VISTA finds new globular star clusters and sees right through the heart of the Milky Way

This survey has also turned up the first star cluster that is far beyond the center of the Milky Way on the other side of our galaxy.

This image from VISTA is a tiny part of the VISTA Variables
in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey that is systematically studying
the central parts of the Milky Way in infrared light.
On the right lies the globular star cluster UKS 1
and on the left lies a much less conspicuous new discovery,
VVV CL001 — a previously unknown globular.
The new globular appears as a faint grouping of
stars about 25% of the width of the image from the left edge,
and about 60% of the way from bottom to top.
Credit: ESO/D. Minniti/VVV Team

Two newly discovered globular clusters have been added to the total of just 158 known globular clusters in our Milky Way. They were found in new images from the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) VISTA survey telescope as part of the variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey. This survey has also turned up the first star cluster that is far beyond the center of the Milky Way and whose light has had to travel right through the dust and gas in the heart of our galaxy to get to us.

The dazzling globular cluster called UKS 1 dominates the right-hand side of the image from ESO’s VISTA survey telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. But if you can drag your gaze away, there is a surprise lurking in this rich star field — a fainter globular cluster that was discovered in the data from one of VISTA’s surveys. You will have to look closely to see the other star cluster, which is called VVV CL001 — it is a small collection of stars in the left half of the image.

But VVV CL001 is just the first of VISTA’s globular discoveries. The same team has found a second object, dubbed VVV CL002. This small and faint grouping may also be the globular cluster that is the closest known to the center of the Milky Way. The discovery of a new globular cluster in our Milky Way is rare. The last one was discovered in 2010, and only 158 globular clusters were known in our galaxy before the new discoveries.

These new clusters are early discoveries from the VVV survey that is systematically studying the central parts of the Milky Way in infrared light. Dante Minniti leads the VVV team from the Pontifica University of Chile and Philip Lucas from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

As well as globular clusters, VISTA is finding many open, or galactic, clusters, which generally contain fewer, younger stars than globular clusters and are far more common. Another newly announced cluster, VVV CL003, seems to be an open cluster that lies in the direction of the heart of the Milky Way, but much further away, about 15,000 light-years beyond the center. This is the first such cluster to be discovered on the far side of the Milky Way.

Given the faintness of the newly found clusters, it is no wonder that they have remained hidden for so long; up until a few years ago, UKS 1, which easily outshines the newcomers, was actually the dimmest known globular cluster in the Milky Way. Because of the absorption and reddening of starlight by interstellar dust, these objects can only be seen in infrared light and VISTA, the world’s largest survey telescope that is ideally suited to searching for new clusters hidden behind dust in the central parts of the Milky Way.

One intriguing possibility is that VVV CL001 is gravitationally bound to UKS 1, making these two stellar groups the Milky Way’s first binary globular cluster pair. But this could just be a line-of-sight effect with the clusters actually separated by a vast distance.

Quoted from Astronomy Magazine

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Blue stragglers: Astronomers discover how mysterious stars stay so young

Scientists report that a mechanism known as mass transfer explains the origins of these old stars that still burn hot and blue.

Mysterious “blue stragglers” are old stars that appear younger than they should — they burn hot and blue. Several theories have attempted to explain why they don’t show their age, but, until now, scientists have lacked the crucial observations with which to test each hypothesis.

An artist's conception showing a blue straggler
 being created by mass transfer in a binary star system.
The giant star, seen in the upper left of the illustration,
 has lost hold of its outer envelope.
This material is pulled towards its partner,
forming an accretion disk, and is eventually
consumed by the "proto-blue straggler."
Soon the giant star will donate the remainder of
its envelope, leaving only the half-solar-mass
 white dwarf core
(shown peaking through the giant's tenuous envelope)
as the companion to the blue straggler.
Credit: Aaron M. Geller

Armed with such observational data, Aaron M. Geller from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, and Robert Mathieu from the University of Wisconsin-Madison report that a mechanism known as mass transfer explains the origins of the blue stragglers. Essentially, a blue straggler eats up the mass, or outer envelope, of its giant-star companion. This extra fuel allows the straggler to continue to burn and live longer while the companion star is stripped bare, leaving only its white dwarf core.

The majority of blue stragglers in their study are in binaries — they have a companion star. “It’s really the companion star that helped us determine where the blue straggler comes from,” said Geller. “The companion stars orbit at periods of about 1,000 days, and we have evidence that the companions are white dwarfs. Both point directly to an origin from mass transfer.”

The astronomers studied the NGC 188 open cluster, which is in the constellation Cepheus, situated in the sky near Polaris, the North Star. This cluster is one of the most ancient open star clusters, but it features these mysterious, young-looking blue stragglers.

The cluster has around 3,000 stars, all about the same age, and has 21 blue stragglers. Geller and Mathieu are the first to use detailed observational data from the WIYN Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, of the blue stragglers in NGC 188.

They used the information to analyze and compare the three main theories of blue straggler formation: collisions between stars, mergers of stars, and mass transfer from one star to another. The only one left standing was the theory of mass transfer.

