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Satellite reveals treasure trove of data, including evidence for early universe neutrinos

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:36:17 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

A NASA satellite built in partnership with Princeton scientists has uncovered evidence that a sea of neutrinos -- almost weightless elementary particles that zip around at nearly the speed of light -- permeates the universe.

The discovery, announced March 7 by NASA, is part of a treasure trove of findings gleaned from five years of data collected by the Wilkinson Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). This includes clear evidence the first stars took more than a half billion years to create a cosmic fog and a far better understanding of the burst of expansion in the universe's first trillionth of a second.

The results are contained in seven papers submitted this week to the Astrophysical Journal.

"We are living in an extraordinary time," said Gary Hinshaw of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Ours is the first generation in human history to make such detailed and far-reaching measurements of our universe."

Tags: science, satellite

Large Binocular Telescope Achieves First Binocular Light

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:49:18 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Astronomers hail the first views with twin giant mirrors as a milestone for science.

Clip Source: uanews.org

LBT first binocular light image

shows a false-color rendition of the spiral galaxy NGC 2770

Clip Source: uanews.org

LBT first binocular light image

combines deep red colors to highlight the smoother distribution of older, cooler stars.

Clip Source: uanews.org

LBT first binocular light image

is a composite of ultraviolet, green and deep red light and enhances the detailed structure of hot, moderate and cool stars in the galaxy.

Tags: space, astronomy

Top Ten Grammar Myths

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:45:31 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Seems like a pretty good website as well. Check the source for details.

Clip Source: grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Grammar Girl's Top 10 Language Myths

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.

Wrong!

9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word however.

Wrong!

8. Irregardless is not a word

Wrong!

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in s

Wrong!

6. Passive voice is always wrong

Wrong!

5. I.e. and e.g. mean the same thing

Wrong!

4. You use a before words that start with consonants and an before words that start with vowels.

Wrong!

3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good."

Wrong!

2. You shouldn't split infinitives

Wrong!

And now, the number one grammar myth, which my Twitter friends chose over splitting infinitives [fanfare music]

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition

Wrong!

Tags: grammer

Iran: Fashionistas Push Back Against Strict Dress Code

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:50:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.rferl.org

Ali Mohammadi -- or Ali M., as he likes to be called -- spends most of his salary on trendy clothes, haircuts, and expensive skincare products. He is just one of many Iranians for whom fashion -- besides being fun -- has become a form of protest against the country's strict Islamic dress code.

A woman in custody after being rounded up for a dress-code violation in Tehran in July

"I just got a new haircut and had my eyebrows shaped," Ali M. says over the phone from Tehran, jokingly but with a hint of pride in his voice.

In recent months, Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on Iranians who violate the dress code, which requires women to wear the head scarf and prohibits men from wearing short-sleeve shirts or ties. But that hasn't stopped legions of women and men from dressing as stylishly

Tags: iran, culture, religion

Chandigarh, India - Pot of gold

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:26:57 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

CHANDIGARH, India: Every working day for the past 20 years, Suresh Kanwar, a civil engineer in Chandigarh's forestry department, has been sitting on the same battered wooden chair, an object which he said had "no beauty," even if it was, "for office use, very comfortable."

Hazarding a guess as to its value, he suggested 400 rupees, or $10, "perhaps, at a junkyard."

A pair of identical chairs, instantly recognizable to collectors as Pierre Jeanneret teak "V-chairs," will go on sale at the auction house Christie's in New York this month with a reserve of $8,000 to $12,000.

A handful of antique dealers from around the world have become regular visitors to government junkyards in Chandigarh, the experimental modernist city 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, north of New Delhi, conceived by the architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. They buy up disused stocks of furniture that was specially created by Corbusier's colleagues to fit out the new city.

Tags: antique, india

Archaeologists unveil new finds at digs for subway in downtown Rome

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:23:12 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

ROME: A sixth-century copper factory, medieval kitchens still stocked with pots and pans and remains of Renaissance palaces are among the finds unveiled Friday by archaeologists digging up Rome in preparation for a new subway line.

Archaeologists have been probing the depths of the Eternal City at 38 digs often set up near famous monuments or on key thoroughfares.

Over the last nine months, remains including Roman taverns and 16th-century palace foundations have turned up at the central Piazza Venezia and near the ancient Forum where works are paving the way for one of the 30 stations of Rome's third subway line.

"The medieval and Renaissance finds that were brought to light in Piazza Venezia are extremely important for their rarity," said archaeologist Mirella Serlorenzi, who is working on the site.

Serlorenzi said that among the most significant discoveries in a ninth-century kitchen were three pots that were used to heat sauce. Only two others had been found previously in Italy.

Tags: archaeology, rome

The Real Islam By William Dalrymple

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:56:23 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.time.com

A tale of two opposing visions of Islamic afterlife—one mystical, the other orthodox—in eternal conflict

HOLY QUEST: Early morning at the Nizamuddin shrine in New Delhi, where Sufis pray to find their way in this life and the path to the next

What you must understand is this," said Amin, stroking his long, straggly beard. "Sufism is not Islamic. It is jadoo: magic tricks. It is superstition. It has nothing to do with real Islam."

To one side lay the destination to which the crowds of pilgrims were heading: a warren of alleys and bazaars leading toward the shrine of India's most revered Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

Nizamuddin was a 14th century Muslim mystic who withdrew from the world and preached a message of prayer, love and the unity of all things.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Tags: islam, sufism, india