- Cowboys ST coordinator John Fassel considering ‘anybody else on earth’ for potential kicker addition NFL.com
- John Fassell: Cowboys will consider “anybody else on Earth” for kicker NBC Sports
- Cowboys are considering ‘anybody on Earth’ to be their kicker for 2023 Blogging The Boys
- Cowboys kicker search: Assistant coach John Fassel considering ‘anybody else on Earth,’ names 3 possibilities CBS Sports
- 3 kickers Cowboys could sign to upgrade from Brett Maher after playoff debacle The Landry Hat
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Earth
Supercomputers have revealed the giant ‘pillars of heat’ funneling diamonds upward from deep within Earth – Phys.org
- Supercomputers have revealed the giant ‘pillars of heat’ funneling diamonds upward from deep within Earth Phys.org
- From Waste Pile to Diamond Discovery: How a Humble Piece of Rock Solved a Long-Standing Diamond Mystery SciTechDaily
- Supercomputers have revealed the giant ‘pillars of heat’ funnelling diamonds upwards from deep within Earth The Conversation Indonesia
- Giant Heat Plumes Deep in Earth Revealed: The Fires That Ignite Diamond Eruptions ScienceAlert
- Supercomputers have revealed the giant ‘pillars of heat’ funneling diamonds upwards from deep within Earth Raw Story
- View Full Coverage on Google News
‘Potentially hazardous’ asteroid that recently zipped past Earth is an elongated weirdo with an odd rotation – Livescience.com
- ‘Potentially hazardous’ asteroid that recently zipped past Earth is an elongated weirdo with an odd rotation Livescience.com
- Oddly shaped asteroid once considered an impact risk for Earth races past the planet Space.com
- Curious ‘Oblong’ Object Detected on Radar Was Closely Tracked by NASA, Officials Say The Debrief
- This oblong asteroid will have a close encounter with Earth in 2040 Interesting Engineering
- Asteroid Nearly Three Times the Length of Statue of Unity Flew Past Us! | Weather.com The Weather Channel
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Green comet will swing by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
CNN
—
A recently discovered green comet will soon zip by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. It was last visible in the night sky during the Stone Age.
Discovered on March 2, 2022, by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility’s wide-field survey camera at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, the comet made its closest approach to the sun on January 12, according to NASA.
Named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), the comet has an orbit around the sun that passes through the outer reaches of the solar system, which is why it’s taken such a long route — and long time — to swing by Earth again, according to The Planetary Society.
The icy celestial object will make its closest pass by Earth between February 1 and February 2, around 26 million miles to 27 million miles (42 million kilometers to 44 million kilometers) away, according to EarthSky.
Even during its closest approach, the comet will still be more than 100 times the moon’s distance away from Earth, according to EarthSky.
As the comet nears Earth, observers will be able to spot it as a faint green smudge near the bright star Polaris, also called the North Star. Comets reflect different colors of light due to their current positions in orbit and chemical compositions.
Early morning skies, once the moon has set after midnight for those in the Northern Hemisphere, are optimal for viewing the comet. The space object will be more difficult to see for those in the Southern Hemisphere.
Depending on its brightness, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) may even be visible to the unaided eye in dark skies, but binoculars or a telescope will make the comet easier to see.
The comet can be distinguished from stars by its streaking tails of dust and energized particles, as well as the glowing green coma surrounding it.
The coma is an envelope that forms around a comet as it passes close to the sun, causing its ice to sublimate, or turn directly to gas. This causes the comet to look fuzzy when observed through telescopes.
After passing by Earth, the comet will make its closest approach of Mars on February 10, according to EarthSky.
If clouds or inclement weather get in the way of skywatching, The Virtual Telescope Project will share a livestream of the comet in the skies above Rome. And don’t miss the other celestial events to see in 2023.
Watch a green comet make its first Earth approach in 50,000 years
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is making its closest pass by Earth, and you can watch it pass by for free without even stepping outside.
On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the comet will reach its closest point to Earth, known as perigee. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) hasn’t been this close in 50,000 years and according to some predictions, it may never be seen again. That makes the close pass this week even more significant, as it could be our last chance to witness this “messenger from the outermost reaches of our solar system.”
While many skywatchers will be out braving the cold January nights this week to catch a glimpse of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), not everyone will have the right conditions, equipment or availability to see it. Luckily, the Virtual Telescope Project is hosting a free online livestream of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) at perigee courtesy of the project’s website or YouTube channel. The livestream begins on Wednesday (Feb. 1) starting at 11:00 p.m. EST (0400 GMT on Feb. 2).
