Deadly asteroid bounds towards Earth out of the blue

A dangerous asteroid heading to the Earth was spotted by stargazers three years after it had got onto its current orbit.
To avert a new apocalypse – this time set for February 2013 – scientists suggest confronting asteroid 2012 DA14 with either paint, or big guns. The tough part of either scheme is that time has long run out to build a spaceship for any operation.

NASA confirms the 60-meter (197-feet) asteroid, spotted by Spanish stargazers in February, has a good chance of colliding with Earth in eleven months.

The rock’s closest approach to the planet is scheduled for February 15, 2013, when the distance between the planet and space wanderer will be under 27,000 km (16,700 miles). This is lower than the geosynchronous orbit kept by the Google Maps satellite.

With the asteroid zooming that low, it will be too late to do anything with it besides trying to predict its final destination and the consequences of impact.



A spaceship is needed, experts agree. It could shoot the rock down or just crash into it, either breaking the asteroid into debris or throwing it off course.

“We could paint it,” says NASA expert David Dunham.

Paint would affect the asteroid’s ability to reflect sunlight, changing its temperature and altering its spin. The asteroid would stalk off its current course, but this could also make the boulder even more dangerous when it comes back in 2056, Aleksandr Devaytkin, the head of the observatory in Russia’s Pulkovo, told Izvestia.

Read more »

Poland’s deadly train crash (Video)

Two trains traveling towards each other on the same track collided head-on in southern Poland on Saturday night, killing 15 people and injuring 54 others. Polish Prime Minister has called it the most tragic train catastrophe in Poland in many years.

Scores of injured passengers have been ferried to hospital.

The trains, carrying about 350 people in total, collided in the small town of Szczekociny.

Officials say one train was traveling from the eastern city of Przemysl to Warsaw, while the other – on the wrong track – was heading south from Warsaw to Krakow.

They said they had not yet identified the cause of the malfunction.

An investigation into the accident was launched on Sunday.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the site of the tragedy early on Sunday calling it Poland’s “most tragic train disaster in many, many years.”

Tusk said the trains were carrying passengers from Ukraine, Spain and France, but none of them appeared to be among the dead or badly injured.

Rescue workers have ended their search for the dead.

Read more »

Massive sun storm reaches Earth (Video)

The strongest sun storm in six years has reached Earth early Thursday, endangering the operations of satellites, power grids and navigation systems.

The storm was unleashed by two massive solar flares earlier this week, rated X, the strongest type on scientists’ scales. The flares hurled a wave of solar plasma and charged particles into space.

As a result of the solar tempest the Northern Lights may be visible at lower latitudes than usual. The beautiful atmospheric phenomenon is caused by the collision of charged particles with our planet’s magnetic field.

However, the consequences of the storm are not limited to spectacular sky shows only. The severe space weather may interfere with satellite communication, affecting phone connections and navigation.

The cloud of charged particles launched a geomagnetic storm in the Earth’s protective magnetic field, which keeps radiation out. Although the storm cannot destroy the field, it can severely shake it, potentially affecting power grids.

As a precaution, power grid operators have been alerted and airlines are rerouting flights away from normal polar routes, said NOAA space weather scientist Joseph Kunches.

He also said that the effects of the storm will last for about 24 hours, ending Friday.

Since the beginning of this year, Earth has already been battered by a strong solar storm, but scientists say the current tempest is stronger than the one that happened in January.

Read more »

The Cars James Bond Drove

The Cars James Bond drove are nearly as famous as Agent 007 himself. While the Sunbeam Alpine from the first film is not as well-known, the Aston Martin DB5 owes a lot of its cachet to the man from MI6, as does the BMW Z3 that debuted in the Bond films of the 1990s. When Sean Connery first donned James Bond’s tuxedo, elaborate gadgetry and sexy cars were not yet the order of the day. Case in point: his first car was a Sunbeam Alpine convertible with not one single alteration from Q’s lab. Bond’s driving skills are on display in the Alpine, however, when he drives under a construction crane and causes his pursuers to fly off a cliff. James Bond’s cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, DB7. V8 Vantage, V12 Vanquish; the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8.

Read more »

Dog Playing Piano and Singing (Video)

The video below features a Finnish dog named Petu singing a mournful sounding tune, while slamming on the piano. This dog has some musical talent. Well, maybe not from a human standpoint, but definitely from a dog’s. Come on, he’s a dog!

Read more »

Purple Glowing Building in Kuala Lumpur

What is this purple building? It is Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad during the night. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is located in front of the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and the Royal Selangor Club, by Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The structure takes its name from Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan ofSelangor at the time when construction began.

The building houses the offices of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture of Malaysia (Malay: Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Malaysia). It formerly housed the superior courts of the country: the Federal Court of Malaysia, the Court of Appeals and the High Court of Malaya. The Federal Court and the Court of Appeals had shifted to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya during the early 2000s, while the High Court of Malaya shifted to the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in 2007.

Source

Read more »

Apple Unveils New iPad with 4G LTE

Apple rolled out the latest version of the iPad Wednesday with a Retina Display, quad-core processor, 4G LTE, and an improved camera. . The gadget was not called the iPad 3 or iPad HD. Instead, Apple kept it simple with “new iPad.” The lack of a new name could cause confusion for buyers, particularly since the older model, the "iPad 2," will still be sold.

