Taking a GLIMPSE at our Milky Way

Do you want to take a look at our own galaxy, the Milky Way?

Head on to and view the 390,000 x 6000 pixels or 180 x 2.75 feet mosaic of our Milky Way galaxy. The photos were taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope which was launched August 25, 2003.

GLIMPSE or Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire surveyed the inner Milky Way and the photo mosaic were taken from 111,000 different points on the sky. Photos were taken in infrared. A total of 444,000 images were created.

The GLIMPSE survey resulted in the cataloguing of 72 MILLION stars. It also resulted in seeing newly forming massive stars, finding new star clusters. It also allowed the studying in detail of several individual star forming regions, discovering a globular cluster and a whole lot more.

For those who like watching the heavenly bodies, I suggest you look at the full resolution mosaic image at . The GLIMPSE/MIPSGAL image viewer lets you zoom in close to things such as the remnant from a star that went supernova, the Black Widow nebula, and the birth of new stars.

Mac users might opt to choose Firefox over Safari when using the GLIMPSE/MIPSGAL viewer.

The image of the Milky Way and the multitude of stars contained therein is humbling. Makes you feel really small.

Worse superhero partner ever.

Miko's Brew

From Tagum. They're here.

Americano was ok. No burnt finish. A tad fruity.

I recommend their blueberry cheesecake. They ran out of mango cheesecake. Will try that one out next time.

Fire!

A plume of dark smoke greeted me at 6:30 this morning.

Davao's night sky phenomenon

Last Sunday, December 16, we observed, to our delight, the Geminid meteor shower. I estimate that we saw around 15 meteors within one hour and that was when we were paying attention. It's estimated that 60 to 120 meteors were to be seen during the peak on December 13, however, light pollution would cut the number.

Tonight, we were surprised to see unusual patterns in Davao's night sky. The first one (7˚04'52.30"N, 125˚36'36.23"E) appeared sometime near midnight. We saw a streak of white plume the stretched across the sky going from southeast to northeast. Whatever caused the phenomenon, it was low enough to have disturbed the clouds. This was followed by another at around 1:00AM and yet another at around 2:45AM (7˚04'13.55"N, 125˚36'49.90"E). The directions were more or less parallel to the first. I tried to take pictures but the SE K800 phone wasn't suited for the task.

Tianx was really intrigued by this. As soon as he got home, he scoured the net for information. He sent an SMS telling me that last week's event was right after the peak of the Geminid meteor shower and tonight was the peak of the Ursid shower.

Tianx was thinking that perhaps the three meteors (at least) entered the Earth's atmosphere and caused the unusual patterns.

I'm curious to find out whether the meteors made impact, sank into the sea or simply burned out.

Staying out until the wee hours has its rewards.

Catholic Pope declares atheists are behind the greatest cruelty

Benedict had to find the 'greatest' executor of cruelty so that Catholic priests molesting children won't have to look so bad.

Benedict probably has forgotten that his church has done its own share of cruelty, atrocities and hate-mongering:

(From Infidel.org)

1. The Crusades
   
2. The Inquisition
3. The Salem Witch Trials
4. Exploitation by Missionaries
5. Anti-semitism

During the Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic Church took great care in torturing 'sinners'.

Both the inquisitor and the bishop were to be present. The prisoner was to be shown the instruments of torture and urged to confess. Upon refusing he was to be stripped and bound and again entreated to confess and to be promised mercy if he did. He/she would stand bound and naked in the presence of grim, implacable friars and watch the irons heated, the pulleys of the rack tested, the bearings of the wheel greased in preparation for their use on his own bones and body.

It's also interesting to take note that Benedict's predecessor has apologized for the sins of his flock.

Lying to people about going to "paradise" after they die as long as they cater to your fancies and whims is for me the greatest cruelty.

Thanks to Truemors.

Yes, Virginia, there are creationists in Davao

Whew! Finally, one creationist in Davao. Atheists outnumber him (or her) 4:1 though.

A miracle! FSM sighted on Thanksgiving

Forget grilled cheese sandwich. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has blessed a follower by appearing in a pumpkin pie. May we all be blessed by his noddley appendage.

Atheist Sunday school

Children of atheist or non-religious parent(s) need not be amoral anymore. In Palo Alto, California, an atheist Sunday school now teaches values and ethics in the secular way.

Down the hall in the kitchen, older kids engaged in a Socratic conversation with class leader Bishop about the role persuasion plays in decision-making. He tried to get them to see that people who are coerced into renouncing their beliefs might not actually change their minds but could be acting out of self-preservation--an important lesson for young atheists who may feel pressure to say they believe in God.

Christians can no longer say they have the monopoly on morality.

But then again, who said Christianity is an exemplar of morality? Discussed here, here, here, and here

The Tree man of Indonesia

An Indonesian man has growths on his skin and hands that made his skin look like tree bark and 'roots' growing out of his hands and feet. A combination of a rare genetic disorder affecting his immune system and the human papilloma virus caused this unusual case. Dr. Anthony Gaspari, a US dermatologist, got on the case and thinks vitamin A will help the Tree Man of Indonesia.

Dude! Where's my Theory of Everything?

The Telegraph UK reports that physicists are astounded by Garrett "Surfer Dude" Lisi's theory of everything. Lisi's "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything" is remarkable because of its, well, simplicity. His theory does not require more than the required 4 dimensions of time and dimension. Other theories need ten or more spatial dimensions.

Writing Under the Influence blog first entry

Got the first blog post for your right here.

Not for Catholics anymore

The sport of child-fondling is not exclusive to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church of England has come clean that it too enjoys the sport.