Asteroid claims to have destroyed dinosaurs in African seas

An asteroid from space slammed into the Earth's surface 66 million years ago, leaving a massive crater underneath the sea and wreaking havoc with the planet.
No, it's not that asteroid, the one that doomed the dinosaurs to extinction, but a previously unknown crater 248 miles off the coast of West Africa that was created right around the same time. Further study of the Nadir crater, as it's called, could shake up what we know about that cataclysmic moment in natural history. Uisdean Nicholson, an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, happened on the crater by accident -- he was reviewing seismic survey data for another project on the tectonic split between South America and Africa and found evidence of the crater beneath 400 meters of seabed sediment. "While interpreting the data, I (came) across this very unusual crater-like feature, unlike anything I had ever seen before," he said. It had all the characteristics of an impact crater. To be absolutely certain the crater was caused by an asteroid strike, he said that it would be necessary to drill into the the crater and test minerals from the crater floor. But it has all the hallmarks scientists would expect: the right ratio of crater width to depth, the height of the rims, and the height of the central uplift -- a mound in the center created by rock and sediment forced up by the shock pressure. The journal Science Advances published the study on Thursday. "The discovery of a terrestrial impact crater is always significant, because they are very rare in the geologic record. There are fewer than 200 confirmed impact structures on Earth and quite a few likely candidates that haven't yet been unequivocally confirmed," said Mark Boslough, a research professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico. He was not involved in this research but agreed that it was probably caused by an asteroid. Boslough said the most significant aspect of this discovery is that it was an example of a submarine impact crater, for which there are only a few known examples. "The opportunity to study an underwater impact crater of this size would help us understand the process of ocean impacts, which are the most common but least well preserved or understood." The crater is 8 kilometers (5 miles) wide, and Nicholson believes it was was likely caused by an asteroid more than 400 meters (1,300 feet) wide hurtling into the Earth's crust. While much smaller than the city-sized asteroid that caused the 100-mile-wide Chicxulub crater that hit off the coast of Mexico that led to the mass extinction of much of life on the planet, it's still a pretty sizable space rock. "The (Nadir) impact would have had severe consequences locally and regionally -- across the Atlantic Ocean at least," Nicholson explained via email. "There would have been a large earthquake (magnitude 6.5 - 7), so significant ground shaking locally. The air blast would have been heard across the globe, and would have itself caused severe local damage across the region.DailyBangladesh/RAH Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
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Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins dies at 90

American astronaut Michael Collins, who flew the Apollo 11 command module while his crewmates became the first people to land on the Moon in 1969, died on Wednesday after battling cancer, his family said.

“Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way,” Collins’ family tweeted on his official Twitter account.

Often described as the "forgotten" third astronaut on the historic mission, Collins remained alone for more than 21 hours until his two colleagues returned in the lunar module. He lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon.

"Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins," the mission log said, referring to the biblical figure.

Collins wrote an account of his experiences in his 1974 autobiography, "Carrying the Fire," but largely shunned publicity."I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have," Collins said in comments released by NASA in 2009. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/
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Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Scientists in Japan on Tuesday began analysing a capsule sent back to Earth by a probe, hoping to find asteroid material that could offer clues on how the universe was formed.

Officials from Japan’s space agency said they were jubilant about the successful return of the capsule, which landed in Australia on Sunday after separating from the Hayabusa-2 probe.

“I’m genuinely appreciative of the fact that the capsule came back, after a 5.24 billion-kilometre round-trip,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters.

Scientists hope it will yield up to 0.1 grams of material collected from the asteroid Ryugu some 300 million kilometres from Earth — though they won’t know for sure until they look inside.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing (the samples) with my own eyes,” Tsuda said.

But that isn’t expected to happen before at least next week, with a series of steps required first to ensure the material is not contaminated.

For now, the capsule is “in a secure location” at a space centre in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, agency director general Hitoshi Kuninaka said.

“Now we move to the matter-analysis phase,” he said. The samples — collected last year — are hoped to include both surface dust and pristine material stirred up when Hayabusa-2 fired an “impactor” into Ryugu.

