] The Beagle 2 probe, named for the ship that carried
] naturalist Charles Darwin on his voyage of discovery in
] the 1830s, will scratch Mars' surface with a robotic arm
] to test for signs of organic matter. It is expected to
] transmit its first pictures from Mars to mission control
] early next month.

It was launched just six months ago via a Russian Soyuz rocket, and is scheduled to attempt landing on Christmas Day. So far so good, but there is still so much that can go wrong. Only three other missions (to my knowledge) have managed a successful landing on Mars -- the two Viking landers in 1976, and the Pathfinder in 1997. Will Beagle be the fourth? Stay tuned . . .

Mars Express - European Spacecraft Streaks Toward Mars

] This is the web site for the Erdös Number Project, which
] studies research collaboration among mathematicians.

Paul Erdos was a famous mathematician who authored and/or co-authored over a thousand different papers. So famous was he, that his co-authors gained fame just for having their names on the same paper as he (which gave them "Erdos 1" status). So famous were those co-authors, that others gained fame for co-authoring a paper with someone who had once co-authored a paper with Erdos (which gave the co-co-authors "Erdos 2" titles). And then people who co-authored with "Erdos 2" people became "Erdos 3", and so on. Sort of like the Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but in the academic world.

I was recently approached about co-authoring a paper with someone who's an Erdos 3, which would make me an Erdos 4, if it happens. I'll probably do the paper, regardless of the Erdos-ness of it. Having never heard of the numbering scheme before, it doesn't matter that much to me. But still, I found it worth meme-ing for the day. :)

Erdos Number Project

] The Sun, the Moon, and two photographers all lined up
] last month in Antarctica during an unusual total eclipse
] of the Sun.

Wow.

An Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse

] Explanation: In 1787, astronomer William Herschel
] discovered the Eskimo Nebula. From the ground, NGC 2392
] resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. In
] 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the Eskimo
] Nebula. From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so
] complex they are not fully understood. The Eskimo Nebula
] is clearly a planetary nebula, and the gas seen above
] composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000
] years ago. The inner filaments visible above are being
] ejected by strong wind of particles from the central
] star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long
] orange filaments.

Gorgeous!

The Eskimo Nebula from Hubble

A 22-year-old student at Stockholm University, Elin Oxenhielm, may have cracked part of one of mathematics' greatest unsolved problems.

Hilbert's Problem 16 Cracked!

] A tiny fossil of a creature that lived some 425 million
] years ago has entered the record books as the oldest
] unequivocally male animal. The organism, which resembles
] a cross between a shrimp and a clam, sports a large penis
] which has been perfectly preserved in three dimensions.

"Large" is relative here, since the entire organism is only 5 mm across. ;)

Recordbreakers -- World's oldest known penis

] The idea was tested at a unique facility of the New
] Mexico Institute of Technology, the Langmuir laboratory.
] That lab, a center of lightning studies, was built on top
] of South Baldy Mountain near Soccorro, New Mexico, the
] location of frequent lightning strikes. By placing
] mineral samples where lightning would hit them, Dr.
] Wasilewski turned magnetite with appropriate crystalline
] structure into lodestones.

Some information on the NASA website about research into how lightning can create magnetized lodestones.

Lodestones and Lightning

] This site is dedicated to the quest for knowledge and
] wisdom, through science, mathematics, philosophy,
] invention, and technology.

This is the site of someone I met at Dragon*Con. It's a comprehensive list of sci-tech sites compiled by someone who is (IMHO) one of the genius physicist/mathematicians of our generation. Quite a bit of interesting stuff there.

The Science Realm: John's Virtual Sci-Tech Universe

The Planetary Society keeps coming up with neat perks. Through my membership with them I've gotten invitations to go on some nifty expeditions (that's how I ended up going to Antarctica in 1999), and a couple years ago my name got put on a space probe, Stardust, that's currently on its way to meet a comet.

Today, I found out that my name is now going to Mars! The new Mars Rover is taking a mini-DVD with my name (and over 3.5 million other names (grin)) with it. What a cool idea!

For more info on the mission, check here:
 http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/

To search for other names (no partial matches, you have to type it in exactly), check here:
 http://spacekids.hq.nasa.gov/2003/namequery.htm

Elonka's Going to Mars! -- Well, her name is . . .

] Scientists yesterday said they have discovered a
] long-sought master gene in embryonic stem
] cells that is largely responsible for giving those cells
] their unique regenerative and therapeutic potential.
 . . .
] In recognition of that power, the researchers have named
] the gene "nanog," a reference to the mythological Celtic
] land of Tir Nan Og, whose fairy-like residents are said
] to stay forever young.

Well, if nothing else, we may be able to breed immortal mice!

Stem cell -holy grail- found