This is a deep field image of the Orion nebulea (M42). It's the little glowy patch that you see along Orion's belt on winter nights. If you look closely at the left hand side, you can see the tiny Horse-head nebulea which is a region of dark gas back lite by the bright reflection nebulea.
Orion is an area of intense study. This is a stellar nursery that is home to many infant stars- t-tauri variables and ZAMS (Zero-Aged Main Sequence stars). The luminosity of young O and B embedded within th
Jupiter's Little Red Spot Growing Stronger
Press Release: 10.10.06
Nasa- Goddard Space Flight Center
Source Link
These are two views of Jupiter's Little Red Spot taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in April 2006. The left image is a close-up view. In the right image, a box has been added to show the Little Red Spot's location on Jupiter. The larger Great Red Spot, which has been observed for the past 400 years, can be seen to the right. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / Amy Simon-Miller
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Hubble's main camera hobbles back to life
October 2, 2006
David Shiga for NewScientist.com
Source Link
Hubble's most frequently used instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), is partially functioning again, after shutting down unexpectedly last week.
Before it shut down on 23 September, the ACS was Hubble's most frequently used instrument. It uses three channels that are essentially three different cameras, and the problem began shortly after Hubble's managers attempted to swit
I have contributed some old eighties slang to the urban dictionary. There is, of course, much more of it. This is all I've written up so far. [entries in red have not been accepted yet.]
The Urban Dictionary is pretty raunchy but where was I going to find out what a filthy-Sanchez was? Wikipedia?
Disgusting alert! Be warned- it gets ugly below.
organ-spasm
A mind-blowing, earth-shaking orgasm so intense that you never forget it. It must be something of a religious e
Hubble Telescope's Main Camera Fails
Associated Press
9/25/06
Source Link
The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down unexpectedly for the second time this year, the operators of the orbiting observatory announced Friday.
The Space Telescope Science Institute, which coordinates use of the telescope, said the camera shut down Saturday. Program managers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and at the institute were investigating the cause and what action
Astronomers Gain Important Insight on How Massive Stars Form
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Press Release
September 27th, 2006
Source Link
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope have discovered key evidence that may help them figure out how very massive stars can form.
"We think we know how stars like the Sun are formed, but there are major problems in determining how a star 10 times more massive than the Sun can accumulate t
Japan launches Sun 'microscope'
By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News
Source Link
Scientists have high hopes for Japan's Solar-B mission which has been launched from the Uchinoura spaceport.
The spacecraft will investigate the colossal explosions in the Sun's atmosphere known as solar flares.
These dramatic events release energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs in just a few minutes.
The probe will attempt to find out more about the magneti
Something really awesome is happening on the web!
The Royal Society of London is opening 340 years worth of its archives to the public until December.
Now, free of charge, you have the oppertunity to download and look at the works of some of the giants of science like Hawkins, Einstien, Pauling, Chandrasekhar, Bohr, Herschel, Kelvin, Liebnitz, Maxwell, Newton, Rutherford and many, many more.
Of course I'm biased towards the physical sciences, but biology is covered too. Watson, Crick
NASA's Hubble Finds Hundreds of Young Galaxies in Early Universe
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NASA Press Release:
September 21, 2006
PRESS RELEASE NO.: STScI-PR06-12
Source Link
NASA'S HUBBLE FINDS HUNDREDS OF YOUNG GALAXIES IN EARLY UNIVERSE
Astronomers analyzing two of the deepest views of the cosmos made with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered a gold mine of galaxies, more than 500 that existed less than a bil
A 'Genetic Study' Of The Galaxy
Galactic Bulge and Disc Stars Shown To Have Different Oxygen Abundances
ESO 34/06 - Science Release
12 September 2006
Source Link
Part of one of the four regions of the sky in the direction of the Galactic Bulge in which the astronomers measured the iron and oxygen abundances in stars. This particular field is in the vicinity of the so-called 'Baade's Window', a region with relatively low amounts of interstellar "dust" that could block the sight
I spent the last couple of weeks commuting back and forth to Gulfport. I was doing a job overseeing the installation of a business network. Actually- the business was rebuilt after a certain be-yach of a hurricane blew most of it to Wiggins. It took almost a year to get a construction company that wasn't booked up.
They must be well practiced as they went from concrete slab to interior finishing in Three weeks. It's like watching mushrooms pop up after the rain.
I see some definite adva
Back in the eighties if you had anything to do with computer programming, Borland's Turbo Pascal and Turbo C were all the rage. Borland created Intergrated Development Environments (IDEs) that allowed programmers to write, edit, compile and debug code all in one program. Since then, IDEs have become something of an industry standard like JavaBeans and Eclipse.
Well, Borland is back!
