Some conspiracy theorists claim the three events in the same day are a warning. GETTY
March 7, 2016 - SPACE - Conspiracy theorists are stocking up on food supplies amid fears the world could end in just TWO days when a total eclipse of the sun, super full moon and staggeringly close asteroid pass of earth are set to happen within 24 hours.
On March 8 asteroid TX 68, a 30-metre long lump of space rock, is due to whistle past Earth as close as 19,000 miles away.
But doom mongers are not convinced it will miss us with fears we won't be able to see it because it will be obscured by the sun.
The looming event has sent online doomsday predictors into a frenzy, particularly as NASA admits it is uncertain of the orbital path and has given estimates as close as 19,000 miles away to as far as 11 million miles.
The US space agency has also changed the DAY of the pass with the initial date being given as yesterday, March 5.
Now NASA says it will be on Tuesday, March 8.
The uncertainty over the pass coupled with the fact some online doom mongers were predicting an asteroid would smash into earth in March 2016 several months ago, has fuelled the latest fears.
Some self-styled internet prophets released videos several months ago warning an asteroid, or even a mythological rogue planet called Nibiru or Planet X, would strike Earth in March 2016, and could spell the end of the word.
Express.co.uk found several YouTube videos released six months or more ago, before there was any widespread talk of asteroid TX68's cosmic close shave.
A NASA animation showing how the total eclipse will unfold. NASA
It must be noted that videos also appear to exist for a number of other months and appear to be update when one date comes and goes without incident.
But if all this was not enough to pedal a doomsday prophecy, the conspiracists have been given more on a plate.
March 8 will also see a total solar eclipse in some parts of the globe, and a massive super full moon - the first of 2016.
In a video entitled 'Armageddon March 8th???', YouTube filmmaker Mike Morales questioned how NASA could say for sure it would not strike the planet, saying they didn't have the evidence to back it up either way.
Speaking of the total eclipse and super moon, he said: "We also have asteroid 2013 TX68 coming the exact same day and what they are saying is we won't be able to see or track it with a telescope because it is coming from the sun's side.
"This is a big heads up. is it Armageddon, who knows, but no mainstream news is warning us, NASA is not warning, so I am going to get ready like they are. Make sure you have got plenty of food supplies and water.
"It could definitely come inside our satellite belt. This thing could take out our satellites and could our gravitation pull or the moon's gravitational pull move it in?"
WATCH: Path of March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse (Animation)
Regular asteroid and earthquake watcher, YouTube channel BPEarthWatch released a video with other concerns.
The video said: "We got a great amount of uncertainty.
"They now know it is moving slower or orbiting for slightly longer. It has a condition code of seven to nine and nine is the highest code of uncertainty.
"There is a cluster of debris coming with it we can't see because it is between Earth and the sun.
"They cannot see the object, are not picking it up on radar and have not given any new data.
"This is definitely one to pay attention to, head up and be safe."
YouTube channel Nemesis Maturity posted a video about the events this month.
Screen grab from Nemesis Maturity video showing the celestial line up. NEMESISMATURITY YouTube
Although it did not predict the end of the world would result, it warned of increased tidal activity and introduced the obligatory conspiracists's code into the mix.
The short film said TX68 would pass on March 8 - the 68th day of 2016.
It also pointed out we are due for 68 total solar eclipses this century.
WATCH: Supermoon Coincides With Total Solar Eclipses And Asteroid Flyby.
Video subtitles said: "The super moon will line up with the sun to create a larger than average effect on earth's oceans."
The odd astronomical trio has seen the religious doommongers enter the ring as well with their own prophecies.
So what is the truth?
Well NASA said it is certain it will not hit us or pose any danger this year, although this is a very slim outside chance of a strike next year.
Professor Gary Shogren, a former pastor who studied the New Testament at Aberdeen University, said: "You’ll never go broke predicting the apocalypse". - Express.
December 17, 2015 - SPACE - The world sucks right now. Terrorism. Wars. Climate change. Political acrimony.
It’s nice to know Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have a plan. They will help the richest people in the world go to Mars and start over, leaving the other 99 percent to suffer on a dying, warring planet. The only solace for those of us left here will be that the Biebs should be prosperous enough to go with them.
This is the unspoken flip side of Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’s Blue Origin. The space travel companies say they are creating a way for the human species to endure by populating other planets. But the bottom line is that only the wealthy will have the means to move to Mars. Musk’s target ticket price is $500,000 a person in 2015 dollars, and that’s just to get there. Imagine the new outfits you’ll have to buy to go with that space helmet.So you can picture a scenario that’s something like the 1970s white flight from inner cities, when the wealthier classes moved to freshly built suburbs, leaving the declining neighborhoods to the lower classes. In fact, the fleeing upper classes sped up the decrepitude of that era’s older cities by relocating their money and clout with them. Today, we’re seeing a similar situation in Syria, as the wealthiest and most educated people escape to the West, which will make the country even harder to stabilize and rebuild.Such a dynamic could apply to the whole world in about 40 years. Maybe historians and scientists, charting Earth’s degeneration will trace a direct link back to this month’s climate talks in Paris. Couldn’t make a deal stick, they’ll say. Environment spun out of control. Drought. Upheaval. Anarchy. And then Wall Street bankers, tech titans, CEOs and Jay Z’s entourage decided to get the hell out and build McMansions in Martian space bubbles.
