For space fans, something to be thankful for: launch, comet, freeze-dried feast ADVERTISING For space fans, something to be thankful for: launch, comet, freeze-dried feast WASHINGTON — Space will serve up a banquet of activities on Thanksgiving, featuring a comet
For space fans, something to be thankful for: launch, comet, freeze-dried feast
WASHINGTON — Space will serve up a banquet of activities on Thanksgiving, featuring a comet kissing the sun, a zero-gravity freeze-dried feast in orbit and a rocket launch attempt:
FIRST COURSE:
Comet ISON, which was discovered a year ago, is making its first spin around the sun and will come the closest to the super-hot solar surface at 1:37 p.m. EST. It may take a few hours before astronomers know if the comet survived its brush with the sun. If it survives, and maybe even if it doesn’t, people in the Northern Hemisphere will have a good chance of seeing the comet — or its remains — in the first two weeks of December just before sunrise and after sunset. It won’t be visible with the naked eye on Thursday, but NASA has a fleet of telescopes trained on ISON (EYE’-sahn).
SECOND COURSE:
For the six people on board the International Space Station — including American astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio — it’s time for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. But don’t expect them to be carving a succulent bird. In a video from space, the two astronauts showed off their menu, all in small sealed packets: irradiated smoked turkey, thermostabilized yams, cornbread dressing, potatoes, freeze-dried asparagus, baked beans, bread, cobbler and what Hopkins called his favorite dehydrated green bean casserole. It comes with a view from space that is juicier than any turkey on Earth. “Though we miss our families, it’s great to be in space,” Hopkins said from 260 miles above Earth in a taped message.
Cheaper gas lifts hopes for holiday sales, gives drivers a break at the pump
WASHINGTON — No one begs Santa Claus for cheaper gasoline. Yet falling gas prices are shaping up as an unexpected gift for drivers — and for people on their holiday shopping lists.
The average price of gasoline has tumbled 49 cents from its peak this year to $3.29 a gallon, putting it on track for the lowest average since 2010, according to AAA. Because many Americans have had no pay raises, whatever money they’re saving on gas has freed up a bit more for other purchases.
And history shows that when gas prices drop, consumers become more likely to splurge on dinners out. Impulse buys at the mall seem like less of a stretch. More people buy a gas-station gift card after fueling up.
Many retail analysts have forecast a ho-hum sales gain of around 2 percent this year; others predict an increase of up to 3.9 percent. But steadily cheaper gas could send holiday sales shooting above 5.4 percent, analysts say.
“Every little thing moves the needle at this point,” said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. “The benefit at this time of the year certainly helps retailers, since it is not spread evenly throughout the year.”
US offering to destroy deadliest portion of Syria’s chemical arms at sea
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is offering to destroy some of Syria’s deadliest chemical weapons in international waters aboard a nearly 700-foot, U.S. government-owned ship, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The plan, still subject to final approval, would involve destroying the weapons, likely aboard the MV Cape Ray in the Mediterranean Sea, with U.S. Navy warships patrolling nearby.
This approach would avoid the vexing diplomatic, environmental and security problems posed by disposing of the materials on any nation’s soil.
The Obama administration has used international oceans in other sensitive cases where land-based options were precluded. The U.S. Navy buried al-Qadia leader Osama bin Laden at sea to avoid his tomb becoming an attraction for extremists. The government has been questioning terror suspects for as long as it takes aboard Navy ships since the CIA closed its secret prisons overseas and President Barack Obama has refused to send more prisoners to the detention center at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The decision to proceed with the chemical disposal plan would be made by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a global chemical weapons watchdog agency with 190 member states.
By wire sources
