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Remember we have talked about the "Equinox" or "equal nights" before, and today (Friday September 23rd) may be we can speak about the September Equinox or the "Autumnal Equinox" !!!
Today is the official end of summer and the start of autumn in the northern hemisphere. Today we will have an equal day and nighttime or an "equinox". Definitely I wanted to speak more about this astronomical phenomenon. However, what is happening in the next few days from falling satellites and planetary alignments makes speaking about the equinox so trivial!!!
First, the sky is falling !!!
Certainly, I don't mean that literally but I mean the falling satellite. Today is the day NASA is predicting its "defunct satellite" will be crashing the earth's atmosphere. NASA's Uars (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) is said to be one of NASA's largest satellites. Uars will hit our atmosphere anytime within the next 24 hours. Speaking about Uars falling might frighten some people; however; statistically the incidence of this crash debris to hit a human is 1: 3,200 (according to NASA). Also, surfing the news of the past 50 years, I haven't found any headline about debris hitting a human. On the other hand, the agency is saying that there will be large lumps of the six-ton satellite that will not burn at the re-entry. So, there may be large lumps and no one knows where would it fall? The explanation to that is... something that big (over 6 tons) moving that fast (around 7.5 Km/sec) is very hard to predict !!!
So, Watch out for the skies !!!
But, that is not the only event happening these next few days... We have the planetary alignments and the Elenin Comet !!!
Let's talk about the planetary alignment !!!
As we all know, our solar system is in continuous motion. The sun is in the center and the planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, Mars...) are revolving around it. At certain days some of these elements align. Some of these alignments are said to be very powerful and is believed to lead to 7+ earthquakes!!!
Now ...What about the Comet Elenin !!!
Since, I am not an astronomical scientists, it is not my place to speak about Elenin. However, I can tell you what I have read, but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong !!!
The first opinion;
In February 2010, Elenin ─aligned with Earth and Sun─ caused 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Another example is the alignment (Elenin, Earth, Sun) together with another alignment (Earth, Mercury, Uranus) last March causing the devastating earthquake and Tsunami in Japan...Of course, I don't have to speak about it, I am sure you still remember what happened !!!
You can read more about the history of Elenin with the planetary alignments and the magnitudes of the resulting earthquakes.
So, watch out don't be inside buildings too...it might fall down !!!
Who knew that planetary alignments are that dangerous !?!
When you read on about Elenin from this point of view, you might get scared. On the other hand, there is another voice telling "Elenin and planetary alignments had no role in these earthquakes and that these earthquakes would have happened regardless of these alignments".
So, it is not dangerous...I don't know !!!
What about this research paper narrating the history of Elenin and earthquakes !?!
Since, I am a scientist; I can't say whether a certain research paper is right or wrong except at least after observation. So, let us all follow-up the next few days...
If these events are not related to major earthquakes, we should not hear of any earthquake in next few days.
But deep inside I hope there will be no more major earthquakes this year...I have had enough !
I don't know, if these should occupy major headlines or not !?!
Is it really hard to tell us where these potential earthquakes might be?
Is it really that hard to tell us where this defunct satellite will fall...even roughly... which continent?
Do we stay indoor for fear of the crashing satellite or do we stay outdoors for fear of major earthquakes !?!
I know it is not something to joke about....but I am actually puzzled !!!
Finally, let's not be pessimistic. It is NOT a big deal. If there is nothing we can do about it, then I don't see any reason to panic or worry...and here I quote the Dali lama:
"If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry."
So, just go through the upcoming days as you would normally....that is what I will do. We will all be together in the next few days and we will all be just fine !!!
.........
Image Credit: UARS1 Satellite by NASA/GSFC and Comet by Miketsukunibito via Wikimedia Commons.
You are right...the site of crash is supposed to be easily detected...however this time it wasn't !?!
I am just glad that no one was eventually injuried from this crash in Canada...Thankfully !!!
In spite of my limited knowledge in that field ... I think it is possible to determine the site of crash of satellite or the comet .. & that particular area can be evacuated ..
But staying indoors or outdoors doesn't really matter if you are in the dangerous zone ( the site of crash & several miles around it) ...
I like the quote of Dali Lama very much & i believe we should prepare for the worst, but pray for the best ... Finally, it is just destiny & no one can escape his destiny