The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the most ambitious astronomical survey project ever undertaken, the task of mapping the universe and determining our place in it. SDSS is systematically mapping a quarter of the entire sky, producing a detailed image of it and determining the positions and absolute brightnesses of more than 100 million celestial objects. It is also measuring the distances to a million of the nearest galaxies, giving us a three-dimensional picture of the universe through a volume one hundred times larger than that explored to date. SDSS is also recording the distances to 100,000 quasars — the most distant objects known — giving us unprecedented knowledge of the distribution of matter to the edge of the visible universe.
Here we chart Joy Division/New Order's influence, from alt-rock acts that cop its sound to the Hot Topic goths who mimic original singer Ian Curtis' gloomy outlook.
Learn how to make a bottle of Mountain Dew glow in the dark using some only some peroxide and baking soda. This guy deserves some kind of Sciencey thing award or something...
For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them. Now some surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix.
The 40th anniversary of revolutionary Che Guevara's death is Tuesday, October 9th. Regardless, if you feel he is a hero or low down commie, it still is a historical event worth remembering. Personally, I find it ironic that his image is a multi-million dollar industry which is totally contrary to his beliefs. I also like his quote "Hasta la victoria siempre." Basically it means 'always unto victory', which has always inspired me just on it's face value.
Drunk intruders broke into the famed Orsay Museum in Paris, through a back door, early Sunday and punched a hole in a renowned work by Impressionist painter Claude Monet. I visited this museum when I was in Paris and I can't recall if I saw the painting. Anyways, it's still a sad story. Click on the pic and you can see the damage on the center right of the painting.
