CaaC (John)

Solar Wind at Martian Moon Could Impact Future Missions Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Both are small, airless bodies with irregular shapes. Because they lack protective atmospheres and magnetospheres, Phobos and Deimos are directly exposed to the solar wind for part of their orbits. Now, a study from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center suggests that the solar wind creates a complex electrical environment around Phobos, giving its night side and shadowed craters a static electric charge. This could impact plans for future robotic and human explorers to study the moons of Mars. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/videos

NASA's Fermi Satellite Clocks a 'Cannonball' Pulsar Astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Space Telescope and the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have found a pulsar hurtling through space at nearly 2.5 million miles an hour -- so fast it could travel the distance between Earth and the Moon in just 6 minutes. Pulsars are super dense, rapidly spinning neutron stars left behind when a massive star explodes. This one, dubbed PSR J0002+6216 (J0002 for short), sports a radio-emitting tail pointing directly toward the expanding debris from a recent supernova explosion. Thanks to its narrow dart-like tail and a fortuitous viewing angle, astronomers can trace this pulsar straight back to its birthplace. Further study of J0002 will help us better understand how these explosions are able to 'kick' neutron stars to such high speed. The pulsar is located about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered in 2017 by a citizen-science project called Einstein@Home , which uses downtime on the computers of volunteers to process Fermi gamma-ray data and has identified 23 gamma-ray pulsars to date. J0002 spins 8.7 times a second, producing a pulse of gamma rays with each rotation, and has about 1.5 times the mass of the Sun. The pulsar lies about 53 light-years from the centre of a supernova remnant called CTB 1. Its rapid motion through interstellar gas results in shock waves that produce the tail of magnetic energy and accelerated particles detected at radio wavelengths using the VLA. The tail extends 13 light-years and clearly points back to the centre of CTB 1. Using Fermi data and a technique called pulsar timing, the team was able to measure how quickly and in what direction the pulsar was moving across our line of sight thanks to Fermi's 10-year data covering the entire sky. J0002 is speeding through space five times faster than the average pulsar and faster than 99 per cent of those with measured speeds. It will eventually escape our galaxy. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/videos/index.html

I would love United to get a 2-year transfer ban and they blood some of our youth players and get rid of the deadwood, 2 years experience in the first team would be a good learning curve for some of them.

I bet you that will hit the football grapevine around Europe, how to take a corner against Barca, but saying that I bet the fuck the Barca manager/coaches will make sure they DON'T do that again!!

It would be funny in my point of view if the final was between Spurs & Liverpool as my son's best mate is a Spurs man down South who even came to our son's wedding, I can just imagine the banter between the two of them on Facebook before and after whoever wins, it's bad and funny enough when they play each other in any other league or cup match.

For anyone who loves spiders, @nudge?

Chelsea transfer ban: Fifa rejects Premier League club's appeal Chelsea have lost their appeal against Fifa's decision to ban them from signing players during the next two transfer windows. The only change to the terms of the ban is that the Premier League club can sign under-16 players from the UK during the suspension period. Fifa took action against the Blues after an investigation into their signing of foreign under-18 players. Chelsea can now appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48202945

Funny weather here in this neck of the woods at the moment, cold at night and cloudy and rain showers during the day, only 8c at the moment.

US climate objections sink Arctic Council accord in Finland US objections to the wording on climate change prevented Arctic nations signing a joint statement at a summit in Finland, delegates said. It is the first time such a statement has been cancelled since the Arctic Council was set up in 1996. A Finnish delegate, Timo Koivurova, said: "the others felt they could not water down climate change sentences". There is international concern that Arctic temperatures are rising twice as fast as in the rest of the world. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the forum in Rovaniemi, northern Finland, with a speech welcoming the melting of Arctic sea ice, rather than expressing alarm about it. "Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade," he said. "This could potentially slash the time it takes to travel between Asia and the West by as much as 20 days." "Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st-Century Suez and Panama Canals," Mr Pompeo said. At short notice, he cancelled talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday, in a surprise move. Environmental warning Scientists and environmental groups warn that the retreat of Arctic sea ice threatens polar bears and marine species, but also contributes to rising sea levels, adding to the risk of coastal flooding. They also warn of a major pollution risk if energy and transport firms find it easier to exploit the pristine Arctic wilderness. The Arctic Council consists of the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland. It meets every two years to address economic and environmental challenges in the Arctic. Sources at the forum told Reuters news agency that the US shunned the joint statement because of wording stating that climate change posed a serious threat to the Arctic. In 2017 US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Paris climate accord signed by almost 200 governments. The accord aims to limit a rise in average global temperatures to "well below" 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. At the Rovaniemi meeting, Mr Pompeo also attacked what he called "aggressive behaviour" by China and Russia in the Arctic region. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48185793

