Latest news with #DeepImpact
The Australian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Australian
2024 Cox Plate runner-up Prognosis retired to stud
Star galloper Prognosis has run his last race and is set to be retired to stud. The Japanese galloper, who beat all but Via Sistina in last year's Cox Plate, injured a sesamoid ligament while preparing for a return to racing. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'After finishing second in the Hong Kong G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in April, he had been ridden in preparation for his comeback, but swelling was observed in his right front leg and examination revealed inflammation in the sesamoid ligament,' a statement read. 'After considering the need for a long period of rest and the risk of recurrence, the decision was made to retire him. Discussions are underway with the aim of him becoming a breeding stallion in the future.' While never saluting at Group 1 level, the son of legendary stallion Deep Impact went close in some big races with placings behind the likes of Romantic Warrior and Equinox. His trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida is certain Prognosis has a bright future in the next stage of his career. 'He came in second in his last race (Queen Elizabeth II Cup) and has always performed well no matter where he was,' Nakauchida said. 'I think he has done really well up until now. He will become a breeding stallion in the future and I believe he will pass on his strengths to his offspring.'
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Japanese raider Prognosis, second in 2024 Cox Plate, retired to stud
Star galloper Prognosis has run his last race and is set to be retired to stud. The Japanese galloper, who beat all but Via Sistina in last year's Cox Plate, injured a sesamoid ligament while preparing for a return to racing. 'After finishing second in the Hong Kong G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in April, he had been ridden in preparation for his comeback, but swelling was observed in his right front leg and examination revealed inflammation in the sesamoid ligament,' a statement read. 'After considering the need for a long period of rest and the risk of recurrence, the decision was made to retire him. Discussions are underway with the aim of him becoming a breeding stallion in the future.' JUST LOOK AT HOW VIA SISTINA ROMPED HOME IN THE COX PLATE 😳 THE JOCKEY HAS BEEN FINED $2000 FOR HIS CELEBRATION 🤯 🎬 @AtTheRaces — The Winners Enclosure (@TWEnclosure) October 26, 2024 While never saluting at Group 1 level, the son of legendary stallion Deep Impact went close in some big races with placings behind the likes of Romantic Warrior and Equinox. His trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida is certain Prognosis has a bright future in the next stage of his career. 'He came in second in his last race (Queen Elizabeth II Cup) and has always performed well no matter where he was,' Nakauchida said. 'I think he has done really well up until now. He will become a breeding stallion in the future and I believe he will pass on his strengths to his offspring.'
Sky News AU
30-06-2025
- Science
- Sky News AU
Australia and the world's response to city-killing asteroids hitting the Earth may not be too far of a stretch to imagine
Did you know that a fleet of asteroids following Venus' orbit could one day collide with Earth? These asteroids, or Near-Earth Objects (NEO's) have the potential to take out entire cities and alter our very existence. Venus travels closer to Earth than any other planet, and there are around 20 known asteroids that orbit with it. Some of them are not completely stable, sparking fears the asteroids could head towards Earth's elliptical trajectory. Three of these asteroids would have over one million times the energy of Hiroshima if they were to strike Earth's surface and would easily take out a major city, causing cataclysmic disaster that would be felt around the world. The risks of this happening anytime soon are slim, but then again, according to NASA, asteroids 10 metres in size enter Earth's atmosphere once every 10 years and asteroids 50 metres across, hit the Earth every 1,000 years. There is also another asteroid, the size of a 10-storey building, lurking around our solar system that has a small but increasing chance of a rendezvous with our moon which is just 384,000km away. If the asteroid hits, it will have the effect of a nuclear bomb. The consequences of that Earth scenario would be felt the world over. It is important to have a conversation about how society would cope and whether governments would be up to the task to ensure stability and control, so populations do not descend into anarchy. If one of these asteroids was on a collision course with Earth, how would we react? Would it bring humanity together or pull it apart? In