Space Junk Watchers

So apperantly my room isn't the only place cluttered with stuff.

According to cnn.com, NASA says we have a junkyard of things floating around the atmosphere that occasionally fall to the earth in a firey ball and ding someone's car.

"Last July, spacewalker Piers Sellers sheepishly reported that he lost a spatula. Nicknamed "spatsat" by space junk watchers, it returns to Earth in a fireball early next month."

Now what flipping amazed me is not that there is a flying pancake flipper floating around space but that there exists such a people group called "space junk watchers"!! Who are these people? Did they O.D. on Star Trek as children? Do they wear pocket protectors? or carry Palm Pilots? Do they have greasy hair and shower infrequently? Do they get paid for watching space junk or is it just a hobby? Inquiring minds want to know!

"NASA and the Air Force track objects bigger than about 4 inches. The official "box score" of that space debris as of Thursday was 9,925. But the 90,000 objects smaller than that can be as dangerous, zipping around Earth at more than 15,000 mph. They are just harder to track."

These space junk watchers should receive our utmost respect, "as of Thursday" they at least knew where all 9,925 items 4 inch + items were... As of Thursday in my world I can't tell you were my old camera is or when I will be able deal with 145 emails in my inbox or if I will ever clear my desks (home & work) of debris.

Maybe the solution to my debris problem is to launch the junk into outer space for the space junk watchers to concern themselves with it. Perhaps I should check in with them -- maybe they have seen my camera!?

Ahh well its a wonder-full world out there and it takes people of all kinds with varying interests to keep it wonderul.


for more about space junk check out the link below from which I quoted.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/14/space.junk.ap/index.html