Related: How to see the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) visible in the night sky now as it approaches Earth
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) has already passed by its closest point to the sun and has led to some amazing astrophotography worldwide that shows off the comet’s gorgeous green tail.
Make sure to try and view the comet while it remains in the night sky, as this might be our last look at C/2022 E3 (ZTF) before it leaves our solar system. Geza Gyuk, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, said in a statement that for comets similar to C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with highly elliptical orbits that swing them out to the outermost regions of the solar system, “it is very easy for them to have their orbit perturbed thus making them leave the solar system entirely.”
When it approaches on Wednesday (Feb. 1), the comet will be in the Camelopardalis constellation in the northern skies. While at perigee, the comet will be within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth, equal to roughly 28% of the distance between the sun and Earth.
The comet should remain visible throughout the month and may be visible to the naked eye as a faint green glow in dark sky locations, but will certainly be visible through binoculars or a telescope.
If you want to see comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) up close or try your hand at taking your own photos, be sure to see our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars that can help. Don’t forget to also check out our guides on how to view and photograph comets, as well our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography to get started.
Just remember: The amazing images of the comet featuring bright colors and a clearly-defined tail were taken with professional-level equipment and are usually stitched together from multiple long exposures. I caught the comet myself on Friday (Jan. 27) with a pair of tripod-mounted 25x magnification binoculars, and it appeared as a small, misty green smudge located just above Ursa Major. Still, any view of one of these distant messengers is worth it, whether online or in the night sky.
Clear skies and happy comet hunting!
Follow Brett on Twitter at @bretttingley (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), or on Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
Green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be closest to Earth on Feb. 1
On Wednesday (Feb. 1) a comet that has not visited the Earth since the last Ice Age and the time of the Neanderthals will make its closest approach to our planet, or perigee.
Excitingly, the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which last passed through the inner solar system around 50,000 years ago, will be at its brightest during this time and may even be visible to the naked eye under the right conditions. The comet should be observable for days as it approaches our planet and then recedes on its way to the outer solar system.
During the comet’s perigee, it will come to within a distance of around 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) from our planet, which is equivalent to about 28% of the distance between Earth and the sun. If you’ve been waiting to get a look at C/2022 E3 (ZTF) before it speeds away, now is your best chance.
Related: How to see the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) visible in the night sky now as it approaches Earth
According to In-the-Sky, (opens in new tab) from New York City C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is circumpolar, meaning it is permanently above the horizon, and should therefore be visible for most of the night. It will be visible in the Camelopardalis constellation while at perigee, a large but faint area of sky devoid of bright stars and located close to the north celestial pole.
The comet will become visible at around 6:49 p.m. EST (2349 GMT) on Wednesday (Feb. 1) when it will be 49 degrees over the northern horizon. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will climb to its highest point in the sky, 58 degrees over the northern horizon, at around 9:46 p.m. EST (0246 GMT). Following this it will disappear in the dawn light at around 5:57 a.m. EST (1057 GMT) on Feb. 2 while at around 30 degrees over the horizon to the north.
The comet will remain visible through early February, and will finally become visible to observers in the southern horizon this month. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) may be visible to the naked eye but should be easier to spot with binoculars or a telescope. The easiest times to spot it may be on Sunday (Feb. 5) when the comet is next to the bright star Capella in the Auriga constellation, or between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13 when it will shine near Mars in the Taurus constellation.
If you’re hoping to observe C/2022 E3 (ZTF), our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. If you’re looking to snap photos of the night sky, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) made its close approach to the sun, its perihelion, on Jan. 12 when it passed to within 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of our star before heading towards Earth.
The orbital period of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is 50,000 years according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) (opens in new tab), meaning the last time it came so close to the Earth or the sun our planet was in the midst of the last glacial period or “ice age” and Neanderthals still shared the planet with our early ancestors, the first homo sapiens.
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was first identified in March 2022 by the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility inside the orbit of Jupiter. Initially, astronomers suspected that it was an asteroid, but C/2022 E3 (ZTF) soon began to brighten as it approached the sun.
This is a behavior displayed by comets as they approach the sun and are heated by radiation from our star, with the material at their surface transforming from solid ice to gas in a process called sublimation. This pointed to the true nature of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and hinted at its potential visibility over Earth.
Editor’s Note: If you snap the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Rare Green Comet To Make Closest Approach To Earth This Week
Comets are cosmic snowballs made of frozen gases
A rare green comet is due to make its closest pass by Earth. The comet named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be visible this week for people in the Southern Hemisphere if the skies are clear. The comet is streaking back our way after almost 50,000 years.
