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NASA Says Asteroid Will Buzz Earth Closer Than Many Satellites
coondoggie writes "NASA says an asteroid about half the size of a football field will blow past Earth on Feb 15 closer than many man-made satellites. NASA added that while the asteroid, designated 2012 DA14, has no chance of striking Earth. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet."
Chuck norris was too busy saving us from north korea, to also blow up the asteroid heading for earth.
"... has no chance of striking Earth"
Famous last words.
..to view such a spectacle would be?
Isn't this the asteroid that they found they were off by an order of magnitude on the size of a month or so back? Yeah, I wonder if they used the old mass or the corrected mass when they estimated the ballistic trajectory, because, you know, that might make a bit of a difference in just how far it'll miss by...
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
Is this unit measured in 2D?
Yup, it is obviously a very flat asteroid. Maybe it escaped from the Terry Pratchett disc world series. Just wait till the giant turtle floats past - that will be much bigger news.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Is there a chance of it hitting a satellite? I mean I don't know if they can calculate timing accurately enough to predict if it will yet. If it did I would imagine the display would be pretty spectacular!
General Zod is trapped in this 2D prison and will surely escape as it nears Earth.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
If there has been a miscalculation and it actually ends up on an intersect trajectory, you may find that you no longer feel dejected about not getting a Valentine's card.
Why source a story sourced from NASA to some wanker's blog in Network World"?Presuambly this asshole just submitted it himself to get more pageviews.
The actual NASA story is Record Setting Asteroid Flyby And it actually tells you that "On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth only 17,200 miles above our planet's surface." (Sadly even NASA use the inane "football field" measure, but goes on to say "It measures some 50 meters wide".)
Didn't you say that you wanted to capture an asteroid? Here is your chance, go for it.
They had to use the football field unit, because elephants don't fly so high.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001569/bio
"He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwan Do. In 1969, he earned the Triple Crown for the highest number of tournament wins, and was named Fighter of the Year by "Black Belt" magazine. By the time he was 34, Norris had established 32 karate schools and had been a champion for six years. In 1996, he became the first Westerner to be awarded an eighth-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do"
I am not a big fan of this guy, and i agree these Chuck Norris jokes are very annoying, however, facts are facts and clearly you are wrong about the martial arts.
If it will pass within the orbit of man-made satellites, what's the predicted damage assessment for satellites and communications?
While all you grammarians are pecking away here I thought I'd ask a question: why does Slashdot have a "commasplice" tag for stories like this? There doesn't seem to be a common denominator for the stories which have it, judging by their headlines. The secondary headline for this one does use a commasplice. But why have a tag for that? For the benefit of those with extra dog eared copies of Strunk and White?
Martial Arts is a broad term, and most people (like you) only pay attention to the "Martial" part. The Style that Chuck specializes in and teaches in his schools is focused on rigid adherence to the traditional Forms, and application of mental Discipline. They are as well-suited to an open fighting situation as disciplines classified as Fighting Styles, which is why you don't see people using pure forms in competitions like the UFC... winners often have a background from a variety of styles which is why they are called "mixed martial arts" competitions.
Not to say that people like Chuck and Bruce Lee aren't pretty mean fighters, anybody with that much training is not going to be an easy mark. But I'd put almost anybody who fights in the large UFC competitions against a pure style fighter any day, especially if they aren't in a ring with time limits and rules.
Having said all that, it's important to note that Chuck, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and other popular film fighters have to slow down most of their moves so the audience can follow the action, and what they actually do on screen are sequences and styles you wouldn't ever actually use in real life combat. Many of the "moves" they display for the camera are not actually combat moves, but rather are meditative Forms designed to build endurance, focus, and strength.
Put up a net, catch it, mine it, profit!!!
People who follow a set of rules are messed up by others who don't or won't follow the same rules.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
They're going to use radar to map the asteroid, which will give us a complete 3D picture of it at much higher resolution than the HST can give - the distances in space are enormous, even supposing Hubble was easily capable of tracking this asteroid (it isn't, the asteroid is moving too fast) the biggest it gets is about 10-15 pixels large. And considering that HST is in an orbit about 550km above the surface of the earth, and the asteroid is passing us by at 25000km it's not even that much "closer" to it than telescopes on earth are.
Yes because I'm sure a world without civilization will will have much less malice.
Which half? The home teams half or the visiting teams half?
Seriously though, can't they find some 3d object of the appropriate size for a comparison, rather than a 2d surface
Orbital dynamics, you do not understand them.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
I don't think I'd classify Bruce Lee in with anyone who focus(ed) on "ridged adherence to the traditional forms". If anything he's the reason we have MMA and UFC. He did everything he could to strip away what he deemed unnecessary. I don't know what Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan are doing these days, but they both learned a lot from Bruce Lee when he was alive.
