eruption from V838 Monocerotis

We report the XMM-Newton/EPIC detection in 2008 March of a pair of spatially confused X-ray sources in the vicinity of the enigmatic star V838 Mon, which underwent a spectacular outburst in early 2002. Spectral/spatial analysis demonstrates the presence of a relatively hard (T_X ~ 1.5x10^7K), luminous (L_X ~ 10^32 erg/s) source that is spatially coincident with V838 Mon itself, and a second, more luminous (L_X ~10^33 erg/s) source located ~8" south of V838 Mon (projected separation ~ 0.2pc if at the ~6 kpc distance of V838 Mon). Neither source was detected in a Chandra/ACIS-S observation obtained about one year after outburst. The inferred X-ray luminosity and temperature of the hard source component at the position of V838 Mon, as well as its delayed appearance, appear consistent with a stellar merger scenario for the optical/IR outburst of V838 Mon, and inconsistent with scenarios involving He flash mechanisms. The southern X-ray source component, coincident with a faint red star detected in the 2MASS survey (and in the Hubble images), appears to be an energetically flaring young main sequence or pre-main sequence member of the V838 Mon cluster, in which case its appearance would be coincidental and unrelated to the V838 Mon eruption. Further X-ray observations of V838 Mon are warranted, to confirm the position(s) of the source(s) in the vicinity of V838 Mon and to establish their long- and short-term temporal behavior.

We report the XMM-Newton/EPIC detection in 2008 March of a pair of spatially confused X-ray sources in the vicinity of the enigmatic star V838 Mon, which underwent a spectacular outburst in early 2002. Spectral/spatial analysis demonstrates the presence of a relatively hard (T_X ~ 1.5x10^7K), luminous (L_X ~ 10^32 erg/s) source that is spatially coincident with V838 Mon itself, and a second, more luminous (L_X ~10^33 erg/s) source located ~8" south of V838 Mon (projected separation ~ 0.2pc if at the ~6 kpc distance of V838 Mon). Neither source was detected in a Chandra/ACIS-S observation obtained about one year after outburst. The inferred X-ray luminosity and temperature of the hard source component at the position of V838 Mon, as well as its delayed appearance, appear consistent with a stellar merger scenario for the optical/IR outburst of V838 Mon, and inconsistent with scenarios involving He flash mechanisms. The southern X-ray source component, coincident with a faint red star detected in the 2MASS survey (and in the Hubble images), appears to be an energetically flaring young main sequence or pre-main sequence member of the V838 Mon cluster, in which case its appearance would be coincidental and unrelated to the V838 Mon eruption. Further X-ray observations of V838 Mon are warranted, to confirm the position(s) of the source(s) in the vicinity of V838 Mon and to establish their long- and short-term temporal behavior.

PRETTY BUT NOT IN PINK

The night before Carrie Underwood rocked the house at the American Music Awards, the country cutie debuted her refreshing new 'do while strutting down the red carpet at the CNN Heroes ceremony in a stunning cobalt blue strapless gown and a statement necklace.

The New Sony® Webbie HD™

Upload your life. Capture priceless moments with the Webbie HD™ Camera and easily share them with your friends on compatible wesites, like facebook and twitter! The $170 camcorder is a small and cute. It's a tiny video camera that comes with many features. It's about the size of a cell phone and comes in purple,orange, and the original silver. It shoots in versatile MP4, offers 4x zoom and has many other high-end capabilities. No more blurs! Choose between 10 unique scene selection modeslike "Lowlight" or "Landscape".

Tongues, Leashes and a Stumble

Adam Lamberts AMA Performance

Awesome or Inappropriate?

