Hubble Detects Mysterious Spaceship-Shaped Object Traveling at 11,000MPH

[Are_grits_groceries]

They're coming:

Hubble has discovered a mysterious X-shaped object traveling at 11,000mph. NASA says that P/2010-A2 may be a comet, product of the collision between two asteroids. Or a Klingon Bird of Prey. Either way, UCLA investigator David Jewitt is excited:
==============================================
This is quite different from the smooth dust envelopes of normal comets. The filaments are made of dust and gravel, presumably recently thrown out of the nucleus. Some are swept back by radiation pressure from sunlight to create straight dust streaks. Embedded in the filaments are co-moving blobs of dust that likely originated from tiny unseen parent bodies.
===============================================
The weirdest thing, however, is not only the prettyful X-shaped debris pattern, but the fact that its 460-foot-wide nucleus is outside the dust halo and separated from the trail. This behavior is something which has never been seen before in a comet or any other solar-system-swooshing object.
<snip>
The images—taken by Hubble between January 25 and January 29—lead NASA to believe that this is a product of the collision of two asteroids. The nucleus would be the "surviving remnant of a hypervelocity collision:
=========================================================
"If this interpretation is correct, two small and previously unknown asteroids recently collided, creating a shower of debris that is being swept back into a tail from the collision site by the pressure of sunlight. The filamentary appearance of P/2010 A2 is different from anything seen in Hubble images of normal comets, consistent with the action of a different process.
==========================================================
In other words: They have no clue about what this is, and they are still speculating about how this object was formed. Maybe it's time to call Dr. Zarkov.
http://gizmodo.com/5462539/hubble-detects-mysterious-spaceship+shaped-object-traveling-at-11000mph

I'm going to post this at Rapture Ready. Jeebus is coming on a cloud!

[whyverne]

1. Why is it so slow? We can out run it. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Turns out 11,000mph is the average collision velocity that may have created it

See http://geology.com/nasa/asteroid-collision/

[Baclava]

2. Welp - they warned us to stay away from Europa

But did we listen? Noooooo

Probably just a scoutship from the armada.


I hope they bring presents.

[Fumesucker]

3. It's a cookbook.. n/t

[Baclava]

22. Incoming!

Fireball seen over Ireland


Members of the public throughout the country have been reporting sightings of a fireball in the skies this evening.

Tommy Moore from Astronomy Ireland said a space rock collided with the earth’s atmosphere at about 6pm, showering debris over many parts of the country.

Mr Moore said: “A major explosion happened in the sky over Ireland. We think it’s a fireball, that’s a rock from space the earth has slammed into and they burn up as huge shooting stars. This one appears to have lit up the whole country. The phones here in Astronomy Ireland are going crazy.”



http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0203/breaking85.htm

[SpiralHawk]

4. I, for one, welcome our new Mysterious X-Shaped Overlords

[Tailormyst]

13. hehehe

Love the name by the way. Is it a play on Starhawk and Spiral Dance?

[Delphinus]

5. Hmm ...

interesting.

[Sancho]

6. Resistance is futile!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. Far Out!

and groovy :smoke:

[slampoet]

8. Looks like Solo made the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs to me.

[EOTE]

28. How is it that Solo completed the Kessel run in a unit of distance?

Wouldn't time (minutes, hours, days) be a more appropriate marker considering that I'm guessing the Kessel Run is of a fixed length? Isn't that kind of akin to me saying that I finished the Boston Marathon in a little over 10 miles? Sometimes I just get the feeling that Han was talking out of his ass. I guess that's just the filter of time taking its toll. Not only does he now come off as suffering slightly from dementia, but he waits until the obviously belligerent Greedo shoots him before he bothers to defend himself? Perhaps I need to re-evaluate my childhood heroes.

[slampoet]

31. Dude, if i wanted to bring up arguements that were settled 33 years ago I'd watch C-SPAN

[EOTE]

47. Did Lucas settle this?

I've wondered a long time if he's ever addressed it. I'd love to hear his explanation of this one.

[FormerDittoHead]

50. You're just figuring this out?

:banghead:

[CrownPrinceBandar]

51. NERD ALERT: Here's your answer.........

"Han Solo claimed that his Millennium Falcon "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs". A parsec was a unit of distance, not time. Solo was not referring directly to his ship's speed when he made this claim. Instead, he was referring to the shorter route he was able to travel by skirting the nearby Maw black hole cluster, thus making the run in under the standard distance."

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run

[EOTE]

58. So what exactly is he saying?

If he's mentioning nothing of the time required, only the distance, that doesn't seem very impressive at all. If he completes a run in 12 parsecs, rather than 18, but does it at a much slower pace, it could still take him longer to complete than others who completed the run by taking the long way.

