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The intertoobs have been abuzz with Google's seemingly unexplained latest doodle: A UFO beaming up one of Google's "O"s. The plot thickened when Google's Twitter account Tweeted the following: "1.12.12 25.15.21.18 15 1.18.5 2.5.12.15.14.7 20.15 21.19." What did it all mean? Was Google giving credence to UFO believers? Or referring to the wife of Japan's new Prime Minister for her belief that she traveled to Venus on a UFO? Or perhaps honoring Voyager 1's launch (Sept. 5, 1977) or space shuttle Discovery's first landing on Sept. 5, 1984? None of the above, it turns out.
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Two newspapers in Bangladesh have issued a retraction after publishing an article taken from the popular but satirical website "The Onion" which claimed Neil Armstrong had been convinced by conspiracy theorists that the Moon landings were faked. The Daily Manab Zamin said Armstrong had shocked a news conference by saying he now knew it had been an "elaborate hoax." The New Nation then picked up the story, and only later did they realize the Onion was not a genuine news site.

Both have now apologized to their readers for not checking the story. "We thought it was true so we printed it without checking," associate editor Hasanuzzuman Khan told the AFP news agency.

"We didn't know the Onion was not a real news site."
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Wildfires burning in southern California are threatening the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Overnight, the fire size more than doubled, and as of this writing over 85,000 acres have burned. The situation looks better this morning for JPL, but Mt. Wilson, which also is home to several communication towers, is still in danger. Firefighters have vowed to do everything they can to save it. The fires have been fueled by hot, dry weather, but one resident who had to evacuate his home shared with me that the fire has spread with minimal winds, and the situation would be even worse with windy conditions.

Good news this morning is that two Super Scoopers – large water-dropping airplanes – have arrived from Canada and are expected to join the fire fight, officials said.

For the latest info on the fire, there is a live webcam from the KTLA television station showing Mt. Wilson, the LA Times is providing updated coverage on their website, you can listen live to radio station KNX. Mt. Wilson Observatory's website is also posting updates, and the latest news there is that fire crews were instructed to withdraw from Mount Wilson. It appears the fire is under control there, but officials are worried what could happen if no firefighters are at the location. We'll post an update when it becomes available. UPDATE (11:30 pm PDT): The LA Times Blog is now saying it is too dangerous for firefighters on Mt. Wilson because the fire is on both sides of Mt. Wilson Road, the only way off the mountain.

Ian O'Neill, who lives in the LA area is posting information on Astroengine, as well as Emily Lakdawalla from the Planetary Society blog.

For quick updates on Twitter, follow Emily, Ian, or Mike Brown.

Stay safe, everyone.

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The British Ministry of Defense released 4,000 pages of documents detailing hundreds of UFO sightings between 1981 and 1996. A summary of the documents by UFO expert David Clarke comes as no surprise to scientists and skeptics: many of the sightings coincide with the release of popular sci-fi movies or television shows.
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I'm always amazed at what you can find on You Tube. Type "UFO" in the search panel, and you get all sorts of wacky stuff. But this one is really quite cool. It's called the X-Jet and was created by the US Air Force. It is kind of like your own personal flying Segway. For everyone who has wondered where the flying cars are, here's your answer.

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Most of us know the name of Charles Messier, the French astronomer and comet hunter who published perhaps one of the most celebrated catalogs of astronomical objects of all times, but how much do you really know about the man? Today is the anniversary of Messier's birth, so why not step inside a take a look a what make this curious astronomical character one of the most celebrated observers of all time. Read more…

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Some things you just have to see to believe. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin recently cut a hip-hop song along with rappers Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli. The website Funny Or Die has the music video of the song, "Rocket Experience. They also have the "making of" video of Buzz's song. Quincy Jones and Soulja Boy also make appearances. It's fun to watch, and Buzz really lets it all hang out – he's a very cool dude! And let's face it, everyone wants to see Buzz rapping about traveling in space, right? My favorite part is when Buzz is rapping while standing next to the famous cardboard cut-out of him standing on the Moon. (I have one of those…) Enjoy the video!

