Whatanews4u

This animation shows the distribution of the dark matter, obtained from a numerical simulation, at a redshift z~2, or when the Universe was about 3 billion years old. The first frame displays the continuous distribution of dark matter particles, showing the typical wispy structure of the cosmic web, with a network of sheets and filaments that developed out of tiny fluctuations in the early Universe. The second frame provides a simplified view of the complex network of dark matter structure according to the so-called halo model, a statistical approach used to describe the distribution of dark matter on both large and small scales. Within this framework, the dark matter distribution is viewed as an ensemble of discrete objects, the dark matter halos, corresponding to the densest knots of the cosmic web. The last frame highlights the most massive dark matter halos (shown in yellow), which represent the most efficient cosmic sites for the formation of galaxies. Only halos with a mass above a certain threshold can trigger the ignition of intense bursts of star formation, thus creating a starburst galaxy. According to the latest measurements achieved with Herschel, the minimum mass needed by a halo for a starburst galaxy to form within it is 3×10^11 times that of the Sun. The comoving size of each frame is about 85 Mpc on a side. (via ESA)

(via scipsy)

the-star-stuff:

It Was 40 Years Ago Today

On Jan. 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, discussed the proposed Space Shuttle vehicle in San Clemente, Calif.

The President announced that day that the United States should proceed at once with the development of an entirely new type of space transportation system designed to help transform the space frontier into familiar territory. 

Image Credit: NASA

(via npr)

backsheesh:

“The strong man of India” was drawn by “Ding” Darling for the New York Herald Tribune just after Mahatma Gandhi was arrested during the “Quit India” Movement (1942).

It implies that Gandhi wanted to blindly tear down 100 years of “building for India”- a charitable act by the British, indeed. Notice the ghoulish, dark caricature of Gandhi. 

This cartoon was not the only one portraying India’s struggle in unflattering light. A wide swathe of American newspapers supported the British as they sought to quell the Indian movement for Independence. This loyalty has always flabbergasted me. The United States was founded on the principle of “inalienable rights,” against the tyranny of the British Empire; the War of 1812 was fought by the US against the British; and the British were poised ever ready to support the South in case the Union was dismembered during the Civil War.

inothernews:

North Korean men’s soccer team “fans” at a 2010 World Cup match in South Africa.

The New York Times examines Kim Jong Il’s sports “accomplishments,” including a 38-under-par, five-holes-in-one golf performance, and that one time he bowled a perfect 300.  Allegedly.

(Photo: Stephane De Sakutin / AFP-Getty via the Times)

inothernews:

CALLOUT   Thousands of women marched in Cairo Tuesday to protest the military’s recent use of force against protesters. (Photo: Nasser Nasser / AP via the Wall Street Journal)

techspotlight:

BBC News - 7 billion people and you: What’s your number?

This is a really great information generator all about you and your place in the world. 

Good old beeb!