2009.01.16
Washington Post:
Mars Vents Methane in What Could Be Sign of Life.
"Even if turns out that the Martian methane is from
non-biological processes -- a far less dramatic
prospect -- that would nonetheless reshape thinking
about the planet, which scientists thought to be
geologically dead and chemically unlikely to
produce much of the gas."
Science News:
Milky Way As Massive As 3 Trillion Suns.
"... the Milky Way is about 50 percent heavier than
[previously] calculated, bringing it up to par with
Andromeda" ...
"The radio observations yielded another
surprise.... From these observations, the team
deduced that the Milky Way must have four spiral
arms: two dominant ones that include both new stars
traced by the VLBA observations along with old
stars seen by Spitzer; and two other arms that
contain only newborn stars. "
2009.01.04
BBC:
Mars rovers roll on to five years.
"The first robot, named Spirit, landed on 3
January, 2004, followed by its twin, Opportunity,
21 days later. It was hoped the robots would work
for at least three months; but their longevity in
the freezing Martian conditions has surprised
everyone."
2009.01.01
Dave Barry, The Washington Post:
The Year in Review.
"How weird a year was it? Here's how weird:
"O.J. actually got convicted of something.
"Gasoline hit $4 a gallon -- and those were the good times.
"On several occasions, ‘Saturday Night Live’ was funny."
Wikipedia:
List of common misconceptions.
"It is sometimes claimed that half, or more than
half, of all humans who were ever born are alive
today.... [E]ven adopting conservative values
regarding the origins of humanity, a significantly
lower proportion of the human population is
currently alive."
John Stump:
Faeries Aire and Death Waltz.
"Release the penguins!"
