In search of dark asteroids (and other sneeky things)

Jupiter captured comet for 12 years in mid-20th century

And still on a space theme (not news, but interesting nonetheless): Tinkle, tinkle, little star - having finally managed to photograph the ISS last Saturday, and having seen the space shuttle fly over earlier this year, I guess there's now a new challenge - though I guess urine clouds are not likely to be readily visible to the naked eye.

I'm not quite sure I believe this: Prehistoric man 'used crude sat nav' - but it does fit a little in with a personal, long held, theory that many standing stones, cairns etc were erected as 'sign-posts'. Neolithic man is walking along the ridgeway, it's turning cold and wet and misty, he sees a standing stone - and knows that the next village and a warming jug of heather ale is awaiting him just down in the combe below. Or else, reaching a prominent cairn or stone, he knows he's entered the territory of the ox tribe. Makes perfect sense. And I often wonder if at one time such stones may have been carved, of held some now long lost symbol? Perhaps a ox skull attached to front of the stone or perched atop the cairn?

Anyway, on to weather news:

Indonesian villages hit by floods

An excellent piece from Jesse Ferrell of Accuweather on the Brazilian storm that 'made landfall' last week and supposedly spawned one (or more) tornadoes as it pushed in across northern Argentina - Brazil storm was bad, but NOT tropical! Incidently, I'm not convinced myself they were even tornadoes, rather just a severe gust front (we have a problem in the UK these days where any sudden, severe gusts of wind causing damage are automatically described as being a tornado. In most cases tehy are not.)

Still not much activity in the Atlantic (though the satelite image today does suggest something developing mid ocean), but in the east another super-typhoon becomes category 5 storm south of Japan. Choi-wan is the strongest so far this season. Meanwhile, typhoon Koppu causes 145 minor accidents in Macau

And finally, bad news for the Irish: Kiwi weather expert forecasts a watery end to a dreadful 2009. Though I'd hardly call Ken Ring - a man issues forecasts based on lunar phases and once insisted that it's always clear skies when it's the full moon - an expert! Still, no worse than Piers Corbyn's astrology.

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