Huge asteroid to zip past Earth May 31

A big asteroid will cruise by Earth at the end of the month, making its closest approach to our planet for at least the next two centuries. The May 31 flyby of asteroid 1998 QE2, which is about 1.7 miles long, poses no threat to Earth. The giant space rock will come within 3.6 million miles of our planet — about 15 times the distance separating Earth and the moon, researchers say. But the close approach will still be dramatic for astronomers, who plan to get a good look at 1998 QE2 using two huge radar telescopes — NASA's 230-foot Goldstone dish in California and the 1,000-foot Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
Do you worry about asteroids hitting the Earth?

Read more here: http://nbcnews.to/10MlazE

Top 10 Most Extreme Places in North America

From Death Valley to Mt. McKinley, North America is a land of extremes. Courtesy of the Discovery network, take a look at some of the weirdest, loneliest, windiest, snowiest, hottest, coldest, driest, wettest, highest and lowest places on the continent.

 

Weirdest Place: Fly Geyser located in the westernmost county of Nevada. This surrealistic structure got its start about a hundred years ago when well drilling opened up an underground reservoir that served as a fresh water source over several decades.

Loneliest Place: Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Yukon Alaska. Larger and more mountainous than Switzerland, this vast area includes 13 million acres that have about as many roads and people as a small town!

Windiest Place: During a wild storm in April 1934, a wind gust of 231 mph was recorded by the observatory on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. This wind speed still stands as the all-time surface wind speed recorded in North America.

Snowiest Place: The greatest annual snowfall level in North America is at Mount Rainier, Washington, where an average of 692 inches accumulates every year. The single year record was set during 1971-1972 with 1,122 inches of snow.

Coldest Place: The remote settlement of Snag in Canada’s Yukon Territory holds the title for the coldest officially-recorded spot in North America. On February 3, 1947, a government weather station at a small landing field recorded a temperature of -81.4° Fahrenheit in dry, still conditions.

For more interesting information about unique places in North America, visit this Discovery network link: http://bit.ly/11cxijl

 

What is the most unusual place you’ve ever visited?

http://bit.ly/11cxijl

Grand Canyon carved by flood? Geologist says no

Could the origins of the Grand Canyon lie in an enormous flood? The answer is no, says geologist Bill Dickinson, professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Tracing the history of the Grand Canyon is controversial. The deep gorge exposes a billion years of Earth history in its candy-colored cliffs, but geologists can't agree when it formed, or exactly how. A recognized geologist hopes at least to lay to rest one hypothesis: That an ancient lake carved the canyon through a cascading series of waterfalls. A favored concept for two decades, "I don't think it's a valid story, and my main purpose is to dismantle it," the professor says. Read more here. a http://bit.ly/RCfzx3

How do you think the Grand Canyon was formed?

Give back! Celebrate National Volunteer Week April 21-27

National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate people doing extraordinary things through service. Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week focuses national attention on the impact and power of volunteers and service as an integral aspect of our civic leadership. The week draws the support and endorsement of the president and Congress, and elected officials at every level of government.
Are you donating time on any projects as part of National Volunteer Week?