T-rex's tiny cousin which shows where it got its killer bite is unearthed by scientists Alex Matthews-King Scientists have unearthed a tiny cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex – whose height was only slightly greater than the length of a T-rex’s skull. The new species, named Suskityrannus hazelae or the “coyote tyrant”, would have stood just 3ft tall at its hip, and measured 9ft from snout to tail. Compared to the tyrant lizard king’s 40ft nine-tonne bulk, Suskityrannus would have been a paltry 90 pounds (41kgs). Scientists aren’t sure what exactly it was hunting when it stalked the earth 92 million years ago. While the T-rex would rise to become undisputed king of the food chain, Suskityrannus would have lived under the reigning apex predator of the time – the Allosaurus. “Suskityrannus gives us a glimpse into the evolution of tyrannosaurs just before they take over the planet,” said study author Dr Sterling Nesbitt of Virginia Tech University, describing the discovery in Nature Ecology and Evolution. © Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Dr Nesbitt found one of the fossils more than 20 years ago while on an archaeological dig in New Mexico as a high school student – but for decades it was not clear that they had a new tyrannosaur on their hands. “Suskityrannus has a much more slender skull and foot than its later and larger cousins, the Tyrannosaurus rex,” Dr Nesbitt said. “Essentially, we didn’t know we had a cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex for many years”. However, despite their slender form, it is the earliest specimen to exhibit the adaptations that allowed tyrannosaurs to take over. © Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Sterling Nesbitt and fossil remains of Suskityrannus hazelae, which he found at age 16 in 1998 (Virginia Tech) “Suskityrannus is a key link between the enormous bone-crunching dinosaurs like T-rex and the smaller species they evolved from,” said Dr Steven Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, another of the authors. “The new species shows that tyrannosaurs developed many of their signature features like a muscular skull, broad mouth, and a shock-absorbing foot when they were still small, maybe as adaptations for living in the shadows.” However, it is unclear exactly why the animals were changing so rapidly during the mid-Cretaceous, the authors said. The discovery also demonstrates an evolutionary link between the older tyrannosaurs of North America and China and the much larger species, who dominated until a meteor strike 66 million years ago. Piecing together the evolution of the tyrannosaurs in the mid-Cretaceous period is complicated by near-record high sea levels at the time, which split the east and west coasts of North America. Specimens have been found across two archaeological sites – including one in the Zuni Basin, of New Mexico. The sites are in the ancestral lands of Zuni Native Americans, who granted permission for their word “suski” to be part of the new name. Palaeontologists have yet to find any specimen with arm bones, so it remains a mystery as to whether Suskityrannus shared T-rex’s least impressive feature. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/t-rexs-tiny-cousin-which-shows-where-it-got-its-killer-bite-is-unearthed-by-scientists/ar-AAB0t6u

Well done guys and well-done @Batard for seeing the year off or booted it across the line, another year coming up and we will see that one completed again and TF365 will just keep rolling along.

The wife can't stand her so I have peace in this household as the wife hates hearing that name, anything else to do with Royalty the wife will read, watch and talk about it, I will be a "yes dear...no dear (all bags full)...really...that's good..." guy...yawn

Thank fuck I never got the wooden spoon seeing it's the first time I have played this game and congratulations to the winner's (1st,2nd,3rd) and will look forward to this game again whenever

A commercial resupply mission heads to the space station, watching Earth breathe from space, and dealing with the impact threat of near-Earth objects … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Just saw this in MSN news clip. did anybody notice it? I don't watch GoT so I will pass.

