Hello, MAHLI
 

This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA\'s Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. The image was taken by Curiosity\'s Mast Camera on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface (Sept. 7, 2012, PDT or Sept. 8, 2012, UTC). MAHLI, with its LED (light-emitting diode) lights on, can be seen in the middle of the picture. Scientists and engineers imaged MAHLI to inspect its dust cover and check that its LED lights are functional.

Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Powerful Supernova Remnant
 

In 1604, a new star appeared in the night sky that was much brighter than Jupiter and dimmed over several weeks. This event was witnessed by sky watchers including the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler. Centuries later, the debris from this exploded star is known as the Kepler supernova remnant.

Astronomers have long studied the Kepler supernova remnant and tried to determine exactly what happened when the star exploded to create it. New analysis of a long observation from NASA\'s Chandra X-ray Observatory is providing more clues. This analysis suggests that the supernova explosion was not only more powerful, but might have also occurred at a greater distance, than previously thought.

This image shows the Chandra data derived from more than 8 days worth of observing time. The X-rays are shown in five colors from lower to higher energies: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. These various X-ray slices were then combined with an optical image from the Digitized Sky Survey (light yellow and blue), showing stars in the field.

Previous analysis of this Chandra image has determined that the stellar explosion that created Kepler was what astronomers call a \"Type Ia\" supernova. This class of supernovas occurs when a white dwarf gains mass, either by pulling gas off a companion star or merging with another white dwarf, until it becomes unstable and is destroyed by a thermonuclear explosion.

Unlike other well-known Type Ia supernovas and their remnants, Kepler\'s debris field is being strongly shaped by what it is running into. More specifically, most Type Ia supernova remnants are very symmetrical, but the Kepler remnant is asymmetrical with a bright arc of X-ray emission in its northern region. This indicates the expanding ball of debris from the supernova explosion is plowing into the gas and dust around the now-dead star.

The bright X-ray arc can be explained in two ways. In one model, the pre-supernova star and its companion were moving through the interstellar gas and losing mass at a significant rate via a wind, creating a bow shock wave similar to that of a boat moving through water. Another possibility is that the X-ray arc is caused by debris from the supernova expanding into an interstellar cloud of gradually increasing density.

The wind and bow shock model described above requires that the Kepler supernova remnant is located at a distance of more than 23,000 light years. In the latter alternative, the gas into which the remnant is expanding has higher density than average, and the distance of the remnant from the earth is between about 16,000 and 20,000 light years. Both alternatives give greater distances than the commonly used value of 13,000 light years.

In either model, the X-ray spectrum - that is, the amount of X-rays produced at different energies – reveals the presence of a large amount of iron, and indicates an explosion more energetic than the average Type Ia supernova. Additionally, to explain the observed X-ray spectrum in this model, a small cavity must have been cleared out around the star before it exploded. Such a cavity, which would have a diameter less than a tenth that of the remnant\'s current size, might have been produced by a fast, dense outflow from the surface of the white dwarf before it exploded, as predicted by some models of Type Ia supernovas.

Additionally, to explain the observed X-ray spectrum in this model, a small cavity must have been cleared out around the star before it exploded. Such a cavity, which would have a diameter less than a tenth that of the remnant, might have been produced by a fast, dense outflow from the surface of the white dwarf before it exploded, as predicted by some models of Type Ia supernovas.

Evidence for an unusually powerful Type Ia supernova has previously been observed in another remnant with Chandra and an optical telescope. These results were independently verified by subsequent observations of light from the original supernova explosion that bounced off gas clouds, a phenomenon called light echoes. This other remnant is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy about 160,000 light years from Earth, making it much farther away than Kepler and therefore more difficult to study.

These results were published in the September 1st, 2012 edition of The Astrophysical Journal. The authors of this study are Daniel Patnaude from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA; Carles Badenes from University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA; Sangwook Park from the University of Texas at Arlington, TX, and Martin Laming from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC.

Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D.Patnaude, Optical: DSS

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Oscar backing for Hatton
 

Oscar De La Hoya is backing Ricky Hatton's expected decision to return to the ring, and says a fight with Amir Khan will happen.

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Power Rankings: Smith Jumps to 2nd; Failla, Trickett, Kovalchuck Fall
 

Despite losing ground over the last several weeks, Will Failla's big run in 2011 guarantees he won't be out of the Power Rankings any time soon. Dan Smith is having a year to be remembered, and his position in the BLUFF Power Rankings certainly reflects that. With his seventh place finish in the Partouche Poker [...]

