U.S. Space Command confirms interstellar meteor hit Earth
CBSN
The U.S. Space Command announced this week that it determined a 2014 meteor hit that hit Earth was from outside the solar system. The meteor streaked across the sky off the coast of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea three years earlier than what was believed to be the first confirmed interstellar object detected entering our solar system.
Dr. Amir Siraj and Dr. Abraham Loeb of the Department of Astronomy of Harvard University wrote a paper about the meteor, U.S. Space Command says. However, the scientists had trouble getting paper published, because they used classified information from the government.
A classified U.S. government satellite designed to detect foreign missiles witnessed the fireball, Siraj writes in Scientific American Magazine. The meteor was unusual because of its very high speed and unusual direction – which suggested it came from interstellar space.
Sleep-deprived new parents are increasingly turning to weighted sleep sacks and blankets to help their infants sleep better and longer. But the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have raised serious safety concerns. The AAP says these products are unsafe for infants, and the CPSC told CBS News investigating "multiple fatalities associated with" weighted infant products.
Nothing says a warm day quite like the beach, but beyond the shore lies a number of dangers, from rip currents and strong waves to shark attacks and bobbing jellyfish. Onshore, however, you will likely find a flag warning you of potential dangers, and whether it's purple, yellow, red or blue can tell you which hazard could be lurking in the waters.
A woman died while hiking in western Colorado on Monday as a heat dome blanketed pockets of the American West and drove up temperatures in a number of states. Marsha Cook, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was pronounced dead after collapsing around the two-mile mark of a hiking trail at Colorado National Monument, officials said Wednesday. She was 54.