At www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/10/ecoalert-nasa-see-fewer-big-astero… which is the same story post last week – with a twist.
Elsewhere, at www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2011/10/06/comet-elenin-the-debate-that-never-h… brings us back to Comet Elenin – out of the news and forgotten. This is because it has disappeared – possibly behind the Sun but mainly because it failed to make a splash just as it reached the point it was thought to be that of maximum activity. David Talbot is the author of this piece – and it is well worth reading. Comet Elenin had brightened in early August but then the charged particles of a CME from the Sun struck the comet. In response, the comet flared – and there followed a huge decrease in visibility. It may even have broken up. As it was negatively charge, from the outer regions of the solar system, its first appearance may also have been a flare-up as it came under the influence of the Sun. It may even have been very small – a 100m across, or less.
Meanwhile, at www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2011/10/04/galactic-umbilicus/ there is the EU explanation of the discovery, by astronomers, of a cosmic thread connecting the Milky Way to the rest of the Universe (see also Science Daily and Physorg for the relevant mainstream versions of the story). As expected, and one reason this item has not been previously posted here, the EU interprets the cosmic thread as a massive Birkeland Current – and why not.
Over at www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2-11/10/02/martians-men-and-machines/ asks – has there ever been life on Mars? This is again the EU explanation for a post here a few days ago – is Mars between Ice Ages?
Finally, the Thunderbolts Forum at www.thunderbolts.info/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5058 is derived from a question that was asked at www.spaceweather.com – could a puny comet cause a magnetic instability that might propagate and blossom into an impressive CME? This is in response to the report last week of a comet hitting the Sun and shortly afterwards, a CME event occurred on the opposite side of the Sun.