Astronomer's may have found the first stars created after the "Big Bang"

I read this news article and way amazed with the technology behind the discovery of what some scientists are postulating may be the first stars created after the "big bang". Here is a quote from the news item, Distant light puzzles scientists:

Fresh evidence of the first objects to emerge after the Big Bang has left scientists debating what they could be.

Researchers say the cosmic glow could be the first stars or quasars, but are not sure which.

Dr. Alexander Kashlinsky and colleagues at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will report their findings in the January issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the researchers analyzed infrared radiation from deep space.

They first removed the bright signal of recent galaxies in the foreground to detect the ancient background glow.

The researchers saw clumps in this infrared background radiation they believe come from the first objects to emerge from the Big Bang.

The way I understand the how this telescope works is through the use an analogy. If you have ever used a high end computer graphics program such as GIMP or Photoshop you will be familiar with the term layers. A photogragh can be built up using several layers. If I want to take two or more photographs containing family members not in both photos I could cut out family members from one photo and insert them into the other. The family members are inserted into the photo using layers. By using layers it is possible to make it appear as if the photo was originally taken with all the family members present. Each family member is added to the photograph using a seperate layer.

Some time later, if the photo is saved in the native format of GIMP or Photoshop, any of the family members not original to the photo can be removed by deleting its layer and thus return the photo to its original state.

I don't understand all the technology behind this very complex telescope. Astronomers have learned how to slice up the telescope's image into "layers" with the ability to be turned off at will. By turning off selected layers allows other elements in the image to become visible. This is an amazing technology.

My eye was drawn to this news item because I have always had a fascination with time travel. I enjoy movies and TV shows using time travel. This news story is a story about astronomers looking back in time. It has taken millions of meleniums for the light to travel the distance from the events of the big bang to us. By the time By the time the light reaches the earth the events have been over for a vey long time. These very faint photons of light we view through the telescope are a windon into the past. In this case they are a window into the bignnings of our universe.

The link to the full story is here: Distant light puzzles scientists

Something I would like to share with you.

This is a picture of the dresses I made for my two nieces this Christmas. Kathleen (my wife) helped me to selecting a good pattern as well as an appropriate fabric.

The picture is too small to show the details of the fabric. Both dresses are covered in gold snowflakes that match the gold ribbons in colour.

The older girl is 5½ and the younger one just turned 5.

I sewed the pattern exactly to the measurements given for the sleeves. After I shiped the dresses to the nieces I found out that the openning at the cuff was too small to get he arm through. Fortunately the gilrs' mother was able to open the cuff and add more room.

Random thoughts about Christmas 2006

This year, here in Winnipeg, Christmas seems different than it has in years past. This autumn the weather has been strnger. Yesterday the high and low temperature was -1.9°C/28.6°F and -10.5°C/13.1°F when the normals for this time of year usually are -12°C/10.4°F and -22°C/-7°F. When I have been out and about in the stores getting ready for Christmas the usual "elevator" music seems to be "missing in action". I am not complaining. I am not missing the repetitiveness of the Little Drummer Boy, dogs and cats "singing" seasonal carols, or the Christmas songs render over and over ad nasium by the likes of the Beach Boys. If In fact the absence of the Christmas "elevator" music is a welcome relief this year. Could it be simply my imagination palying tricks on me. I don't know. This year the liitle elves seem to have entered the music vaults and selcted the best of the holiday music. It may have been recorded this year, or 70 years ago. It is so cheerful. It makes getting ready for Christmas so joyful. Has this change away from "elevator" Christmas music has been noticed by others. My cynical side wants to suggest that the companies broadcasting the seasonal music into the malls and stores have only moved away from "eleevator" music because their market research has revealed this change will assist to ioncrease sales in the storesAs a result of the differences in weather and music it is hard to feel that Christmas Day is less than three days away.

The weather may well turn out to be one of the major news stories of 2006. The west coast of North America has endured some of the natiest stormsBritish Columbia is a place that people from other parts of Canada retire to to get away from the snow and cold. Winter on the west coast is uaually more temperate. Tulips often bloom in January or February in Victoria, B.C. This is the norm, although not this year. The west coast has been enduring high winds with amounts of snowrarely seen. Stanley Park, near Vancover, is well known for its old growth forest..
During one of the terrific wind storms this fall, a number of these trees were blown over. It is so bad that the officals had to call in logging companies to assist with the clean up. Several times this fall the residents in B.C. have lost their electricity.

