Meteor goes Up

 awesomeness, history, news  1 Response »
Feb 152013
 

Updated numbers from NASA:

The estimated size of the object, prior to entering Earth’s atmosphere, has been revised upward from 49 feet (15 meters) to 55 feet (17 meters), and its estimated mass has increased from 7,000 to 10,000 tons. Also, the estimate for energy released during the event has increased by 30 kilotons to nearly 500 kilotons of energy released. These new estimates were generated using new data that had been collected by five additional infrasound stations located around the world – the first recording the event being in Alaska, over 6,500 kilometers away from Chelyabinsk. The infrasound data indicates that the event, from atmospheric entry to the meteor’s airborne disintegration took 32.5 seconds.

 

Giggitty!

Once again… nobody saw it coming.

would-you-like-to-know-more

 Posted by at 9:47 pm

Meteor = nuke calculator

 blather, history, Hmm..., news, nukes, science  5 Responses »
Feb 152013
 

According to JPL:

The meteor entered the atmosphere at about 40,000 mph (18 kilometers per second). … The size of the object before hitting the atmosphere was about 49 feet (15 meters) and had a mass of about 7,000 tons.

Plugging in the mass and velocity, we get a kinetic energy of 1134000000000000 joules. This works out to the equivalent of 271 kilotons.

There are a number of “bomb effects calculators” online that will show you what sort of damage you can expect from what sort of yield. Here’s one, putting a 271 kiloton blast in default New York City (apparently the Gold Standard in places to blow up):

newk york

Note that it puts an overpressure of 0.25 psi – what will blow out most windows – at a distance of 12 miles, much greater than the 50 km or so distances for such damage in Russia. Of course the Russian blast was at much greater altitude… that would certainly play into the effects. Exactly *how,* I’m a little unclear on.

The old-school Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer gives roughly equivalent results… for a 271 kton air blast, range to .25 psi is about 14 miles.

It should, I hope, concern everyone that a chunk of space debris massing 7,000 tons – more than a Los Angeles class attack sub – and about 15 meters across apparently managed to completely evade detection until it hit the atmosphere.

 Posted by at 4:00 pm

Illegal to *not* hire criminals?

 AARRRGH, Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, politics  No Responses »
Feb 152013
 

Perform Criminal Background Checks at Your Peril

In short:

1) Minorities commit a disproportionately high percentage of crimes

2) Minorities thus have a disproportionately high rate of criminal records

3) If as an employer you reject a job applicant because he/she has a criminal record, that policy probably disproportionately affects minorities

4) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will sue the employer because they are racist

The fact that some states *require* criminal background checks is irrelevant to the Feds. One case cited is a twice-convicted thief turned down for a job as a security guard for nuclear power plants, who used the EEOC to sue the employer.

 Posted by at 10:48 am

More meteorite stuff

 awesomeness, history, news, youtube  7 Responses »
Feb 152013
 

An office interior:

[youtube SnAWc415ENk]

A long dashcam video that shows the whole sequence from the meteor passing by (4:36) to the arrival of the boom (7:00). Note cars jump, windows blow out, snow get knocked off roofs.

[youtube gQ6Pa5Pv_io]

A voice of crazy from the past – Vladimir Zhirinovsky – comes forth with claims that the US is responsible for this:

6m-crater found at site of alleged fragment crash

————–

Some numbers are given here:

Over 900 injured after Russian meteorite fall

950 injured; meteor estimated at 10 metric tons, entered at 20 km/sec. This would provided a kinetic energy of 2000000000000 joules… just under half a kiloton. That seems pretty low given that windows were blown out 50 km away…

————-

asteroids

 Posted by at 8:54 am

Here’s a bladder-loosener

 AARRRGH, awesomeness, news, youtube  8 Responses »
Feb 152013
 

Another vid of the Russian meteor, with *real* powerful (i.e. physically damaging) sonic boom:

[youtube K0cFOIoITW4]

This one was taken almost directly underneath the burst. After the BANG, you can hear secondary explosions as the meteor continues to break apart.

[youtube C9TWZ82zqJY]

Another one where the boom trashes the local environs:

[youtube XIAm5hq8WWc]

Inside an industrial building:

[youtube bvJKoQE8uwE]

A whole bunch of amazing photos and videos are posted HERE.

