Wow! No description can top that headline, so here it is again: “Hubble discovers 100 new planets”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3856401.stm
Oh, OK, here’s a quote: “_The discovery will lend support to the idea that almost every sunlike star in our galaxy, and probably the Universe, is accompanied by planets._”
With the ongoing controversy over global climate change, it’s interesting to look back at a big scientific controversy from the 80s and 90s, “CFCs and the ozone layer”:http://www.wunderground.com/education/ozone_skeptics.asp. The CFC industry fought change for 20 years, but it turned out to be a) a worse problem than even the “doomsayers” anticipated and b) less costly to fix than even the best estimates. A very complete overview of how science, business, and politics collide.
This is the _real_ reason why exploring space is important. We may think we know what we’re going to find, but we *don’t*. For example, a “comet in our own solar backyard”:http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/stardust_results_040319.html has “baffled space scientists”:http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/stardust_results_040617.html by refusing to conform to our ideas of how comets should act. Silly comet.
_A detailed analysis of the comet Wild 2 (pronounced “Vilt 2″) has left astronomers astounded at an object that has no known peers in the solar system._
_The comet, examined in a close flyby in January by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, has towering protrusions and steep-walled craters that seem to defy gravity. More than a dozen jets of material shoot out from its insides. Dust swirls around the comet in unexpectedly dense pockets._
This “interesting art project”:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/17/technology/circuits/17info.html sounds like the kind of thing I used to do with my 1972 World Book encyclopedia. It’s fun to take a random idea and riff on it by following links.
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A while back, I was talking to Steve about an example of how punctuation can make all the difference. Share and enjoy.
UPDATE: I originally posted this with just the link, but linkrot set in and made it less than useful. To avoid that again, I’m going to post the examples here. Note the effect of punctuation on meaning:
Dear John
I want a man who knows what love is all about.
You are generous, kind, thoughtful.
People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me for other men.
I yearn for you.
I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart.
I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours?Gloria
Dear John
I want a man who knows what love is.
All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you.
Admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn.
For you, I have no feelings whatsoever.
When we’re apart, I can be forever happy.
Will you let me be?Yours,
Gloria