the 1990's movie, Deep Impact, a reporter discovers the truth about asteroids heading to Earth, prompting the US president to announce that the story is real. In the movie, two comets head towards the Earth with one hitting the Atlantic ocean, creating a 914m high wave, while another the size of New York City, threatens to cause untold destruction to Canada. Tunnels are constructed for a million people to live in, via a national lottery, as a fair way to be selected for survival. Mass panic ensues. The hope is that society would cope well in the face of this type of adversity, acting with assertiveness, while emergency services, the police and military keep the peace and employ strategies to make us as safe as possible. We also believe that many of us are above descending into illegal activities as a reaction that others resort to, who fight over diminishing commodities, and loot and steal from shops and neighbours. But what if money became irrelevant in the face of looming disaster? Would we all descend into a dog-eat-dog mentality? It might begin with moments of justification, where filling up the car without paying, and stealing food from the supermarket is necessary, before the stations and shops close or run out of supplies, while you and your family bunker down, or escape into the country with as many supplies as you can gather. Remember what Covid was like at the supermarket, where a small minority began buying up essential item stocks, fighting in grocery stores. It triggered an avalanche of copycat buying everywhere. Geopolitical lines have also been redrawn over recent years, with emerging market economies such as the BRICS nations – which include China, Russia and Iran, forming closer alliances as a counterweight to the West, with goals of replacing the US dollar, and creating their own banking system to rival the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Would the governments of BRICS nations such as China work together with the West to find a solution to stop the asteroid? What if the US was hit by a catastrophic asteroid, would China and Russia take advantage of a weakened US, and undertake military advances on certain territories? If China's industrial hubs were destroyed by an asteroid, manufacturing would instantly be disrupted, affect world trade, impacting economies, all while China's population of 1.4 billon people were thrown into chaos. In the case of an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, there would be cries for help, aimed at the scientific community and the military, to find a way to stop the disaster. If time was running out, new protests would replace all manner of other protests the world over. NASA has in fact put into place a 'National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth Object Hazards and Planetary Defense'. Its strategy aims to improve mission planning, emergency preparedness, response and international engagement. Fortunately, more observatories are being built over the coming years to find and track asteroids that threaten the Earth, so scientists and governments can predict if a galactic Armageddon is on the way. While presidents and a handful of the rich may be able to escape into underground bunkers, the rest of us will be left to cope with the fallout from the asteroid itself, as well as the social upheavals that will arise from such a disaster. But perhaps a better version of humanity would come to the fore. Even if an asteroid caused international disaster, there would need to be a time when people worked together to make their environment livable and workable again. Having an asteroid take out humanity as a natural disaster, has different connotations to that of human-induced catastrophe where nations attack each other with nuclear weapons. With an asteroid strike, it removes international blame and finger-pointing. The clean-up would need to begin, and if there was any chance of survival, it would only happen if people worked together. Robert Weir is a freelance journalist whose work has also been published in The Spectator Australia. He enjoys writing political, lifestyle, and environmental stories as well as film reviews
Japan Forward
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
Takarazuka Kinen: Meisho Tabaru Claims Wire-to-Wire Victory
