Mars is coming!

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You've probably heard that line before – no doubt fairly recently, thanks to a bogus e-mail that unfortunately received wide circulation on the Internet this summer with promises of Mars being as big as the full moon.


But this fact is absolutely true: Mars, the only planet whose surface we can see in any detail from the Earth, is now moving toward the best viewing position it will provide to us until the year 2014. Planet watchers have already begun readying their telescopes.


If you haven't seen it, it will be well worth looking for the red planet next week, even though you'll have to wait until after midnight to see it well.


Mars is currently midway between the zodiacal constellations of Taurus, the Bull and Gemini, the Twins and during this week it will rise shortly before 11 p.m. local daylight time. There is certainly no mistaking it once it comes up over the east-northeast horizon. Presently shining like a pumpkin-hued, zero magnitude star, Mars is currently tied for fifth place (with Vega) among the 21 brightest stars.


But as it continues to approach our Earth in the coming weeks and months, Mars will only be getting brighter: it will surpass Sirius, the brightest star in the sky by Dec. 9 and during the latter half of December it will even almost match Jupiter in brilliance.


Late next Wednesday night (or more precisely, early on Thursday morning), Mars will hover about 7-degrees above and to the right of the last quarter moon as they rise above the east-northeast horizon (your clenched fist held at arm's length is roughly 10-degrees in width). As you will see for yourself, the so-called "Red Planet" actually will appear closer to a yellow-orange tint – the same color of a dry desert under a high sun.


How close?


Every 26 months, or so, Earth makes a close approach to Mars, as our smaller, swifter orbit "overtakes" Mars around the sun. Because both the orbits of Mars and Earth are mildly elliptical, some close approaches between the two planets are closer than others.


This current apparition of Mars will be nowhere near as spectacular as the oft-referred approach of August 2003 when the planet came closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000-years.


Rather, on this upcoming occasion, Mars will come closest to Earth on the evening of December 18th (at around 6:46 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).


The planet will then lie 54.8 million miles (88.2 million kilometers) from Earth as measured from center to center. Mars will arrive at opposition to the sun (rising at sunset, setting at sunrise) six days later on Christmas Eve, December 24th.

How big?

That recent Martian e-mail message – a hyperbole which was widely circulated for a fourth consecutive year – lead people to believe, with liberal use of exclamation marks, that on Aug. 27, Mars would appear as bright as (or as large as) that night's full moon in the night sky. The subject header urged viewers to prepare to view "Two Full Moons."


It was amazing (and a little disturbing) to see just how many people actually believed that Mars could loom so large in our sky. But the truth is that even when at its absolute closest possible approach to Earth, Mars can appear no larger than 1/72 as big as the moon; to the unaided eye it would appear as nothing more than an extremely bright, non-twinkling star.


When it comes closest to Earth on December 18th of this year, Mars' apparent disk diameter will be equal to 15.9 arc seconds. To get an idea of just how large this is, wait until darkness falls this week and if you have a telescope, check out Jupiter, gleaming in the southwestern sky; it'll appear about 35 arc seconds across.


In contrast, Mars' disk will appear less than half as big as Jupiter's when the Red Planet comes closest to Earth later this year. While this may sound small, keep in mind that this is still atypically large for Mars. In fact, from November 30th through Jan. 5, 2008, Mars' apparent size will be larger than at any time until April 2014. Around the time that Mars is closest, amateurs with telescopes as small as 4-inches and magnifying above 120-power should be able to make out some dusky markings on the small yellow-orange disk, and perhaps the bright white polar cap.


Size isn't everything


From Dec. 15 through Dec. 29, Mars will blaze at magnitude -1.6, a bit brighter than Sirius, but just slightly inferior to Jupiter. Mars will still be positioned between Taurus and Gemini, at a rather high declination of about +27-degrees.

So almost as if to compensate for its relatively small apparent size, Mars will literally soar in the night sky of late-December.

When it reaches its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time, its altitude will be 70-degrees at Seattle, 76-degrees for New York, and an exceptional 83-degrees at Los Angeles. Meanwhile, amateur and professional astronomers stationed in southern Texas and central Florida will see Mars pass directly, or very nearly overhead!

