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Historic “All Sky” Map
This historic all-sky map is based on the first two years of data from NASA’s COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, launched in November of 1989. The map shows minute temperature variations (red is hotter) imprinted on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation by structures in the early Universe. Link (via Neatorama)
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IceWeasel, Even Freer Than Firefox
IceWeasel is a version of the Firefox browser created for use in “free” operating systems like Debian which try to eschew any element that can’t be freely reused by anyone, for any reason. Iceweasel was developed because Firefox and the Firefox logo are trademarked, and because some of the default Firefox plugins can’t be freely…
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We’ve Got Lots of Company
As our ability to detect smaller extrasolar planets gets better, we’re finding that our galaxy “teems” with Earthlike planets. The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a trove of fast-moving “candidate” planets in a narrow region near the very center of the Milky Way, and astronomers say there must be billions more of them — including…
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Scientists Teleport “Large” Molecule
Until now scientists have teleported similar objects such as light or single atoms over short distances from one spot to another in a split second.But Professor Eugene Polzik and his team at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University in Denmark have made a breakthrough by using both light and matter.“It is one step further…
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For the Man who Has Everything
This year’s Neiman Marcus holiday catalogue offers gift seekers the perfect idea for the loved one who wants to get away from it all: a space trip that includes a spectacular view of Earth and a chance to experience weightlessness. For a mere $1.76 million you can charter a private space flight for six passengers…
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Robert Anton Wilson Needs Our Help
He’s in the process of dying, and on the brink of poverty. See this article over at BoingBoing to see how you can help.Update: It looks as though fans were more than generous. Yay, SF community! Link
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Discworld Wedding Cake
A very talented baker with far too much time on her hands made this gorgeous wedding cake in the form of the Great A’Tuin, the galactic turtle on whose back the four elephants that support Terry Pratchett’s Discworld stand. Landmasses are coloured, and the seas are added by “flooding” the low areas with blue liquid…
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Well, That Makes Me Feel Much Better
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are going to attempt to make mini Big Bangs. “These beams will have the kinetic energy of an aircraft carrier slammed into the size of a zero on a 20p piece,” Brian Cox of Manchester University told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement…
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Mars Rover Opportunity Reaches Rim of Victoria Crater
It was never supposed to get this far, so this is a big deal. The rover beamed black-and-white images back to Earth showing the crater interior complete with hanging rocky cliffs and rippling sand dunes on its floor. Link
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John M. Ford 1957-2006
John M. “Mike” Ford passed away early yesterday morning. Cause of death is still unknown.Author of _How Much for Just the Planet_, _Growing Up Weightless_, The Last Hot Time_ and many others.