In this shot, it passes overhead at about 41 seconds. Watch the shadow of the building. Holy CRAP that was bright!

[youtube Qin41lP9r2U]

 

I think we’re lucky nobody in the Russian strategic missile forces started stabbin’ buttons. That thing *had* to have been in the numerous-kiloton (yield) range. Actually, I’m thinking this might’ve been megaton, based on how far the damage was spread around.

 Posted by at 12:46 am

Meteorites hit Russian city; damage, injuries

 history, news, youtube  1 Response »
Feb 142013
 

Meteor shower explodes in central Russis and Urals injuring people

———————–

What happened over the Urals region was not a meteor shower, it was a meteorite – spokesperson (VIDEO)

Some people inside the High School No. 130 building in the Chelyabinsk region reportedly sustained minor injuries as several windows were smashed as a result of Friday’s meteorite fall, an Interior Ministry spokesman told Interfax.

The meteorite fell in the Chelyabinsk region’s Satka district, in an area located around 80 kilometers from the district’s administrative center, the spokesman said.

[youtube 1W90i4nZZAQ]

In Chelyabinsk, witnesses said the explosion was so loud that it resembled an earthquake and thunder at the same time, and that there were huge trails of smoke across the sky. Others reported seeing burning objects fall to earth.

Office buildings in downtown Chelyabinsk are being evacuated.

[youtube 9moc4ZNfq7g]

[youtube C4O4RLwaUsU]

—————-

Sonic HOLY CRAP Boom at about 27 seconds:

[youtube Np_mpGYSBSA]

————-

In the “yeah, sure” department:

Urals meteorite shot down by Russian air defense – military source

According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo reportedly blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers.

Photos apparently showing actual physical damage from impactors:

[youtube 7c-0iwBEswE]

 Posted by at 11:21 pm

Marvin Update: Evening

 AARRRGH, blather, cats, news  5 Responses »
Feb 142013
 

This afternoon I received word that the surgery had gone well and that she could be picked up. At the vet’s office she was alert and annoyed at being put back into her carrier. When I brought her home I put her back into the bathroom she originally inhabited… with no other cats to annoy her, it’s my hope she’ll just rest and recuperate.

1) She got spayed.

2) They removed several “cystic” tumors, which do not appear to be malignant.

3) They removed one of the BB’s.

Shortly after she settled back onto her pad in the bathroom, a very disturbing change came over her. Her eyes dilated to  full expansion, while fluctuating rapidly; the eyes themselves began to rapidly vibrate. She lay collapsed on her side and immobile, then began to make a *horrible* sound of utter agony, and was unresponsive. I figured that it was The End. But… she pooped. Her innards were a distended mess *before* the operation; now she was having to push out something Extra Big past actual structural damage. It could have only been sheer agony. When she was done she just lay there. For about ten minutes she was just completely wiped out.  When she finally came to, it was clear that she was just exhausted. In the couple hours since, she’s perked up a bit. Looks like she’s going to be ok.

Img_5429

Img_5443

 

Img_5430

Here’s the BB.

 Posted by at 7:48 pm

Early LEM Concept

 drawings, history, projects, rockets, spacecraft  2 Responses »
Feb 142013
 

A concept for the Lunar Excursion Module, reported on in May of 1962. It seems to have originated with Maxime Faget (of Mercury capsule design fame) at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. It is interesting not only for its conical shape, but also far is basic layout… as with the Soviet LK lander, this design features a single main propulsion system that fires through a “hollow” landing stage. The Soviet design packed all the propulsion tanks into the ascent stage; this NASA design had distributed tanks. This would make the ascent vehicle lighter, at the expense of plumbing complexity. Propellants were N2O4 oxidizer and either MMH or 50% N2H4 + 50% UDMH.

This vehicle would weigh 23,959 pounds at separation from the Command Module; 11,204 at landing. At liftoff – after leaving behind the landing stage – it would weight 7,068 pounds; at burnout, 3,568 pounds.

early lem 03

 

early lem 01

early lem 05

early lem 04

early lem 02

 

 

 

 Posted by at 5:35 pm
 Older Entries  Newer Entries