NASA Announcement

— Nasa scientists announced this week that Earth will be passing through a particularly dense field of asteroids in the coming month. —

Earth’s orbit about the Sun will be taking it through an asteroid field within the next few weeks. This is a semi regular occurrence that causes bright streaks in the night sky as the meteors burn up in the upper atmosphere. This year promises to be a truly spectacular display as the Earth passes through a particularly dense field. There are estimated to be hundreds of atmospheric impacts an hour as the tiny bits of rock and metal burn away in the night sky.

So all you amateur stargazers and those who just like a good fireworks show just remember, Keep Watching The Skies.

Bink Bently — NASA Correspondent

Explosion in El Portal

Early Saturday morning, police, the fire department and the assembled taskforces of the Metro-Dade County were called to what appeared to be an explosion in an exotic-dancing bar in El Portal. Witnesses report it seems something in the bar had ignited, causing a huge fireball to evolve. It was initially feared that one or more bombs were in the area, but fears were allayed after the bomb squad searched the scene thoroughly. Witnesses report seeing a masked man carrying another masked man running from the scene of the explosion, making concerned citizens wonder if this was indeed a bomb. MDPD spokesman Jim Virge declines further comments at this time, stating that all available personnel will be put on task forces to solve the matter as quickly as possible. The County Commissioners’ Office likewise declined any further comment, except for the issuing of a promise to allocate extensive resources to the task force. The fire department fought through the morning to contain the fire to the originating block. Police sources say at least three people were killed in the explosion, and several others treated for minor injuries originating from the smoke and shattered windows, as well as shock. The tenants of nearby blocks are looking at massive smoke and water damage, a tragedy as only a minority of tenants in the housing projects are insured.

NASA Follow-up

NASA scientists announced early yesterday that there have been new findings in their viewing of the asteroid field the Earth is currently passing through.

Scientists have found that this field is of unusually high density and contains numerous larger sized asteroids. What this means is over the next month the night sky will be streaked with “falling stars” as the tiny fragments enter the atmosphere and burn up. This isn’t what has NASA scientists worried. Their findings went on to show that many larger asteroids are in Earths path, some of which are large enough to impact the surface.

NASA doesn’t want the public to be alarmed, as meteors impact all the time and usually do little more than shatter windows or cut through roof tiles. Scientists say that perhaps a few dozen impacts of slightly greater magnitude will occur. They warn that you should not go near the meteors as they will be very hot from their trans-atmospheric travel and should be reported immediately to local authorities for “clean-up.”

–Bink Bently – NASA Correspondent

IC Obituary – O’Conner

<OOC: This obituary was misplaced by accident (Posted on page D-23, under ‘Personals’ and without bold type) though it went up the very next day >

Notice of death: Vivianne Velvet Brinkley-Mirez O’Conner passed away Mon, Jul 28, 2008, at just before 1:00 p.m. She is believed survived by her husband, former Dolphins player Kieran O’Conner, who has been unavailable for public comment for some time.

Technology Newsfront

Yesterday’s two-hour loss of cellphone service has been determined to have been caused by out-of-season sunspot activity. Sunspots throw out large amounts of high-energy particles which, when they hit the atmosphere, interfere with forms of communication like radios and cellphones. Local landline phone services were unaffected and all is returning to normal. Citizens are urged to not make unnecessary calls until all cell transmitters have been tested to assure full function.

Florida-Atlantic Meteorologist Julia Phillips was interviewed. She indicated that this is not unusual in the life of a variable star like our sun and that no, it wasn’t a fake-phone-call as some have asked, but just random noise. No one was billed for their phone-call attempts during this blackout window.

“…the Sun is a G-class variable star. This means that it is affected by storms of energy under its surface which give rise to such phenomenon as sunspots and solar flares, the mechanism for the creation of which is still unknown. These, in turn, broadcast a massive wave of energetic particles which can affect communications equipment. These ‘broadcasts’ are not like Terrestrial transmissions as they are only incoherent, if very loud, static…”