All this might sound crazy—except it’s not. Last month, Blue Origin advanced the technology of space flight by another important notch. The secretive company launched a rocket 62 miles into space and then landed it upright, like you might see in a sci-fi movie, just a few feet from the rocket’s launchpad. It’s a step toward making reusable rockets, and reusable rockets are absolutely essential to getting the cost of a Mars flight low enough to expand the target market beyond the Forbes 400.
For comparison’s sake, NASA space shuttle missions cost about $200 million per astronaut, and those flights went only into orbit. Compared with going to Mars, orbit is like putting a toe in the Atlantic versus sailing from Europe to the New World. And the shuttle, by the way, was not a reusable rocket—it was a reusable passenger compartment. No one had previously made a reusable rocket, which is a big reason space cost so much. The economics were as bad as if you had to buy a new engine for every car trip.
Blue Origin is now ginning up a real space race with SpaceX, which will help drive innovation and lower costs. Musk got a head start and has guided SpaceX into the business of launching satellites as a way to practice for human space travel. Bezos opened Blue Origin—a little side project when he’s not running Amazon.com—specifically to carry people to other planets, and it got its first rocket off the ground in April.
Also in the mix are Richard Branson with his Virgin Galactic and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who funded the nerdily named Stratolaunch Systems. Space is turning into a billionaire-athon. If Donald Trump doesn’t become president, you just know there has to be a Trump Spaceship in his future.
Of course, launching a few rockets and saying you’re going to Mars is like writing a haiku and saying you’re going to become the next John Updike. But these guys are serious. “Our ultimate vision is millions of people living and working in space,” Bezos told reporters after the Blue Origin landing. Musk makes even grander statements. “We need to be laser-focused on becoming a multi-planet civilization,” he’s said. “That’s the next step.”
At least in some circles, building colonies on Mars has entered the realm of the possible. Some writers and scientists think the first brave souls will make the six-month journey to Mars within 10 years, and that’s Musk’s prediction. Not long after the technology is proven, regular flights of supplies and people will begin. The pioneers will have to build habitable indoor spaces and, later, domed communities. As this year’s hit movie The Martian showed us, once on Mars it’s possible to grow food, make breathable air and harvest energy from solar panels. Musk calls Mars “a fixer-upper of a planet,” but by 2040, he says, there should be a thriving colonial Martiantown.
That time frame is sobering—just 25 years from now. Think how fast 25 years can whip by. If you go back to 1990, Bill Clinton was eyeing his first run for the presidency, and Tim Berners-Lee was proposing the World Wide Web.
The real migration will start post-2040. Volume will drive down flight prices from tens of millions of dollars a person to $500,000. People will start companies on Mars. They’ll take their families. “It’s not going to be a vacation jaunt,” Musk said in interviews. “It’s going to be saving up all your money and
selling all your stuff, like when people moved to the early American colonies.” His goal, which he believes is achievable, is to get Mars up to a population of 1 million, which Musk says “is the critical threshold for us as a civilization to not join the potentially large number of one-planet dead civilizations out there.”
And that comment gets to the point about who goes and why. Some will go to seek opportunity, but the quiet assumption is that many will go out of self-preservation. The sad calculus is that the Mars business looks better the worse things get on Earth. And if that’s the case, it’s actually not like moving from Europe to the American colonies in 1700, when things were OK in Europe. It sounds more like escaping a ravaged land to go somewhere safe and start over.
Who will do that? The cost of the flight and setting up on another planet will hover well past the means of almost anyone but the superrich. Where will these wealthy people come from? Most of the space travel companies so far are American. What if those companies take mostly Americans? Will we start a human colony on Mars or an American colony?
Maybe later Mars will rebel and sign its Declaration of Independence from Earth. Maybe it will shut its borders and refuse any more refugees from that hot, horrible, hungry origin planet. We’re the exceptional people, the Martians might say, and all of you Earthlings just keep screwing up your home, so we don’t want you.
NASA Starts Looking For Astronauts To ‘Blaze Trail’ To Mars
Want to explore new, out of this world job opportunities? NASA, the US space agency, has begun a rare recruitment drive for future astronauts. However, those dreaming of boosting humanity to its next step towards Mars should first check the requirements.
Starting December 14, NASA is accepting applications for its next class of astronauts. This is less than a three-month opportunity for wannabe space explorers, who last had the chance to apply more than two years ago.
Chosen finalists will have the opportunity to fly on “any of four different US vessels during their careers: the International Space Station, two commercial crew spacecraft currently in development by US companies, and NASA’s Orion deep-space exploration vehicle,” according to the space agency.
WATCH: NASA's Astronaut Recruitment For Mars
NASA currently has 47 astronauts. By comparison, in 2000 – the peak of the space shuttle era – there were 149. Sadly for space-wonks, there hasn’t been much hiring since the US spaceflight program was grounded in 2011.
This year the competition is looking stiff. In 2013, NASA received applications from over 6,000 candidates and only eight were selected.
US spacecraft are scheduled to return to flight only in 2017. According to the application process, interviews will be held at the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017, with the finalists announced in June 2017.
The job qualifications are steep.
Candidates must have US citizenship, a bachelor’s degree in science, math, or engineering, as well as at least three years of professional experience or a minimum of 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Astronaut-wannabes are also required to pass NASA’s spaceflight physical.
Public applications will be accepted until February 28.
