Asteroid solution - last desperate attempt.

Just a funny that I came across this evening!

Space rocks thrown at Earth.

The recent space rock sizes. The one that hit Russia, and the other bigger one (asteroid 2012 DA14)  that fortunately passed us.  Either way, if the little one didn't blow up high in the atmosphere and hit Chelyabinsk directly it would have been a major disaster - more than just broken windows and confused Russians with their car cameras.  If the big one smacked us.....well, you just guess!

Deep Sea Treasures

First there was the discovery of the lost Titanic, then Gus Grissom's lost Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft, now Amazon rich guy Jeff Bezos has found one of the ultimate in lost treasures. A couple of F-1 engines from Apollo 11's S-IC first stage! It may or may not be from Apollo 11 since it seems they still need to confirm serial numbers, but it's definitely from a Saturn V. But wait....it gets even better! Jeff, being a local Seattle guy and the owner of one of the upcoming private sector spacecraft companies (Blue Origin), is hoping to have one of the two engines on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.  Woo hoo!
Blue Origin already has their Charon test vehicle on display there, a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle with a bunch of jet engines.

| CollectSpace article |

 | Bezos Expeditions |

Spring!

Happy first day of spring!  Although here in Seattle, it starts out stormy with 40+ kt gust winds, lowered freezing level, heavy rain, and no view of Comet PanSTARRS.  Typical spring for the last 4 years now.  Global warming?  Nah...I call it more like "global climate shift".  
How many times have I had the Astro-Shack dome open since I built it last summer?  Uh....3 times maybe?

Anyway, here is a nifty video showing the seasons of Earth from above.  Spring/fall is when the terminator is straight up and down.

Comet PANSTARRS

Now the frustration for Seattle astronomers can get started.  Early in March Comet PANSTARRS will be visible in the western skies after sunset.  When was the last time we saw a good sunset?  I think I remember one about 3 weeks ago.
The comet was giving some great views in the Southern skies - it is summer in Australia right now, and they have had their fair share of good comets over the years, so it's our turn now for us northern dwellers!
Keep looking west over the next weeks and if it's clear we may get lucky and see something.

| PanSTARRS info from Astronomy Magazine |