Dramatic Helene
 

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedi...9-th100-75.jpgSaturn's small, irregularly shaped moon Helene is strikingly illuminated in this view captured by Cassini during the spacecraft's June 18, 2011, flyby.

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Megabreccia in Crater Central Peak
 

Megabreccia in Crater Central Peak as imaged by HiRISE.

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Hubble Offers a Dazzling 'Necklace'
 

A giant cosmic necklace glows brightly in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. The object, aptly named the Necklace Nebula, is a recently discovered planetary nebula, the glowing remains of an ordinary, Sun-like star. The nebula consists of a bright ring, measuring 12 trillion miles wide, dotted with dense, bright knots of gas that resemble diamonds in a necklace. A pair of stars orbiting close together produced the nebula, also called PN G054.2-03.4. About 10,000 years ago one of the aging stars ballooned to the point where it engulfed its companion star. The smaller star continued orbiting inside its larger companion, increasing the giant’s rotation rate. The bloated companion star spun so fast that a large part of its gaseous envelope expanded into space. Due to centrifugal force, most of the gas escaped along the star’s equator, producing a ring. The embedded bright knots are dense gas clumps in the ring. The pair is so close, only a few million miles apart, they appear as one bright dot in the center. The stars are furiously whirling around each other, completing an orbit in a little more than a day. The Necklace Nebula is located 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta. In this composite image, taken on July 2, Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 captured the glow of hydrogen (blue), oxygen (green), and nitrogen (red). Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. in Washington.

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Leo Margets Joins Lock Poker
 

Lock Poker announced late last week that it has signed Spaniard Leo Margets to its LockPRO ELITE team. With the signing, Margets becomes the first female member of the Lock Poker team.

Margets, who hails from Barcelona, Spain, first rose to prominence in 2009, when she was the “last woman standing” at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. She earned $352,832 for her 27th place finish, dwarfing the less than $7,000 she had previously won – in total – in live poker tournaments. The finish, combined with her good looks, grabbed the attention of the male-dominated poker community.

She has yet to score another cash of that magnitude, but Margets has had a few strong results since her WSOP run. In 2010, she placed 3rd in the $2,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event at the Aussie Millions for $54,270 and in December of the same year, she won the Full Tilt Masters Series, banking $132,237.

Margets was introduced to poker several years ago by her boyfriend and had a nice bit of success right from the start, winning her first ever live tournament, the University Championships, held in Barcelona. Shortly thereafter, she accepted a sponsorship offer from 888.com.

All told, Margets has won $649,215 on the live tournament circuit in her career. Even with her somewhat limited success and short career to this point, compared to many players, she already ranks 6th on Spain’s all-time money list. She has a long way to go to top that list, however, as Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 WSOP Main Event champ, dominates all with $10,765,799 in career earnings.

In a press release, Margets expressed her excitement: “I am incredibly happy and thrilled to join Lock! I am also super proud to be part of a family with so extraordinary players, this new era that now starts is a huge motivation for me! I am looking forward representing Lock in all over the world!”

On her website, Margets announced that Lock Poker has agreed to her request for a special bounty tournament, though details have not been settled upon yet. She is taking suggestions in the comments section of the blog post with regards to frequency, time, buy-in, and the like, though she is leaning towards a monthly tournament, as a weekly event may be too much of a commitment, and with her travels, she might not always be on hand.

Lock Poker is a member of the Merge Gaming Network, the largest network to to still accept customers from the United States. The network stopped allowing new U.S. signups in June, but according to a report last week, it plans on re-opening to U.S. players soon. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network has averaged 1,220 cash game players over the past seven days, ranking it as the 10th largest poker room/network on the internet. As mentioned above, it is far and away the largest U.S.-facing online poker room, with Bodog trailing by 250 cash players. Fellow members of the Merge Gaming Network include Carbon Poker, Hero Poker, Poker Host, Iron Duke, and RPM Poker.



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The Nightly Turbo: UKIPT Edinburgh Results, Online Poker Legislation, and More
 

The Nightly Turbo is bringing you the day's top poker news stories including results from UKIPT Edinburgh, what Harry Reid says about poker legislation, and more.

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By The Numbers: Epic Poker League Debut
 

Thepoker world is full of facts, figures, stats and records. With so many numbers being crunched day in and day out, sometimes it is tough to see what they all add up to. That is why BLUFF brings you some of the more interesting numbers related to the big tournaments, big stories, and big personalities [...]

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Poker Strategy -- Four Live-Play Tips For The Online Player
 

This strategy column, and many like it, are featured in every issue of Card Player magazine. Subscribe today to get 26 issues delivered to your home each year! Until recently, …

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Syrian army intensifies Latakia crackdown
 

Reports of deaths and arrests in coastal city as Turkey FM says bloodshed must end "immediately and without conditions".

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Are you a pessimist WN? The Curse of the Naysayer
 

Forum: Newslinks & Articles Posted By: Science Shall Prevail Post Time: 08-15-2011 at 11:31 PM

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Joe Lider en alerta ante posibles ataque de Nicho el Millonario
 

Joe Lider vuelve a la actividad después de Verano de Escándalo en donde no le bien, ya que recibió la traición de su compañero de bastante tiempo en la 187 Nicho el Millonario. Lider sabe que puede recibir más castigo de Nicho si no se cuida, asi que se andará con cuidado y no solo [...]http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?hos...as&ref=&feed=1

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