NASA Television will provide commentary starting at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) on Friday, Feb. 15, during the close, but safe, flyby of a small near-Earth asteroid named 2012 DA14. NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. This flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close.
The half-hour broadcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will incorporate real-time animation to show the location of the asteroid in relation to Earth, along with live or near real-time views of the asteroid from observatories in Australia, weather permitting.
At the time of its closest approach to Earth at approximately 11:25 a.m. PST (2:25 p.m. EST / 19:25 UTC), the asteroid will be about 17,150 miles (27,600 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
In addition to the commentary, near real-time imagery of the asteroid’s flyby before and after closest approach, made available to NASA by astronomers in Australia and Europe, weather permitting, will be streamed beginning at about 9 a.m. PST (noon EST) and continuing through the afternoon at the following website: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
A Ustream feed of the flyby from a telescope at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will be streamed for three hours starting at 6 p.m. PST (8 p.m. CST / 9 p.m. EST). To view the feed and ask researchers questions about the flyby via Twitter, visit: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
A large wedge tornado tore through areas of southern Mississippi on Sunday, injuring more than a dozen people and causing widespread damage.
So far, no one has been reported killed, which authorities hope will remain true.
“We’re really blessed because we don’t have a fatality that we know of right now, and no major injuries. But we have a number of major damages to our structures around town,” said Johnny DuPree, mayor of Hattiesburg, where the tornado hit.
“If there is a good thing about this, it happened on a Sunday when most of these structures were vacant,” he said.
Hattiesburg, which straddles Forrest and Lamar counties, is home to the University of Southern Mississippi. It suffered damage to several buildings, but there were no reports of injuries there. University police declared a state of emergency and urged those not on campus to stay away until further notice.
Nearby Oak Grove High School also suffered damage. Randy Wright posted photographs to his Twitter account of the school, showing debris strewn on what looked to be a parking lot and a truck upside down in a baseball diamond.
The Hattiesburg Public School District canceled classes Monday. The university campus will also be closed.
“There’s quite a few homes without power at this point. Quite a few trees on houses, on cars, that type of thing,” said Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee.
He said that from 10 to 15 people were taken to the hospital, but that none suffered serious injuries. Another three were reported injured in nearby Marion County.
Thanks to YouTube user Geoff Fox, “I set my GoPro Hero at the door to the deck and let it take one frame per minute starting at 6:07 AM. I stopped it a little after 11:00 PM, It wasn’t stopped because the snow was over or the memory card was full. It was stopped because the snow was over the lens!”
A few snowfall totals so far: Hamden, CT 34″, Madison, CT 32″, Gorham, ME 31.4″, Wolcot, CT 31″, Meridan, CT 30″. – WildWx.com
The Blizzard of 2013, and possibly one of the most powerful blizzards in at least the last decade or so, is just hours away from beginning to barrel down on New England.
Heavy Snow is just one of the main threats with this system, the other one that people often forget, is the wind threat. This is a very intense storm, likely a sub 980 mb low pressure system, winds are going to be very strong with this storm.
The entire coastline from New Jersey to Maine can expect winds gusting 50-60 mph during the height of the storm, with gusts of 60-80 mph possible across eastern Long Island, coastal Rhode Island, the Cape and Islands, up through extreme southern Maine. The combination of these powerful winds and excessive snowfall will take down trees and branches, as well as cause power outages.
Confidence continues to increase that somewhere across Connecticut and Massachusetts, someone will receive more than 30 inches of snow. It’s not out of the question that a few spots try and top the 3 foot mark, likely rivaling many previous snow records across that region.
It’s not out of the question that cities will be forced to shut down for some time during the height of the storm, and major roadways are closed.
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