Agreed regarding the moves that you typically see in movies. They are rarely something that you would see being used off screen. I know that they all have to slow down for movies. I've heard that Bruce Lee had to slow down due to the limitations of the film at the time. I'm sure it also had to do with his movies being shot on low budget equipment too. But if you ever saw any of his demonstrations you'd understand the guy was scary quick.
Absolutely dead-on-balls correct. Bruce Lee founded Jeet Kune Do, where the whole idea is to be fluid and able to improvise. Bruce was THE MAN. He got into street gangs in China before moving to the states, so he has some street cred; he knew what it took to fight for real.
As someone who studied Kempo many many moons ago, I wholly agree with Bruce's outlook. What I was taught was extremely rigid, canned moves that might work if you were extremely lucky enough for an attacker to come at you in precisely the manner they trained you for, but if they deviated at all, if all you had to rely on were the moves you were taught (and you couldn't improvise on your own), you'd be toast. Though I'm not sure if this reflects more on Kempo itself, or the school I attended.
Though this leads me to wonder why we have this prevalent Chuck Norris meme, but not one for Bruce Lee?
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
That's just because Bruce did not have the +10 Manly Beard of Manliness.
Its still important to teach the pure forms, otherwise the mixed forms will never properly develop. Karate dojo:UFC is as Physics:Engineering. The former is one tool in the latter's belt. In this sense, the schools are the 'art' and the UFC is the practical application of many arts.
winners often have a background from a variety of styles which is why they are called "mixed martial arts" competitions.
Since someone else pointed out how inappropriate your observation is with regard to Bruce Lee, I'll say this:
The reason they're called "mixed martial arts" competitions is because they allow people from any martial art discipline to participate. As opposed to a Tang Soo Do, Judo, kick boxing, boxing, etc. competition which is dedicated to a particular style.
People who practice only one style often win, but it has to be a style that can handle a variety of circumstances and not just the moves of their own style. People with multi-disciplinary backgrounds also do quite well, but the name came first.
The enemies of Democracy are
What I was taught was extremely rigid, canned moves that might work if you were extremely lucky enough for an attacker to come at you in precisely the manner they trained you for, but if they deviated at all, if all you had to rely on were the moves you were taught (and you couldn't improvise on your own), you'd be toast.
I'm training in a school with a similar upbringing. It has deviated a lot from that in the last years, and so there was a lot of discussion about that issue.
The philosophy behind what you're criticizing is that you're learning thousands of techniques, every one for a different situation (opponent properties such as stance, weight distribution, movement, inertia, total weight, height, agitation, etc.). Then you repeat them so often that you just know which one to use when, without thinking (aka moving the information to the cerebellum).
The problem with it is that it takes a looong time to get that far, maybe 20-40 years, depending on the person's talent. This clashes with western philosophy, where something that takes longer than a week isn't considered to be viable. Thus, many western schools move more towards teaching principles instead of techniques, which allows you to react to a random situation much earlier in training, but your responses aren't as elaborate (which isn't that important in self defense, since the first attack usually strikes down an untrained/inattentive opponent anyways).
Orbital dynamics, you do not understand them.
Come on, man. Get it right. "Understand orbital mechanics, you do not."
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
The Mayans warned us!
We just didn't quite translate the writings correctly.
THE MAYAN CALENDAR ACTUALLY SAID FEBRUARY 15, 2013, just like I've been telling everyone.
You still have time to join my underground colony, just $100,000 per person. Save yourself now, we can still dig more space, there is time!
Nibiru...Nibiru...Nibiru... Mayan Calendar... Something from the bible...
Hope you've figured out I'm not serious about this by now...
And the fact that Bruce is dead while Chuck is not.
--- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
it is not the asteroid we are looking for...
per Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_DA14
2.5MT, less than Tunguska, numerous volcanos, etc. Really, would need to hit some population to get attention, and most of the planet is not populated by humans because of excessive standing water.
Okay - well, it's not just the "well trained" aspects of Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee (etc) - but they are (were) very talented athletes as well. A lot of these UFC competition fighters are also VERY talented athletes. You take an average joe, who does not have a lot of natural talent, but maybe some good dedication, puts in a lot of effort - that average joe is going to do well after training in a traditional martial art. Up against an average joe who is not trained. Or even a "big tough guy" - who doesn't train, or may focus only on a limited style like boxing. (or BJJ - which is a popular, and effective - but very limited fighting style).
These "special" guys - who have a lot of natural talent, they'll kick an average joe's ass any day. You'll see them credit their particular training method because; guess what? They can make a fuckton of money selling lessons, equipment, supplements (etc). Doesn't mean it's all bullshit. Just that you can make up for the fact that you have no talent - by training. But if someone has talent, AND trains, you better fucking carry a gun. Or an asteroid.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
It's true; Bruce Lee never really mastered any traditional martial art.
Many Chinese practitioners consider Wing Chung kind of a "dumbed down" martial art - because it's simplified, and easier to master. It focuses on basic combat techniques, (more than traditional Kung Fu/Chuan Fa/Wushu styles do), and has a lot less of the "ornamental" type of meditative forms.