“Some people would be surprised to learn they might have what it takes,” Brian Kelly, director of flight operations at Johnson Space Center, said.
New astronauts will be paid between $66,000 and $145,000 per year and will need to move to Houston, Texas.
NASA has hired over 300 people since 1959 when its first crew was selected for the Mercury Project, which sent men into orbit around the Earth.
Charles Bolden, the agency’s Administrator, who is a former astronaut himself, said the new recruits will help “blaze the trail” to Mars. “This next group of American space explorers will inspire the Mars generation to reach for new heights, and help us realize the goal of putting boot prints on the red planet,” Bolden said.
Finalists will be trained and then tested for “International Space Station systems training, Extravehicular Activity skills training, Robotics skills training, Russian language training, and aircraft flight readiness training.”
FAA Advisory Group Endorses "Moon Village" Concept
ESA Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner discussed his concept of an international "Moon Village" at the International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem in October.
Credit: ESA/C. Diener
A Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee has recommended that the FAA start discussions with the European Space Agency about commercial participation in an international lunar base concept promoted by the agency’s leader.
The FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) unanimously approved a recommendation that the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation begin discussions with ESA on ways American companies could participate in what’s known as “Moon Village.” The vote was conducted by email after COMSTAC held a meeting via teleconference on the topic Dec. 10, committee chairman Mike Gold said Dec. 15.
The recommendation states that the FAA, “after consulting with the appropriate U.S. agencies, engage directly with ESA in support of the ‘Moon Village’ concept, with the goal of fostering the participation of U.S.-based commercial entities in the planning and creation of the ‘Moon Village.’”
The Moon Village concept is a proposal by ESA Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner, and is something he has discussed prior to become the head of the agency in July. It would involve the development of an international lunar base, with countries providing different elements or services to support it.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/faa-advisory-group-endorses-moon-village-concept/#sthash.SZaQpAti.dpuf
Woerner, who participated in the COMSTAC teleconference, said he was open to participation by companies as well as countries. “We are putting together different users, different competencies, be it private or public,” he said. Companies in both the U.S. and Europe have already contacted him about ways they can take part, including using the base for tourism and mining.
FAA officials have already expressed an interest in supporting a commercial role in the concept. “Private industry has the potential to play an important role, and it need not be exclusively as a government contractor,” said George Nield, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation at an October COMSTAC meeting here.
COMSTAC members expressed support for a private-sector role in such a concept, even if some were skeptical that it could be commercially viable. “It might be hard in the near term to think of a profit-making venture that can work on the moon such that it would be in the time horizon of a rational investor,” said Mike Griffin, the chairman and chief executive of Schafer Corporation and a former NASA administrator. However, he said, commercial ventures could support a government-led facility there by transporting cargo.
The Moon Village concept is, for now, just that: a concept without a specific technical design, budget or schedule. “It’s an open situation,” Woerner said at a Space Transportation Association luncheon here Dec. 10. “It depends totally on what the different entities would like to provide and at what time.”
Woerner reiterated that at the later COMSTAC teleconference. “There are people trying to convince me already about the architecture” of the facility, he said. “For me, the more important thing is that we together decide on a global, international scheme.”
Terrain cut rendering of the Bunker below the estate
November 10, 2015 - CZECH REPUBLIC - It stands alone in a quiet valley in the Czech Republic, bordered by a
magnificent countryside. The estate is surrounded by high walls, and is
not visible at ground level. From the air, the compound appears to be a
large administration center. This is The Oppidum,
a massive 323,000 square foot property with plans for a spectacular
estate. What lies hidden beneath, carved deep in the mountain is the
largest residential doomsday shelter in the world.
The Oppidum will be more than an underground bunker for dangerous
times. It provides an above-ground residential estate in which the
owners can maintain a high standard of living in a secluded area above
ground during times of potential danger.
The compound is protected by multiple high-security systems (from
high walls and detection sensors to automated defense technology) and
strong communications with the outside world.
The residents can enter the shelter by descending through a secret
corridor to the bunker, sealing it with a blast door in less than a
minute. It enables inhabitants to return quickly to the above-ground
residence once the threat has passed.
The below-ground Bunker of The Oppidum will be the area in which
inhabitants can be isolated and protected from the threat of war,
disease, natural disasters, or personal threats ranging from terrorists
to zombies.
Aerial rendering of The Oppidum Complex
The planned luxurious underground compound on two levels includes a
total space of 77,500 sf with 13 foot high ceilings. The layout features
one large 6,750 sf apartment and six 1,720 sf apartments.
Among the luxury features are an underground garden with simulated
natural light, as well as a spa, swimming pool, cinema, library, and
other leisure facilities. There will be offices and a conference room as
well as medical and surgical facilities and supplies. Custom private
vaults will also be designed to store valuables and personal art
collections.
The entire Oppidum complex can be operated from an underground
control center, with exclusive access to communications networks
internally and to the outside world.
First floor of the underground shelter
Second floor of the underground shelter
The location of The Oppidum is the foundation of its security. The
Czech Republic is in central Europe and is surrounded by mountains. The
country is not a target of aggression by any other countries or
organizations. Any potential conflict in the world is likely to avoid
the Czech Republic or, at the very least, reach it at a later stage,
which would enable the owners of The Oppidum to arrive at the compound
and make preparations.