[w4rma]

60. He used a shorter, but more dangerous, path presumably at a standard fast speed. (nt)

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. I prefer The Register's "Hubble snaps space conker bonk aftermath"

They're getting their 'Variety'-style headlines down quite well:

'Comet like' dino-snuff astro lump bump sensation
...
Rather, P/2010 A2 is thought to be from the asteroid belt, which harbours many such snowball-esque space lumpkins as well as its well-known flying boulders. NASA says:

The orbit of P/2010 A2 is consistent with membership in the Flora asteroid family, produced by collisional shattering more than 100 million years ago. One fragment of that ancient smashup may have struck Earth 65 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.
...
Asteroid collisions are energetic, with an average impact speed of more than 11,000 miles per hour, or five times faster than a rifle bullet.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/03/asteroid_collision_pic/

When did gizmodo learn what shape spacecraft are, anyway? Doesn't look much like a command module or lunar lander to me.

A slightly less jokey report: http://geology.com/nasa/asteroid-collision/

[woo me with science]

11. X-wing fighter

[TornadoTN]

23. No, can't be. They didn't outfit many of them with hyperspace drives. THIS is what it is:

I'm excited. I'm going to sign up to become a Sith Lord or perhaps just a really awesome Storm Trooper from the 501st.

/end geekout

[Baclava]

29. I already put in my application for an overseer position on the breeding pen ships

Oh yeah - I'm set

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

34. Go home, Trekkie. Standard Incom "X-wing" fighters have full hyperdrive capability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGMvadAFqLQ

[KittyWampus]

26. OMG! That's it exactly. Who knew aliens had access to Legos!

[Gman]

12. It's likely not a Klingon bird of prey because

Klingon's uncloak right before they attack. But there doesn't seem to be anything to attack. So they should be cloaked.

[Statistical]

14. Maybe they are suffering a budget freeze.

Can't get a replacement cloak-ama-jigger.

[Tailormyst]

15. Good point !

But maybe their cloaking is broken.

[AndyA]

16. Somebody call Captain Kirk! He'll know what to do!!

Engines Warp Three, Scottie!

[TornadoTN]

25. He's a bit preoccupied, but he'll show up soo enough.

[Tesha]

17. It's the Vogons.

Somebody better tell Arthur Dent to launder his towel and drink up!

Tesha

[Strelnikov_]

37. So long . . and thanks for all the fish n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

18. Do not panic, it is just my parents coming to pic me up...nt

[HERVEPA]

19. Wow, a Dr. Zarkov reference. I love it.

[architect359]

20. All this has happened before, and all this will happen again...

:)

[crikkett]

21. Hooray!!!

:bounce:

[TornadoTN]

24. You know what this means? I'll just get this out of the way now

[malaise]

27. Be scared

Those blue people from Avatar are coming :D

[TexasObserver]

30. Millennium Falcon.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. I didn't know Gizmodo was prone to woo woo style sensationalism.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x62469

It's two asteroids that have collided. The "X" is the angle that they've collided at. The tail's debris pushed away by solar wind.

[TCJ70]

33. Oh crap! That's a Cylon baseship!

They found earth before Galactica! RUN!

[proteus_lives]

41. Damn!

Someone talked. I knew someone on DU was fraking skinjob!

;-)

[wickerwoman]

44. Hey man, that's offensive.

I wouldn't expect to see that kind of language on a progressive board.

;-)

[SidDithers]

35. The natural universe is such a wonderfully interesting place...

thanks for posting.

Sid

[cherokeeprogressive]

36. It's the Vogons, coming to build the hyperspace bypass. Earth will be destroyed because it's in the

way.

Either that or it's Arthur Dent, coming home.

[Strelnikov_]

38. Necromongers? n/t

[proteus_lives]

40. Till Underverse come!

[OneBlueSky]

39. Meet George Jetson . . .

His Boy Elroy . . .



Daughter Judy . . .



Jane, His wife . . .



hey, and let's not forget Astro . . .

[Fixed_Based_Operator]

43. So I should apply the "glyde"

before bed, or do you think they will probe me in broad daylight?

[proteus_lives]

42. Predators?

Or Xenomorphs?

[MindPilot]

45. A Toyota?

[wickerwoman]

46. Looks like Serenity to me.

[bemildred]

48. They come in threes. nt

[cynatnite]

49. I hope it's not the Klingons. Their food sucks. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

62. Maybe it's the Romulans?

Hope they brought some ale with them :beer:

[Blue_Tires]

52. Major Tom finally made it back

I told you he would...

[Joanne98]

53. Planet X has been found. lol

[paparush]

54. REEVERS!!!

Malcombe Reynolds report to the bridge!

//I'll be in my bunk.

[cliffordu]

56. Sorry - WE are the Reevers.

[pipi_k]

55. Space turds

Even God farts once in a while and accidentally sends one of those things flying through the ethereal void...

[alfredo]

57. On closer inspection

[azmouse]

59. I can't believe what I'm seeing!!

No one is wearing a seatbelt! :wow:



:hi:

[alfredo]

61. Seat belts in zero gravity is for sissies.

[Throd]

63. Parliament/Funkadelic

[Garbo 2004]

64. Cylons. nt

[piratefish08]

65. it's time to get your Rapture on!