So what does this new iPad bring to the tablet scene? Check it out:

* 4G LTE
* 9.7 inch retina display with 2048 x 1536 pixels
* 5-megapixel iSight camera
* 1080p video recording
* 1.4 pounds and 9.4mm thick
* A5x quad-core graphics
* 44% greater saturation
* 10 hour battery life (9 hours on 4G)

Pricing:

* Wi-Fi only models: $499 for 16 GB, $599 for 32 GB and $699 for 64 GB
* 4G models: $629 for 16 GB, $729 for 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB

On sale March 16.

Source

Read more »

Top 5 Worlds Best Winter Vacation

Top 5 Worlds Best Winter Vacation | Are you looking for the best holiday deals for your winter vacation? Millions of people think about going for a family trip during the winters and therefore you should start looking for the best destinations that can help you to make the most of the quality time that you have with your family.

1. Bulgaria, Europe

 

 If you are planning a visit to Europe you can go for Bulgaria which is certainly one of the best winter destinations in the world. It is one of the oldest countries in the Europe and therefore you will find some really good attractions and cultural events that happen during the winter festival. If you love skiing you will find some affordable ski destinations and locations here. As per the latest tourism information, Bulgaria gets more travelers across the globe in winter.

2. Morocco, Africa

There are many people who hate the cold chilly weather where everything is snow white and therefore they want to escape it. If you are thinking about escaping the cold temperature then you can rush to Morocco in Africa where it is summer time and you can enjoy some really warm climate this Christmas. Since there are more travelers here during the winter time you will find that there are more people celebrating their winter holidays in warm style and there are many shops where you can go shopping.

3. Arahova, Greece

If you love the snow clad mountains and some nice landscape then you can head to Southern Greece. Arahova is a nice winter destination which looks quiet throughout the year but during the winter you will find people flocking in from different parts of Europe and Asia and therefore this place has cosmopolitan crowd during the festival season. You can always book some really good resorts here that will take care of your accommodation.

4. Whistler, Canada

There are many people who love to go for adventure even when the temperature is dropping outside. If you are one of those then you should head to Whistler Blackcomb in Canada which is a great place for all those who want to ski and enjoy snowboarding. Many people from USA and Canada come here to enjoy some really cool resorts here that are affordable and elegant.

5. Bali, Indonesia

If you don’t have the budget but if you still want to enjoy your winter holidays in style then you can take off for Bali in Indonesia. The climate here is gentle and not bone-chilling cold. Hence, you can always enjoy the temperature and even go for some beaches and other water sport activities.

Source

Read more »

10 Actors who Died During TV Shows

There’s a list here on Listverse of performers who died on stage, and there is a growing list of actors who died during the filming of a motion picture (Vic Morrow, John Candy, Brandon Lee, etc). This list, however, deals specifically with a TV series in which an actor dies in real life, and whose character also dies and is written out of the show, with the expectation that the show continues on without them. Some shows managed a little while, others came to a screeching halt, others have continued on, mostly depending on the role played.

Obviously the shows listed here are U.S.-based TV shows. I’m sure there are probably shows in other countries that had actors die and be written out of the show. I came close to adding Ronnie Barker, but the show he was involved with at the time of his death was a compilation of previous comedy skits with the other Ronnie (Corbett), and technically played himself most of the time. I had a hard enough time finding some of these in the list – you’re welcome to add your own. I’ve arranged these in the order of “star” power; the closer the actor was to the center of the scene, the higher up the list.

Source

Read more »

10 Unpleasant Creatures Made Lovable By Cartoons

Is there anything more gross than a cockroach? Is there anything more reviled than a rat? There are lots of creatures out there that we’d want to stay as far away from as possible. But the truth is that some of these animals aren’t quite as terrible as we make them out to be and have overly bad reputations that are perhaps undeserved. Here are some animated movies and shows that make us throw the “ice” factor out the window and enjoy creatures that normally freak us out for what they actually are: cuter than puppies.

   

Read more »

Really Beautiful Paradise Birds

Paradise Birds are kind of exotic birds that inhabit the tropical islands of the western Pacific Ocean and the northern regions of Australia. There are different sizes. Each of these birds is characterized by bright feathers and interesting colors, for which they received the name “Paradise”, although they are relatives of crows. Brilliant and striking plumage can be seen only on males. They use their feathers to impress the females before mating.

Read more »

Top 10 Unusual Ancient Weapons

Mankind always has, and always will, fight wars. And in order to fight said wars, man needed weapons. Using whatever skills and resources they had, man built tools that would slash, smash, pierce and tear their enemies. Every nation had weapons that made their armies unique. Today when we talk about ancient weapons we immediately think swords, spears, bows and axes. But I find interest in weapons that strike me as out of the norm. This list is an assortment of weapons that have designs, backgrounds or usages that I find rather out of the ordinary. If you feel like anything is excluded or missing from the list, remember there exists a comment section for you to do with as you will!

Read more »