Construction on the secret facility began in 1984, at the height of
the Cold War, as a Classified joint venture between the governments of
what were then Czechoslovakia and The Soviet Union. It was built between
1984 and 1994, at a time when global instability and the possibility of
weapons of mass destruction were entirely real, just as they are today.
Nuclear proof shelter doors
Because the construction of the facility occurred at a time of
heightened world tension, the enormous level of resources used to
develop it would be all but impossible to match today. It is extremely
unlikely that any government would approve a non-military structure of
this size to be built today.
In cases of less catastrophic situations, the bunker will allow the
inhabitants to survive natural or man-made disasters, or long-term power
outages. The bunker will also be able to provide long-term
accommodation for residents – up to 10 years if necessary – without the
need for external supplies. This would involve large-scale stocks of
non-perishable food and water, along with water purification equipment,
medical supplies, surgical facilities, and communication networks with
the outside world.
Communications hub design in the below ground bunker
The Oppidum complex will provide its owner with a safe haven for
family, friends, business partners, other professionals, and staff in an
above-ground residential estate before disaster strikes.
The underground levels of The Oppidum are in a newly reconstructed
shell-and-core state. Communication and other technologies are not yet
in place. They will be incorporated during the customization process.
The above-ground section of The Oppidum is in its original condition,
also ready to be customized to the buyer’s wishes. The buyer will be
able to choose whether to commission The Oppidum project team to
customize the facility or to do the customization of some or all of it
independently.
Art gallery vaults design in the below ground bunker
The Oppidum was created by Jakub Zamrazil, a Czech entrepreneur with a
successful track record in real estate development, sales and marketing.
When Mr Zamrazil first toured the unique former military facility, he
was impressed by its massive scale. He saw its potential to be
transformed into the ultimate life-assurance solution and named it The
Oppidum, from the Latin word meaning the main settlement in an
administrative area of ancient Rome. The word was derived from the
earlier Latin op-pedum, an “enclosed space”, used to describe fortresses
that were constructed in Europe as early as the Iron Age.
Medical facilities design in the below ground bunker
Living quarters design in the below ground bunker
Bar and lounge design in the below ground bunker
Mr Zamrazil joined forces with top professionals in the fields of
security and luxury development to put together the concept of the
ultimate life-assurance solution for the modern age. General Andor
Šándor (Retired) is the security director and guarantor of the Oppidum
project. He is a former Chief of the Military Intelligence Service of
the Czech Republic, with the rank of Brigadier General.
Since 2003, he has acted as a security consultant for Ruzyně Airport
Prague (now renamed Václav Havel Airport Prague); the Prague Metro; the
Czech Railways, Road and Motorway Directorate; and other organizations.
Currently, General Šándor, together with General Jiří Šedivý, are acting
as consultants for upcoming safety drills in Prague, including the
largest blackout that the city will have experienced.
According to General Šándor, “The uniqueness of the bunker lies in
the fact that it combines state of the art security with luxury and
comfort. It is the largest known such facility on earth.”
For a video presentation of the project click here
A raging sand storm sweeps in on the city of Golmud in north west China, where 200,000 people live
April 19, 2015 - EARTH - This year has seen a rash of massive dust storms around the world that have led to travel chaos and blocked out sunlight - but experts cannot pinpoint the reason behind the spate.
This week incredible footage showed the moment an unusual 'apocalyptic' dust storm, known in Arabic as a haboob, struck Belarus, turning day to night, and China has suffered four massive sandstorms since the start of the year.
Some experts have said that climate change bringing excessive heat can make some areas more susceptible to dust storms, but one European scientist pointed out that the number of dust storms over the decades has always been variable.
Dark clouds start forming over the city of Soligorsk, Belarus, as a sandstorm sweeps over the city
Within a matter of minutes, the storm had blocked out the sun, creating chaos on the city streets
The sandstorm was the fourth to hit the area this year as authorities struggle to deal with the natural hazards
China's Meteorlogical Centre issued a blue alert as the sandstorms swept across the north of the country
Golmud was left covered in a remarkable red haze when the sand cloud blew across the city
The footage of the dust storm in Belarus, filmed from a high rise apartment, shows traffic moving along a busy street in the province of Salihorsk, south of the capital of Minsk on Monday afternoon.
As dark clouds move over the city, the entire area is plunged into darkness - forcing motorists to turn on their lights as they navigate the darkened roads.
The storm was caused by a cold front moving in from the Ukrainian-Belorusian border, reported RT.
Earlier this month Britain was shrouded in a cloud of Saharan dust, known as 'blood rain,' as the temperatures soared.
Blurred: The Shard, one of London's most iconic buildings, is pictured shrouded in 'blood rain' earlier this month
In December a small town in Queensland, Australia, experienced a dust
storm (pictured) that residents said was unprecedented in magnitude
Dr Steven Godby, a geographer researching the effects of blown sand and dust at Nottingham Trent University, explained how these events can occur.
'The dust is produced from source areas in North Africa, incorporated into a northerly airflow and can travel long distances before being deposited as far away as the UK.
'However, the events we experience are small scale compared to those experienced closer to major dust sources.
And incredible pictures also taken at the beginning of April showed the moment ferocious red sandstorms devoured a city in China's north west.
China's pollution hit cities are now having to cope with a fresh nuisance - the massive sandstorm that struck the north-west of the country being the fourth this year alone.