You can download for free Turbo Explorer compilers for C++, C# and Delphi. Free is always the right pric
Spacecraft strikes Moon with intense flash
September 3, 2006
Hazel Muir for
NewScientist.com
Source Link
The SMART-1 lunar probe crashed into the Moon right on cue on Sunday morning. Mission controllers at the European Space Agency lost contact with the probe at 0542 GMT, indicating that it had struck close to the planned landing site on the lunar
NFC 2006 Preview/Predictions
NFC North
Bears- the Bears have improved steadily over the last 3 years. With a draft that improved their depth on both sides of the ball and 22 starters back from their division winning team of last season, I expect them to continue this trend. If they can add some punch to their passing game, they could make some noise in the playoffs. They are the team to beat in the North.
Vikings- the Vikes have made some major moves bringing in Brad Johnson, a lo
Coming up Oct. 1st, I'll have been clean and sober for two years.
At first it was really hard passing up the sleezy bars and liquor stores. I really missed going to meet dangerous characters in dangerous allies to buy weed.
Being drunk and stoned was for a while.. liberating. I do something stupid my friends would laugh it off. I was really drunk at the time was like a get out of trouble free card. Sorry I screwed your boyfriend at the party. I was so drunk I can barely remember it.
Astronomers lean toward eight planets
August 22, 2006
Stephen Battersby, Prague
NewScientist.com
Source Link
Finally, astronomers could be homing in on a definition of the word planet. After a day of public bickering in Prague, followed by negotiations behind closed doors, the latest draft resolution was greeted with a broadly friendly reception.
If accepted on Thursday, it would be bad news for Pluto, which would no longer be a full-fledged planet.
The crucial change in "draft
In the year 2012 an astronomer discovers that in six months an asteroid will collide with the earth destroying all life. NO problem! A highly trained international team of astronauts is ready to save the earth. They didn't count on a stow-away.
Raccoon on a Space Shuttle
Staring:
Robert Hayes as Mission Commander Stryker
Leslie Nielson as the President
Billy Bob Thornton as the folksy Mission Control Guy
Scott Bakula as the nice, sincere guy that gets killed in a l
Nine Planets Become 12 with Controversial New Definition
Robert Roy Britt, Senior Science Writer
August 16, 2006
Source Link
The 12 planets under the newly proposed IAU definition. Planet sizes are shown to scale but their orbital distances are not to scale. Credit: IAU/Martin Kornmesser
In proposing a new planet definition, the International Astronomical Union put 12 objects on a watch list of candidates that need further study. They are shown here to scale with Earth. Credit: I
Cats are superior to kids in all respects.
Forget to feed a cat and he will go out and kill something. Try that with kids and the welfare will come after you.
Cats kill vermin. Kids attract vermin.
Kids are messy. Cats, with the exception of litter-box and cat-fur, are exceptionally clean.
Cats are independent. Kids are always whining "Mummy, Mummy!"
Kids are noisy. Cats are usually quiet unless they are hungry.
Petting a cat will lower your blood pressure. Dealing with
Is America Punch-Drunk?
American history is lousy with them. The twentieth century started with one. World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the 50 year Cold War, the Gulf War, Somalia, a hundred other conflicts that only historians remember and finally rounding out the nineties, we just couldn
I recently got hold of two programs that I love dearly: Mathematica and Delphi 2006.
Niether are cheap- both run about $100 if you are a student or teacher. If not, they'll run 10 times that.
Delphi 2006 is the latest incarnation of Borlands Object Pascal and C++. It is a industrial strength programming environment with debugger and lots of bells & whistles. It produces lightning fast executable code. While I am not the worlds greatest C++ programmer, I am a competent Pascal programm
Where are the supermassive black holes hiding?
26 July 2006
ESA Press Release
Source Link
This artist's impression shows the thick dust torus that astronomers believe surrounds many supermassive black holes and their accretion discs. When the torus is seen edge-on as in this case, much of the light emitted by the accretion disc is blocked, creating a "hidden" black hole.
However, the sharp gamma-ray and X-ray eyes of Integral can peer through the thick dust and identify the bl
New Life in Dead Star: Supernova 'Changing Right Before Our Eyes'
Ker Than for Space.com
July 24, 2006
Source Link
This image of SN 1987A combines data from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory and the 8-meter Gemini South infrared telescope in Chile. The X-ray light detected by Chandra is colored blue. The infrared light detected by Gemini South is shown as green and red. The ring is produced by hot gas (largely the X-ray light) and cold dust (largely the infrared light) from t
Stellar explosion revealed in unique detail
David Shiga for NewScientist.com news service
July 19, 2006
Source Link
The material collected from the red giant leads to a nuclear explosion on the surface of its companion, a white dwarf star (Artist's impression: David A Hardy/PPARC)
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An unprecedented glimpse of the blast wave from an erupting star has been seen by astronomers.
The new view suggests the binary
