Johnald's Fantastical Daily Link Splurge

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Why does Robin Hood keep coming back?

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 09:15 AM PDT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8013179.stm

Mysterious Space Blob Discovered At Cosmic Dawn

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 08:50 AM PDT

Using information from a suite of telescopes, astronomers have discovered a mysterious, giant object that existed at a time when the universe was only about 800 million years old. Objects such as this one are dubbed extended Lyman-Alpha blobs; they are huge bodies of gas that may be precursors to galaxies.

First Time Ever: The Most Elusive Molecule Has Been Created

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 08:50 AM PDT

A molecule that until now existed only in theory has finally been made. Known as a Rydberg molecule, it is formed through an elusive and extremely weak chemical bond between two atoms. The new type of bonding, reported in Nature, occurs because one of the two atoms in the molecule has an electron very far from its nucleus or centre.

The Black Cloud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 08:49 AM PDT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cloud

'Richard Dawkins at American Atheists 09' by Richard Dawkins - RichardDawkins.net

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 08:39 AM PDT

http://richarddawkins.net/article,3752,n,n

A Swarm of Ancient Stars

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 08:10 AM PDT

This stellar swarm is M80 (NGC 6093), one of the densest of the 147 known globular star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Located about 28,000 light-years from Earth, M80 contains hundreds of thousands of stars, all held together by their mutual gravitational attraction.

Busted! The Sneaky Moves of Antisocial Smartphone Users

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 06:14 AM PDT

(17 votes - 3 comments - 285 views)
In this funny (and actually poignant) 3-minute talk, social strategist Renny Gleeson breaks down our always-on social world -- where the experience we're having right now is less interesting than what we'll tweet about it later. (TED)

Sharpless 308

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 06:06 AM PDT

Sharpless 308 Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 308 it lies some 5,200 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major and covers over 2/3 degree on the sky (compared with 1/2 degree for the Full Moon). That corresponds to a diameter of 60 light-years at its estimated distance. The massive star itself, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright blue one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution. The windblown nebula has an age of about 70,000 years. Relatively faint emission captured in the expansive image is dominated by the glow of ionized oxygen atoms mapped to bluish hues.

YouTube - Mythbusters pancaked car HD

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 03:50 AM PDT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJU6sbf8Ng&fmt=22

WE HAVE BANANAS: 5 Fantastic Surreal Films You've Probably Never Heard Of

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 03:49 AM PDT

http://wehavebananas.blogspot.com/2009/04/5-fantastic-surreal-films-youve.html