Free Essays on Mrs Wanda

Mrs. Wanda On July sixth, 1988, I turned five years old. It had been a difficult year. My parents were going through a tough divorce, and as much as a five-year-old could be bitter, I was. About three months after my dad moved out of our house, my mom got a new job. Of course this new job did not appeal to me at all. My mom had always been home with us. She had quit working when I was born, and had always devoted every second of her time to me. The only solution to the mom-going-to-work-thing was a babysitter. Mom began to take interviews in our living room every afternoon. As every nanny left, my head was the first to shake from left to right. I was a very aware five year old (and very spoiled too, so that didn’t help much). But for some reason my mom always listened to me. Because we were without a babysitter, we spent every day for about a month with my grandmother. One late August afternoon my family was called in to Deautrive Hospital. My great grandmother was sick and had been rushed there in an ambulance. A puzzled feeling came over me as I got out of the car. As I entered the hospital a stench arose in my nose. It was the scariest place that I had ever encountered. I slowly walked towards my grandmother’s room and my mom opened the door. She was laid out in a large hospital bed with her feet propped up. Nurses came in and out, giving her IVs and medicine. There was one particular nurse that stayed by her side the entire time. She was an African American lady of medium build with a sweet and concerned voice. It seemed as if we were in they hospital for hours. Throughout the time that we were there this one particular nurse kept me occupied. After a while, my mom and the nurse began to talk. My mom told her that she was looking for a babysitter. Within a week, the nurse called my house and an interview was set up. Kindergarten was beginning in a week, and we had just returned from buying school supplies at Wal-Mart. About... Free Essays on Mrs Wanda Free Essays on Mrs Wanda Mrs. Wanda On July sixth, 1988, I turned five years old. It had been a difficult year. My parents were going through a tough divorce, and as much as a five-year-old could be bitter, I was. About three months after my dad moved out of our house, my mom got a new job. Of course this new job did not appeal to me at all. My mom had always been home with us. She had quit working when I was born, and had always devoted every second of her time to me. The only solution to the mom-going-to-work-thing was a babysitter. Mom began to take interviews in our living room every afternoon. As every nanny left, my head was the first to shake from left to right. I was a very aware five year old (and very spoiled too, so that didn’t help much). But for some reason my mom always listened to me. Because we were without a babysitter, we spent every day for about a month with my grandmother. One late August afternoon my family was called in to Deautrive Hospital. My great grandmother was sick and had been rushed there in an ambulance. A puzzled feeling came over me as I got out of the car. As I entered the hospital a stench arose in my nose. It was the scariest place that I had ever encountered. I slowly walked towards my grandmother’s room and my mom opened the door. She was laid out in a large hospital bed with her feet propped up. Nurses came in and out, giving her IVs and medicine. There was one particular nurse that stayed by her side the entire time. She was an African American lady of medium build with a sweet and concerned voice. It seemed as if we were in they hospital for hours. Throughout the time that we were there this one particular nurse kept me occupied. After a while, my mom and the nurse began to talk. My mom told her that she was looking for a babysitter. Within a week, the nurse called my house and an interview was set up. Kindergarten was beginning in a week, and we had just returned from buying school supplies at Wal-Mart. About...

NASA on Watch for Killer Asteroids

NASA on Watch for Killer Asteroids While NASA astronomers said the chances of the 1.2-mile-wide (2 km) asteroid called 2002 NT7 actually hitting the Earth on Feb. 1, 2019, are slim, they are still watching it and other orbiting doomsday rocks very closely. Detecting and Tracking Dangerous Asteroids While given less than a one in 250,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth, scientists at NASAs Near Earth Object (NEO) program have no intention of turning their backs on any of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered so far. Using the Sentry System developed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NEO observers continually scan the most current asteroid catalog to identify those objects with the greatest potential to hit the Earth over the next 100 years. These most threatening asteroids are cataloged in the Current Impact Risks database. To each near-Earth approaching object, NEO assigns a risk of impact factor based on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale. According to the ten-point Torino scale, a rating of zero indicates the event has no likely consequences. A Torino Scale rating of 1 indicates an event that merits careful monitoring. Even higher ratings indicate that progressively more concern is warranted. To further study near-Earth orbiting objects, their potential threats, and ways in which they may be prevented from impacting the Earth, NASA is currently undertaking this fascinating group of Spacecraft Missions to Asteroids. For professional and amateur asteroid trackers, JPLs Solar System Dynamics Group provides this handy set of software tools. Protecting Earth from Asteroid Strikes Calling them the only major natural hazard that we can effectively protect ourselves against, NASA has suggested two possible methods of protecting the Earth from an asteroid or comet determined to be on a collision course. Destroying the object before it hits the EarthDeflecting the object from its orbit before it hits the Earth To destroy the Earth-approaching object, astronauts would land a spacecraft on the surface of the object and use drills to bury nuclear bombs deep below its surface. Once the astronauts were a safe distance away, the bomb would be detonated, blowing the object to pieces. Drawbacks to this approach include the difficulty and danger of the mission itself and the fact that many of the resulting asteroid fragments might still hit the Earth, resulting in massive damage and loss of life. In the deflection approach, powerful nuclear bombs would be exploded up to half a mile away from the object. The radiation created by the blast would cause a thin layer of the  object on the side nearest the explosion to vaporize and fly into space. The force of this material blasting into space would nudge or recoil the object in the opposite direction just enough to alter its orbit, causing it to miss the Earth. The nuclear weapons needed for the deflection method could be launched into position well in advance of the objects projected Earth impact. Best Defense is Adequate Warning While these and other methods of protection have been considered, no definite plans have been fully developed. Scientists of the Asteroid and Comet Impact division of NASAs Ames Research Center warn that at least ten years will be needed to send a spacecraft to intercept an incoming object and deflect or destroy it. To that end, scientists say, NEOs mission of detecting threatening objects is critical to survival. In the absence of active defense, warning of the time and place of an impact would at least allow us to store food and supplies and to evacuate regions near ground zero where damage would be the greatest, says NASA. What is the Government Doing About This? In 1993 and again in 1998, Congressional hearings were held to study the impact hazard. As a result, both NASA and the Air Force are now supporting programs to discover Earth-threatening objects. Congress currently budgets only about $3 million per year for programs like the Near Earth Object (NEO) project. While other governments have expressed concern about the impact hazard, none have yet funded any extensive surveys or related defense research. That Was Close! According to NASA, a soccer field-sized asteroid came within a mere 75,000 miles of Earth in June  2002. Missing us by less than one-third of the distance to the moon, the asteroids approach was the closest ever recorded by an object of its size.