Although threatened by Bellagio Opera, Meisho Tabaru pulled away for a three-length victory. It was jockey Yutaka Take's fifth Takarazuka Kinen win. Yutaka Take rides Meisho Tabaru en route to victory in the 66th Takarazuka Kinen on June 15, 2025, at Hanshin Racecourse in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. (©SANKEI) Meisho Tabaru led wire-to-wire to capture his third graded and first G1 title in the Takarazuka Kinen on Sunday, June 15 at Hanshin Racecourse. In his previous start, the son of 2014 Takarazuka Kinen champion Gold Ship finished fifth in the Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800 meters) on April 5. On Sunday, trainer Mamoru Ishibashi, who won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) as a jockey in 2006 and opened his yard in 2014, registered his third graded and first G1 victory. Jockey Yutaka Take earned his 84th Japan Racing Association G1 title. It was Take's record-extending fifth win in the Grand Prix (All-Star) race. He also triumphed in the Takarazuka Kinen aboard Inari One (1989), Mejiro McQueen (1993), Marvelous Sunday (1997) and Deep Impact (2006). A winning combination: jockey Yutaka Take and Meisho Tabaru. (©SANKEI) Quick out of stall 12, 4-year-old Meisho Tabaru promptly took the front to set the pace and continued to lead the All-Star field through the backstretch. Although threatened by Bellagio Opera (Kazuo Yokoyama's ride) in the final corners, the Gold Ship colt found another gear after entering the stretch and pulled away tenaciously to capture his first G1 title with a comfortable three-length victory. ( Watch the 66th Takarazuka Kinen on the JRA's YouTube channel. ) Winning jockey Yutaka Take (©SANKEI) "My plan was to take the lead, and although I was unsure about the pace, I think we were able to race at just the right pace," the 56-year-old Take said. "I knew the other horses were going to make a bid early but my mount had good momentum going around the fourth corner and I was hoping that he would manage to push through." Meisho Tabaru completed the 2,200-meter race in 2 minutes, 11.1 seconds. Horses jockey for position as they reach the fourth corner in the 66th Takarazuka Kinen. (©SANKEI) Race favorite Bellagio Opera broke smoothly and settled in fourth, 2-3 lengths behind the front three runners. As the field approached the final corner, the Lord Kanaloa bay shifted to the outside to make a bid. Then he entered the lane in second and, though unable to display his usual late charge, he managed to hold off the strong charge from behind to secure the runner-up seat. Tenth choice Justin Palace (Michael Dee) saved ground around 14th, gradually switched to the outside in the backstretch and circled wide to enter the lane in 15th. The son of Deep Impact launched the fastest kick over the last three furlongs (35.1 seconds). And, while having too much ground to catch the front two finishers, he crossed the wire a neck behind the runner-up to finish third. Shonan la Punta (Hideaki Miyuki) and Chuck Nate (Damian Lane) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 17-horse race. The Sprinters Stakes is the JRA's next G1 race on September 28 at Nakayama Racecourse. Read the full report , including details on each of the Takarazuka Kinen entrants, on JRA News. Author: JRA News
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
How do some blockbuster disaster movies stack up against real science?
From fiery asteroids to rogue planets, humanity's fascination with its own demise has fuelled countless blockbuster films. End-of-the-world movies captivate us with their spectacle and suspense, but how do they stack up against real science? Let's explore some iconic apocalypse films and rate which ones get close to plausible science and which ones veer into pure fantasy. The scientifically plausible, kind of… Deep Impact (1998) Deep Impact starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Morgan Freeman Plot: A comet is on a collision course with Earth, threatening mass extinction. Science Check: This one gets a lot right. Comets (icy, rocky bodies from the outer solar system) could indeed strike Earth, as they have in the past (think of the Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago — although this is widely believed to have been caused by an asteroid not a comet). The film's depiction of a global effort to deflect the comet with nuclear weapons aligns with real-world concepts like NASA's planetary defence strategies, including the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which successfully altered an asteroid's orbit in 2022. Where it stretches plausibility is in the timeline, detecting a comet just months before impact is unlikely with today's tech, which can spot near-Earth objects years in advance. Still, the tsunami-causing aftermath of a smaller fragment hitting the Atlantic? That's a chillingly realistic touch. Accuracy Rating: 7/10. Nails comet impacts and deflection but stretches the detection timeline. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) The Day After Tomorrow starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Emmy Rossum, and Ian Holm Plot: Climate change triggers a sudden ice age, with superstorms and flash-freezing chaos. Science Check: This film takes a kernel of truth and runs wild with it. The idea of a disrupted Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a key ocean current that regulates global climate, has basis in science. Studies suggest that melting polar ice from climate warming have weakened this system, and under high emissions scenarios it could collapse, which would cool Europe and the planet overall; however, scientists aren't sure about the timing this could happen — it's a hot (or cold) topic. But the movie's hyper-accelerated timeline (days instead of decades) and dramatic effects, like tornadoes shredding Los Angeles or New York freezing solid in hours, are pure Hollywood. Real climate shifts are gradual, not instant, and liquid nitrogen-style freezing of humans? Thermodynamically absurd. Accuracy Rating: 4/10. AMOC disruption is real, but the rest is cinematic craic. Interstellar (2014) Anne Hathaway as Amelia in Interstellar. Picture: Warner Bros/Paramount/Melinda Sue Gordon Plot: Earth becomes uninhabitable due to crop failures and dust storms, prompting a search for a new home via a wormhole. Science Check: Interstellar earns points for ambition. The film consulted physicist Kip Thorne, ensuring its wormhole and black hole visuals (like Gargantua's accretion disk) were grounded in relativity theory. Crop blight wiping out food supplies is a plausible threat, fungal pathogens and climate change do endanger global agriculture. However, the idea of Earth becoming a dust-choked wasteland in mere decades is exaggerated; such a collapse would likely take centuries. The wormhole? Theoretically possible, but we've no evidence they exist or could be navigated. Accuracy Rating: 7/10. Blight and dust are credible, but the speed and wormhole travel are speculative. The scientifically absurd Armageddon (1998) Armageddon with Bruce Willis Plot: A Texas-sized asteroid threatens Earth, and oil drillers are sent to nuke it from the inside. Science Check: Armageddon is a rollercoaster of nonsense. An asteroid that big (1,000 km wide) would obliterate Earth on impact, no drilling required. Splitting it with a nuke wouldn't work either; you'd need energy far exceeding all human-made explosives combined, and the fragments would still rain down catastrophically. Plus, training drillers to be astronauts in days? NASA would sooner train astronauts to drill. It's a thrilling ride, but it's about as scientific as a cartoon. Accuracy Rating: 1/10. Gets the asteroid threat vaguely right but flunks physics and logistics. 2012 (2009) 2012 starring John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson Plot: Neutrinos from a solar flare heat Earth's core, causing continents to shift and mega-tsunamis to ensue. Science Check: This one's a doomsday fever dream. Neutrinos, near-massless particles that pass through matter, are incapable of heating Earth's core. Science says no, but the film says 'yes, and here's tsunamis'. The idea of 'solar flares' triggering pole shifts or crust displacement is geological gibberish, plate tectonics don't work that way, and shifts take millions of years, not hours. The arks saving humanity are a nice touch, but the science here is a Mayan prophecy-level stretch. Accuracy Rating: 0/10 —Pure fantasy with zero scientific grounding. The Core (2003) The Core: In a last-ditch effort to restart the planet's failing magnetic field, scientists and astronauts must set off a nuclear device at the center of the Earth. 2003 film starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, and Stanley Tucci Plot: Earth's core mysteriously stops spinning, so a team drills down to detonate nukes and restart it. Science Check: Where to begin? The core stopping would take an incomprehensible force (far beyond anything natural) and would disrupt Earth's magnetic field gradually, not instantly. Drilling to the core is impossible with current tech; the deepest hole ever (Kola Superdeep Borehole) reached just 12 kilometres, versus the 2,900 kilometres to the outer core. And nukes restarting it? Angular momentum doesn't work like a car engine. This film's a wild sci-fi romp, not a science lesson. Although there is a factually correct documentary by the same name... and I know a lecturer who accidentally played the wrong core movie to their university class. They shall remain anonymous. Accuracy Rating: 0/10. A wild sci-fi ride with no scientific legs. Why we love the apocalypse anyway Whether they nail the science or fling it out the window, end-of-the-world films tap into our primal fears and hopes. Films such as Deep Impact and Interstellar remind us of real threats, asteroids, climate change, resource depletion, while offering heroic solutions. Meanwhile, Armageddon and 2012 lean into absurdity, prioritising explosions over equations. Scientifically accurate or not, they all ask: How would we face the end? And that's a question worth pondering, even if the neutrinos stay harmless and the core keeps spinning. So, next time you're watching an apocalyptic blockbuster, enjoy the ride and just don't bet on it being a documentary.
