Science Special News

[jsmith]

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[Rasputin]

Asteroid in near miss with Earth

An asteroid up to half a mile wide is expected to brush past the Earth on Monday, approaching almost as close as the Moon. In astronomical terms, that counts as a near miss. But scientists who had been tracking the path of asteroid 2004 XP14 are not worried. They know that the space rock, travelling at 17km per second, would not hit the Earth. Nevertheless, 2004 XP14 has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) along with 782 known others. The object, discovered in December 2004, is one of a class of "Apollo" asteroids whose orbits cross that of the Earth. Initially there were concerns that the asteroid might collide with the Earth later this century. However, further analysis of its orbit has ruled this out - at least for the foreseeable future. If XP14 did hit the Earth the effects would be devastating. "It would probably be big enough to wipe out a small country," said Dr David Asher, from the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland.

Scientists hope to gather valuable information about the asteroid by bouncing radar signals off it from the 230ft diameter Goldstone dish in California's Mojave desert. Although the object's size is not precisely known, it is thought to range between 1,345ft and 3,018ft - between a quarter and just over a half-mile wide. Another asteroid due to make an even closer fly-by on April 13, 2029, will be easy to see with the naked eye. Asteroid 99942 Apophis, which measures about 1,000ft across, will be visible from Asia and North Africa as it passes within 20,000 miles of the Earth.

[jsmith]

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[Rasputin]

On the trail of the ninki-nanka

As you read this, a small group of intrepid, pink-nosed Brits are creeping through the Gambian jungle, dodging crocodiles and cobras, in the hope of spotting the legendary "ninki-nanka". This fabulously named creature is said by locals to resemble a giant reptile, up to 30 feet long and dwelling in the murk of the mangrove swamps. The "dragon" is rumoured to look rather like a game of zoological "consequences", possessing the body of a crocodile, the neck of a giraffe and the head of a horse with three horns. Less fantastically, the team's leader, Richard Freeman of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, suspects the ninki-nanka of being a species of colossal monitor lizard. "Whatever the truth," he says, "this is the first dedicated expedition to search for this animal."So far, the explorers' blog hasn't revealed any sightings. At a slaughterhouse, they were ceremonially presented with some ninki-nanka scales, which turned out to be pieces of rotted film - "certainly not biological", says Freeman.

"However, we have acquired a sample to test when we get back to the UK, as it would be bad science not to investigate every claim."More encouraging are the witnesses. A compelling chap called Papa Jinda had described a scene of devastation at a pumping station where, the blog gushes, "a ninki-nanka had destroyed several pipes". It continues: "The mention of a ninki-nanka had caused a panic among the workers, and they had asked for a mirror as it was thought that the only way to get rid of the animal was to show it its reflection.

[Rasputin]

Virginia witch given informal pardon

The Witch of Pungo is no longer a witch. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Monday gave an informal pardon to Grace Sherwood, who 300 years ago became Virginia's only person convicted as a witch tried by water."I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood," Kaine wrote in a letter Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf read aloud before a re-enactment of Sherwood's being dropped into the river."With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice," Kaine wrote. "We also can celebrate the fact that a woman's equality is constitutionally protected today, and women have the freedom to pursue their hopes and dreams." Sherwood, a midwife who at times wore men's clothes, lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood, and she later became known as "The Witch of Pungo."Her neighbors thought she was a witch who ruined crops, killed livestock and conjured storms, and she went to court a dozen times, either to fight witchcraft charges or to sue her accusers for slander.She was 46 when she was accused in her final case of using her powers to cause a neighbor to miscarry.

On July 10, 1706, Sherwood was dropped into the Lynnhaven River and floated _ which was considered proof she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time. The theory behind the ducking test was that if she sank, she was innocent, although she would also drown.Sherwood may have been jailed until 1714, when records show she paid back taxes and with the help of then-Gov. Alexander Spotswood she was able to reclaim her property. She then lived quietly until her death at 80.Belinda Nash, 59, has been researching Sherwood for years and asked for the governor to exonerate the woman. A group annually remembers Sherwood with a re-enactment in the river.

[Rasputin]

The return of the Phoenix Lights

Hundreds of Phoenix residents watched a huge triangular-shaped something apparently cruising over the valley on July 4. KPHO-TV in Phoenix reported last week that the bizarre sight was witnessed by people all over town who were outside watching firework shows.Local UFO hunter Jeff Woolwine videotaped the strange lights just after 9 p.m. on Independence Day.The video appears to show a large dark triangle with lights on each point. The thing seems to bank slowly and then the lights blink out, one after another."After seeing this video you will see that the object is massive, and is slowing down and tilting downward on its nose. The object is apparently a triangle and looks as though it is descending. This video is going under review by the world at this time. But I can tell you that after running this video clip through my computer software that the object, whatever it is, IS there," Dark Matters Radio reported."Nothing has been inserted into this video clip and the time-line on the audio is in sync with the video portion of the file. There is no masking and frame rate is consistent."

It's hardly the first time such massive mystery craft have been reported in the Phoenix skies.The biggest mass UFO sighting in modern history took place on the night of March 13, 1997 -- when eyewitnesses from Las Vegas to Tucson reportedly tracked the progress of several huge triangle-shaped craft as they flew southeast across the entire state of Arizona."The Phoenix Lights" mystery has never been solved, despite claims by skeptics and believers.

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[Rasputin]

www.starcopywriter.com

[Rasputin]

Trees in Antarctica within 100 years ?

Trees could be growing in the Antarctic within a century because of global warming, an international scientific conference heard. With carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere set to double in the next 100 years, the icy continent could revert to how it looked about 40 million years ago, said Professor Robert Dunbar of Stanford University."It was warm and there were bushes and there were trees," he told some 850 delegates in the Tasmanian capital Hobart, the national AAP news agency reported.The delegates are attending the combined meetings of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs.Dunbar said climate experts were predicting a doubling of the levels of carbon dioxide by 2100, "but it actually looks like it's going to come sooner unfortunately."

Scientists blame greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, for causing rising temperatures worldwide.

[Rasputin]

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Rare rainbow/lightning photographed

When a rainbow formed in the sky people stopped and stared at the natural wonder. But then lightning sparked across the evening panorama as two of nature's most spectacular phenomenon created an unusual alliance. The clash of weather was seen above the affluent city of Fort Smith, in the Southern state Arkansas. One onlooker said: "It was awe inspiring. The lightning made a huge rumbling sound and when you looked up there was also this incredible rainbow forming on the horizon." The intracloud lightning, known as an anvil crawler, is the most common form of lightning, with the electrical charge contained within a single cumulonimbus cloud. Lightning often occurs during heavy storms while rainbows are generally formed after the rain has stopped, making an appearance of both simultaneously relatively rare. The actual electric charge in a flash of lightning comes from particles from the sun sent out in the solar wind which gather in the outer atmospheric layers before creating a strike.

Scientists are still divided by what actually causes lightning, with one theory suggesting falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarised as they fall through the natural electric field in the Earth's atmosphere. This would explain why lightning often accompanies storms and heavy rain. The same droplets also cause the rainbow, when light from the sun is refracted by the water to cause a spectrum.

[Rasputin]

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