attend XCOR’s press conference in Beverly Hills where a new partner was announced, my colleague Angela and I had a chat to a Shuttle astronaut and we found out a little more about the future of “cheap” (if you have $95,000 in your piggy bank that is) access to space.

So, tune in to WPRT Radio at 4pm PST to get your weekly dose of Astroengine Live!

Get Involved!

Is the search for extraterrestrials really worth it? How would mankind benefit if aliens were discovered? Have an opinion? Email me on astro@wprtradio.com and I’ll be sure to give you mention. Eventually, I hope to have telephone call-ins, but for now, email will do. For your reference, check out my article: The Search For Life, What’s the Point?. Feel free to comment on any points raised…

Listen to Astroengine Live using your default streaming audio player.

Moon, Venus, Jupiter Conjunction Dazzles California

Tonight is a very special night. Three celestial bodies clustered together in the sky, signifying a rare conjunction between the Moon, Venus and Jupiter. If you missed it, you’ll have to wait five years until the natural satellite of the Earth and two planets align in a similar pattern again in 2013.

Having been a frustrated astronomer for many years, I decided to get outside to investigate the conjunction over California for myself. Sure enough, from dusk, I could see a bright, thin crescent Moon with two very bright dots to the right and below in the southwest. The same scene has been repeated across many nations, but from my perspective I was able to capture the moment with some basic equipment and a very steady hand (plus some folded business cards)…
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Addendum: Astroengine Live Email Address

Woops, it looks like I’ve been quoting the incorrect email address for my Astroengine Live radio show. Disregard the contact email address I have been quoting and update your address books with astro@wprtradio.com.

So, huge apologies for that, if you have sent any tips/research/articles/questions to any other email address apart from astro@wprtradio.com, I probably haven’t read it. So please re-send it to this correct address.

Remember, my live show will commence on Wednesday at 7pm EST (4pm PST) for it’s third episode! I will post an update later in the day about the content of the show.

If you have anything you want me to read/investigate/shout out on air, feel free to email me on astro@wprtradio.com and I will be sure to give you a mention.

Thanks and sorry again for the wrong address–it seems the tech gremlin that hit my laptop on my first show has crept into my brain too, hence the correction!

Hopefully speak to you soon!

Cheers, Ian

Carnival of Space Week 81 – Tiny Mantras

For this week’s “Happy Thanksgiving” Carnival of Space, we jet over to the excellent Tiny Mantras website, hosted by Tracy Zollinger Turner. Be sure to check out all the space blogosphere has to offer; everything from buried glaciers on Mars, Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-126 space station “home improvements” mission, using Uranus as a source of energy, to Astroengine’s musings about whether the “search for life” is a worth-while cause. Be sure to check it out, there’s way more cosmic goodness where that came from!

Enjoy! Cheers, Ian

Blogosphere Canadian Fireball Updates

University of Calgary graduate student Ellen Milley poses with a fragment of a meteorite in a small pond near Lloydminster, Sask. (AP)

Although I am still in Las Vegas enjoying the Thanksgiving aftermath, I wanted to give an update of the Canadian fireball that dramatically exploded over the Saskatchewan skies last week.

Having read though some of the updates across the space blogosphere, I thought it would be good to give the event a brief run-down via the pile of space blogs that have been following this surprise explosion and resulting discovery of meteorite fragments near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan…
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Apollo Astronaut Highlights Threat of Asteroid Impact

In a renewed attempt to bring the concern about a potential asteroid strike to the world’s attention, former Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart briefed UN officials on Tuesday about a report entitled “Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response.” The report has been drawn up by the International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation (IPATM), formed by space explorers and scientists in an effort to put a contingency plan into action to limit the devastation caused by a theoretical impact.

The key point here is that the IPATM is not predicting an immediate catastrophic asteroid collision, it merely wants the UN to recognise there is a danger out there and to enact procedures to save lives and possibly remove the threat all together…
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