The light from the blue stragglers’ companion stars is not actually visible in Geller and Mathieu’s observations. While the companions haven’t been seen directly, their effect on the blue stragglers is evident: Each companion pulls gravitationally on its blue straggler and creates a “wobble” as it orbits, and this allows astronomers to measure the mass of the companion stars. The WIYN data show that each companion star is about half the mass of the Sun, which is consistent with a white dwarf.

The other two origin theories — collisions and mergers — require the companion stars to be more massive than what is observed. In fact, in both scenarios, some of the companion stars could be bright enough to be visible in the WIYN data, which is not the case.

“We think we have a good understanding of stellar evolution, but it doesn’t predict blue stragglers,” Geller said. “People have been trying to explain the origin of blue stragglers since their discovery in 1953, and now we have the detailed observations needed to identify how they were created. I’ve always enjoyed trying to get to the bottom of a mystery.”

“As so often happens in astronomy, it is the objects that you don’t see that provide the critical clues,” said Mathieu. “Now we will use the Hubble Space Telescope to search for the ultraviolet light in which white dwarf secondary stars shine.”

Geller, Mathieu, and their colleagues will have, in about a year’s time, observations from Hubble that will tell them if the blue stragglers’ companions are, indeed, white dwarfs.

Quoted from Astronomy Magazine

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Ning Adds 90 New Apps To Social Network Platform!

If you're an active Facebook user and involved in creating groups on their network, you might want to strike out on your own and design a highly-customized standalone site. Business professionals are developing networking hubs while hobbyists are getting their 'Ning' on forming online clubs. The New Kids On The Block have a fan group following and College alumni groups have found a new way to keep in touch with their school mates!

Ning, first founded in 2004 by Gina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen, one of the developers of the Mosaic Web browser by Netscape Communications. Ning says its platform has been used to create 1.5 million networks with 33 million registered users.

The more than 90 apps now available are based on OpenSocial APIs (application programming interfaces), which allow applications to run on multiple Web sites without developers having to change them.

Cartfly, now available on Ning is a social commerce store network that enables online merchants to turn their storefronts into portable widgets and distribute them across major social networks. 

Ustream.tv enables video streaming and chat for anyone with a camera and an Internet connection. In less than a few minutes anyone can become a broadcaster by creating one's own Ustream TV channel and embedding it into your Ning social network.

The options on Ning Networks are endless. Here's a list of some of the other popular apps available to Ning social networkers.

For Artist, Musician or Entertainment Ning Networks

    * Sellit online store to sell merchandise

    * Ticketmaster or LiveNation to sell event tickets

    * Qik to stream mobile video 

For Activist and Non-Profit Ning Networks

    * Social Giving by Pinc to support fund-raising efforts

    * Marketplace Classifieds allows you to post & search local ads for more volunteers & resources

    * BlogTalkRadio to host live radio shows

    * PollDaddy to rapidly gauge members level of involvement

    * Huddle to share workspaces and collateral

    * Tungle.me to schedule meetings and mobilize members

    * WordPress to display blog posts

For Sports Fan or Extreme Athlete Ning Networks

    * NewsShare to share highlights and stories

    * Emote to share real time reactions to games and players

You can also review the full Ning Apps Directory here.

The Ning Apps are completely integrated into Ning Networks by design. They support gadgets skins, allowing them to automatically inherit the visual style of the Ning Network to which they're added. It's a very cool way for non-techies to jump in with both feet and create a network from scratch with all the bells and whistles...and the bonus is...it's free! And if you are a professional developer there is a Ning Developer Network to provide you with an even more advanced approach in putting together your network.

If you've got a itching to form your own group, getting your 'Ning' on is a worthwhile investment of your time... even if you only have a few members who want to join!

Quoted from Inventorspot

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Beware, Fish Therapy Risks for Health

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON - Therapy fish, you know him right? The therapy is becoming a trend in several countries including Indonesia this involves small fish to bite the dead skin cells. Clients simply dipping their toes into the shallow pool filled with hundreds of tiny Garra Rufa fish, then let the fish 'work' nibble your dead skin layer.

However, be careful. People with weakened immune systems or open wounds at risk of contracting the infection through this therapy. Is an organization of the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which reminded of this and advise people with diabetes or psoriasis to not melakukaan this therapy.

In fact, a spokesman for the HPA said the risk of most 'creepy' from this therapy, the likelihood of contracting hepatitis or HIV / AIDS.

Dr Hilary Kirkbride, consultant epidemiologist at the HPA, said the infection can be transmitted in various ways - from fish to bite people during the process, from contact with contaminated water, or from person to person by sharing the same tank.

In the UK, this therapy was popular. In salons, spa fish, so termed, is flooded with customers.

Spa fish have been banned in some U.S. states.

Despite recent warnings, pampering treatments have been embraced by the

Some celebrities and sports stars also become customers, including Manchester City footballer Vincent Kompany, and the famous TV presenter Amy Childs and James Argent.

Adapted from Yahoo! She Indonesia

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