His Voice Sounds So Animated And He’s So Cute I Want To Hug Him For A Long Time

|Myheimu|

(photos by Robdogbird)

Andromeda Rising over the Alps

Beirut: Two suicide bombings have killed 41+ people. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34805466

Japan: A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of Japan after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off its south-western coast. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34816292

Paris: Dozens dead, 3 explosions, and 60+ hostage situation. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34814203

Jupiter and Earth imaged together by NASA’s STEREO/HI-1A / via

Scientists spot the closest Earth-sized exoplanet yet

Scientists have discovered a new exoplanet that, in the language of “Star Wars,” would be the polar opposite of frigid Hoth, and even more inhospitable than the deserts of Tatooine. But instead of residing in a galaxy far, far away, this new world is, galactically speaking, practically next door. The new planet, named GJ 1132b, is Earth-sized and rocky, orbiting a small star located a mere 39 light-years from Earth, making it the closest Earth-sized exoplanet yet discovered. Based on their measurements, the scientists have determined that the planet is a roasting 500° F (260° C), and it is likely tidally locked, meaning that it has a permanent day and night side — presenting the same face to its star, much like our Moon is locked to Earth.

Read more ~ Astronomy Magazine

Image: In this artist’s rendering of GJ 1132b, a rocky exoplanet similar to Earth in size and mass, circles a red dwarf star. GJ 1132b is relatively cool at about 450° F (230° C) and could potentially host an atmosphere. At a distance of only 39 light-years, it will be a prime target for additional study with Hubble and future observatories like the Giant Magellan Telescope.    Credit: Dana Berry

Researcher illegally shares millions of science papers free online to spread knowledge

Welcome to the Pirate Bay of science.

A researcher in Russia has made more than 48 million journal articles - almost every single peer-reviewed paper every published - freely available online. And she’s now refusing to shut the site down, despite a court injunction and a lawsuit from Elsevier, one of the world’s biggest publishers.

For those of you who aren’t already using it, the site in question is Sci-Hub, and it’s sort of like a Pirate Bay of the science world. It was established in 2011 by neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan, who was frustrated that she couldn’t afford to access the articles needed for her research, and it’s since gone viral, with hundreds of thousands of papers being downloaded daily. But at the end of last year, the site was ordered to be taken down by a New York district court - a ruling that Elbakyan has decided to fight, triggering a debate over who really owns science.

“Payment of $32 is just insane when you need to skim or read tens or hundreds of these papers to do research. I obtained these papers by pirating them,”Elbakyan told Torrent Freak last year. “Everyone should have access to knowledge regardless of their income or affiliation. And that’s absolutely legal.”

If it sounds like a modern day Robin Hood struggle, that’s because it kinda is. But in this story, it’s not just the poor who don’t have access to scientific papers - journal subscriptions have become so expensive that leading universities such as Harvard and Cornell have admitted they can no longer afford them. Researchers have also taken a stand - with 15,000 scientists vowing to boycott publisher Elsevier in part for its excessive paywall fees.

Continue Reading.

Photographs of Mars taken by the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission, which has been orbiting the planet since September 2014.  Can you imagine our descendants colonizing this world?