Scientists hope they can shed light on how the formation of the universe unfolded, as well as on the origins of life on Earth.

The space agency has begun carefully processing the capsule, beginning by collecting gas inside. It will be opened later under strict conditions, including a nitrogen-filled box for the capsule.

“The key is that samples will not be polluted by Earth’s environment… so they can be provided to researchers around the world,” said Tomohiro Usui, leader of the extraterrestrial matter-analysis group.

“If we see something black inside the capsule, which is itself made of aluminium and whiteish, it’s near-certain it is from Ryugu,” he added. “But that is just supporting evidence, and we’ll not be able to say something for sure until we do chemical analysis.”

The nature of the gas extracted from the capsule also needs to be clarified, though officials said they believe it too was collected from the asteroid.

Half of Hayabusa-2’s samples will be shared between the Japanese space agency and other international organisations, while the rest will be kept for future study as advances are made in technology.The probe’s mission has been extended for more than a decade, with two new asteroids now being targeted for observation. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
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Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Scientists in Japan on Tuesday began analysing a capsule sent back to Earth by a probe, hoping to find asteroid material that could offer clues on how the universe was formed.

Officials from Japan’s space agency said they were jubilant about the successful return of the capsule, which landed in Australia on Sunday after separating from the Hayabusa-2 probe.

“I’m genuinely appreciative of the fact that the capsule came back, after a 5.24 billion-kilometre round-trip,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters.

Scientists hope it will yield up to 0.1 grams of material collected from the asteroid Ryugu some 300 million kilometres from Earth — though they won’t know for sure until they look inside.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing (the samples) with my own eyes,” Tsuda said.

But that isn’t expected to happen before at least next week, with a series of steps required first to ensure the material is not contaminated.

For now, the capsule is “in a secure location” at a space centre in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, agency director general Hitoshi Kuninaka said.

“Now we move to the matter-analysis phase,” he said. The samples — collected last year — are hoped to include both surface dust and pristine material stirred up when Hayabusa-2 fired an “impactor” into Ryugu.

Scientists hope they can shed light on how the formation of the universe unfolded, as well as on the origins of life on Earth.

The space agency has begun carefully processing the capsule, beginning by collecting gas inside. It will be opened later under strict conditions, including a nitrogen-filled box for the capsule.

“The key is that samples will not be polluted by Earth’s environment… so they can be provided to researchers around the world,” said Tomohiro Usui, leader of the extraterrestrial matter-analysis group.

“If we see something black inside the capsule, which is itself made of aluminium and whiteish, it’s near-certain it is from Ryugu,” he added. “But that is just supporting evidence, and we’ll not be able to say something for sure until we do chemical analysis.”

The nature of the gas extracted from the capsule also needs to be clarified, though officials said they believe it too was collected from the asteroid.

Half of Hayabusa-2’s samples will be shared between the Japanese space agency and other international organisations, while the rest will be kept for future study as advances are made in technology.The probe’s mission has been extended for more than a decade, with two new asteroids now being targeted for observation. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com
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Asteroid over 22 metres in diameter to pass by Earth on Sept 1: NASA

WASHINGTON: An asteroid with diameters between 22 and 49 metres will shoot pass Earth in a distance closer than Earth from the Moon on September 1, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). "Will asteroid 2011 ES4 hit Earth? No! 2011 ES4's close approach is 'close' on an astronomical scale but poses no danger of actually hitting Earth. Planetary defence experts expect it to safely pass by at least 45,000 miles (792,000 football fields) away on Tuesday, September 1," NASA Asteroid Watch tweeted on Saturday. NASA estimates the asteroid's relative speed at around 8.16 kilometres per second. The last time asteroid 2011 ES4 fly by the Earth was visible from ground for four days. This time, it will be closer to our planet than before with an estimated distance of 1.2 lakh kilometres, closer than that of the Moon, which is 3.84 lakh kilometres away from the Earth. The asteroid, listed as a potentially hazardous asteroid, was first discovered in the spring of 2011 and passes by Earth every nine years. A "potentially hazardous asteroid" is currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid's potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth, according to NASA. Copyright © Jammu Links News. Source: Jammu Links News
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