Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on May 29, 2006 3:41:19 GMT -6
Project Wormwood
Learmonth Solar Observatory
Learmonth Solar Observatory
The Austrtailian Govenment in Studies of Planetary Defense and Space Debris
Their Mission statement:
Planetary Defence is defined as that activity concerned with protecting the Earth and its inhabitants from destruction due to impact by a large piece of space debris such as an asteroid or a comet.
The term "Planetary Defense" is believed to have first been used by Major Lindley N Johnson in a paper written for the Air University SpaceCast 2020 study in academic year 1993-1994 to explore required future space capabilities for the US Air Force. (Dr Johnson is now the NEO Observation Program Scientist at NASA HQ - 2004). A link to Johnson's paper can be found in the Links section of this web site.
However, the term received its wide use and promotion by Colonel Simon (Pete) Worden when he was commander of the US Air Force Space Command 50th Space Wing. It was a term used to indicate the realisation that we are under bombardment from outer space. Not from an alien agressor, but from a sporadic bombardment by naturally occuring objects in the solar system: asteroids and comets - fragmentary space debris - which occasionally are perturbed onto a collision course with Earth.
The term "Planetary Defense" is believed to have first been used by Major Lindley N Johnson in a paper written for the Air University SpaceCast 2020 study in academic year 1993-1994 to explore required future space capabilities for the US Air Force. (Dr Johnson is now the NEO Observation Program Scientist at NASA HQ - 2004). A link to Johnson's paper can be found in the Links section of this web site.
However, the term received its wide use and promotion by Colonel Simon (Pete) Worden when he was commander of the US Air Force Space Command 50th Space Wing. It was a term used to indicate the realisation that we are under bombardment from outer space. Not from an alien agressor, but from a sporadic bombardment by naturally occuring objects in the solar system: asteroids and comets - fragmentary space debris - which occasionally are perturbed onto a collision course with Earth.
www.ips.gov.au/IPSHosted/neo/index.html
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WormWood...interesting name of mysterious meanings....
"The third angel sounded his trumpet,
and a great star, blazing like a torch,
fell from the sky on a third of the rivers
and on the springs of water
- the name of the star is Wormwood."
Revelation 8:10-11