February 18, 2009
A communications satellite belonging to US company Iridium collided with a defunct Russian military satellite on February 12, 2009. According to NASA the satellites crashed into each other in an unprecedented collision, creating clouds of space debris which pose a slight risk to the International Space Station. The chief of Russia’s Mission Control says clouds of debris from the collision will circle Earth and threaten numerous satellites and the Federal Aviation Administration has received numerous reports of falling debris across Texas.
The image above is a computer-generated artist’s impression of the space debris currently orbiting the earth and you can view another impressive image at the MSNBC PhotoBlog. In researching this topic I also came across some interesting facts at the CBC website that helps put this recent event in perspective:
600 – Pieces of debris estimated to have been released into space in the collision between the U.S. communications group Iridium Satellite LLC and a Russian Cosmos-2251 military satellite.
900 – Number of pieces of debris created when China destroyed its Fengyun 1-C satellite in January 2007.
100 years – Approximate amount of time debris in orbits that are more than 621 miles above the Earth’s surface will continue to travel around the Earth. Debris travelling in orbits below 372 miles falls to Earth after several years. At altitudes below 248 miles, the debris is likely to fall to Earth before it has even been detected or identified.
One in one trillion – Odds that a person will be struck and injured by a piece of space debris, according to the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies.
Here is one last fact to ponder: the earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old and it has been a mere 51 years since the launch of Sputnik.
You’ll have to excuse me now; my cell phone is ringing…..
Take our 4 question Space Survey – It will take less than one minute!
5 Comments | 
Miscellaneous, Technology | Tagged: Iridium, NASA, Online Survey, Russian Military Satellite, Satellites, Space Debris, Space Junk, Technology, Zoomerang | 
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Posted by Donna
February 16, 2009
During the month of February the birthday of two of our greatest President’s takes place: George Washington (Feb. 22nd) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12th). Much of the debate over the name of the holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February springs from the fact that each state can follow their own holidays as they see fit.
Washington’s Birthday is the official name to what many of us know as President’s Day, although many of the states chose to also honor Lincoln calling the celebration President’s Day. A little known bit of history is that Washington’s birthday has been publicly celebrated since he was in office, decades before Abraham Lincoln was even born.
In 1968 a motion designating the official celebration as President’s Day came before Congress. The motion did not pass, although Congress did move to schedule the holiday to fall between the two President’s birthdays. Then came the 1980’s when a resurgence of the term President’s Day used by advertisers solidified the holiday name into the American culture. Today there are few Americans who choose to call the holiday Washington’s Birthday, preferring President’s Day to honor both men.
In researching the celebration’s evolution I came across a Presidential Trivia Quiz that was a bit of a challenge. Fair warning: some of the answers needed a bit more in-depth research than I would have thought.
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Miscellaneous, Research | Tagged: Factoids, History, Lincoln, Presiden't Day, Quiz, Research, Trivia, Washington, Zoomerang | 
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Posted by Donna
February 14, 2009
The results of the Zoomerang February 2009 Consumer Survey, focused on how the economy has affected people’s love lives, have been released. Of the 52% who said they would be shopping for a Valentine’s Day gift this year, 58% of the respondents said they plan to spend the same on a gift this year as they did last year
Additional highlights from the study include:
19% of people buying a Valentine’s Day gift this year will not buy a card
56% of people list trust as the most important aspect of a love relationship, while 0% listed money
8% of people say appearance most attracts them to another person after they’ve spoken with them, while 56% say personality is the biggest factor and 17% list a sense of humor.
When all is said and done, money does still play a factor in people’s relationships. In fact, another study done by the National Retail Federation finds that consumers will be spending less this Valentine’s Day. When asked to rate how important money is in a love relationship, only 15% of Zoomerang survey respondents indicated it was not at all important while 31% indicated it was important.
2 Comments | 
Miscellaneous, Research | Tagged: Consumer Spending, Economy, Love Life, Relationships, Retail, Survey Results, Valentine's Day, Zoomerang | 
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Posted by Donna