British Columbia is not alone with its nasty weather. Washington State has had record snowfalls, most recently stranding holiday travelers at the aeroport attempting to make it home for Christmas. Places that usually have more temperate winters are being walloped this year. Here is a quote from an email I recieved from a friend in Utah:

You're lucky that you're having such a mild winter. It's been coooooold and snowy here. We've got about 10 inches on the ground. MUCH more than a typical year so early in the season. Still better than Denver, methinks! They sure did get walloped!

Ontario is also experiencing strange weather. For the first time in as long as many people can remember Southern Ontario will be having a green Christmas. No snow. Many of the Ski resorts north of Toronto are hving difficulty staying open, even with the use of snow making machines. Ontario farmers are worried that without the melting snow in the spring that there might not be enough moisture for their crops, even with the spring rains.

Autumn this year has seemed stranger than usual beyond the differences of the music and weather. Bear with me as I touch on politics for a moment. There has been a gloom over everything the past couple of years. Everytime I read the newspapper or listen to the news on the radio . I noticed this gloom. It seemed to eminated from the fact that very few leaders/politicans seemed to have solutions for many of world's major issues. Recently this gloom appears to be lifting. Leaders seem motivated to approach world issues in a new light. They appear to be more willing to approach world issues in new ways, especially if the olds methods have not been working. Hopefully the world may be at the cusp of a new world order. Leaders who are willing to co-operate with other world leaders to find solutions for the world's problems. Its seems that the fog that has engulfed us for several years is now beginning to lift and a new light is taking its place. I will have to wait until the end of 2007 to find out if my suspected era co-operation among world leaders will come to bear fruit..

This season seems so different to me this year. In many ways I am having difficulty feeling that Christmas is less than three days away. Two thousand and six appears to be ending in a good way. I hope that 2007 will be a good year for you and your family and loved ones.

Let Christmas be Christmas

Has political correctness gone too far?

Here s a story from Seattle, Washington where political correctness has been taken to the extreme.

Christmas trees being returned to U.S. airport after rabbi says he won't sue

Pat Davis, president of the Port of Seattle commission, which directs airport operations, said late Monday that maintenance staff would restore the 14 plastic holiday trees, festooned with red ribbons and bows, that were removed over the weekend because of a rabbi's complaint that holiday decor did not include a menorah.

Mark Flatley, of Ft. Lewis, Wash., sits near the largest Christmas tree at Sea-Tac Airport. (AP Photo/Jim Bryant)

Airport managers believed that if they allowed the addition of a 2.5-metre-tall menorah to the display, as Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky had requested, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures, which was not something airport workers had time for during the busiest travel season of the year, Airport Director Mark Reis said earlier Monday. Read the rest of the story here.

This is not the only incident were political correctness has gone too far at Christmas. A couple of weeks ago there was a letter to the editor in our local newspapper complaining that an article in the paper had refered to the strings of lights people displayed on their homes as Christmas lights. This person felt that the newspapper should refer to these lights as Holiday lights. The reason he stated was that the term Christmas should not be used because not everyone is a Christian. He felt that even those who are Christian should refer to the lights as Holiday lights!

Since that letter appeared in the papper, I have heard that many people of various religious backgrounds, Christian and non-Christian here in Canada (I am sure its similar in other Christian countries) do celebrate Christmas. They put up a tree, exchange gifts and attend Christmas parties. These non-Christians may not celebrate Christmas religiously as Christians do, but do join in the many Christmas celebrations during December with their friends both Christian and non-Christian.

It is time society took another look at political correctness concerning Christmas. What is wrong with calling Christmas Christmas? It would be just as wrong to tell the people of Jewish belief that Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) should now be called a Holiday Festival.

Here is an interesting multimedia site about the ways Chritmas has changed over the years in Canada. I suspect some of the ways Christmas has changed would be similar for the U.S. and other Western countries. A fun site. This site is found on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's archieve website. Click on the link below to visit the CBC archieves. I particulary enjoyed the excerpt from The CBC Chrstmas day broadcast of 1936, click on the link found in the timeline at the top of the page.

The Changing Face of Christmas