Comet survives fiery plunge through sun

A newfound comet defied long odds Thursday, surviving a suicidal dive through the sun's hellishly hot atmosphere, according to NASA scientists.

Comet Lovejoy plunged through the sun's corona at about 7 p.m. ET, coming within 87,000 miles of our star's surface. Temperatures in the corona can reach 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, so most researchers expected the icy wanderer to be completely destroyed.

But Lovejoy proved to be made of tough stuff. A video taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, or SDO, showed the icy object emerging from behind the sun and zipping back off into space.

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"Breaking News! Lovejoy lives! The comet Lovejoy has survived its journey around the sun to reemerge on the other side," SDO researchers tweeted.

SDO is one of many instruments that scientists ? eager to record and study the comet's presumed demise ? trained on Lovejoy as it streaked toward the sun.

"We have here an exceptionally rare opportunity to observe the complete vaporization of a relatively large comet, and we have approximately 18 instruments on five different satellites that are trying to do just that," Karl Battams, a scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, wrote on the Sungrazing Comets website before Lovejoy's closest solar approach.

Battams runs the website, which is devoted to comets discovered by two different spacecraft: NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which is operated jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). [Death of a Comet: Photos of Sungrazing Comet Lovejoy]

Preparing for the end
Lovejoy has a core about 660 feet wide. It belongs to a class of comets known as Kreutz sungrazers, whose orbits bring them very close to the sun.

All Kreutz sungrazers are thought to be the remnants of a single giant comet that broke apart several centuries ago. They're named after the 19th-century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who first showed that such comets are related.

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Comets plunge into the sun on a regular basis, but they rarely give much advance notice of their suicidal intentions. That's why scientists were so excited about Lovejoy. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy discovered the icy wanderer on Nov. 27, giving researchers plenty of time to map out their observation campaign.

And that campaign has been intense, involving five different spacecraft. In addition to SDO, SOHO and STEREO, scientists planned to use Japan's Hinode satellite and ESA's Proba spacecraft to track Lovejoy's movements, Battams wrote.

NASA also created a website providing updates about the comet's pass through the corona, as well as images of the event beamed down by SDO. It can be found here: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/lovejoy.php

For his part, Terry Lovejoy said he was happy to have made a contribution, and he marveled a bit at all the attention the comet has been getting.

"It's been tremendous," Lovejoy told Space.com. "Apparently it's all over Facebook, and I don't use Facebook. But there's a lot of interest. I think a lot of people like the name ? the Lovejoy name seems to strike a chord with people."

A dramatic escape
Lovejoy is quite large for a sungrazing comet, and experts expected it to die an impressive death. The website Spaceweather.com, for example, predicted Lovejoy would blaze as brightly as Jupiter or Venus in the sky as it neared the sun.

Battams also expected a good show, saying the comet might even be visible from the ground around sunset today in the Northern Hemisphere.?

"I do think that it will put on a spectacular show for us and will be the brightest Kreutz-group comet that SOHO has ever observed," Battams wrote last week.

Though the early returns are just starting to come in, those forecasts appear to be on the money. Observations from various spacecraft do indeed show Lovejoy flaring up significantly as it neared our star.

Researchers will keep analyzing the images to better understand the comet's daring solar approach. And now skywatchers apparently have another shot to catch a glimpse of the resilient Lovejoy on Friday morning.

For observers in North America, the comet will rise approximately 5 to 10 minutes before dawn and will be situated to the upper right of the sun. If Lovejoy is still shining at least as brightly as Venus, it may be visible, experts say.?

You could also try to spot Lovejoy after the sun comes up, if you're exceedingly careful. Block the rising sun behind a distant building and focus on the part of the sky 3 to 4 degrees above and to the right of the sun (your clenched fist held at arm's length is equal to roughly 10 degrees).

CAUTION: Never point binoculars or a telescope at or near the sun, and never look directly at the sun with the naked eye. Serious eye damage can result.

And don't get your hopes up, either. The comet may well be too faint to see, experts say.

Note: If you take any good pictures of Comet Lovejoy and would like them to be considered for a future story or image gallery, contact Space.com managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

Space.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz (@ ClaraMoskowitz ) contributed to this story. You can follow Space.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter:@michaeldwall. Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom??and on Facebook.

? 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45691807/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Tom Cruise wants to make a movie with David Beckham

The ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ star is currently on the lookout for an action packed script for him and his close pal as he thinks soccer superstar David would be great at kicking butt on screen. He said: “I’d love to do action movies with Beckham. He would be great, he could kick ass. [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/tom-cruise-wants-to-make-a-movie-with-david-beckham/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tom-cruise-wants-to-make-a-movie-with-david-beckham

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Plan would lift wages of home care workers (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration is seeking to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to cover home health care workers, a move that would boost living standards for nearly 2 million domestic employees but could mean higher costs for the elderly and disabled.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was expected to announce the proposal Thursday at a White House ceremony.

