NASA has released a trove of data from its sky-mapping mission, allowing scientists and anyone with access to the Internet to peruse millions of galaxies, stars, asteroids and other hard-to-see objects. Many of the targets in the celestial catalog released online this week have been previously observed, but there are significant new discoveries. The mission's finds include more than 33,000 new asteroids floating between Mars and Jupiter and 20 comets. NASA launched the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which carried an infrared telescope, in December 2009 to scan the cosmos in finer detail than previous missions. The spacecraft, known as WISE, mapped the sky 1 1/2 times during its 14-month mission, snapping more than 2 1/2 million images from its polar orbit. The spacecraft's ability to detect heat glow helps it find dusty, cold and distant objects that are often invisible to regular telescopes. Gallery: Mapping the skies in infrared The batch of images made available … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo Spectacular sky-mapping archive open to the public
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Burger King could face public backlash over deal
Burger King's (BKW) $11 billion acquisition of Canadian restaurant chain Tim Hortons (THI) is drawing fire from politicians, pundits and consumers who a way for the U.S. fast-food giant to dodge taxes. Since talks of a possible tie-up were announced Sunday, Burger King's Facebook page has received thousands of comments denouncing the move and pledging to boycott the company. The companies on Tuesday officially announced the merger, which would give the combined company some 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries worldwide. "If you attempt to buy Tim Horton's for the purposes of evading US Taxes, I will NEVER step foot in another Burger King again...Don't do it," reads one post that has received 1,427 "likes" so far. Burger King's planned purchase of Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons is a move known as an "inversion," a legal maneuver that lets a company shift profits overseas to avoid paying domestic tax rates. For tax purposes, Miami-based Burger King would now be … [Read more...] about Burger King could face public backlash over deal
CBS News Logo Synthetic Mars rocks help publicize rover landing
(SPACE.com) A set of synthetic Mars rocks will be making a national tour next week to promote the upcoming landing of NASA's giant new rover on the Red Planet. The tour is part of a campaign called "Get Curious" that was created to honor the new Curiosity Mars rover, the main element of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which is due to land on our neighboring world Aug. 6. The $2.5 billion rover is designed to spend at least two years on Mars searching for clues that Mars may have been habitable to life at some point. "Get Curious" will send large boulders manufactured to look like Martian rocks to eight U.S. cities between July 26 and Aug. 9. No rocks have ever been brought back to Earth from the Red Planet, but these large synthetic constructions are designed to resemble the real thing as closely as possible. The rocks will visit Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Detroit; Columbus, Ohio; Houston; Indianapolis; and Orlando. "We are excited that Columbus was designated a 'Mars City,' … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo Synthetic Mars rocks help publicize rover landing
Dead Sea Scrolls set to go on public display for first time in Denver
Conserving the Scrolls at the Israel Antiquities Authority laboratories in Jerusalem. (Photo: Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority) Two manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are set to go on public display for the first time ever in Denver this week. The scrolls are among 20 Dead Sea Scrolls and a host of other artifacts from the Israel Antiquities Authority that will be part of an exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The huge six-month exhibit opens Friday. One scroll, designated Tohorot (Purities), which deals with matters of ritual purity and impurity, will be shown as part of an initial round of 10 scrolls. The ritual purity scroll, which dates back to the late first century B.C, is being shown in public for the first time. After three months, the 10 scrolls will be sent back to Israel, to be replaced by another 10 scrolls. DEAD SEA SCROLLS DISCOVERY: OBSCURE FRAGMENTS DECIPHERED Part of a scroll dealing with wisdom, designated Musar leMevin … [Read more...] about Dead Sea Scrolls set to go on public display for first time in Denver
Minnesota legislators put politics above public health
There is a time and a place for politics. Heck, every few years as November rolls around, it may even seem there are too many places for politics. But one place politics does not belong is in the laboratories that help establish our public health standards. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a solid reputation of being the independent protectors of the state’s lakes, air and lands. The agency houses an impressive collection of experts who are all charged with working to protect the health of all Minnesotans by protecting our air and water from pollution. They have been directed by past legislatures and Governors to make decisions based on science and not politics. But apparently that era of independent decision-making may be coming to a close. This year the Minnesota legislature is in the process of debating four bills that would undermine the authority of the MPCA and replace science with politics as the deciding factor for what is best for the … [Read more...] about Minnesota legislators put politics above public health