1/4 Slides For some tourists, the goal of travel is to stand in the place where historical events took place: to follow in the footsteps of Jesus; follow the trade and pilgrimage routes of the Mayans, or stand on the field at Gettysburg. It’s an attempt to reach across time and grab a hold of the past but, in most cases, we are speaking in generalities. The via dolorosa—the pilgrimage route that Jesus took to Calvary and his death—is slightly wrong. And while you can go to Gettysburg you can’t necessarily pinpoint the exact spot where President Lincoln delivered his famous address (even though we do know the approximate place). Now there’s a new exception to this rule: excavations at Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) in Istanbul, the largest Christian cathedral built in the ancient world, have revealed a number of new and exciting discoveries. Among them is a disk identifying the exact spot at which the emperor Justinian I would have stood. He’s not as famous as Caesar or Augustus but Justinian I was the most influential and important Byzantine emperor. When Justinian came to power Vandals, Huns and Franks had conquered much of the western Roman empire. Justinian would then spend over two decades driving these “barbarians” from Italy and North Africa and restoring order to the Roman empire. His most important contribution, however, was his Corpus Iuris Civilis, or the Code of Justinian. It wasn’t the first Roman legal code, but it did reform and incorporate earlier material. His legal code remained the foundation of the Byzantine legal system for nine-hundred years and its influence is felt even to this day. Over two centuries ago the historian Edward Gibbon could write of him that while “the vain titles of the victories of Justinian are crumbled into dust… the name of the legislator is inscribed on a fair and lasting monument.” The Cathedral itself has a lengthy and violent history. Construction on the current structures began in 537 CE. It was built on the site of an earlier church, known as the “Great Church,” which was burned down during rioting in the early fifth century. A second church, ordered by the emperor Theodosius II, was also almost entirely destroyed during the Nika Revolt (532 CE), an uprising that burned nearly half the city and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. To replace it, Justinian decided to build a third larger and more inspiring church; one that would dwarf its predecessors. Even at the time, it was recognized as a structure of great architectural significance. And it became the site of important imperial rituals, including coronations. In the medieval period, the Cathedral was, according to the Byzantine era historian Niketas Choniates, sacked by Crusaders at the behest of the Doge of Venice during the Fourth Crusade. It was then pillaged again in 1453 after Mehmet II captured Constantinople. When Mehmet II entered the Cathedral after the three days of brutally violent looting and pillaging, he commanded that it be converted into a mosque. Over the following centuries, a number of Sultans contributed to the maintenance and improvement of the building, then, in 1935, the building was converted into a museum. Now researchers are discovering that the Byzantine structure was larger and more elaborate than previously believed. A team of archaeologists led by Ken Dark, an archaeologist at the University of Reading and Jan Kostenec, a founding member and director of the Czech Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology, worked at the site from 2004-2018. Many of their discoveries were made during an official restoration. When museum officials removed recently added plaster, Dark and Kostenec found mosaics, frescos, tiles, and graffiti from the ancient and medieval periods. In their recently published book Hagia Sophia: An Archaeological Reexamination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople Dark and Kostenec announced that they have discovered what is likely to be the baptistery, which was previously believed to be lost. Some 1400 years ago this structure would have hosted the baptism of the children of the emperor and initiated the offspring of elite society into the church. In addition, they discovered what may have been an ancient library underneath a large hall. The size of the potential library means that it would have been able to house thousands of scrolls, only adding to its importance as a site of learning and intellectual inquiry in the late antique world. It was in another building, known as the northeast vestibule, that archaeologists discovered and identified a disc-shaped spot made out of a porphyry rock as the place where the emperor would have stood. The disk forms part of the original sixth-century floor of the church constructed by Justinian. Ken Dark told Live Science “As such, it is probably the only place where it is possible to identify anywhere the precise spot on which the most famous Byzantine emperor stood.” If you want to follow in the footsteps of one of history’s greatest legislators you may have to act soon: Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum is currently under threat. In 2018 and again last month President Erdoğan indicated that he intends to convert the museum back into a mosque. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/archaeologists-uncover-more-secrets-at-ancient-worlds-largest-christian-cathedral/ar-AAAW0Zf

Well done, The Lions 7-0 The Trainer

Ok

Nah, this would look nice for @nudge I was thinking about making a Hairy Nostril thread as we already have a Ladies Feet thread

I guess it would stop ladies picking their noses

Jesus Christ, @nudge would you do this?

