Courtesy NASA: An Artist's Rendering of Distant Planets

I think I’ve written about this in in previous blog posts, but there have been hundreds of new planets discovered beyond our own solar system.    Recently, astronomers in Europe have discovered 32 new planets orbiting distant stars. 

This brings the thought to my mind that there is life out there…somewhere.   However, none of these 32 planets would likely harbor life.   I think eventually we will find a planet which has the possibility of sustaining life.    Astronomers have found some planets which almost meet certain criteria to sustain life.   Even if we found a distant Earth-like world,  it would take thousands and thousands of years to get there (with current technology).

Here’s an article about these recent discoveries:   32 New Planets Found

An Orionid Meteor, Courtesy Rich Swanson

I remember when I was 14 years old, in the backyard, looking for Halley’s comet in the cold of winter.  I figured that I might not be around for the comet’s next trip through our solar system (2061), so I got myself outside to have a look.   I’m glad I did.   But…. we’ll (sort of) be able to see it again the next 3 mornings with the Orionid Meteor Shower.

As a comet travels through the inner solar system, it evaporates and breaks apart.  What’s left behind is a rocky debris field floating through space.  Halley’s comet last came through our solar neighborhood in 1985/1986, but the Earth will be travelling through a Halley debris field 3 to 4,000 years old.  For the next 3 days, we’ll be travelling through that ancient extra-terrestrial rock.  We’ll see it in our sky as meteors or shooting stars.   

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We’re headed back to the moon…but this time, no people will be going.  Instead, a spacecraft will be crashing into the moon to look for water.

LCROSS….Courtesy of NASA

Previous missions have detected water on the moon…and there are some indications that there could be a significant amount of water on the moon.

Next week, we will learn a lot more.  The mission is called LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite).  The LCROSS spacecraft was launched into an orbit around the Earth and the Moon by an Atlas rocket on June 18th.   On Friday, October 9, that orbit will end in explosive fashion. 

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We’ve had many reports from viewers across our area of a very bright light in the sky.  One viewer described it as if fuel was being burned.  We heard of reports from New Hampshire as well.

It wasn’t a UFO.  It was NASA.  There is a launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia.   They launched a rocket this evening (around 7:46pm), and it passed over our skies. 

Here are the Wallops Island tweets on Twitter: Wallops Island on Twitter

Here’s the video of the actual launch from “ChrisAstro” on YouTube.  You can see the stages separate in the video:  Rocket launch 

Here’s the NASA web site describing the mission (which is actually weather related):  NASA

I hope this clears things up for you.  If you have pictures or video send it our way… weather@wpri.com

-T.J. Del Santo

The 2010 Farmer’s Almanac was released today (Tuesday).  Some weather experts chuckle when they hear that.  There was a time when I would smirk and blow the yearly prognostications off with a shake of my head.  In 2004, I was assigned to do a story about the Almanac and its crazy way of forecasting.  My mind was changed….a little.  I learned that there was at least some science involved.

The Almanac uses sunspot activity and the Earth’s position in its orbit among other factors to make their forecasts.  It’s a super secret scientific formula which they can create 2 years ahead of time.  Here’s the forecast for the upcoming winter:

 The Northeast, according to the Farmers Almanac, will be having a cool and snowy winter (January through March).  I think what they mean by cool is that the average temperature will be cooler than normal. 

What about a Blizzard?
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UPDATE  (Tuesday 11:16am):  Due to thunderstorms in the area, NASA scrubbed the launch early Tuesday morning.  The next attempt will be early Wednesday morning at 1:10am.  Look for the Shuttle to pass through our skies at approximately 1:18am.
                                                                                                                                                        

You’ll have to stay up late for this one-of-a-kind show, and it may be one of the last opportunities for you to see shuttle launch, too. 

The Space Shuttle Discovery is set to blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Tuesday morning (August 24th).  Liftoff is scheduled for 1:36am and a few minutes after liftoff, we’ll be able to see it here in Southern New England. (more…)

The climate debate goes on…and it’s reached a peak during the past few weeks with two huge pieces of news from the Obama Administration and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Recently the Obama Administration released a report on the global climate.   Here’s the link: Globalchange.gov    Barak Obama is a Democrat, and you can probably guess the slant the report takes, which is fine.   And no, I’m not Republican…I’m registered as an Independent…so I’m unbiased here. 

 Here’s the main idea of the report for us…New England’s climate could become that of the Carolinas in the next 100 years!  Here’s the section describing this: Northeast Climate Impacts.  Judging by the weather over the past few weeks, you might not mind that. 

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Maybe Chicken Little was right.

I know the chances of this happening are like one in a gazillion, but it’s a fear of mine….being hit by a meteor.  My very first post in my Weather and Science Blog talked about an asteroid coming pretty close to Earth back in the winter. 

Well…a 14 year old boy in Germany was reportedly hit by a meteorite.   Yes.  A German boy was reportedly hit by a meteorite and lived!! 

Courtesy of the Telegraph: Gerrit Blank survives being hit by the tiny meteor in his hand.

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Courtesy The City of Worcester. The Worcester Tornado of June 9, 1953

The stories are amazing. The destruction was incomprehensible. The lives lost….94. It was an historic storm for two reasons:

1. The size of the storm and the death and destruction it caused.
2. It helped shape the future of severe weather prediction in the United States

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Yes, they get tornadoes in Maine.  And so do we here in RI (remember last year’s crazy summer?)

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