Universe Today

Astronomers have discovered a rapidly spinning pulsar with a powerful magnetic field - called a magnetar - that's demonstrating some brand new tricks. Located about 10,000 light years from Earth, this magnetar is sending out powerful pulses of radio waves at regular intervals; normally magnetars are only seen in the X-ray spectrum. The discoverers think that the magnetic field around the star is twisting, causing huge electric currents to flow - these currents are generating the radio pulses.
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Arc lights had been used in lighthouses for several years when Thomas Edison began seeking a way to improve them. Arc lamps use two rods of carbon arranged so that their tips are almost touching. When sufficient electricity is sent to each, the current jumps between them and causes the carbon to become incandescent. Although carbon burns very slowly, over time the rods erode and have to be replaced. The year was 1881 when Edison embarked on a solution and the result of his success spread around the globe to both light and inadvertently curse the darkness.
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The Japanese AKARI spacecraft - formerly known as Astro-F - captured this photograph of the reflection nebula IC 1396. This nebula is a bright star-forming region located about 3,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus, and it contains several young stars dozens of times more massive than our Sun. AKARI was able to reveal many new stars that were previously invisible because of its ability to see in the far infrared spectrum.
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NASA managers decided on Tuesday that Tropical Storm Ernesto won't pose a threat to the Space Shuttle Atlantis, so they rolled it back out to the launch pad. There will still be high winds, so Atlantis will be locked down to the launch pad on Tuesday evening. If all goes well, Atlantis could launch as early as next week, returning to the International Space Station to continue its construction. The Kennedy Space Center will remain closed until Thursday, depending on the storm's track.
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This is a view looking down onto the unlit side of Saturn's rings, lit only by the reflected light from the planet. There are also two small moons in the image: Atlas and Pandora. Cassini took this photo on July 25, 2006 when it was approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn.
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