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Buddy
 

Location: Long Branch, New Jersey, USA

http://www.dailykitten.com/wp-conten...y_3_months.jpg

This is my kitty Buddy. I found him in my backyard on a Sunday morning a couple weeks ago. I first heard him crying outside the day before I found him. We have another cat named Garfield who’s about 3 and 1/2 years old, and the first time I heard Buddy crying I really thought it was Garfield. The night before it had rained heavily, and I thought maybe Garfield had gotten outside and hidden somewhere she couldn’t find her way out of. After a bit of panicking, I found Garfield in the house, and was happy to see my cat was safe. All throughout the day and night I continued to hear a cat crying though. I looked for the cat, but never found it, unfortunately.

The next morning, there was a kitten in my backyard hiding in the hedges on the side of the shed. I fed him and managed to catch him shortly after. I really hadn’t planned in keeping him, but he was so small and scared, and incredibly sweet- only about 3 months old. I gave him a bath, then brought him inside for good.

I took him to the SPCA to get vaccinations this morning, so I guess he’s mine for good! He seems happy, and he makes me smile all the time. Here he is sleeping on my bed a few days after I found him. He truly is my little buddy and I’m so glad he chose me!



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daaaaaaang those gazongas can even revive dead beastie boys

that was impressive by me

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV...0,214,314_.jpg

BLADDOW SON

yauch probably chugging organic melons in heaven

Draft Of Proposed Reid/Kyl Online Poker Bill Circulates
 

After teasing their proposal for several months, the draft of a bill regarding online gaming and poker by Senators Harry Reid of Nevada and Jon Kyl of Arizona has been circulated, although whether it will garner support from not only members of the Senate but also the gaming public remains to be seen.

QuadJacks.com received a copy of the proposed bill, given the same title as Representative Joe Barton’s bill in the House (“Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012”), and the summary of what Senators Reid and Kyl have proposed offers several bright spots for the regulation of an online poker market. Where people may have trouble is that is where the bill stops and how it strengthens current laws on the books.

The bill would look to enhance the power of several current laws on the books regarding online gaming as a whole. The Reid/Kyl effort would look to rescind the December 2011 decision by the U. S. Department of Justice that the Wire Act of 1961 applied only to sports betting. In addition to changing this legal decision, the Reid/Kyl bill would amend the Wire Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA) of 1970 and the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 so that they cover internet activities (especially the older laws).

Under the Reid/Kyl proposal, the Commerce Department would create a new government program, the Office of Online Poker Oversight (OOPO). This body would monitor state and Indian gaming and their regulatory bodies and issue the licenses to potential operators. The OOPO would administer a list of standards for online poker operators and violations of those standards would incur civil penalties of up to $750,000 per violation and loss of an operator’s license.

It is arguable that, instead of opening up the United States to a federally regulated online gaming world, the Reid/Kyl bill would instead clamp down on it. In the proposed bill, internet gambling – whether intrastate or interstate – would be prohibited except for horse racing wagering and online poker. For those that would offer such activities outside of the two exceptions, a penalty of ten years in prison and fines would be assessed.

Another segment of the proposed Reid/Kyl bill would prevent any licensing of companies or people involved in post-2006 online gaming activities. In this provision, those companies that either offered gaming services post-enactment of the UIGEA (and the persons involved) would be prohibited from obtaining a license to participate in a regulated U. S. market. This would mean that PokerStars (even though they negotiated a deal with the Department of Justice that would allow them access) would not be allowed into the U. S. market until they “sat out” for five years following the law’s enactment.

One of the main bones of contention was in the “waiting period” that was proposed in previous legislation, and that provision makes an appearance in the Reid/Kyl bill as well. If enacted, there would be a minimum of 15 months before a potential U. S. online poker market would begin. This is done, according to the bill summary, to allow for a “level playing field” among potential operators.

The Reid/Kyl proposal would further look to lock down any further online gaming, including one that opened up as a result of the Department of Justice decision in December 2011. Online lottery sales would be severely limited to sales of tickets that aren’t determined in daily drawings, such as the Powerball or the MegaMillions games. The lottery games could also not be played only online or “mimic online games.”

The proposed Reid/Kyl bill has caused some dispute between one of the author’s and his fellow state Senator. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Tetreault, Reid and junior Nevada Senator Dean Heller have been at odds over Reid’s insistence that Heller lead the charge for getting the necessary votes in the Senate from other Republicans. In a letter to Reid on the online poker issue sent Monday, Heller stated that it “would be best for the Senate to step back and let the House of Representatives act first on Web poker,” according to Tetreault.

The continued “dragging of feet” by legislators on any online poker legislation is threatening to see those proposals die in the current Congress. Rep. Barton’s online poker bill still hasn’t emerged from committee as of yet and, at this point, the proposed Reid/Kyl bill is still that…a proposal that hasn’t actually been introduced to committee. With the Congress recessing in days for the November elections (the entirety of the House and a third of the Senate are facing reelection) – and the “lame duck” session that will follow – time is running out for passage of federal online poker legislation in 2012.



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