Adam Lambert is certainly someone who's blowing up twitter headlines! He knows how to get people talking. "I'm about to turn up the heat", Adam said before his performance, and he sure did! His AMA performance could have just been his post "Idol" breakout show, but instead it's one of those "did he take it too far?" moments of awards. ROUGH is one word to describe his performance. Dancers in leather harnesses and jackboots dancing all over the stage. A moment of simulated pelvis thrusting. Fondling a female dancer's nether regions and made out with his male keyboardist!Adam are you nuts?! Viewers at home felt it was a sexually provocative performance and he drew THOUSANDS of complaints to ABC.

the original version of the performance;

for those who are easiley disturbed

it is requested not be watched:

WINNERS OF THE 2009 AMAs

Anti Cancer Superfoods

Broccoli and cabbage
British researchers made headlines last year with a study that showed that men with early signs of developing prostate cancer prevented tumor growth by eating broccoli four times a week. Other studies have shown anti-cancer benefits from eating cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and other cruciferous vegetables.
Tomatoes
Harvard researcher Edward Giovannucci reviewed 72 different studies published by the National Cancer Institute, and concluded that lycopene, the active chemical in tomatoes, lowered the risk of many different cancers, particularly prostate, breast, lung and colon cancer. Subsequently, the FDA conducted a review of its own and disagreed, refusing food companies' request to label tomato products with an anti-cancer health promotion message. However, many experts believe the FDA's process was flawed and that tomatoes will be vindicated by further studies. The good news: cooking tomatoes seems to enhance the effects of lycopene, qualifying tomato-based spaghetti sauce as a nutritional powerhouse. Bring on the pasta!
Soy
The active ingredient in soy is genistein, which is a phytoestrogen that protects against hormone-dependent cancers. It's also a powerful inhibitor of several proteins that are implicated in the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. To get the anti-cancer benefits of soy, you need to consume about 50 grams per day of the whole food, such as raw fresh soybeans, known as edamame, dry roasted soybeans, or tofu. The research to date shows that supplements containing isoflavones don't work with the same action as soybeans themselves and in fact can be bad for you rather than good.
Watercress and Spinach
Watercress isn't exactly a major part of the American diet. But maybe it should be, according to researchers in Ireland, who released studies in the past two years showing that eating watercress everyday can prevent the DNA damage that leads to cancer. Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition—but conducted in Ulster, where people are more comfortable eating watercress—found that antioxidants in the nutrient-rich greens prevented free radicals from damaging healthy cells. Spinach, which we're all more familiar with, is also a cancer fighter; research conducted by the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas showed spinach to protect against bladder cancer. The chemical that gives spinach its dark green color, chlorophyllin, proved to reduce the risk of liver cancer in research by the National Academy of Sciences. Who cares about muscles? Here's a much more important reason to eat your greens.

Anti-Cancer Superfoods Really Work

Here, the top foods to work into the family diet if you'd like to cut cancer risk or help those with cancer recover. And who wouldn't? Blueberries, açai berries, raspberries, and cranberries. The rich, dark colors of blueberries, Brazilian açai berries, raspberries and cranberries come from phytochemicals that protect against numerous types of cancer. Most recently, researchers found that the active ingredient in açai berries destroyed cancer cells when tested in cell cultures. Blueberries and muscadine grapes contain compounds that recent research shows cause cancer cells in the liver to self-destruct. In studies particularly important to women, cranberries have recently been discovered to be an important weapon in the fight against deadly ovarian cancer. Studies reported at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society found that ovarian cancer cells that were becoming resistant to platinum chemotherapy the standard of care for ovarian cancer became six times more sensitive when exposed to a compound in cranberries.
The anti-cancer properties of all these berries are so strong that researchers have developing concentrated supplements and other products such as purees and concentrates.

The Perfect Cancer-Fighting Salad

When it comes to your health, not all salads are created equal. In fact, many takeout and restaurant salads are essentially calorie bombs disguised as health food—drenched in creamy, caloric dressings and missing key nutrients with powerful disease-fighting potential. Next time you make your own salad, here’s exactly what to include for maximum health benefits—and taste.1. Start with dark, leafy greens For the healthiest salad foundation, stick with a mix of spinach, arugula, and romaine. They contain a hefty amount of the B vitamin folate, which has been shown to reduce the risk of getting colorectal, ovarian and breast cancers. In one study, researchers at Vanderbilt University found that women who ate the mostly dark greens were among the least likely to get breast cancer. Apparently, folate can halt changes in DNA that trigger runaway cell growth, the main characteristic of cancer.