Wednesday, 31 December 2008
BLACK AND WHITE TWINS BABY
A mixed-race couple who had one black and one white twin daughter seven years ago have described how they defied the odds and did it again. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Black And White Twins... Again! Dean Durrant, 33, and Alison Spooner, 27, of Fleet, Hampshire, have had another set of twin girls with different coloured skin.
Miya has her father's black skin and Leah is white like her mother.
The couple's first set of twins arrived in 2001, with blue-eyed, red-haired Lauren taking after her mother while Hayleigh has black skin and hair like her father.
Ms Spooner told Sky News: "I honestly didn't think it would happen again.
"I thought we would have two the same - and I didn't think we'd have twins again for a start. That was a shock," she said.
The couple tried to put a bet on just in case but say bookies William Hill refused because the did not have the medical knowledge to offer them odds.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said some novelty bets are difficult to offer fair odds on.
However, the bookes will try and offer a price if the couple want to make it third time lucky.
"If they came to us again saying they would try for another set, we'd give them odds of 10,000 to one," he said.
Miya and Leah were delivered by Caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, at just 37 weeks of pregnancy after scans revealed both babies were in the breech position.
Mr Durrant said he began to suspect they were different colours when second-born Miya arrived.
He explained: "I was sure in my mind there was a difference but I didn't think it was as much as with Hayleigh and Lauren but obviously it is."
The babies were taken to a special care unit because they were not breathing properly so it took five days for the parents to see them side by side.
"It's amazing," Mr Durrant added. "I think I'm still in shock."
Related photos / videos Black And White Twins... Again! Dean Durrant, 33, and Alison Spooner, 27, of Fleet, Hampshire, have had another set of twin girls with different coloured skin.
Miya has her father's black skin and Leah is white like her mother.
The couple's first set of twins arrived in 2001, with blue-eyed, red-haired Lauren taking after her mother while Hayleigh has black skin and hair like her father.
Ms Spooner told Sky News: "I honestly didn't think it would happen again.
"I thought we would have two the same - and I didn't think we'd have twins again for a start. That was a shock," she said.
The couple tried to put a bet on just in case but say bookies William Hill refused because the did not have the medical knowledge to offer them odds.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said some novelty bets are difficult to offer fair odds on.
However, the bookes will try and offer a price if the couple want to make it third time lucky.
"If they came to us again saying they would try for another set, we'd give them odds of 10,000 to one," he said.
Miya and Leah were delivered by Caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, at just 37 weeks of pregnancy after scans revealed both babies were in the breech position.
Mr Durrant said he began to suspect they were different colours when second-born Miya arrived.
He explained: "I was sure in my mind there was a difference but I didn't think it was as much as with Hayleigh and Lauren but obviously it is."
The babies were taken to a special care unit because they were not breathing properly so it took five days for the parents to see them side by side.
"It's amazing," Mr Durrant added. "I think I'm still in shock."
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
SANTA JOURNEY ON SATELLITE
For web-savvy kids everywhere, Santa's journey from the North Pole can be tracked online. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Track Santa by satellite! The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), which is responsible for aerospace and maritime defence, has teamed up with internet giants Google to make Santa's busy 24 hours visible online via the www.noradsanta.org site.
It appears he has already dropped off some some gifts in Russia, Japan, Fiji, North Korea, New Zealand and Australia and will be heading to the UK later.
So you'd better be good for goodness sake...
Related photos / videos Track Santa by satellite! The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), which is responsible for aerospace and maritime defence, has teamed up with internet giants Google to make Santa's busy 24 hours visible online via the www.noradsanta.org site.
It appears he has already dropped off some some gifts in Russia, Japan, Fiji, North Korea, New Zealand and Australia and will be heading to the UK later.
So you'd better be good for goodness sake...
Friday, 19 December 2008
NASA TO SELL THREE USED SPACE SHUTTLES
For anyone with an interest in the starry skies and around 42 million dollars to spare, NASA may have an interesting proposition. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo
Related content
US gives green light for first commercial spaceport
UN chief calls 2009 'year of climate change'
X-ray measurements boost dark energy theory
Related Hot Topic: Space
Have your say: Space
The US space agency has announced it is selling three used space shuttles when they are retired in 2010, after 30 years of service.
Sadly for enthusiasts planning their own voyage of discovery, the orbiters will only be made available for display in museums and other educational institutes.
And potential buyers may have to move quickly.
One of the three craft -- the most complex aircraft ever built which launches into space like a rocket before gliding back to Earth like a plane -- has already been earmarked for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
There the shuttle will join a wealth of exhibits held by the museum which mark the history of flight and space exploration, including a first successful motorized plane produced by the Wright brothers in 1903.
The two remaining craft, which were generally used to transport equipment into space, will be cleaned, decontaminated and stored in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida while new homes are found.
The 42-million dollar cost includes six million dollars to fly the shuttle to its new home piggybacked on a special Boeing 747, but not the costs of the final road transport.
For those with a smaller budget, NASA is also selling engines found at the rear of the shuttles and which run on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. They will cost around 400,000-800,000 dollars each, not including delivery.
The 37-metre long shuttle has carved a place into space history, helping to construct the orbiting International Space Station and to repair the Hubble space telescope.
It must be kept in a covered and temperature-controlled area, NASA said.
Only six space shuttles were ever built. The prototype Enterprise never flew in space.