The images show the city of Golmud, in the country's north west Qinghai Province, as it succumbs to a sweeping half-hour sandstorm which reduced the visibility to as little as 30 metres, according to The People's Daily Online.
On April 1 a sandstorm could be seen enveloping much of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
By April 4, it was beginning to stretch across the Arabia Sea towards Pakistan and India
China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued a blue alert for the sandstorms.
The red sand swept across the northern part of the country bringing strong winds and floating sand to the regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi.
The organisation advised residents to stay indoors and local authorities to brace for the clean-up operation after the sandstorms.
China's four-tier colour-coded weather warning system signifies red as the most severe followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Photos of the city of Dunhuang in the north-western province of Gansu show the thick orange haze coating the city's atmosphere and the lack of people on the streets gave the area an almost alien planet appearance.
A local meteorologist said visibility was reduced to less than 50metres in downtown areas.
In December a small town in Queensland, Australia, experienced a dust storm that residents said was unprecedented in magnitude.
Clouds of dirt engulfed the town of Bedourie, in Queensland's south-west, bringing with it a thick, dusty night for more than 90 minutes.
The Middle East has also experienced several huge sandstorms this year.
This week Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran experienced severe dust storms and last week the Arabian Peninsula was hit by a sandstorm the size of the U.S.
And in February raging sandstorms engulfed Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt causing the worst Israeli air pollution in years and whipping up huge waves in the Mediterranean Sea.
The sandstorm hit Egypt after unusually warm and sunny weather for a
February day, and the sky over downtown
Cairo turned yellow and blotted
out the sun, limiting visibility
Hazy: The Egyptian capital was transformed by the sandstorm while
Alexandria and nearby Dekheila ports were closed because of the weather
Red alert: The sandstorm in Egypt gave the country a Martian look
Severely reduced viability caused traffic chaos in Egypt's capital city
The storm, made up of accumulated dust carried from the far reaches of the Sahara Desert in North Africa also engulfed Cairo.
Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said air pollution levels were the country's worst in five years.
The sandstorm that engulfed the Arabian Peninsula, meanwhile, wrecked havoc across the area, causing traffic accidents, the cancellation of hundreds of flights and triggering breathing difficulties among residents.
Images showed the vast sandstorm sweeping its way across Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates and reaching as far east as India and Pakistan over a period of seven days.
It began on April 1, when high winds whipped up the sandstorm in northern Saudi Arabia before it consolidated and began moving southeastward across the peninsula to eventually cover an area almost as large as the United States, Discover Magazine reported.
Along the way it caused chaos across the area's major cities including Riyadh and Dubai, where some locations were reduced to zero visibility, streets turned a shade of orange and schools were forced shut.
The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies said: 'The blowing sand reduced surface visibility to near zero at some locations, disrupting ground transportation, air traffic, and also closing schools.
WHY DUST STORM CHAOS IS SET TO GET EVEN WORSE
Dr Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, director of the Izana Atmospheric Research Center in Tenerife, Spain, told MailOnline that while it was difficult to say if there have been an increase in dust storms generally, population and urban growth in desert regions means an increased risk of people being affected by them.
He said: ‘We are more aware of the problem since we have much better monitoring, mainly from satellites, and forecast systems, in the last five to 10 years, and because the population growth and corresponding infrastructures increase in desert and arid regions, in recent decades, increasing vulnerability to the same dust episodes.’
He added: ‘Our longest dust records over the North Atlantic, downwind from the Sahara desert, which started in late 1970s show a great inter-annual variability and decadal changes, but we don't really see positive trends.’
WATCH: Dust storm turns day into night in Belarus.
WATCH: Massive sand storms in Dubai.
WATCH: Scary view of the dust storm in northern Saudi Arabia.
WATCH: Deadly dust storm in Utah.
'Visibility was reduced to 0.1 mile for several hours at Dubai International Airport, which is one of the world’s busiest in terms of volume of flights.'
More than 450 Saudi Arabian Airlines flights were cancelled between across three days which equalled 33 per cent of the carrier's 1,526 scheduled flights, the Saudi Gazette reported.
On top of this, 678 flights were delayed and another 19 rerouted from airports in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
Dr Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, director of the Izana Atmospheric Research Center in Tenerife, Spain, told MailOnline that while it was difficult to say if there have been an increase in dust storms generally, population and urban growth in desert regions means an increased risk of people being affected by them.
He said: ‘We are more aware of the problem since we have much better monitoring, mainly from satellites, and forecast systems, in the last five to 10 years, and because the population growth and corresponding infrastructures increase in desert and arid regions, in recent decades, increasing vulnerability to the same dust episodes.’
He added: ‘Our longest dust records over the North Atlantic, downwind from the Sahara desert, which started in late 1970s show a great inter-annual variability and decadal changes, but we don't really see positive trends.’
A Nasa study said: 'Approximately half of the dust in today's atmosphere may be the result of changes to the environment caused by human activity, including agriculture, overgrazing, and the cutting down of forests.' - Daily Mail.
April 29, 2014 - SPACE-A solar eclipse that occurs on average only once every 73 years may
be perfectly witnessed only by penguins in Antarctica, while watchers in
Australia had a shot at seeing the sun as a “super-fat banana”.
