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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 21 2022
Messier 10 and Comet
Imaged on July 15 2022, comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) had a Messier moment, sharing this wide telescopic field of view with globular star cluster Messier 10. Of course M10 was cataloged by 18th century comet hunter Charles Messier as the 10th object on his list of things that were definitely not comets. While M10 is about 14 thousand light-years distant, this comet PanSTARRS was about 15 light-minutes from our fair planet following its July 14 closest approach. Its greenish coma and dust tail entertaining 21st century comet watchers, C/2017 K2 is expected to remain a fine telescopic comet in northern summer skies. On a maiden voyage from our Solar System's remote Oort Cloud this comet PanSTARRS was discovered in May 2017 when it was beyond the orbit of Saturn. At the time that made it the most distant active inbound comet known. Its closest approach to the Sun will be within 1.8 astronomical units on December 19, beyond the orbital distance of Mars.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
fun fact, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano (Vic Romano from MXC) dressed up as Trump back in 2016
Out of this world: Kecksburg UFO Festival returns this weekend
July 20 2022
On Dec. 9, 1965, people stretching from Canada to Kecksburg — across six states — reported seeing a fireball shooting across the sky.
And while astronomers said it was a sort of meteor burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle, those in Kecksburg who saw something land there disagree.
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, those curious about the mystery can investigate a little further at Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department in Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County during the Kecksburg UFO Festival.
Ongoing for 17 years, the event is a fundraiser for the VFD, said festival chairman Ron Struble. It’s also a reason for family and friends to gather — even if they don’t believe in unidentified flying objects.
“That’s the main reason we have it — it’s become an old tradition that we’ve built on over the years,” Struble said.
Of course, many out-of-towners and some out-of staters come to dig a little deeper into the Kecksburg UFO incident — and it seems there’s plenty to be curious about. The night the object dropped from the sky in Kecksburg, the military sealed off the wooded area, turning away anyone who came close, according to multiple accounts.
And those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of whatever fell said it was a large, acorn-shaped vessel with what appeared to be hieroglyphics etched on the outside of it.
https://www.heraldstandard.com/entertainment/local/out-of-this-world-kecksburg-ufo-festival-returns-this-weekend/article_dcc5059a-fd40-11ec-b29f-6ff94d7bfca8.html
DoD Announces the Establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
JULY 20, 2022
On July 15, 2022, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), amended her original direction to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security by renaming and expanding the scope of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG) to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), due to the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022, which included a provision to establish an office, in coordination with DNI, with responsibilities that were broader than those originally assigned to the AOIMSG.
Today, USD(I&S) Hon. Ronald S. Moultrie informed the department of the establishment of AARO within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and named Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick, most recently the chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency's Missile and Space Intelligence Center, as the director of AARO.
The mission of the AARO will be to synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense, and with other U.S. federal departments and agencies, to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security. This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.
The AARO Executive Council (AAROEXEC), led by Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (USD(I&S)) Ronald Moultrie, will provide oversight and direction to the AARO along these primary lines of effort:
1. Surveillance, Collection and Reporting
2. System Capabilities and Design
3. Intelligence Operations and Analysis
4. Mitigation and Defeat
5. Governance
6. Science and Technology
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3100053/dod-announces-the-establishment-of-the-all-domain-anomaly-resolution-office/