Online Sky Maps and More
Sky Calendar & Moon Phases
Astrophotography 101
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

Original Story: Mars in the Morning: Red Planet Grows Brighter
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Three drinks a day ups breast cancer risk -study
September 26, 2007 11:03:44 PM PST Three or more drinks a day, whether beer, wine or spirits, boost a woman's risk of breast cancer as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

The relationship between alcohol and breast cancer is known but there has been little data on whether the choice of drink made a difference, they told a European Cancer Conference.

In what the researchers said was one of the largest studies to investigate links between breast cancer and alcohol -- found that alcohol itself and the amount a person consumed were key rather than the type of drink.

"Studies have consistently linked drinking alcohol to an increased risk of female breast cancer, but until now there has been little data, most of it conflicting, about an independent role played by the choice of beverage type," Arthur Klatsky of Kaiser Permanente in California and one of the researchers said.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer killer of women, after lung cancer. It will be diagnosed in 1.2 million people globally this year and will kill 500,000.

Other studies have shown that light- to moderate alcohol use can protect against heart attacks, though Klatsky said other mechanisms were probably at work.

The heart protection likely comes from alcohol-induced "good" cholesterol, reduced blood clotting and decreased diabetes risk. But for breast cancer, the ethyl alcohol found in all booze likely ups the risk, the researchers said.

The researchers looked at the drinking habits of more than 70,000 women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who supplied information during health examinations between 1978 and 1985. By 2004, nearly 3,000 of the women were diagnosed with breast cancer.

Among women who drank, the team examined a preference for a type of alcohol and how much of each drink people consumed. They also compared the total amount consumed and compared it to women who drank less than one drink a day.

Women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent compared with people who consumed less than one drink each day, the study found. The risk of breast cancer jumped by 30 percent in women who drank more than three drinks a day.

The results were also similar in different age and ethnic groups, the researchers said.


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george clooney hurt in motorcycle crash

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. - George Clooney and a companion were injured on Friday when their motorcycle collided with a car on a narrow road across the Hudson River from New York City.

Clooney suffered a broken rib and scrapes while his passenger, Sarah Larson, broke her foot in the 3:30 p.m. collision. The two were treated at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen and released, Clooney's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, said.

"He's doing fine," Rosenfield said. "He has a broken rib, it's very painful and it'll take a long time to heal."

Clooney and Larson were traveling north and sped up to pass on the right of a 1999 Mazda Millenia that was preparing to make a right turn, said Weehawken police Sgt. Sean Kelly. Both were wearing helmets.

It wasn't known whether the Mazda's driver, whose identity was not immediately released, used a turn signal, Kelly said. The accident was under investigation.

"It's a he-said, she-said right now, but you can't pass on the right in Weehawken or anywhere in Jersey," Kelly said.

Rosenfield said the accident occurred when the vehicle signaled a left-hand turn, but turned right and struck Clooney's motorcycle.

"The car signaled left. George was riding to the right. The driver decided to make an abrupt right turn and clipped George," he said.

The 46-year-old actor was in the New York area to film the dark comedy "Burn After Reading," co-starring Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Clooney's recovery shouldn't interrupt the production's schedule, Rosenfield said.

Clooney's latest film, "Michael Clayton," will be released next month. He and Larson have been spotted together at several film festivals and movie premieres in recent weeks.

the beck's

i think she really overdo with this outfit....it's trully shocking...

Timberlake hasn't spoken to Spears

09/19/2007 5:29 PM, AP


Justin Timberlake had kind words about Britney Spears, but said he hasn't spoken to his ex-girlfriend in a long time and couldn't offer any explanation for her recent bizarre behavior.

"What do you think is going on with Britney?" asked talk-show host Oprah Winfrey during an interview with Timberlake that aired Wednesday.

"I don't know, to be honest with you. I haven't spoken to her in years," the 26-year-old singer said. "There's no ill will. I have nothing but love for her."

"It's funny because we dated each other at a time," he said. "Wow, I haven't talked about this in a long time, this is interesting."

"We were teenagers," he said.

