A Diamond Bigger than Earth lurks in Constellation Centaurus

Like an episode out of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced in 2007 that the discovery of a mass of crystallized carbon formerly known as star BPM 37093, now known as the biggest diamond in the galaxy, is fifty light years away from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.

The star, named "Lucy" after the Beatles song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," is estimated to be 2,500 miles across and weighs approximately 10 billion-trillion-trillion-carats – a one, followed by 34 zeros. Travis Metcalfe, an astronomer from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leader of the team who discovered the gem, says “You would need a jeweler’s loupe the size of the sun to grade this diamond. Bill Gates and Donald Trump together couldn’t begin to afford it.”

The diamond is actually the crystallized interior of a white dwarf – or the hot core of a star that is left over after the star uses up its nuclear fuel and dies. It is made mostly of carbon and is coated by a thin layer of hydrogen and helium gases.

Five billion years from now, our sun will die and become a white dwarf. Approximately two billion years after that, its ember core will crystallize as well, leaving a giant diamond in the center of our solar system. A paper announcing this discovery has been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters for publication. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is a joint collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory. Scientists within the organization are classified into six research divisions where they study the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.

Posted by Casey Kazan @ The Daily Galaxy

Black nativity angers Italy's "White Xmas" party

It seems that the Italians have their racists too. We talk about the KKK, and other white hate groups, but none have the power that Italy’s Northern League Party has.

“A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party.

The nativity's appearance coincides with the League's controversial operation "White Christmas," a two-month sweep ending on Christmas Day to ferret out foreigners without proper permits in Coccaglio, a small League-led town east of Milan.”

Go here to read the rest.

Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance

I highly recommend this article for all Americans to read. This is a subject that has yet to get it’s due in the media. Not enough has been written about the serious challenges a woman faces in the modern military services.

I became aware of some of their challenges while attending local Stand Down’s for Veterans.

Some of the women I talked to said the exact same things that you’ll read in this well-written report. This is Part 1 of a 3-Part series by The Seattle Times.

Excerpt:

“Even near military bases, female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't often offered a drink on the house as a welcome home.

More than 230,000 American women have fought in those recent wars and at least 120 have died doing so, yet the public still doesn't completely understand their contributions on the modern battlefield.”

Go here to read the whole story.

Photo via Impact Lab which also offers many more photos of women in the military, and their historical involvement in the services.

California's neediest high school students have the least prepared teachers, study says

The good news: A steep drop in the total number of 'underprepared' teachers.

The bad: Aspiring teachers aren't being taught how to emphasize critical thinking skills and 'real world' learning.

Go here to read the whole story.

Future holiday meals may feature 'miracle meat'

By Dave Stancliff /For the Times-Standard

Posted: 12/13/2009 01:27:15 AM PST

December 2014 -- A typical American family gathers around a table to enjoy their holiday meal.

They might be celebrating Bodhi Day (Dec. 8th), Hanukkah (Dec. 12th), Christmas Day (Dec. 25th), or Kwanzaa (Dec. 26th).

The amazing thing about this season is a new culinary delight with something for everyone. Scientists have developed a meat -- the press dubbed it “miracle meat” -- that satisfies all the dietary needs of the various religious holidays.

Go here to read the rest.

Image via flickr: goatopolis

Extraordinary Usage For Lots of Coins

Extraordinary usage for lots of coins - without glue or scaffolding.

 Just very carefully put one coin on another. A few hours a day months of practice and maybe you will be able to do something similar to these structures?

Amazing physical law showed in a different way.

Go here to see more photos.

Teeing off on a golfing legend…

Via tigersholes.com

World's First Novel (1007): Tale of Genji

More than a thousand years ago, on 1007, a Japanese court lady put the finishing touches on what is considered the world's first novel.

Spanning 75 years, more than 350 characters, and brimming with romantic poems, the "Tale of Genji" tells the story of an emperor's son, his quest for love, and the many women he meets along the way. It is attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu.

Art and text via Bezbrige

A bad Santa is Collared in Ohio

Cops: Costumed Ohio man tried to abduct 12-year-old girl

 An Ohio man dressed as Santa Claus and carrying a red sack brimming with candy canes was arrested this morning after he allegedly tried to abduct a 12-year-old girl.

“According to cops, Anthony Russo, 46, was hiding in the bushes adjacent to a Parma intersection when he asked the girl, who was walking to school, to come to him.

When the child continued walking, Russo twice grabbed her arm, though the girl broke free and eventually sought help from a business owner.”

 Read the rest at The Smoking Gun

World record: 0.01mm nano-snowman

You're looking at the tiniest snowman ever built. Well, it looks like a snowman, but this minuscule model — about a fifth the width of a human hair — is not made out of snow.

It's constructed of two tiny tin beads that are usually used to calibrate an electron microscope, and welded together with platinum.

It's built by David Cox, a nanotech expert at the Quantum Detection Group of Britain's National Physical Laboratory. He's accustomed to working with such astonishingly small objects, and used his nano-particle manipulation tools to demonstrate the astonishing accuracy of his work.

He bathed the snowman in blue light to give us this entertaining, snow-blown image. The remarkable flourish of his smiling snowman is its little happy face, carved into the top orb using a focused ion beam. That's no small feat.

Daily Mail, via Gizmo Watch