According to NASA, the comet visited Earth during Neanderthal times. It will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometres) of Earth on Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to return for millions of years.
The comet was first spotted in March last year by astronomers through the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility. It was in Jupiter’s orbit at the time and has grown brighter since then.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration says that Neanderthal Comet will shift to the northwest on the horizon throughout January and it will make its closest pass of Earth between February 1 and February 2.
“Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it’ll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it’s just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies,” NASA wrote in its “What’s Up” blog.
Comets are cosmic snowballs made of frozen gases, rocks, and dust that orbit the Sun. While these celestial bodies are small in size when frozen, they get heated upon coming closer to the Sun and release gases and dust into a large glowing head, which is bigger than most planets.
According to Space.com, the orbital period of the comet was determined to be around 50,000 years. This means that it will be making its first approach to Earth in 50,000 years next month.
Featured Video Of The Day
AP Dhillon Lyrics Decoded By Lollapalooza Attendees
Blazing meteorites from the outer solar system triggered life on Earth 4.6 billion years ago
Great balls of fire! Blazing meteorites from the outer regions of the solar system triggered life on Earth 4.6 billion years ago
Great balls of fire from the outer regions of the solar system brought the building blocks of life to Earth 4.6 billion years ago, a new study reveals.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Imperial College London found these ancient meteorites contained carbonaceous chondrite, which consisted of potassium and zinc.
Potassium helps produce a cell’s fluids, while zinc is vital in creating DNA.
The team found that these space rocks made up ten percent of the space rocks that smashed into the planet during its birth.
The other 90 percent came from the inner solar system’s non-carbonaceous (NC) material.
Life of Earth was triggered by fireballs that collided with the newly birthed planet 4.6 billion years ago
‘Our studies complement and confirm each other’s results in multiple ways,’ the study’s lead author Dr Nicole Nie told SWS.
‘Among moderately volatile elements, potassium is the least volatile while zinc is one of the most volatile elements.’
READ MORE: Mystery of the diamond-bearing meteorites is SOLVED
Scientists from RMIT and Monash University in Australia have discovered that the diamonds were formed in an ancient dwarf planet from our solar system.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/de/sciencetech/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->
Advertisement
The meteorites provided 20 percent of Earth’s potassium and half its zinc.
Both are considered volatiles, which are elements or compounds that change from a solid or liquid state into vapor at relatively low temperatures.
Senior author Professor Mark Rehkämper, of Imperial College London’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said in a statement: ‘Our data show that about half of Earth’s zinc inventory was delivered by material from the outer Solar System, beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
‘Based on current models of early Solar System development, this was completely unexpected.’
Previous research suggested that the Earth formed almost exclusively from inner Solar System material, which researchers inferred was the predominant source of Earth’s volatile chemicals.
However, the new study provides the first evidence that Earth formed partly from carbonaceous meteorites from asteroids in the outer main belt.
‘This contribution of outer Solar System material played a vital role in establishing the Earth’s inventory of volatile chemicals,’ said Rehkämper.
‘It looks as though without the contribution of outer Solar System material, the Earth would have a much lower amount of volatiles than we know it today – making it drier and potentially unable to nourish and sustain life.’
The team analyzed 18 meteorites,11 from the inner region and the rest traveled from the outer areas.
The meteorites contained potassium and zinc and traveled from the outer regions of the solar system
And then, they measured the relative abundances of zinc’s five different forms – or isotopes.
They then compared each isotopic fingerprint with Earth samples to estimate how much these materials contributed to the Earth’s zinc inventory, showing that Earth only incorporated about ten percent of its mass from carbonaceous bodies.
The researchers found that material with a high concentration of zinc and other volatile constituents is also likely to be relatively abundant in water, giving clues about the origin of Earth’s water.
Watch an SUV-sized asteroid zoom by Earth in close shave flyby
Asteroid 2023 BU zipped past Earth Thursday night (Jan. 26) to the delight of amateur astronomers worldwide. For skywatchers without access to a telescope or those who had their view hampered by bad weather, luckily the Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project was there to observe the event and livestream the whole thing for free.
The Virtual Telescope is a robotic telescope operated by Italian amateur astronomer Gianluca Masi near Rome, Italy. As 2023 BU hurtled toward Earth, the telescope was able to track the rock through a gap in the clouds when it was about 13,670 miles (22,000 kilometers) from the closest point on Earth’s surface (about the altitude of the GPS navigation satellite constellation) and 22,990 miles (37,000 km) from the Virtual Telescope.
