Writeup on the Dangers of a Nuclear Meltdown in Japan
I just came across a long writeup regarding the probability of a serious nuclear catastrophe in Japan that might be worth a read. In my opinion we're spending a lot of "news" cycles speculating about a situation which poses a small risk instead of focusing on the actual tragedy that has already happened.
If you want to make a donation via the Canadian Red Cross follow this link.
A Shadow of Phobos
I saw this very cool animation of the shadow of Mars' moon Phobos passing over a dust storm. Apparently an enterprising enthusiast combed through online archives of photos taken by the Viking 1 probe back in '76 and found this sequence. It's kind of cool to see that people are still finding new information this much later. If you're an astronomy nerd like I am you'll probably find it worth checking out!
Hubble Photo of Carbon Star
I just came across this cool photo of the binary star AFGL 3068 on Bad Astronomy. The star is dying and is wrapped in a cloud of carbon and because it's a binary star the cloud has formed a spiral around the star itself. You've probably never seen anything quite like it and the accompanying article is also worth a read if you have any interest in astronomy.
First MESSENGER pics available
Was poking around the web this morning and noticed that NASA has some photos from the MESSENGER probe online now. Enjoy!