If you ever thought what happens on Earth stays on Earth, think again.
Astronomers have now reported that we are sending more signals into space than intended, and we might not be the only ones in the Universe listening in.
Using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Western Australia - one of three precursor instruments to the ultimate radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) - astronomers have found that the Moon is an effective mirror of the radio pollution that the Earth radiates into space, as it reflects the signals from our TV and radio stations in the FM band (87.5-108 MHz).
In a fleeting glance at the Moon, the MWA telescope picked up every breaking news story, every Top 10 hit, every football score, every press conference, every national anthem, every soap opera, mixed together in a noisy echo of all the Earth's FM radio signals played simultaneously.
A mysterious green flash seen streaking across the sky in Harris County early Friday morning was likely a meteor, officials said.
The streaking green glow was reportedly seen about 7 a.m. arching across the sky by people in Sugar Land, Tomball, Crosby, Shelton and dozens of other spots, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Some reports had the light being spotted as far north as Dallas.
Deputies said patrol units also reported seeing the flash and burst of green.
The eerie gleaming light was also reported by people in Austin, said Chris McKinney, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
McKinney said it is believed to have been a meteor and possibly part of the Geminids meteor shower which usually is visible this time of year in the area. The shower peaks about December 13 and this meteor may have be the opening act of that celestial event, McKinney said.
"At first guess," he said, "it's probably the beginnings of that shower."
Mission scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory, Dr. John Grotzinger, talks to SPACE.com about how the instrumentation on the rover made the find that he calls "one for the history books".
Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy.
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms; the Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light-years wide), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement. Read full article (incl.video).
I know it's ridiculous and far fetched, a guinea pig on Mars, but so are a lot of things.
According the author: So, I had some people message me and point me in the direction of this image, showing something .. weird .. possible life on Mars or proof this whole thing was staged?
After looking at it, it does appear there is a rodent like animal between some rocks.
I've put the image of the guinea pig in the photograph as a comparison if you don't know what a guinea pig is. I'm not saying its a guinea pig...it looks rodent like.
I see what a lot of others see...a rodent of sorts. If you show the image to anyone and ask them where it was taken i can assure you 90% will say its a guinea pig or rodent and say its from on earth.
Despite that the object looks like a guinea pig it's probably a rock and don't forget, the eye seeks out familiar shapes/objects.
The question ...is there life on Mars? If so, then maybe this image shows an animal. But as long as there is no definitive evidence of life on Mars, it remains a question..
Pyramid shaped structure on MARS? Possibly covered in Martian Dust.
Looking at the Rover Photos today and I saw a pyramid shaped object that stuck out way in the back of the Mars landscape.
I zoomed in and it seemed even stranger. Proof of life on Mars?
Wiki Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011 which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.
The overall objectives include investigating Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a manned mission to Mars.
American Astronomers shocked the world by reporting that a large Asteroid could potential hit the Earth within 30 years. ( The 460 foot ball of rock named 2011 AG5 is potentially on course to hit this planet on February 5, 2040)
Could humanity survive such an impact?
At this time there is no definitive means to protect or defend our selves from the inevitable global devastation this event would ultimately cause.
This program profiles some of the most spectacular Comet and Asteroid impacts on the Earth as well as the current and future dangers of such impacts to the survival of the human race.
Also presented are the current measures that Space Programs have already set up to observe, detect, locate and trap these celestial objects near the Earth that may someday pose a distinct threat.
HIGHLY Strange Fireball Breaks Apart Over Japan - 4 Cameras - Aug 19, 2012.
Is this fireball a part of the Perseid meteor shower or is it something unnatural, extraterrestrial, as a meteor enter the atmosphere way faster than that and are a instant streak of light because of immense speed and this one is different!
It is a rare glimpse into space weather that has never been captured on film before.
This amazing Nasa image shows a 'sprite', a flash of red and blue light which flashes for a thousandth of a second.
Sprite glows red (inset) in this image captured by astronauts on the International Space Station on April 30, 2012. Credit: Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.
High above the clouds during thunderstorms, some 50 miles above Earth a different kind of lightning dances. Bursts of red and blue light, known as "sprites," flash for a scant one thousandth of a second. They are often only visible to those in flight above a storm, and happen so quickly you might not even see it unless you chance to be looking directly at it. One hard-to-reach place that gets a good view of sprites is the International Space Station. On April 30, 2012, astronauts on the ISS captured the signature red flash of a sprite, offering the world and researchers a rare opportunity to observe one.
This is the first color image of a sprite ever captured. It was taken in 1994 by a NASA-sponsored project through the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) that flew special cameras on two aircraft flown out of Oklahoma City. Credit: NASA/UAF.
The basic understanding of sprites is that they are related to lightning, in which a neutrally charged cloud discharges some of the electricity to ground. Normally negative charge is carried from the cloud to the ground, but about one out of every ten times it's positive charge -- and that leaves the top of the cloud negatively charged. With this one in ten chance, the electric field above the cloud is "just right" to produce the sprite, an electrical discharge 50 miles above the thunderstorm.
It is seen that the UFO flies out of the earth's atmosphere and becomes visible due to the coverage of the Sun.
ISS also illuminated by the sun on the left, as illuminated by a UFO on the left side.
We see that the UFO flies over the ISS, but the object will soon be back in the technological design of the station.
We look ... UFO appears in sight ...NASA again stopped broadcasting, but we saw what they wanted to see! I hope you understand that the moon can not fly on such a trajectory. This video also shows images of a UFO through the filters.
A closeup of the moving object (video 2 and video 3).
NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT).
This view is one product from an observation made by HiRISE targeted to the expected location of Curiosity about one minute prior to landing. It was captured in HiRISE CCD RED1.
Curiosity's first color image of Mars has just been beamed back to Earth--and it's a little dusty. This murky view of the landscape to the north of the rover was captured by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the afternoon of the first day after landing:
The image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. The view is murky because MAHLI's removable dust cover is apparently coated with dust blown onto the camera during the rover's terminal descent. Another camera, the Descent Imager, photographed the roughly circular swirls of dust kicked up from the Martian surface by the rocket motor exhaust.
The MAHLI camera is located on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm.
The camera's main purpose is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. MAHLI is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. This means it can take not only close-up pictures of rocks but also big-picture images of the landscape as shown above.
In a week or so, MAHLI's dust cover will come off and the view will improve.
Get a behind the scenes look a the tension, anticipation and exhilaration experienced by scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. during the Curiosity rover's harrowing descent through the Martian atmosphere, known as "Seven Minutes of Terror."
A NASA spacecraft has spied a vortex swirling in the atmosphere high above the south pole of the Saturn moon Titan, hinting that winter may be coming to the huge body's southern reaches.
NASA's Cassini probe photographed the polar vortex — or mass of swirling gas — during a flyby of Titan on June 27. The vortex appears to complete one full rotation in nine hours, while it takes Titan about 16 days to spin once around its axis. Read more