Two were destroyed. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its lift-off in 1986 killing seven astronauts on board. Columbia disintegrated as it returned to the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 also with seven astronauts on board.
Only three shuttles remain -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. They are due to make eight more flights to the ISS to finish construction and carry out the last maintenance mission on the Hubble.
According to the British daily The Guardian, the Science Museum in London has voiced interest in buying Endeavour, but reportedly only American organizations are being considered.
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo
Related content
US gives green light for first commercial spaceport
UN chief calls 2009 'year of climate change'
X-ray measurements boost dark energy theory
Related Hot Topic: Space
Have your say: Space
The US space agency has announced it is selling three used space shuttles when they are retired in 2010, after 30 years of service.
Sadly for enthusiasts planning their own voyage of discovery, the orbiters will only be made available for display in museums and other educational institutes.
And potential buyers may have to move quickly.
One of the three craft -- the most complex aircraft ever built which launches into space like a rocket before gliding back to Earth like a plane -- has already been earmarked for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
There the shuttle will join a wealth of exhibits held by the museum which mark the history of flight and space exploration, including a first successful motorized plane produced by the Wright brothers in 1903.
The two remaining craft, which were generally used to transport equipment into space, will be cleaned, decontaminated and stored in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida while new homes are found.
The 42-million dollar cost includes six million dollars to fly the shuttle to its new home piggybacked on a special Boeing 747, but not the costs of the final road transport.
For those with a smaller budget, NASA is also selling engines found at the rear of the shuttles and which run on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. They will cost around 400,000-800,000 dollars each, not including delivery.
The 37-metre long shuttle has carved a place into space history, helping to construct the orbiting International Space Station and to repair the Hubble space telescope.
It must be kept in a covered and temperature-controlled area, NASA said.
Only six space shuttles were ever built. The prototype Enterprise never flew in space.
Two were destroyed. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its lift-off in 1986 killing seven astronauts on board. Columbia disintegrated as it returned to the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 also with seven astronauts on board.
Only three shuttles remain -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. They are due to make eight more flights to the ISS to finish construction and carry out the last maintenance mission on the Hubble.
According to the British daily The Guardian, the Science Museum in London has voiced interest in buying Endeavour, but reportedly only American organizations are being considered.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
NUCLEAR CLEAN-UP
By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News, Sellafield
The National Nuclear Laboratory's Fiona Rayment tours Sellafield's new research centre.
Staring into a dark green crystal ball, nuclear engineer Matt Clough is eyeing the future.
It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are
Matt Clough, nuclear engineer
Consortium takes charge
"The basic idea is that it's transparent when it's new," he grins, holding it up against the light.
"The darker it is, the more radiation it's absorbed."
Mr Clough is a member of a team of scientists at the recently-established National Nuclear Laboratory, a nuclear technology services provider owned by the state, but run as a private enterprise.
Mr Clough and his team are behind the RadBall, or radiation ball, made from a polymer material that becomes opaque when exposed to radiation.
To nuclear decommissioners, who are working to clean up the mess left behind from half a century of nuclear weapons and energy production, the RadBall could soon become a vital tool.
The RadBall's main advantage is that it is very portable.
"You can use it in hard-to-reach areas in the plant and in areas where electric devices struggle with high radiation levels," Mr Clough explains.
"It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are."
"We're actually trialling it on plant at Sellafield at the moment, so the technology is being used in the field," says RadBall's inventor, Dr Steven Stanley, who won the young engineer of the year award for his creation.
Nuclear's emergence
High up in a 120m tall building, half the height made up by a fragile-looking chimney, a team of nuclear decommissioning experts are prepared for the worst.
Dressed in PVC suits and wearing breathing apparatus, they work behind a sealed, low-pressurised canvas cover, chipping away at a steel and concrete structure that will eventually be demolished.
Business reporter, BBC News, Sellafield
The National Nuclear Laboratory's Fiona Rayment tours Sellafield's new research centre.
Staring into a dark green crystal ball, nuclear engineer Matt Clough is eyeing the future.
It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are
Matt Clough, nuclear engineer
Consortium takes charge
"The basic idea is that it's transparent when it's new," he grins, holding it up against the light.
"The darker it is, the more radiation it's absorbed."
Mr Clough is a member of a team of scientists at the recently-established National Nuclear Laboratory, a nuclear technology services provider owned by the state, but run as a private enterprise.
Mr Clough and his team are behind the RadBall, or radiation ball, made from a polymer material that becomes opaque when exposed to radiation.
To nuclear decommissioners, who are working to clean up the mess left behind from half a century of nuclear weapons and energy production, the RadBall could soon become a vital tool.
The RadBall's main advantage is that it is very portable.
"You can use it in hard-to-reach areas in the plant and in areas where electric devices struggle with high radiation levels," Mr Clough explains.
"It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are."
"We're actually trialling it on plant at Sellafield at the moment, so the technology is being used in the field," says RadBall's inventor, Dr Steven Stanley, who won the young engineer of the year award for his creation.
Nuclear's emergence
High up in a 120m tall building, half the height made up by a fragile-looking chimney, a team of nuclear decommissioning experts are prepared for the worst.
Dressed in PVC suits and wearing breathing apparatus, they work behind a sealed, low-pressurised canvas cover, chipping away at a steel and concrete structure that will eventually be demolished.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
THE BLACK HOLE
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
ARIELLE FORD
ARIELLE FORD
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
ARIELLE FORD
ARIELLE FORD
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)