Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory, flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small, irregular galaxies form stars too. In fact dwarf galaxy IC 2574 shows clear evidence of intense star forming activity in its telltale pinkish regions of glowing hydrogen gas. Just as in […]
The United Nations has instructions for what to do when contact is made with extraterrestrials. At least that is what Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka claimed during an interview on Chinese TV. Speaking from the International Space Station, Padalka stated, “The UN and representatives of China have developed detailed instructions in case of the first contact.” […]
Dressed in pure white from head to toe and escorted by their fathers, the eight girls in the God’s Girls Ministry who participated in a Purity Ring Ceremony vowed to lead a life of purity and to abstain from sexual relations until marriage. … During the ceremony held last Sunday at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, […]
By the time Uri arrived at the apartment the next afternoon, all of my equipment was operative and in place. Two of my Israeli friends were present, Jacov and Ms. Shifra Mor. I began by asking Uri to show me those talents of his that he felt the most sure of and to do them […]
[ZOOM] Salt Lake City photographer Royce Bair uses digital cameras and what he describes as a ‘copious collection of portable incandescent and flash lighting equipment’ to capture his unique views of the night sky over Utah’s spectacular canyons. His shots of Wall Street Canyon at Bryce Canyon National Park with the stars of our own […]
Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer’s-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans. Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter with colleagues in the National Institute on Aging […]
In his online column, New York Times science writer James Gorman gives his humble scientific opinion on the Ridley Scott sci-fi thriller Prometheus, which opened in theaters last Friday. It’s “creationism for geeks,” he says, the type that science-fiction writers and scientists have long indulged in. He’s quick to point out that this type of […]
Kindergarten students at a New York City elementary school were banned from performing the song “God Bless the USA” at their graduation ceremony. PS 90 principal Greta Hawkins said the song was not age appropriate and could end up “offending other cultures.” But the song’s author, country music artist Lee Greenwood, said that as a […]
In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, “This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent.” Of course, M13 is now modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. […]
A man who suffered concussion after diving into a shallow pool has made a seemingly improbable discovery: it made him a musical genius. Derek Amato, from Denver, Colorado, is just one of 30 people in the entire world suffering from Acquired Savant Syndrome, where people display profound abilities after suffering head trauma. After years of […]