ARCHIVE PHOTO: helicopter returning from the Sunflower wildfire passes
in front of the solar eclipse
over Payson, Arizona, May 20, 2012
(Reuters / Jeff Robbins)
The crescent sun, an annular eclipse meaning that the moon is too far away to completely block out the sun, instead creating a perfect ‘ring of fire’ could be witnessed in Perth, Australia, from 05:00 GMT on April 29. Such eclipses are relatively common, with about four every five years. The last occurred in May 2013.
What makes this eclipse – the first of 2014 - unusual is that it is non-central, meaning that the center of the Moon’s shadow will not fall on Earth, instead passing above the Southern Hemisphere sky.
Of 3,956 annular eclipses calculated to have happened or scheduled to happen between 2,000 BC and 3,000 AD only 68, or 1.7 percent, are non-central annular eclipses. This is only the third such event since the 17th century.
A girl looks through a telescope to try and see a partial solar eclipse
from Sydney's Observatory Hill
April 29, 2014. (Reuters / David Gray)
As most of the shadow was set to miss Earth – the perfect spot to watch the eclipse at its most symmetrical would have been above the planet . The only place where the “ring of fire”, or annulus, can be seen at all is in Antarctica. The spot is half way between the Dumont d’Urville and Concordia stations – located 1,100 km apart – meaning that in all likelihood no human was able to witness the unusual phenomenon.
"This is a thoroughly bizarre eclipse," said a statement from Bob Berman, an astronomer with the Slooh Space Camera, which broadcasts astral events online.
“As we will watch in real time as the inky black hemisphere of the moon partially obscures the sun, the greatest thrill might be an awareness of what's occurring — unseen by any human — in a tiny region of Antarctica."
WATCH: 2014 Annular Solar Eclipse.
For sentient observers, due to the imperfect angle of observation the phenomenon wouldn't "look any different from a normal, partial eclipse," Stephen Hughes told Australian Associated Press. A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon do not fully align, so that the latter blocks out only a chunk of the former.
About half the Sun was covered when the eclipse passed Sydney, and more than two thirds over Melbourne.
A man talks to a visitor in front of a screen displaying the partial
solar eclipse as seen from the city of Perth during
a gathering of
amateur astronomers at Sydney's Observatory Hill April 29, 2014.
(Reuters / David Gray)
"Melbourne will be quite a bit better than Sydney ... a super-fat banana,"Hughes said before the event.
The eclipse could also be perceived in southern Indonesian islands.
NASA published an interactive map that allowed Australasian residents to see when the eclipse passed through their area, but as usual, amateur sky-watchers were instructed to avoid looking at the Sun without protective equipment. - RT.
April 29, 2014 - TECHNOLOGY- Technologies designed specifically to track and monitor human beings have been in development for at least two decades.
And he causes all, the small and the great, and
the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a
mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no
one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark,
either the name of the beast or the number of his name.… Revelations 13:16-17
In the virtual realm, software programs are now capable of watching us in real time, going so far as to make predictions about our future behaviors and sending alerts to the appropriate monitoring station depending on how a computer algorithm flags your activities. That is in and of itself a scary proposition.
What may be even scarier, however, is what’s happening in the physical realm. According to researches working on human-embedded microchips it’s only a matter of time before these systems achieve widespread acceptance.
Chances are you’re carrying a couple of RFID microchips
now. And if you are, they’re sending out a 15-digit number that
identifies you. That number can be picked up by what’s called an ISO
compliant scanner. And they’re everywhere, too.
… It’s not possible to interact with society in a meaningful
way by not having a mobile phone. I think human implants are likely to
go along a very similar route. It would be such a disadvantage to not
have the implant that it essentially becomes not optional.
Your initial reaction to this idea may be
one of disbelief. There’s no way society would accept such a device. Why
would anyone want to implant this in their body?
Consider for a moment where we are right
now. For decades Americans rejected the notion that they would submit to
being tracked or recorded.
Yet, just about every American now carries a mobile phone. They’re so prevalent, in fact, that many consider it a “right,” prompting the government to actually provide subsidies to those who can’t afford one on their own.
Embedded in every one of those phones is an RFID chip that can track our every movement via GPS or cell tower triangulation. Moreover, those microphones and cameras that come standard on every phone can be remotely activated by law enforcement surveillance systems, a capability that has existed since the early 2000′s.
But as intrusive as these devices are, they are accepted as the norm by billions of people world wide. Not only that, but no one had to “force” them on us. We are, it seems, the masters of our own enslavement. And we pay top dollar to have the best tracking device money can buy!
Granted, one can simply disconnect from “the grid” by throwing away their cell phone. But, the direction these new monitoring technologies are moving coupled with continued government expansion of surveillance suggests that microchip RFID technology will eventually be non-voluntary.
Michael Snyder of The Truth Wins asks What will you do when you can no longer buy or sell without submitting to biometric identification?
This technology is going to keep spreading, and it is going to become harder and harder to avoid it.
And it is easy to imagine what a tyrannical government could do with
this kind of technology. If it wanted to, it could use it to literally
track the movements and behavior of everyone.
…
And one day, this kind of technology will likely be so pervasive that
you won’t be able to open a bank account, get a credit card or even buy
anything without having either your hand or your face scanned first.
It’s difficult to imagine a populace that will freely submit to such
digital bondage. But as has been the case with the degradation of
personal privacy and rights in America, be assured it won’t simply
become law over night.
