The orbit of a 150 foot wide asteroid that zipped past the Earth in February, has an orbit so much like the Earth’s that astronomer’s expect it back next year.

Duck! The orbit of a 150 foot wide asteroid that zipped past the Earth in February, has an orbit that will bring it past the Earth again on February 15, 2013 by less than 15,000 miles.

The team use several automated telescopes to scan the sky, and the discovery came somewhat serendipitously after they decided to search areas of the sky where asteroids are not usually seen. “A preliminary orbit calculation shows that 2012 DA14 has a very Earth-like orbit with a period of 366.24 days, just one more day than our terrestrial year, and it ‘jumps’ inside and outside of the path of Earth two times per year,” says Jaime.

While an impact with Earth has been ruled out on the asteroid’s next visit, astronomers will use that close approach for more studies and calculate the Earth and Moon’s gravitational effects on it.

Because this newly discovered asteroid passes so close and frequently to both the Earth and Moon, astronomers will need a lot more data before they can pin down its orbit precisely, and thus predict the chances of a collision in the near future.

Have researchers found Leonardo da Vinci’s lost “The Battle of Anghiari” fresco, hidden for the past six centuries behind a wall?

Have researchers found Leonardo da Vinca’s lost “The Battle of Anghiari” fresco, hidden for the past six centuries behind a wall?

The painting, considered a masterpiece by contemporaries, had never been finished by da Vinci because he had used an experimental technique to paint it, and that technique had failed. Thus, the painting was painted over fifty years later. The only reason we have a good idea of what the painting looked like is that several artists were so impressed by it that they produced copies while it was still visible.

The research suggests the painting was not painted over, but that a false wall was built in front of it. If so, this would be truly exciting discovery. The painting would probably not be in very good shape, but to actually see it would be wonderful.

The three big network nightly news shows all failed to mention the Congressional Budget Office report that says the cost of Obamacare will be twice what was predicted, and that millions will lose their healthplans because of it.

News you can’t use: All three network nightly news shows last night failed to mention the Congressional Budget Office report that says the cost of Obamacare will be twice what was predicted, and that millions will lose their health plans because of it.

This is a good example of why I’ve said for years that if you depend on television for your news, you are not only uninformed, you are misinformed.

It appears that the reason the head of Russia’s space agency was hospitalized last week was because he got into a fight at a party over a woman.

You can’t make this stuff up: It appears that the reason Vladimir Popovkin, the head of Russia’s space agency, was hospitalized last week was because he got into a fight at a party over a woman.

The woman in question was apparently General Popovkin’s press secretary, Anna Vedischeva, 28. Vedischeva was appointed despite criticism when it was revealed that she was an ex-glamour model who, by her own admission, knew nothing about space or public relations. The party where the incident allegedly took place was to celebrate International Woman’s Day on 8 March.

The judge in the JPL intelligent design lawsuit has ruled against JPL and that the press will be allowed to observe and report on the testimony.

The judge in the JPL intelligent design lawsuit has ruled against JPL. The press will be allowed to observe and report on the testimony.

David Coppedge, the man JPL fired, testified yesterday, outlining his belief in intelligent design. From the quotes included in the article, he certainly didn’t put forth a convincing case. He also didn’t say anything that justified firing him.

ObamaCare: If Possible, The News Is Getting Worse

“Obamacare: If possible, the news Is getting worse.”

Here’s a new little tidbit:

When the House of Representatives votes next week on repealing Obamacare’s unaccountable, unelected IPAB board, at least some Democrats are likely to support repeal. The IPAB repeal bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), received bi-partisan support as it made its way through House committees, showing that Democrats are equally worried about the power of the board to usurp the job of the people’s elected representatives.

Maybe these idiotic Democrats should have read the bill before they passed it. That they obviously didn’t is further proof that they should be fired.

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from various environmental groups that was trying to overturn Congressional legislation that removed the wolf from the endangered species list.

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from various environmental groups that was trying to overturn Congressional legislation that removed the wolf from the endangered species list.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. [emphasis mine]

I emphasis the last sentence because it once again illustrates how completely irrelevant reality is to these environmental laws and to those who defend them.

A major airport in Florida has decided to evict the TSA and go with a private company to screen passengers

Good news? A major airport in Florida has decided to evict the TSA and go with a private company to screen passengers.

The problem is that this really won’t change anything, as the company will be under TSA supervision and regulations, and will therefore be required by the TSA to do exactly the same thing the TSA has been doing.

The only real solution is to junk this whole charade. Airport security accomplishes nothing except to destroy our sense of freedom.

New numbers released today from the Congressional Budget Office estimate that the cost of Obamacare over the next decade will be $1.76 trillion, not $940 billion as predicted by the Democrats who passed it.

Finding out what’s in it: New numbers released today from the Congressional Budget Office estimate that the cost of Obamacare over the next decade will be $1.76 trillion, not $940 billion as predicted by the Democrats who passed it.

The only word I can think of that aptly describes the people who pushed this law on us is incompetence. That any rational person would consider voting for these people again boggles the mind.

More video showing how easy it is to vote illegally, this time in Vermont.

More video showing how easy it is to vote illegally, this time in Vermont.

Unlike in the previous video in New Hampshire, this time the fake voters were able to get permission to vote using the names of both dead and living voters. And of course, no ID was requested. The video illustrates the absurdity of the situation by contrasting this situation with other examples where IDs are required.

Research on ISS has found that prolonged spaceflight causes vision problems and might even damage the human eye.

Research on ISS has found that prolonged spaceflight causes vision problems and might even damage the human eye.

There had been hints of this discovery in an earlier report, but today’s paper is the first published science on the subject.

The results are not only important for finding out the medical challenges of weightlessness. They illustrate once again the need to do long extended flights on ISS. Without that research we are never going to be able to fly humans to other planets.

The blistering hot exoplanet where it snows

The blistering hot exoplanet where it snows.

These results have led to a suggestion that [HD 189733b] could continually experience silicate snow. In the lower atmosphere of [the exoplanet], magnesium silicate sublimates, that is, it passes directly from a solid into a gas. But we know there are small silicate particulates in the upper atmosphere. Formation of these particulates requires that the temperature be lowered, and so must have been formed at a temperature inversion in the atmosphere. The generally windy conditions would help some of the tiny particulates grow into respectable snow crystals.

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