Green Comet Approaches Earth

+ Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Email to a friend | + Join mailing list

February 4, 2009: In 1996, a 7-year-old boy in China bent over the eyepiece of a small telescope and saw something that would change his life--a comet of flamboyant beauty, bright and puffy with an active tail. At first he thought he himself had discovered it, but no, he learned, two men named "Hale" and "Bopp" had beat him to it. Mastering his disappointment, young Quanzhi Ye resolved to find his own comet one day.

And one day, he did.

Fast forward to a summer afternoon in July 2007. Ye, now 19 years old and a student of meteorology at China's Sun Yat-sen University, bent over his desk to stare at a black-and-white star field. The photo was taken nights before by Taiwanese astronomer Chi Sheng Lin on "sky patrol" at the Lulin Observatory. Ye's finger moved from point to point--and stopped. One of the stars was not a star, it was a comet, and this time Ye saw it first.

Comet Lulin, named after the observatory in Taiwan where the discovery-photo was taken, is now approaching Earth. "It is a green beauty that could become visible to the naked eye any day now," says Ye.

Amateur astronomer Jack Newton sends this photo from his backyard observatory in Arizona:

"My retired eyes still cannot see the brightening comet," says Newton, "but my 14-inch telescope picked it up quite nicely on Feb. 1st."

The comet makes its closest approach to Earth (0.41 AU) on Feb. 24, 2009. Current estimates peg the maximum brightness at 4th or 5th magnitude, which means dark country skies would be required to see it. No one can say for sure, however, because this appears to be Lulin's first visit to the inner solar system and its first exposure to intense sunlight. Surprises are possible.

Lulin's green color comes from the gases that make up its Jupiter-sized tmosphere. Jets spewing from the comet's nucleus contain cyanogen (CN: a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C₂). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum of space.

In 1910, many people panicked when astronomers revealed Earth would pass through the cyanogen-rich tail of Comet Halley. False alarm: The wispy tail of the comet couldn't penetrate Earth's dense atmosphere; even it if had penetrated, there wasn't enough cyanogen to cause real trouble. Comet Lulin will cause even less trouble than Halley did. At closest approach in late February, Lulin will stop 38 million miles short of Earth, utterly harmless.

To see Comet Lulin with your own eyes, set your alarm for 3 am. The comet rises a few hours before the sun and may be found about 1/3rd of the way up the southern sky before dawn. Here are some dates when it is especially easy to find:

Feb. 6th: Comet Lulin glides by Zubenelgenubi, a double star at the fulcrum of Libra's scales. Zubenelgenubi is not only fun to say (zuBEN-el-JA-newbee), but also a handy guide. You can see Zubenelgenubi with your unaided eye (it is about as bright as stars in the Big Dipper); binoculars pointed at the binary star reveal Comet Lulin in beautiful proximity. [sky map]

Feb. 16th: Comet Lulin passes Spica in the constellation Virgo. Spica is a star of first magnitude and a guidepost even city astronomers cannot miss. A finderscope pointed at Spica will capture Comet Lulin in the field of view, centering the optics within a nudge of both objects. [sky map]

Feb. 24th: Closest approach! On this special morning, Lulin will lie just a few degrees from Saturn in the constellation Leo. Saturn is obvious to the unaided eye, and Lulin could be as well. If this doesn't draw you out of bed, nothing will. [sky map]

Ye notes that Comet Lulin is remarkable not only for its rare beauty, but also for its rare manner of discovery. "This is a 'comet of collaboration' between Taiwanese and Chinese astronomers," he says. "The discovery could not have been made without a contribution from both sides of the Strait that separates our countries. Chi Sheng Lin and other members of the Lulin Observatory staff enabled me to get the images I wanted, while I analyzed the data and found the comet."

Somewhere this month, Ye imagines, another youngster will bend over an eyepiece, see Comet Lulin, and feel the same thrill he did gazing at Comet Hale-Bopp in 1996. And who knows where that might lead...?

"I hope that my experience might inspire other young people to pursue the same starry dreams as myself," says Ye.

 

The Story of Palestine

This hour-long presentation by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti is a must see (and save for reference). It explains the past, present and future of Israeli Occupation of Palestine and present facts and figures that you don't see on your TV. This was delivered recently at the 2008 American-Arab Anti-Discrimination - ADC National Convention… Do you know something we don't? History of Palestine: Palestine is one of the most ancient homelands of humankind. There is evidence that Palestine was inhabited almost two hundred thousand years ago. With the beginning of the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic period) circa 12,000 BC, humans in Palestine began to raise animals, to farm and produce handcrafts. For example, the skull of a dog, a picture of a bull carved into a bone and a sculpted piece of human skull, all dating back to that period, were found in the caves of Carmel. Around 7000 BC, Jericho became the first place in Palestine where humans built dwellings for themselves and they also built a ten-meter high wall surround the city. Thus Jericho is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. Farming and animal breeding began there and stability characterized the area for more than a thousand years before they Mesopotamia-Somer (Iraq). The craft of pottery began in Jericho around 5000 BC, spreading from there to the rest of Palestine and Syria. In several Palestinian cities, numerous artifacts from the Metallic Stone Age (c.4000 BC) were found, including in the city of Megiddo, where the oldest types of decorated pottery were discovered. In Beisan, excavations in 1921 and 1922 at “Tel Al-Hesn” led to the discovery of an accumulated series of ruins of ancient cities, mounting to 18 layers, with the lower layers dating back to 4000 BC and the upper layers to the Middle Ages. Continue .....

