and now for something COMPLETELY different

thought this was of interest (well it is to me)

Hubble Finds Unidentified Object in Space, Scientists Puzzled

This is exactly why we send astronauts to risk their life to service Hubble: in a paper published last week in the Astrophysical Journal, scientists detail the discovery of a new unidentified object in the middle of nowhere. I don't know about you, but when a research paper conclusion says "We suggest that the transient may be one of a new class" I get a chill of oooh-aaahness down my spine. Especially when after a hundred days of observation, it disappeared from the sky with no explanation. Get your tinfoil hats out, because it gets even weirder.

The object also appeared out of nowhere. It just wasn't there before. In fact, they don't even know where it is exactly located because it didn't behave like anything they know. Apparently, it can't be closer than 130 light-years but it can be as far as 11 billion light-years away. It's not in any known galaxy either. And they have ruled out a supernova too. It's something that they have never encountered before. In other words: they don't have a single clue about where or what the heck this thing is..........

here's the paper (in pdf form)

DISCOVERY OF AN UNUSUAL OPTICAL TRANSIENT WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE 1
K. Barbary2,3, K. S. Dawson3, K. Tokita4, G. Aldering3, R. Amanullah5, N. V. Connolly6, M. Doi4, L. Faccioli7,
V. Fadeyev8, A. S. Fruchter9, G. Goldhaber2,3, A. Goobar5, A. Gude2, X. Huang2, Y. Ihara4, K. Konishi10,
M. Kowalski11, C. Lidman12, J. Meyers2,3, T. Morokuma4,13, P. Nugent3, S. Perlmutter2,3, D. Rubin2,3,
D. Schlegel3, A. L. Spadafora3, N. Suzuki3, H. K. Swift2,3, N. Takanashi4, R. C. Thomas3,14, N. Yasuda10 (The
Supernova Cosmology Project)
Accepted to ApJ: September 8, 2008

we have some good news and some bad news

the GOOD news is sea voyages (cargo) can be cut by THOUSANDS of miles. the BAD news is, OUR PLANET IS DYING. (i was sitting next to two normal collage aged looking young men on friday afternoon. yes at the the half door. both of them (remember i said they looked 'normal') claimed they did NOT believe in global warming. it was a myth to 'scare us'. i don't understand their outlook. i really don't)


Images Show Arctic Ice Shrinking to Record Low

By Jamey Keaten Associated Press
PARIS, Sept. 15 -- Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane.
The European Space Agency said nearly 200 satellite photos this month showed an ice-free passage along northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, and ice retreating to its lowest level since such images were first taken in 1978.
The waters are exposing unexplored resources, and vessels could trim thousands of miles from Europe to Asia by bypassing the Panama Canal. The seasonal ebb and flow of ice levels has already opened up a slim summer window for ships.
Leif Toudal Pedersen of the Danish National Space Center said Arctic ice has shrunk to about 1 million square miles. The previous low was 1.5 million square miles, in 2005...........