"Famous teenagers," Winfrey added.

"And I think that's basically the best way to describe what happened to us," Timberlake said. "I think she's a great person. And I don't know her as well as I did."

Spears and Timberlake, both Mouseketeer alumni, dated for three years before breaking up in March 2002.

Timberlake wouldn't speculate about what's going on now with Spears, who has divorced Kevin Federline, shaved her own head, spent time in rehab and delivered a sloppy performance at MTV's Video Music Awards during the past year.

"What I do know about her is she has a huge heart and she's a great person," he said.

Asked if he's dating anyone now, Timberlake said yes, but wouldn't give her name.

During his appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Timberlake did talk about his struggles to deal with the paparazzi who shadow his every move. He said tabloids try to turn celebrities' lives into soap operas.

"If two famous people are dating each other, what I've found and I could be wrong, but just in my personal experience, if you're not going to get married, then you're breaking up," he said. "It's one or the other."

___

On the Net:

The Oprah Winfrey Show:

http://www.oprah.com

Justin Timberlake:

http://www.justintimberlake.com

59th emmy award red carpet scenario

Eva Longoria arrives at the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on September 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

Angelina Jolie Son Maddox Now Asking Who's Jennifer Aniston?


Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have both expressed a desire to speak with Brad's ex wife Jennifer Aniston. It may be the guilt of how their relationship started or in Brad's case he just may want to maintain that close personal bond that remains between the two that he bragged about earlier.

Now reports claim that Angelina is none too happy with Brad's confessed desires with Jennifer (one can imagine Jen isn't too happy having Brad drag her back in his messy life again either) and the couple are now back to heated discussion on Brad's interviews

happy faces

Beyonce walks on stage to accept the VMA award for Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration for the song 'Beautiful Liar', which she recorded with Shakira (not pictured), at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas, September 9,

For the past month, the Colombian pop star has been taking a class at the University of California, Los Angeles, called "Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843."

"She went when she finished her tour, for the summer," Shakira's manager Fifi Kurzman told The Associated Press.

For years the 30-year-old has studied on her own, also taking tutorials on the history and languages of the countries she visits, Kurzman said.

The singer, known for last year's "Hips Don't Lie" and other hits, released her first album at age 14 and later took time off to finish high school.

She decided to take a musical rest this summer following her worldwide "Oral Fixation" tour to focus on social causes, Kurzman said.

The class began Aug. 6 and ended Thursday, though Shakira didn't attended the last few classes, according to course lecturer Robert Cleve. Cleve said he hadn't known she was a celebrity during the course and was astonished to learn she was a pop star.

"She told me she was visiting from Colombia and that she was just doing this for her own enlightenment and enjoyment," Cleve said. "She looked like just an ordinary student. She wasn't flamboyant ... she didn't act like a big celebrity or anything."

Shakira, who sat near the front in the third row of the lecture hall, would often discuss the course material with him after class.

"I was really impressed with how intelligent she was," said Cleve

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - What price exclusivity? If you ask Lamborghini, one million euros ($1.4 million) should do it -- before tax, of course.

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In a bid to add more prestige to what it already has, the Italian maker of super luxury sports car unveiled the Reventon at Frankfurt's international autoshow, a very limited edition car that looks more like an arrow than anything on four wheels.

With this price tag, it is the most expensive car that it has ever built.

Needless to say, Lamborghini has already sold the 20 cars that it plans to build.

"As soon as the word got out, we sold out in four days," Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann told Reuters, adding that they could have easily sold another 20.

Most of the buyers were men from the United States, Lamborghini's biggest market, he said.

Some of them are already owners of a Lamborghini, which competes with the likes of Ferrari in speed and exclusivity.

"We have among our customers movie stars, sports stars... (but) the majority of our clients are businessmen. Men. Lovers of luxury goods," said Winkelmann.

True to its tradition of cultivating an aggressive image, Lamborghini named the car after a bull that killed matador Felix Guzman in 1943.

Although it is based on its Murcielago LP640 model, Lamborghini's engineers took inspiration from a fighter jet and reworked the composite carbon fiber body to accentuate the sleekness and angular edges usually associated with its cars.

