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Comet Holmes' display captivates stargazers

Julie Steenhuysen
Reuters
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:10 CST

The normally sedate Comet Holmes made a bright splash in the sky about two weeks ago, unexpectedly becoming a million times brighter than normal overnight and causing a stir among astronomers.

©REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and H. Weaver/The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Handout

A Hubble image (R), taken November 4, 2007, shows the heart of Comet 17P/Holmes. The central portion of the image has been specially processed to highlight variations in the dust distribution near the nucleus. About twice as much dust lies along the east-west direction (the horizontal direction) as along the north-south direction (the vertical direction), giving the comet a "bow tie" appearance. The composite color image at left, taken on November 1, 2007, by an amateur astronomer shows the complex structure of the entire coma, consisting of concentric shells of dust and a faint tail emanating from the comet's right side.

Weird dinosaur was "cow of the Mesozoic"

Maggie Fox
Reuters
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:48 CST

A strange-looking dinosaur with rows of tiny teeth crammed into the very front of its jaws and fragile air-filled bones may have been the "cow of the Mesozoic," and far more common than better-known dinosaurs, scientists said on Thursday.

©REUTERS/Mike Hettwer-National Geographic/Handout

An artist's rendition of Nigersaurus taqueti, a 110 million-year old sauropod from the Sahara is shown in this undated handout image from National Geographic. A reconstruction of the dinosaur will be on display at the National Geographic Museum at Explorer's Hall in Washington until March 18, 2008.

Surfer dude stuns physicists with theory of everything

The Telegraph
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:24 CST

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which as received rave reviews from scientists.

Garrett Lisi, 39, has a doctorate but no university affiliation and spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii, where he has also been a hiking guide and bridge builder (when he slept in a jungle yurt).

©Telegraph

The E8 pattern (left), Garrett Lisi surfing (middle) and out of the water (right)

Comment: Arkadiusz Jadczyk remarks about this work:

After looking through the paper I had the following image: suppose you are to put the Rubik cube in the right order. You proceed and you "almost got it". Yet this is not the way, to really get it. You need to go back to your original point and start with another move at the very start.

There are few nice things there - that are generally expected to have its place: E8 (related to octonions) and Clifford bundles (Waldyr Rodrigues used them extensively in his recent monograph).

I wish Garrett well, yet I have an impression that sooner or later someone will find a serious flaw in his model.

Certainly it is not the solution to the main problem of physics, which is to understand the quantum theory.

Look Up! Comet Holmes Bigger Than The Sun

David Jewitt
University of Hawaii
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:04 CST

Formerly, the Sun was the largest object in the Solar System. Now, comet 17P/Holmes holds that distinction.

Comment: The same image is available from the University of Hawaii as a 300 dpi tif file.

Small planets forming in the Pleiades

Reuters
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:13 CST

Small, rocky planets that could resemble the Earth or Mars may be forming around a star in the Pleiades star cluster, astronomers reported on Wednesday.

©REUTERS/ Gemini Observatory/Lynette R. Cook

An artist's rendering of what the environment around Pleiades star HD 23514 might look like as two planets collide. Small, rocky planets that could resemble the Earth or Mars may be forming around a star in the Pleiades star cluster, astronomers reported on Wednesday.

New hydrogen storage material found

United Press International
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:05 CST

©Unknown

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

University of Virginia scientists said they discovered a new class of hydrogen storage materials that could make storing and transporting energy more efficient.

Clean, Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen On The Horizon

Energy Daily
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:51 CST

Hydrogen as an everyday, environmentally friendly fuel source may be closer than we think, according to Penn State researchers. "The energy focus is currently on ethanol as a fuel, but economical ethanol from cellulose is 10 years down the road," says Bruce E. Logan, the Kappe professor of environmental engineering. "First you need to break cellulose down to sugars and then bacteria can convert them to ethanol."

©Unknown

Hydrogen produced from cellulose and other renewable organic materials could be blended with natural gas for use in natural gas vehicles.

Alternative fuels may boost pollution

Agence France-Presse
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:45 CST

Some alternative vehicle fuels such as liquid coal can cause more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than polluters such as petrol or diesel, scientists warned in a US study released Tuesday.

©Unknown

Experts find jawbone of pre-human great ape in Kenya

Katie Nguyen
Reuters
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:57 CST

A Kenyan scientist holds a fossil at the Kenya National Museum in Nairobi November 13, 2007.

Researchers unveiled a 10-million-year-old jaw bone on Tuesday they believe belonged to a new species of great ape that could be the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans.

Unknown health impact of nanotech worries some

Amanda Beck
Reuters
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:47 CST

Nanotechnology has been hailed as the science of the future, with micro-particles already powering innovations that remove lines from faces, strengthen beer bottles and clean clothing without water.

Yet early studies also indicate some of these particles, enabled by the latest in engineering science, can cause cancer.

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