Masi, who shared an hour-long webcast of the observations on the Virtual Telescope website, wasn’t able to capture the closest approach as clouds rolled in, however. Nonetheless, the Virtual Telescope Project was able to get a good look at the car-sized rock, seen in time-lapse above.
Related: NASA’s DART asteroid impact won’t make Dimorphos hit Earth — but here’s what would happen if it did
The rock, discovered less than a week ago on Saturday (Jan. 21), passed above the southern tip of South America at 7:27 p.m. EST on Thursday Jan. 26 (0027 GMT on Jan. 27), at a distance of only 2,240 miles (3,600 km) at its closest point to Earth’s surface.
This close approach makes 2023 BU the fourth nearest asteroid ever observed from Earth, with the exception of five space rocks that were detected before diving into Earth’s atmosphere.
Only 11.5 to 28 feet wide (3.5 to 8.5 meters), 2023 BU posed no danger to the planet. If the trajectories of the two bodies had intersected, the asteroid would mostly have burned up in the atmosphere with only small fragments possibly falling to the ground as meteorites.
In the videos and images shared by Masi, the asteroid is seen as a small bright dot in the center of the frame, while the longer, brighter lines are the surrounding stars. In reality, of course, it was the asteroid that was moving with respect to Earth, traveling at a speed of 21,000 mph (33,800 km/h) with respect to Earth. As Masi’s computerized telescope tracked its positionthe rock appeared stationary in the images while rendering the stars as these moving streaks.
The gravitational kick that 2023 BU received during its encounter with Earth will alter the shape of its orbit around the sun. Previously, the space rock followed a rather circular orbit, completing one lap around the sun in 359 days. From now on, BU 2023 will travel through the inner solar system on a more elliptical path, venturing half way toward Mars at the farthest point of its orbit. This alteration will add 66 days to BU 2023’s orbital period.
The asteroid was discovered by famed Crimea-based astronomer and astrophotographer Gennadiy Borisov, the same man who in 2018 found the first interstellar comet, which now bears his name, Borisov.
Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Watch asteroid 2023 BU pass close by Earth today in this free webcast
Update for 2:45 pm ET: The Virtual Telescope Project’s webcast of asteroid 2023 BU is now scheduled for 3:15 pm. EST (2015 GMT) due to clouds.
A newly discovered asteroid will come very close to Earth this week.
Asteroid 2023 BU measures between 12 and 28 feet wide (3.8 to 8.5 meters), and was just discovered on Saturday (Jan. 21) by astronomer Gennadiy Borisov at the MARGO Observatory in Crimea. When it passes by Earth at its closest on Thursday (Jan. 26) at 4:17 p.m. EST (2117 GMT), the space rock will be within less than 3% of the average Earth-moon distance at an altitude of just 2,178 miles (3,506 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
For comparison, most geostationary satellites orbit at an attitude of around 22,200 miles (35,800 km).
Most asteroids aren’t bright enough to be seen without a powerful telescope; luckily, you can watch asteroid 2023 BU make its close encounter with our planet thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project. Astronomer Gianluca Masi will be hosting a free livestream of the asteroid’s pass on the project’s website (opens in new tab) or YouTube channel (opens in new tab) on Thursday (Jan. 26) starting at 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT) after a short delay due to clouds at the project’s Ceccano, Italy observing site.
Related: Asteroids: Fun facts and information about these space rocks
The asteroid is currently in the Ursa Major constellation. Due to its small size, asteroid 2023 BU is fairly dim at magnitude 19.15, but it might be visible through a powerful telescope operated by a seasoned skywatcher.
Luckily for those of us who aren’t veteran asteroid chasers, the Virtual Telescope Project will stream the whole thing. “Asteroid 2023 BU will have an extremely close, but safe, encounter with us, coming [within] less than 10,000 km from the Earth’s center, about 25% of the geostationary satellites’ distance,” writes Masi on the project’s website (opens in new tab).
Asteroid 2023 BU is known as an Apollo-type asteroid, which means its orbit crosses that of Earth but spends most of its time well outside the path of our planet, according to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (opens in new tab), which is based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 2023 BU orbits the sun every 425 days and will not pass close to our planet again until Dec. 6, 2036.
While asteroid 2023 BU will pass extremely close to Earth, it is not categorized as potentially hazardous. That’s because its small size means it would likely break up and incinerate in Earth’s atmosphere.
Hoping to catch a glimpse of asteroid 2023 BU? Our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars might help you get started on the path to right optics. You can also check out our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography to get started.
Editor’s Note: If you manage to catch a photo of asteroid 2023 BU and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Follow Brett on Twitter at @bretttingley (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), or on Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).