Super-earth exoplanet found that could support life | Science Astronomers say they have found a second planet outside our solar system that is the right distance from its star to potentially support life. But any possible inhabitants would need to have a taste for an environment that felt like a hot steam bath. European astronomers announced the discovery of a total of 50 planets outside our solar system. Among these was one which lies in the "Goldilocks zone" – an area which is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water, an essential for Earth-like life, to be present. The only past discovery of a Goldilocks planet that still stands up today is one that was found in 2007. The newly discovered planet, which is called HD85512b, is about 3.6 times the mass of Earth, it is estimated that temperatures there range from 30C to 50C, and it is thought that the atmosphere is very humid. But other types of life – probably shorter and squatter – could conceivably take root there, she said.
Today | KillerStartups.com™ Euro Jazz Funk Madness Back in the early 1970’s, the fusion of jazz with funk and elements of rock was a pretty big trend in North America. With the recent introduction of synthesizers and other electric instruments and with the increasing popularity of funk music; recognized jazz band leaders such as Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley and Donald Byrd started exploring new electronic grounds. Before long, their most noted band members started their own jazz-funk outfits and by the mid 70’s, the likes of Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters, Chick Corea and Return to Forever and Joe Zawinul and Weather Report were drawing huge attention and had become big record sellers. What was going on in Europe at the time? In fact, they may have not had the same level of attention back in the days – but they have had as much impact on the hip-hop, trip-hop and electro scenes to come as their American counterparts. Here is a selection of 20 super rare - super funked up European jazz grooves that you can't miss on.
432: Sacred Music of the Spheres The Mithrac mysteries gave the knowledge of the precession of the equinoxes a central place in their rites which were secret and only available to the initiated other ancient mythologies they were hardly the first. The case has been made that the earliest spiritual writings have contained this knowledge in code. Ancient history, leaves us only symbols and monuments and art works so it is a speculative science. This is the most important message yet to enjoy the benefit of wide dispersion [going viral] on the internet. The earth's axis wobble that causes the precession of the equinoxes is given as 25,920 years. A well-conditioned human has a heart which beats once per second, 60/minute, 3600 beats per hour and 86,400 beats per day. Since the rate of the precession could be approximated at fifty seconds of arc per year, to precess a full minute of arc takes slightly more than a year; and to precess one full degree of sixty minutes takes seventy-two years.
Kids victims of 'brown underclass' - national Last updated 10:35 02/09/2011 WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standard HONE KAA: 'There is no level playing field and our children are subjected, disproportionately, to the malaise that emerges out of poverty.' Children are the victims in New Zealand's growing brown underclass. A new report has revealed just over half of the 200,000 New Zealand children living below the poverty line are Maori and Pacific Islanders. The revelation comes just weeks after another report highlighted the grim prospects for Kiwi children. New Zealand ranked 28th out of 30 OECD nations for child outcomes. Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett said she was "acutely aware" of the problem of vulnerable New Zealand children growing in deprived areas. "Children who live in poverty are likely to come from benefit dependent homes," she said. He called for a shift away from using a Pakeha approach to deal with the disparity faced by Pacific Island and Maori communities. - © Fairfax NZ News
Telling women willy-nilly to indulge male desires is dangerous LAST October, more than 40 male students at Yale, one of America's prestigious Ivy League universities, marched around the campus targeting young female newcomers and chanting: "No means yes! Yes means anal!" The incident, as grotesque as it is, was far from isolated, in the US or elsewhere. Here in Australia, University of Sydney students triggered outrage in 2009 when they created a Facebook group, Define Statutory, which described itself as "pro-rape, anti-consent". Both incidents say a great deal about how sex is negotiated in the modern world and how increasing numbers of men feel entitled to attack, deride or just ignore the fundamental importance of consent. What's more, both incidents actually happened, which is a great deal more than can be said of the raunchy scene from Sex and the City recounted on these pages by Janet Albrechtsen on Wednesday. But that is exactly where we were. Those men may want to have sex with every woman who passes by.
Astronomers find a planet made of diamond in the Milky Way An international team of astronomers, led by Australia's Swinburne University of Technology professor Matthew Bailes, has discovered a planet made of diamond crystals, in our own Milky Way galaxy. The planet is relatively small at around 60,000 km in diameter (still, it's five times the size of Earth). But despite its diminutive stature, this crystal space rock has more mass than the solar system's gas giant Jupiter. Radio telescope data shows that it orbits its star at a distance of 600,000 km, making years on planet diamond just two hours long. It's "likely to be largely carbon and oxygen," said Michael Keith, one of the research team members. While the planet is an exciting find, it's parental star is also quite interesting as well. It's also a very fast spinning pulsar (called a millisecond pulsar), rotating more than 10,000 times per minute.
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