Stages of Star Formation. A beautiful image of NGC 2467 that displays the many stages of star formation: young stars at the left, a star still surrounded by gas in the lower left, dark dust lanes in the center as possible sites for new star formation, and a bright wall of gas evaporating due to presence of bright stars at the right. (APOD January 31, 2005). 

History of the Universe

History of the Universe in 200 words or less - an old favorite.

Quantum fluctuation. Inflation. Expansion. Strong nuclear interaction. Particle-antiparticle annihilation. Deuterium and helium production. Density perturbations. Recombination. Blackbody radiation. Local contraction. Cluster formation. Reionization? Violent relaxation. Virialization. Biased galaxy formation? Turbulent fragmentation. Contraction. Ionization. Compression. Opaque hydrogen. Massive star formation. Deuterium ignition. Hydrogen fusion. Hydrogen depletion. Core contraction. Envelope expansion. Helium fusion. Carbon, oxygen, and silicon fusion. Iron production. Implosion. Supernova explosion. Metals injection. Star formation. Supernova explosions. Star formation. Condensation. Planetesimal accretion. Planetary differentiation. Crust solidification. Volatile gas expulsion. Water condensation. Water dissociation. Ozone production. Ultraviolet absorption. Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction. Fossilization. Land exploration. Dinosaur extinction. Mammal expansion. Glaciation. Homo sapiens manifestation. Animal domestication. Food surplus production. Civilization! Innovation. Exploration. Religion. Warring nations. Empire creation and destruction. Exploration. Colonization. Taxation without representation. Revolution. Constitution. Election. Expansion. Industrialization. Rebellion. Emancipation Proclamation. Invention. Mass production. Urbanization. Immigration. World conflagration. League of Nations. Suffrage extension. Depression. World conflagration. Fission explosions. United Nations. Space exploration. Assassinations. Lunar excursions. Resignation. Computerization. World Trade Organization. Terrorism. Internet expansion. Reunification. Dissolution. World-Wide Web creation. Composition. Extrapolation?

(The Annals of Improbable Research)

Rumi, Once More

THE ALCHEMY OF LOVE

You come to us
from another world

From beyond the stars
and void of space.
Transcendent, Pure,
Of unimaginable beauty,
Bringing with you
the essence of love

You transform all
who are touched by you.
Mundane concerns,
troubles, and sorrows
dissolve in your presence,
Bringing joy
to ruler and ruled
To peasant and king

You bewilder us
with your grace.
All evils
transform into
goodness.

You are the master alchemist.

You light the fire of love
in earth and sky
in heart and soul
of every being.

Through your loving
existence and nonexistence merge.
All opposites unite.
All that is profane
becomes sacred again.

(The Love Poems of Rumi, Deepak Chopra ed.)

Libyan dunes from above (UniverseToday.com). 

Ergs

In the Sahara, an "erg" refers to a sand dune, not a unit of energy. The above image, taken by ESA's Envisat satellite, is that of two large sand dunes in southwestern Libya. Details about the dunes in the following article:

Libya's Ubari and Murzuq Sand Seas

Extrasolar Planets

Up until now, planets around other stars were studied indirectly by means of their gravitational "tug" on their star. However, thanks to NASA's Spitzer Telescope, the light from planets has now, for the first time, been detected directly. This is a great step in the field of extrasolar planetary astronomy! Here is one of the many articles published on the topic in the past few days:

First Light Seen from an Extrasolar Planet

Hubble image of early star formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud (HubbleSite.org). 