Elephant Man: Joseph Merrick's grave 'found by author' The unmarked grave of Joseph Merrick - who is better known as the Elephant Man - has been traced after nearly 130 years, it has been claimed. Merrick had a skeletal and soft tissue deformity which saw him as a freak show attraction, then a medical curiosity. His skeleton has been preserved at the Royal London Hospital since his death. But author Jo Vigor-Mungovin says she has now discovered Merrick's soft tissue was buried in the City of London Cemetery after he died in 1890. After a miserable adolescence and time as a travelling exhibit, Leicester-born Merrick ended up at what was then called the London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, where he surprised staff by proving to have an intelligent and sensitive personality. He became a minor celebrity and in May 1887 was visited by Alexandra, Princess of Wales, who afterwards sent him Christmas cards. After his death, Merrick's body was dissected and his skeleton preserved as an anatomical specimen. Joseph Merrick Mrs Vigor-Mungovin, who has written a biography of Merrick, said a story about his soft tissue being buried had not been followed up due to the number of graveyards in use at the time. "I was asked about this and off-hand I said 'It probably went to the same place as the [Jack the] Ripper victims', as they died in the same locality. "Then I went home and really thought about it and started looking at the records of the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium near Epping Forest, where two Ripper victims are buried "I decided to search in an eight-week window around the time of his death and there, on page two, was Joseph Merrick." The detailed Victorian records make it "99% certain" this is the Elephant Man, said Mrs Vigor-Mungovin. "The burial is dated 24 April 1890, and Joseph died on 11 April. "It gives his residence as London Hospital, his age as 28 - Joseph was actually 27 but his date of birth was often given wrong - and the coroner as Wynne Baxter, who we know conducted Joseph's inquest. "Everything fits, it is too much to be a coincidence." Initially, the area was narrowed down to a communal memorial garden, but Mrs Vigor-Mungovin said a specific plot had now been identified. "The authorities said a small plaque could be made to mark the spot, which would be lovely. "Hopefully, we can soon get a memorial in his hometown of Leicester." The City of London Cemetery has been unavailable for comment. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-48149855

Geology study finds massive volcanic blast Research at the British Geological Survey (BGS) in Edinburgh is warning that we still don't know enough when it comes to predicting and preparing for major volcanic eruptions. Dr Julia Crummy has based her conclusion on years spent researching the Volcán de Colima in Mexico. Standing over 12,470ft (3,800m) high, it is one of the most active volcanoes in North America. Colima has erupted every other year, on average, since 1900. Its last phase of eruptions lasted from 2013 to 2017. In 2015 the fall of ash was so severe that hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes and the local airport was closed temporarily. There were more evacuations the following year. Dr Crummy says the last really big explosion was in 1913. "There was a civil war going on at the time and they actually thought it was cavalry," she says. "It produced a really huge ash cloud that rose up to about 23km (14 miles). "Pyroclastic flows travelled 15km (9 miles) from the volcano and ashfall was reported in Guadalajara. That's about 160km (99 miles) away." Today, more than 500,000 people live within 30km (17 miles) of Colima. Extensive plans are in place to safeguard them in the event of another big explosion. But how big will that be? Prehistoric eruptions The historical record of Colima's activity only begins after the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1519. Dr Crummy has been using geology to look back further by examining layers of ash left behind by prehistoric eruptions. "Charcoal samples for dating have enabled us to identify that these span the past 30,000 years. "By looking at the minerals in the samples we can look at how behaviour has changed over time." By establishing the thickness of each layer Dr Crummy was able to build a numerical model of how large the eruptions had been. She modelled the volume and magnitude of five prehistoric explosive events between 4,400 and 6,000 years ago. Her most surprising finding is that some were an order of magnitude bigger than previously thought. Instead of throwing a cubic kilometre of debris into the atmosphere it was 10 times as much. That is 10 times larger than the explosions on which the current plans and hazard maps are based. "That's not to say the hazard maps are wrong," Dr Crummy says. "They're based on a worst case scenario using known historical data, which is absolutely fine. "But what we're doing is highlighting the fact that actually, if you look at the geological record and extend beyond the historical over the last 10,000 years or so, we can see there have been much larger eruptions. "So it's about awareness." This study of a single volcano has far wider implications. An estimated 800 million people live within 100km (62 miles) of a potentially active volcano. Writing in the Journal of Applied Volcanology, Dr Crummy says it means science's understanding of past volcanic eruptions is still limited. And in many places, the geological record is less well preserved than at Colima. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupted air traffic as recently as 2010 but much of the geological evidence has already been washed away. Dr Crummy's research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the BGS and the Smithsonian Institute. Colima's cone is closely monitored - you can do it yourself on a live webcam This week increasing seismic activity raised the alert state from green to yellow. That means people are not being allowed within 8km (5 miles) of the volcano. So, for the time being, tourists are prevented from taking snaps of Colima's vivid contrast between snow and fire. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-48148736