Firefly Spacecraft Investigating Shiny Stuff On Earth-That-Was by out2theblack

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Firefly Spacecraft Investigating Shiny Stuff On Earth-That-Was

POSTED BY: OUT2THEBLACK
UPDATED: Sunday, October 31, 2010 20:59
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Sunday, October 31, 2010 6:16 PM

'...The small satellite, with a big mission, is appropriately named "Firefly." Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the pint-sized satellite will study the most powerful natural particle accelerator on Earth ? lightning ? when it launches from the Marshall Islands aboard an Air Force Falcon 1E rocket vehicle next year. In particular, Firefly will focus on Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs), a little understood phenomenon first discovered by NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory in the early 1990s.

Mystery Flashes

Although no one knows why, it appears these flashes of gamma rays that were once thought to occur only far out in space near black holes or other high-energy cosmic phenomena are somehow linked to lightning.

Using measurements gathered by Firefly's instruments, Goddard scientist Doug Rowland and his collaborators ? Universities Space Research Association in Columbia, Md., Siena College, located near Albany, N.Y., and the Hawk Institute for Space Studies in Pocomoke City, Md. ? hope to answer what causes these high-energy flashes. In particular, they want to find out if lightning triggers them or if they trigger lightning. Could they be responsible for some of the high-energy particles in the Van Allen radiation belts, which damage satellites? Firefly is expected to observe up to 50 lightning strokes per day, and about one large TGF every couple days.

"The fact that they exist at all is amazing," said Rowland, who spearheaded the overall effort. "They shouldn't exist."'

http://www.molecularstation.com/science-news/2010/09/firefly-satellite
-to-study-lightning/

Anyone got the notion these Folk might be Browncoats ?

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Sunday, October 31, 2010 7:34 PM

CANTTAKESKY

Very cool!

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"Tch, secret government killing activity! That's why I don't pay taxes!" -- Sheik Amar, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

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Sunday, October 31, 2010 8:59 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

The gamma rays are coming from the roving gamma ray vehicle scanners by the US Dept of Fatherland Security. Duh.

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