Dark Energy

The idea of dark energy being responsible for the accelerating expansion of the Universe has been discussed passionately by cosmologists in the past few years. The idea was first introduced by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century as a "cosmological constant" that would allow "his" Universe to remain static. As is well known among physicists, after Hubble's discovery of the expanding Universe, Einstein called the cosmological constant "the greatest blunder of [his] life." Here is a nice little article about our current views of dark energy and the expansion of the Universe:

Ripples in Spacetime Could Explain Dark Energy

Silence

Breathtaking, inspiring, and expressing an awe-some silence. Some images from Merzouga, one of the most beautiful places in the world:

Pictures of the Sahara Desert at Merzouga, Morocco

The CMB and Large-Scale Structure

A couple of people at Caltech, among others, are attempting to use the data from WMAP to probe the large-scale structure of the Universe, something that may prove a bit of a challenge. Brief article from Universe Today:

Probing the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

Passing of a Great Physicist

Hans Bethe, one of the physicists involved with the Manhattan project, has passed away. Bethe won the Nobel Prize in 1967, developed the carbon cycle, and believed strongly in nuclear disarmament. From the New York Times:

Hans Bethe, Father of Nuclear Astrophysics, Dies at 98

Large Hadron Collider

With the lowering of the first superconducting magnet into the accelerator tunnel at CERN, the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is underway. Protons collided in the LHC will reach energy levels of 14 TeV, with the hope of eventually discovering the Higgs boson. This would be a huge breakthrough for particle physics in confirming the Standard Model! The LHC hopes to be finished by 2007. Here is a short article from PhysOrg:

LHC Magnets: The Great Descent

Inflation

Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with the cosmological version, but rather, that of Dartmouth administrators' salaries. I'll refrain from lengthy commentary but I'm sure you can imagine my thoughts on the matter. From The Dartmouth:

College Administrators' Salaries

The Apollo Conspiracy

This is great. The Apollo conspiracy theory followers have been around for a while, but now the ESA intends on putting them in their place with images of the Apollo landing sites from their SMART-1 probe. Of course, should their images be missing evidence of landing artifacts, there are many explanations more likely than that the landings never occurred. Here is the Space.com article, and don't forget to check the Top 10 Apollo Hoax Theories:

End of Conspiracy Theories?

The Wonder of Rumi

Few people have been able to express their fascination with the divine and their search for unity as Rumi did. Links to more of his poetry can be found to the right.

THE AWAKENING

In the early dawn of happiness
you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of love

I tried to remember in my heart
what I’d dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of life

I found my dreams
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a song

Between my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly
made me recall everything

You amuse me with your touch
although I can’t see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven’t seen your lips
You are hidden from me.

But it is you who keeps me alive

Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy
even for insults from you
I only ask that you
keep some attention on me.

Sagarmatha: Forehead of the Sky

Today's APOD image, an old favorite, speaks for itself:

Sagarmatha: Mount Everest

Galaxy in Motion. This beautiful galaxy, NGC 1427A, is being pulled toward the center of the Fornax cluster, and the pressure is triggering the pink, star-forming regions toward the top of the galaxy. (From HubbleSite.org) 

Wilber and Consciousness

A long, intricate article about Wilber's general worldview. Also a good summary of various current areas of psychology and the truths Wilber draws from each one. Wilber is difficult to read, but so important and refreshing:

Ken Wilber: An Integral Theory of Consciousness

History of the Universe 

Phase Transitions in the Early Universe

Although a topic I knew nothing of a mere few weeks ago, phase transitions is an extremely fascinating area of cosmology. By bringing together the Big Bang theory and modern particle physics, this field allows us to probe the earliest formative moments of the Universe. Here is Marcelo's review article on the subject, and while some parts require a certain physics background, it is well worth the read even for non-scientists. Here is the arXiv preprint:

Marcelo Gleiser: Phase Transitions in the Universe

The Big Bang Part II

This is one of the anti-Big Bang sites I came across last night, and read with fascination. It's worth a read, because it seems a lot of people feel the same scepticism as this guy.

David Pratt: Cosmology and the Big Bang

The Theory of Evolution

I am coming across a lot of this lately, perhaps because of my studying the early Universe, but there are is a shocking number of anti-Big Bang websites out there, where the Big Bang is dismissed as "just a theory" without much observational support. Here is an article in Space.com published today expressing similar frustrations about evolution:

Evolution: It's Only a Theory, But One Worth Teaching

The Big Bang

A nice introduction to the Big Bang theory for those not mathematically enclined:

WMAP: The Big Bang

Cambridge Cosmology: The Hot Big Bang Model

At peace.