Our Message to the world:

Our Message to the world:

Now is the time for global civil society ... to forcefully demand immediate action from governments to end the occupation, which is the root cause of this conflict.

A message of continuing resistance against the occupation, with your support, and the solidarity of humans worldwide who don't accept injustice against fellow human beings. People, who reject injustice imposed on other nations, speak out for us.

WebGaza.net aiming to make informational resources about the Palestinian issue more widely available and presenting the Palestinian viewpoint on the Web to help the international public better understand the realities of the Palestinian situation.

Adnan Sami's 'most humiliating moment

Singer Adnan Sami says his wife Sabah filing a police complaint against him for abuse is the "most humiliating moment" of his life and rubbishes her allegations as he is "incapable of any violence".

"All I can say is this has been the most humiliating moment of my life. I know I'm being accused of violence. But the truth is I'm incapable of any violence. The cops were more amused than intimidating," Adnan told IANS.

A non-cognisable offence was registered against Adnan at the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai in the wee hours of Friday (January 30) after Sabah accused him of "mental and physical torture". The Pakistani singer was then summoned to the police station and warned against misbehaving with his wife in future, a police official said.

According to a friend of Adnan, trouble has been brewing between the couple for sometime now.

"It started after Adnan's reunion with son Azaan (from his previous marriage). When Azaan came over to spend a fortnight during Christmas with his father, Sabah left for her home in Dubai. She felt somewhat insecure about the presence of a son in her husband's life. But Adnan has wholeheartedly accepted Sabah's son Abdullah from her earlier marriage. And Adnan saw no reason why Sabah should have a problem accepting Azaan since he's a mature and endearing boy," the friend said on condition of anonymity.

Azaan reportedly even tried his best to win Sabah's love. "Azaan accompanied Adnan for a concert in Dubai and there tried to win his mother over with flowers and chocolates. Sabah melted. But not for long."

Real trouble began when Sabah returned to Mumbai and Adnan's ailing father had to be hospitalised.

"Again Sabah felt neglected because Adnan was giving all his time to his father. Apparently when Adnan's father was hospitalised she refused to let his mother stay in their house and insisted she check into a hotel. Adnan was distraught. When his mother heard this she said she's stay in the hospital with her husband," the friend said.

Matters apparently reached a head on Thursday when Adnan's father had to be discharged.

"Adnan insisted on bringing his parents home. But his wife would have none of it. This is strange considering Sabah's Filipino female friend has been their house guest for sometime now."

Sabah suddenly called the police home on Thursday afternoon. "When they asked if he had caused any physical or verbal abuse she had no answer. On Thursday night-Friday morning at around 3 am. Sabah again complained and Adnan had to go to the police station to explain himself," the friend added.

Adnan's father was rushed to hospital after he had a relapse of the cancer of his pancreas, Adnan had said earlier. The singer has been in and out of hospital for the past two weeks.

Asked about his father's health now, he said: "By the grace of god my father has recovered...No one can stop me from bringing my parents home."

Shah Rukh Khan feels it's high time an Indian film made by an Indian director won an Oscar

From the small screen to the big screen, Shah Rukh Khan has been a trailblazer all along. After dabbling with film production and cricket, the restless Mr Khan is now getting behind the small screen, where he began his acting career.

SRK is producing Ghar Ki Baat Hai, which hit the airwaves on NDTV Imagine on January 30.

Oozing the passion that he is so well known for, Shah Rukh talks about his latest baby and the movie that has impressed him off late…

HowStuffWorks DailyStuff

How Childbirth Works Childbirth may be a miracle, but it's a rather messy one. Before you can hold that precious baby, you've got to bring it into the world -- with blood, sweat and tears. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Are surgeons using video games for training? A study suggests surgeons who play video games might have finer surgical skills than those who never play. So should med school students throw down the anatomy book and grab a joystick? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

What is cyberchondria? So you're at a family dinner, and your uncle stands up and dramatically announces that he has a brain tumor. How does he know? Because he researched his frequent headaches on the Internet.

How Cutting-edge Technology Works Technology is an ever-changing industry that's often difficult to keep up with. But that's where HowStuffWorks comes in. Our guide to cutting-edge technology delves into the latest in gadgets, computers and more.

Ghaza


Palestine ( strikes from Israel)