The engine is the same as the LP640: a 12-cylinder rocket that can propel the car from zero to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds.

By comparison, the coupe version of the LP640 costs a relatively more modest 219,600 euros.

Lamborghini, which is run by Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) Audi division, will start making the Reventon in January and deliver them in October.

The car, which came in an opaque gray at the autoshow, has a three-year warranty

paris look good relaxing wt love of her life......(cute puppy)

jennifer aniston........pretty in these....

sis on her graduation day.....ehm.....

J.Lo's line sparkles at Fashion Week

09/11/2007 11:55 PM, AP


Big colorful butterflies hanging from the ceiling. Pink, purple and green trees. A model dressed as a fairy, on a swing.

Jennifer Lopez said her new young contemporary line was "fantasy — classic inspiration but with a new, kind of funky spin," so she turned the setting of her JustSweet show Tuesday night at New York Fashion Week into a fairy tale.

Models pranced down a silver sparkling runway wearing colors called pixie dust, magic mint and pirate pink. The clothes were sparkling, too, ranging from a sweater dress with thick, sparkling, colorful, diagonal stripes to denim boy shorts with a sparkling brown hoodie.

Her outfits alternated between sophisticated — lots of minidresses — and casual — a pair of skinnies with a cargo green graphic T-shirt. She incorporated her signature one-shoulder look, but didn't go overboard, along with bell sleeves and cropped jackets to add chic to all that trendiness.

Lopez, 37, said she developed JustSweet to fill the void between J.Lo, her denim and T-shirt urban wear line, and Sweetface, a high-fashion, higher-priced line. She wanted to do something in the middle. All the pieces range from $49 to $99. She said she designed the line for the young at heart.

"Girls who are young who are going to wear it are going to feel sophisticated in it because it does have a chic kind of feeling to it," she said. "But people who are older who wear it are going to feel young, flirty and fun. It really has a nice mix."

The actress-singer, who performed at Fashion Rocks on Thursday, said she's not worried about whether she is taken seriously as a designer.

"I'm not looking for the credibility," she said. "I'm looking to make clothes that every woman can wear."

Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwiches



Though you can marinate the chicken cutlets and veggies for up to three hours, the flavors develop quickly. That means you can get the marinade going and then light the grill, and dinner's almost done!

Credit: Wish-Bone

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup Wish-Bone Italian Dressing
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 3/4 pound)
1 medium zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1/2 pound)
Green leaf lettuce
1 package (8 ounces) fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers packed in oil, drained
1 loaf peasant bread, sliced and grilled or broiled
Directions:

In a large, shallow non-aluminum baking dish or plastic bag, pour 3/4 cup Wish-Bone Italian Dressing over chicken, eggplant and zucchini. Cover, or close bag, and marinate in refrigerator, turning occasionally, up to 3 hours. Refrigerate remaining dressing.

Remove chicken and vegetables from marinade, discarding marinade. Grill or broil chicken and vegetables, brushing with remaining 1/4 cup dressing, until chicken is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender, turning once.

To assemble sandwiches, layer lettuce, hot vegetables, cheese, hot chicken and roasted peppers on bread.

smile.........

luv ya....

;))

jewel of my heart..... :)

hv a look at these two kumang gawai.....
sapa bc lirik lg iban? send me one....

Justin Timberlake's Post-VMA Party with Jessica Biel ... and Mom

Justin Timberlake's Post-VMA Party with Jessica Biel ... and Mom
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 04:00 PM EDT
By Jennifer Garcia

After Justin Timberlake's jammed-packed Sunday night, the multiple MTV Video Music Award winner, skipped the after-parties and opted for dinner with his two favorite ladies – his mom and his girlfriend Jessica Biel.

Timberlake and Biel sat side-by-side during the two-hour dinner with a group of friends at Tableau restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas's Spa Tower. According to a fellow diner, the pair shared kisses and "were so lovey-dovey. They were always touching and being very sweet with one another and in front of Justin's mom."

At the end of dinner, the two, who were expected at parties all around town, called it a night. According to a source, Timberlake wasn't feeling well last night despite his high-energy performances.

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