First, the technologies will need to be generally accepted by
society. It’ll start with real-time consumer based products like Google
Glass. The older generations may reject it, but in a couple of years you
can bet that tens of millions of kids, teens and younger adults will be
roaming the streets while sporting cool shades, interactive web surfing
and the capability to record everything around them and upload it to
the internet instantly.
Next, as we’re already seeing from early adopters, RFID chips will be
voluntarily implanted under our skin for everything from access to high
security buildings to grocery store purchases.
Eventually, once the concept is generally accepted by the majority, it will become our new “social security number.”
To gain access to official services, you’ll need to be a verified human. Without verification you won’t even be able to purchase a six pack of beer, let alone get medical care or a driver’s license.
Whether we like it or not this is the future. Every purchase you make
and every step you take will be tracked by a tiny 15-digit passive
microchip, meaning that the only way to “turn it off” will be to
physically remove it from your body.
In essence, we’ll soon live in a world of Always On Monitoring.
Our children and grandchildren – at least most of them – will likely
not only submit to implantation, they’ll gladly pay the costs so that
they, too, can “interact with society in a meaningful way.” - SHTF Plan.
April 15, 2014 - SPACE - Night owls across much of North America had the chance to witness a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday. It is the first time the Earth, moon and sun have been in exact alignment for two and a half years.
The moon is seen as it begins a total lunar eclipse that will turn the
moon red over Buenos Aires April 15, 2014.
(Reuters / Marcos Brindicci)
The event led to some stunning sights for those who braved the early hours to get a glimpse of the rare occurrence, with the moon changing color from bright orange to a blood red and brown, depending on the local weather conditions. Los Angeles and Dallas were two cities which had the best views of the phenomenon.
WATCH: Total lunar eclipse turns Moon blood red.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. This actually happens quite frequently, but it is rare for the alignment to be just right so that the Earth blocks out all the sun’s light and the moon goes almost completely dark. This is the first of four total eclipses, which will take place roughly every six months for the next two years. This is known as a tetrad and is very uncommon. The next one will be in 2032.
Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles said, “The fact that there are four lunar successions coming this year and next ... is unusual, but it's not the kind of thing astronomers get worked up about. It doesn't really mean anything, and it's a chance arrangement of gravity and the motions of objects in the solar system, primarily the Earth and moon.”
This composite image shows a sequence, from bottom left to top left, of
the moon's transition during a
total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014 in
Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP)
Before the eclipse occurred, a small group of Christians believed the event was a biblical prophecy, which would lead to the end of the world.
John Hagee, pastor and author of ‘Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change,’ cited Joel 2:31 as evidence, which says: "The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."
The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014, in
Atizapan municipality, Mexico State.
(AFP Photo / Ronaldo Schemidt)
The moon is seen as it heads into a total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014 in Miami, Florida.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP)
Proponents of this biblical prophecy also say it coincides with two important Jewish holidays – Passover and Tabernacles – contributing to the significance of the event.
However, writing for EarthSky.org, Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd say that it’s no surprise that full moons coincide with important Jewish holidays, as the Jewish calendar is, after all, a lunar calendar.
“In any year, it’s inevitable that a full moon should fall on or near the feasts of Passover (15 Nissan) and Tabernacles (15 Tishri). Nissan and Tishri are the first and seventh months of the Jewish calendar, respectively,” they explained. - RT.
April 14, 2014 - SPACE - The heavens are putting on a celestial show next week — and one Christian pastor is convinced it’s a sign from God.
Four lunar eclipses are
set to blaze in the sky starting on April 15. The eclipses will occur in
roughly six-month intervals until October 2015. The blood moons fall on
Passover and during the Feast of Tabernacles.AFP Photo / Hassan Ammar
Bestselling author and televangelist Pastor John Hagee claims the four blood moons that will soon appear in the skies over America are evidence of a future “world-shaking event.”
The blood moons are part of a tetrad, a set of complete and consecutive lunar eclipses that will begin on April 15 and continue in roughly six-month intervals until October 2015.
According to NASA, seeing four complete lunar eclipses in a row is very rare. The skies were tetrad-free from 1600 to 1900. But in the 21st century, there will be many.
WATCH: NASA ScienceCast - A Tetrad of Lunar Eclipses.
What’s even stranger is that Americans have a front row seat.
Hagee, founder of Texas’ Cornerstone Church, thinks this is no coincidence. For him, it's a sign of the end times.
Pastor John Hagee, 73,
leads a flock of about 20,000 faithful at The Cornerstone Church in San
Antonio, Texas. The televangelist predicts something big will happen
within the next year. J. Michael Short/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The 73-year-old preacher has been preparing for the tetrad for years. He released a book about the blood moons last October and will go in depth about his speculations during a special TV event on April 15 on the Global Evangelism Television channel.
He points to Acts 2:19-20, which reads, “And I will show wonders in Heaven above and signs in the Earth beneath, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.”
In sermons to his flock, Hagee said that each of the blood moons happens on a religiously significant day.
The April 15 event happens during Passover. On Oct. 8, the blood moon will occur during the Feast of Tabernacles. Another blood moon will occur during Passover on April 4, 2015. The last will happen on Sept. 28, 2015, another Feast ot the Tabernacles.
For proof of his theory, Hagee finds connections between past tetrads and important events in the life of the Jewish people.