Also available: Download the song "Rocket Experience" on iTunes. A portion of the proceeds from the song sales of" Rocket Experience" will go to ShareSpace Foundation, to further benefit and support the work of the National Space Society, the Planetary Society and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

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On a recent trip to Canada in the great province of Ontario, I found a quiet corner on Lundy's Lane. I had been enjoying the scenic beauty of Niagara Falls and to break away for the tourist aspect seemed like a welcome respite. How could someone who lives, eats and breathes space 24/7 pass up an opportunity to visit a place like this? The answer was… I couldn't. Read more…

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So what's more fun than a barrel of monkeys? Try acres of telescopes and hundreds of amateur astronomers. If you're not familiar with NEAF then let me introduce you into some of the fun that's been going on for almost two decades at Rockland College in Suffern, New York. Read more…

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If you follow UFO sightings at all (and even if you don't) you probably heard about the Morristown, New Jersey UFO's from earlier this year. Reports of the sightings in January 2009 were covered extensively in newspapers around the country, on CNN, several national talk radio shows, and even was featured in the History Channel's new show, UFO Hunters. Well, yesterday two New Jersey residents Joe Rudy and Chris Russo revealed something big: its was all a hoax. The two created the entire five-night spectacle by tying flares to helium balloons. Everyone should read their account over at Skeptics.com (and the Bad Astronomer beat me to the punch by posting about it before I could, so read his take on it, too.) Why did they do this? "We set out on a mission to help people think rationally and question the credibility of so-called UFO “professionals,” write Rudy and Russo, "We delivered what every perfect UFO case has: great video and pictures, “credible” eyewitnesses (doctors and pilots), and professional investigators convinced that something amazing was witnessed. Does this bring into question the validity of every other UFO case? We believe it does."
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The Winter issue of Space Lifestyle Magazine is now online and available for free. There is a great article by Ian O'Neill about SpaceX, a fascinating look at space media by writer Lois Elfman (featuring Miles O'Brien, Alan Boyle, Bill Harwood, Irene Klotz, Disco Dave Mosher and more), an interesting overview about the work being done to create magnetic shielding for spacecraft, a comprehensive rundown of the X PRIZE Lunar Lander Challenge competition last fall, and much more including book reviews (Death From the Sky by Phil Plait) and a special discount for the National Space Symposium to be held March 30-April 2 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. If you haven't already "subscribed" to SLM, please do so for the chance to win a Zero-G parabolic flight and other prizes. Enjoy!

Check out Space Lifestyle Magazine.

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I admit, I watched the Super Bowl with all its hype and consumerism. But who can pass up a good excuse for a party or miss a chance to see Springsteen? A couple of the advertisements caught my eye. One was a fun spot with astronauts tearing around on Titan with a space-age hot rod. The premise is old, but enjoyable nonetheless. If you didn't get a chance to see it, here it is:

Also, a trailer for the new Star Trek movie aired during the game, with more hot rods:
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Almost all of us take for granted that we can get to virtually any destination in the world by flying in an airplane. We routinely board an aircraft, grumble at the slightest delay, and complain when we don't get any peanuts during the flight. But really, we should be amazed in wonderment as each airplane takes off and lands. It's almost a miracle: we can sit in a somewhat comfortable chair, sleep, read a book or watch a movie, and three hours later, we've flown across the country. And it all began 105 years ago. On December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made the first successful controlled, powered and sustained flight of an aircraft. Orville flew for 12 seconds, covering 120 feet (36.5m), at a speed of only 6.8 mph from level ground into a cold headwind gusting to 27 miles (43 km) an hour. The flight was recorded in the famous photograph, above. Then, to prove it wasn't a fluke, they flew two more times: Wilbur flew approximately 175 feet (53 m), and then Orville took the controls again and flew 200 feet (60 m). Their altitude was about 10 ft above the ground. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls – a three-axis control — that made it possible for a pilot to control the aircraft and made fixed wing flight possible. Every year since 1963 the US Congress proclaims Dec. 17 as Wright Brother's Day, and the US President signs the proclamation (read below).

Here is Orville Wright's account of the final flight of the day:
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Have you heard about Space Lifestyle Magazine? Its a digital magazine, with a full color layout just like a print magazine, but its all online. It's also free. SLM has feature articles about all aspects of space — NewSpace, NASA, military, science and astronomy — but mostly it's about the people that make the space sector tick. The latest issue was just released yesterday, and it includes a bang-up article written by UT's Ian O'Neill about SpaceX. Ian actually toured the SpaceX facility and took some great pictures and wrote a very comprehensive article about SpaceX's recent successful launch to orbit. There's also an article about DIRECT 2.0, the alternative launch system that some NASA engineers think is better than Ares, a feature on possible weddings in space, and much more. I also do a little work for the magazine (I'm the editor-in-chief) and wrote an election preview article. I hope you'll check it out, and let us know what you think!

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Walking the halls of the AAS meetings we found Galileo Galilei, who actually looks pretty good for being 440 years old. He had a briefing with officials from the inquisition (the media) and said that he has just returned from Rome on his book tour, promoting Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger). But here, he met up with another author, Dava Sobel, who wrote “Galileo’s Daughter,” and is in St. Louis to speak at a public lecture in conjunction with the AAS meeting.
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