December 5, 2013 Page 3 Looking Up Hubble Sees Asteroid Spouting Six Comet-Like Tails By Bob Eklund Astronomers viewing our solar system’s asteroid belt with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have seen for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of light, this asteroid, designated P/2013 P5, resembles a rotating lawn sprinkler. Astronomers are puzzled over the asteroid’s unusual appearance. “We were literally dumbfounded when we saw it,” said lead investigator David Jewitt of UCLA. “Even more amazing, its tail structures change dramatically in just 13 days as it belches out dust. That also caught us by surprise. It’s hard to believe we’re looking at an asteroid.” Jewitt leads a team whose research paper appears online in the Nov. 7 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters (http://dx.doi. org/10.1088/2041-8205/778/1/L21). P/2013 P5 has been ejecting dust periodically for at least five months. Astronomers believe it is possible the asteroid’s rotation rate increased to the point where its surface started flying apart. They do not believe the tails are the result of an impact with another asteroid because they have not seen a large quantity of dust blasted into space all at once. Scientists using the Pan-STARRS survey telescope in Hawaii announced their discovery of the asteroid Aug. 27. P/2013 P5 appeared as an unusually fuzzy-looking object. The multiple tails were discovered when Hubble was used to take a more detailed image Sept. 10. When Hubble looked at the asteroid again Sept. 23, its appearance had totally changed. It looked as if the entire structure had swung around. “We were completely knocked out,” Jewitt said. Careful modeling by team member Jessica Agarwal of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Lindau, Germany, showed that the tails could have been formed by a series of impulsive dust-ejection events. She calculated that dust-ejection events occurred April 15, July 18, July 24, Aug. 8, Aug. 26 and Sept. 4. Radiation pressure from the Sun stretched the dust into streamers. Radiation pressure could have spun P/2013 P5 up. Jewitt said the spin rate could have increased enough that the asteroid’s weak gravity no longer could hold it together. If that happened, dust could slide toward the asteroid’s equator, shatter and fall off, and drift into space to make a tail. So far, only about 100 to 1,000 tons of dust--a small fraction of P/2013 P5’s main mass--has been lost. The asteroid’s nucleus, which measures 1,400 feet wide, is thousands of times more massive than the observed amount of ejected dust. Jewitt’s interpretation implies that rotational breakup must be a common phenomenon in the asteroid belt; it may even be the main way small asteroids die. “In astronomy, where you find one, you eventually find a whole bunch more,” Jewitt said. “This is just an amazing object to us, and almost certainly the first of many more to come.” Jewitt said it appears P/2013 P5 is a fragment of a larger asteroid that broke apart in a collision roughly 200 million years ago. There are many collision fragments in orbits similar to P/2013 P5’s. Meteorites from these bodies show evidence of having been heated to as much as 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. This means the asteroid likely is composed of metamorphic rocks and does not hold any ice as a comet does. • Entertainment Reel Review A Handful of Not-Horrible Holiday Movies on Netflix By Liana Whitehead If you’re an avid Netflix viewer like me, you know that the wonderful world of cheap, in-home moviegoing isn’t without its cheesy moments. It’s probably less tedious to list the movies on Netflix that don’t completely insult Christmas. Most Netflix holiday features are unbearable and must be stopped mid-watch – titles like Christmas Cupid, Black Christmas, A Halfway House Christmas. The curiosity often gets the best of us, and we unknowingly welcome into our homes these horrendous, wannabe holiday hits. So, I took it upon myself to weed through the unbearable movie mishaps and compile an unfortunately short list of films that won’t bore you into a pre-Christmas death or cause you to regrettably reach for the remote. They also happen to be some of my all-time favorites. Click and enjoy. The Polar Express (2004): So many emotions. This movie is a living portrait of computer-animated colors, characters and Christmas spirit. I remember seeing The Polar Express as a recently turned 16-year-old, though I was as excited as the toddlers beside me. I remember a magical experience detailing the adventure of child in danger of losing his Christmas imagination – a film that would make your grandpa believe in Santa again. Tom Hanks, who assisted in producing the film and did voices for six characters, was the man for the job. It seems he can pull off any role he’s given, even if the entire movie features Hanks screaming at a volleyball on a deserted island. A film that shows just how technologically advanced we were in far-back 2004, the Polar Express will not disappoint. And make your kids watch it -- they’ll be glad you did. Elf (2003, Netflix DVD): Hilarious -- I don’t care what its critics claim. Elf is nothing short of cheerful and comedic and is crafted to cater to adults and children, which is does wonderfully. Buddy the elf was born among humans and lives the life of a Christmas elf -- until he suddenly realizes that the North Pole isn’t his birthplace. Thus begins his journey to New York City. Former Saturday Night Live star Will Ferrell plays the endearing elf man, and I think his over-the-top style of humor is fitting. Unless you have issues with a man in electric green tights, roaming the streets of the Big Apple, it’s a must-watch family movie. Love Actually (2003): Such a breath of fresh air in the romantic comedy genre. Unlike any movie before its time (and so much better than copycats created after), Love Actually presents 10 separate love stories, in one film, between friends, family and couples. Although separate, each of these stories meets in the middle at some point, and everybody is intertwined in this lighthearted, witty comedy starring some of England’s most endearing actors – Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, to name a few. Each love story within the story has its own joys and sorrows. And all of them have issues. Hilarious. Jack Frost (1998): OK – so this one is a tad cheesy, but a heartwarmer despite its title. I sniffled during several scenes, and I’m not a crier. It’s not your everyday nose-nipping tale of Jack Frost, nor is it related to that hideous horror remake released the year before. In this version, the likeable Michael Keaton plays a harmonica-toting musician who finds himself disconnected from his family at Christmastime. His wife (Kelly Preston) and son can only reconnect with Jack after a fatal car accident. Although it’ll never live up to holiday classics, like “A Christmas Story,” it does tug at the heartstrings and puts you in the dreaded shoes of a family at loss at Christmas. • The Jewelry Source 337 Main St. El Segundo. 310-322-7110 www.jewelrysourceUSA.com ©2007 Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin DUAL & QUAD CORE COMPUTERS FROM $485 with 3 YEAR WARRANTY! Fast, Dependable PC Repairs and Upgrades from our Certified Technicians Celebrating our 29th year In Business! BIPRO Computers 225 Main St. 310-640-0000 Open Monday - Saturday www.bipro.com
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