In 1493, a tetrad occurred while the Jews were being expelled from Spain. Another tetrad occurred in 1949, soon after the state of Israel was founded. The last tetrad happened in 1967, during the Six-Day War between Arabs and Israelis.
WATCH: Pastor John Hagee Discusses "Four Blood Moons" on CBN.
“Just as in biblical times, God is controlling the sun, the moon, and the stars to send our generation a signal that something big is about to happen. The question is: Are we watching and listening to His message?” Hagee writes in his book.
The pastor has sparked controversy in the past for comments he’s made about a wide range of topics — from homosexuality to Islam.
In 2008, Hagee was criticized for suggesting that Hurricane Katrina was a result of God’s wrath toward the city of New Orleans for planning a rally for gays and lesbians.
April 09, 2014 - SPACE - Mars, Earth, and the Sun all aligned last night, a rare 'opposition of the planets' that only happens once every 778 days.
The alignment marks the start of the 'Tetrad' - four successive 'blood-red' eclipses[AFP/GETTY ]
But
what made this event so remarkable is that it occured precisely a week
before everyone on earth will see the first of FOUR dark red 'blood
moons', an extraordinary event some Christians believe represents the
End of Days and the second coming of Christ.
The King James Bible
predicts: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes," [Joel
2:31].
And, according to NASA, a highly unusual 'Tetrad' - four successive total 'blood-red' lunar eclipses each followed by six full moons - will, indeed, start next Tuesday and finish on September 28 2015.
The incredible alignment has only happened a handful of times in the last two thousand years but, remarkably, on each of the last three occasions it has coincided with a globally significant religious event.
Pastor and author John Hagee, from San Antonio, Texas, has written a book on the phenomenon. He believes tonight marks the dawn of a 'hugely significant event' for the world.
He says: "This is not something that some religious think tank has put together.
"NASA has confirmed that the Tetrad has only happened three times in more than 500 years - and that it's going to happen now."
The King James Bible warns the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the 'moon into blood' [DEA]
The first Tetrad since the Middle
Ages, in 1493, saw the expulsion of Jews by the Catholic Spanish
Inquisition, which rocked western Europe.
The second coincided with the establishment of the State of Israel - after thousands of years of struggle - in 1949.
Strangely, the last one occurred in 1967 - far earlier than expected - precisely at the time of the Six-Day Arab–Israeli War.
WATCH: A Tetrad Of Lunar Eclipses - Extraordinary Series Of 4 BLOOD MOONS.
A spokesman for NASA said: "This is the first eclipse of the year and is well placed for observers throughout the Western Hemisphere.
"It will occur at the lunar orbit's ascending node in Virgo.
"This is the first of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015 - a series known as a Tetrad."
NASA has confirmed four consecutive total lunar eclipses will occur in 2014 and 2015 [NASA]
He added: "The frequency of Tetrads is variable over time.
"Italian
astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli first pointed out that Tetrads were
relatively plentiful during one 300-year interval, while none occurred
at all during the next 300 years.
"The 565-year period of the Tetrad 'seasons' is tied to the slowly decreasing eccentricity of Earth's orbit.
"Consequently, the Tetrad period is gradually decreasing.
"In the distant future Tetrads will no longer be possible."
The last Tedrad occurred in 1967 during the Six-Day Arab–Israeli War [AFP]
Mr Hagee explains: "According to the Biblical prophecy, world history is about to change dramatically.
"To get four blood moons you need something absolutely extraordinary in astrological terms.
"Every
time this has happened in the last 500 years, it has coincided with
tragedy for the Jewish people followed by triumph. And once again, for
Israel, the timing of this Tetrad is remarkable.
"The first of
the four blood moons will come on April 15 this year, during Passover.
The second will be on October 8, at the time of the Feast of the
Tabernacles.
"On April 4 2015, during Passover, we will have
another blood moon. Then finally, on September 28, during next year's
Feast of the Tabernacles, the fourth blood and final moon will dawn."
Mars, Earth, and the Sun all aligned last night, a rare 'opposition of the planets' that only happens once every 778 days.
He adds: "To have four and have them fall on these exact dates is something that has to be beyond coincidental.
"What is so remarkable about these blood moons is that they specifically fulfill prophecies set out in the Bible.
"Joel Chapter Two also says the 'Day of the Lord will be as when the sun refuses to shine'.
"The really significant fact is that between these four blood moons there will be a total solar eclipse.
"Even
Jesus himself, in the Book of Luke, states there 'will be signs in the
sun, moon and stars' and to 'lift up your heads for redemption draws
nigh'.
"There's a sequence of prophetic events that the Bible says will happen. It does not, ever, give a timeline.
"It just says 'when you see these signs' - and four blood moons is a very significant one - 'the end of this age is coming."
Pastor John Hagee and [inset] his book [AFP]
While NASA has confirmed the
astrological validity behind some of the claims, not everyone is
convinced the Tetrad means anything at all, let alone the End of Days.
Professor
Gary Shogren, a former pastor who studied the New Testament at Aberdeen
University, said: "You’ll never go broke predicting the apocalypse.
"An
eclipse on Passover night seems wildly improbable, but we should
remember that lunar eclipses only happen on full moons and that Passover
by definition always takes place on a full moon. Sukkoth (The Feast of
Tabernacles) also by definition coincides with a full moon.
"I
thought in 2011 we all said we weren’t going to fall for this again,
when Harold Camping twice missed the date of the Second Coming?