And Bruce Lee never really fully mastered Wing Chung either. (though he did study with the legendary master Ip Man). Bruce Lee was simply an exceptionally talented athlete. His parents were actors. He was also a very talented dancer. Very dedicated and hard working. When he came back to America, he started his own martial arts school, and developed his own style, and it was really based on a broad set of concepts. He had already gotten a wide reputation in the martial arts community, and had studied with a lot of the big players, and learned at least the basics of many different styles, and the simplicity of Wing Chung still appealed to him. So that's why JKD has a lot of elements of Wing Chung - but is really just another chapter in the overall American Mixed Martial Arts movement.
20 years before Bruce Lee, just about every American since WWII who came back from Asia with any kind of Martial Arts experience, was trying to open a school. There was huge demand. But few had real credentials - and few had any ability to "sell" a set of Asian philosophy to an American market. So many traditional martial arts were mixed and matched and re-created. (particularly in the Ed Parker family of Kenpo styles). And after that, all of these schools engaged in turf wars, suing each other over trademarks, and the like.
Some of these mixed arts are actually very effective, and worthwhile.
But Bruce Lee was really innovating. He was putting a lot of thought into re-inventing fighting. You can go on to youtube and look at what the practitioners at his school are teaching today. It's pretty different than most other arts. And these guys seem to fare well at these Ultimate Fighting things. (I wouldn't say that they *dominate* like the BJJ guys did, for a while).
Chuck Norris just did his traditional styles, kicked some major ass in tourneys in the 70's, did some hollywood, and retired to run his chain of schools. That's the life.
Jackie Chan? He's a lifelong actor, stuntman, producer. Just extremely talented. He basically invented the "drunken boxing" style - which is completely ornamental pantomime. (but entertaining). And now, he's kind of becoming a tool for the PRC ruling party, making propaganda films and history revision pieces. Sad, because I otherwise really like him.
I think that, in general, because of the popularity of UFC and MMA type fighting spectacles, a lot of traditional martial arts schools are having trouble attracting as many students as they used to, back in the 70's and 80's. People don't want to learn all the super complex forms and katas and combinations, they don't want to do all the rote memorization. They don't like the pajamas or the bowing. They seem to prefer the "big tough jock" aspect of MMA, and the simple focus on sparring engagement (which - in a lot of traditional styles, is often neglected; mainly because it's so dangerous to practice without going full-bore with safety equipment and rules).
That's okay - but I guess the point is, these are two different disciplines. They appeal to two different personality types. And neither one is going to make you an invincible super-warrior. It takes the training of the system, at a good school, with a good teacher, plus, a lot of natural talent, plus, drive, determination, and frankly, luck (to avoid injuries - so you can maintain continuity).
I think that either path can lead to the same end. As long as one doesn't limit one's self.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Fans of Bruce Lee know his legend needs no embellishment
i want to read all stories into Urdu language NASA research reports are helpful for us
So its ok to be bigoted toward religious folks, and not ok to call someone out on it?
A bigot is a bigot is a bigot. A person who labels someone a nutjob because of their christianity is just as big a bigot as the christian who hates on middle easterners because "theyre all islamic terrosists".
Thank you, by modding my post flamebait you only further prove my point about the hypocrisy and anti-religious bias by some people on this site who abuse the moderation system.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
Is that an American Football field or a metric one.
Heavy is the head that wears the tinfoil hat.
all this MMA stuff fails on the street, as well as any tournament based training. MMA focuses on the rules of the ring, ring distances and all the rest of the artificial constraints created for the "rules" of the various rings. I might add that most teachers focus on how to use the rules of the particular ring they are going to fight in and how to win in that ring with those rules. MMA is no different from any other "martial art."
I studied in what could have been called an MMA before there was such a thing. Our teacher disdained tournament fighting and training, and forced us to use not just an unprotected (no gloves, no pads, no cups) body, but an unconstrained ring. Complaints about shoes, clothes, tricks, or force were scoffed at. "You only get hit if you don't block or get out of the way" was the rule. The other rule was that what we did was an art, and we were doing it as an art, not to fight, not hurt people or beat people or anything other than overcoming ourselves in a way that showed our internal strength and.... beauty.
When my teacher retired another teacher and I took over the school and added only one thing to his teaching: "You only lose a fight if you get in a fight." We had, and still have, nothing to prove to anyone. So if one of us gets in a fight, it is not a time for celebration, but rather for meditation on how we could, after all these years, have done something so stupid.
Back when my teacher was running the school, he would, occasionally, take the school to tournaments. We seldom lost in the fighting categories, often won (but not always, those shaolin guys had some awesome forms) in the forms categories. Even today there are people who, when they see my old brother in arms walk into a tournament and sign up to fight, will ask for their money back and walk away. He still loves the dance, the beauty of a fight. And he's not afraid to lose.
Subversion of spatial scale luxury decoration ideas.