Home care aids have been exempt from federal wage laws since 1974, when they were considered companions to the elderly and compared to neighborhood baby sitters. But the number of full-time home care workers has surged along with the growing number of retirees who need help with a range of daily tasks, from taking the right medication to getting cleaned and dressed.

"These are real jobs as part of a huge and growing industry," said Steve Edelstein, National Policy Director for the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute in New York. "They deserve same basic labor protections that other workers enjoy."

Unions and advocacy groups say nearly half of all home care workers live at or below the poverty level and receive public benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid. Poor working conditions, low wages and high turnover make it challenging to meet the growing demand to provide care for the elderly in their homes instead of in institutions.

With the size of the U.S. population over 65 expected to nearly double in the next 20 years, millions more will rely on long-term health care from domestic workers.

Health services companies that employ home care workers have opposed efforts to expand hour and wage laws, arguing that it would drive up costs for elderly clients who can ill afford it.

"We are in full support of adequate and fair wages of those doing such admirable work," said Jordan Lindsey, a spokesman for the California Association for Health Services at Home. "However, it needs to be carefully balanced with the unique needs of seniors and people with disabilities who need home care and keeping that type of care affordable."

For a patient with dementia who needs 24-hour care, for example, a family is currently allowed to pay home aids at a flat hourly rate. If overtime rules apply, Lindsey said it could triple the cost of care.

Once the Labor Department formally proposes the new rules, there will be a 60-day period for public comments. The rules could take effect early next year.

The Clinton administration initially tried to extend federal wage rules to home aids, but President George W. Bush stopped the effort.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_home_health_care

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Stephen Frears Plans to Remake The Hit

Director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Peter Prince, and producer Jeremy Thomas are planning to North Americanize their 1984 British gangster flick The Hit.? The original film centered on two hitmen (John Hurt and Tim Roth) who are tasked with executing a mob informant (Terence Stamp in one of the best performance of his career), but the attempt to bring him from his Spanish hideaway to Paris is constantly derailed due to the hitmen?s incompetence.? It?s one of Frears? best and you check out the excellent Criterion Collection DVD.

Thomas tells Variety that the remake is still in the early stages of development, but the plan is to move the setting to Mexico and the U.S.? ?The idea is to make it as an American movie about an American gangster, to tell the story against the backdrop of the land of cinema,? says Thomas.? Frears? latest film, Lay the Favorite (starring Rebecca Hall, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Bruce Willis) will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in January.? Hit the jump to check out a trailer for The Hit.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924144/news/1924144/

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Investing In Quick Sale Assets |

Nov 262011

With the higher choice of assets foreclosures incidents happening throughout the whole of United States, an increasing number of persons are being compelled to brief sale their homes with a view to avoid foreclosure public sale, thereby shedding home. Quick sale is proving to be highly beneficial to all these house owners by means of settling their due mortgage at a miles lesser charge than what they if truth be told owe to the bank or the lender organization, that may be, lower than the mortgage balance. Moreover, for the reason that they?re underneath the threats of going through foreclosures and clearly are wanting real cash, they can hardly ever avail the standard approach of marketing their properties thru realtors or to different prospects. The most obvious choice for them continues to be belongings, thereby steer clear of foreclosures brief sale and it is to this beginning that the actual property business within the US is gaining on a few actual momentum.

The market is flooding with properties that are priced reasonably right down to earth and that is offering the real investors of the US and in another country with some valuable possibilities to earn a few real cash. In reality, the income you?ll be able to be expecting from investing in short sale belongings can vary any place between $25,000 and $two hundred,000 or beyond, the sum being contingent upon your investment, your investment development, the positioning of funding and so on and so forth. Many of the instances, you?ll be able to be expecting to get a short sale property at handiest 60% of the unique fee, which you?ll be able to promote within the open marketplace, after vital refurbishments, to earn you over 30% of the cost worth of the valuables below concern.

On the other hand, how much profit you are making is made up our minds by way of your vision and certain facets that you want to bear in mind with a view to make a deal worthy of investment. Allow yourself be open to several options in investment, despite the fact that preserving in mind what might fetch you extra returns and which might not. Settling on a selected belongings for funding is of the most important significance as your choice could make or holiday a deal in no time at all. At all times predicate your collection of belongings at the skill to make benefit out of it ? as an example, take into consideration the positioning of the valuables and how doable it is going to be in the open marketplace, while you need to sell it at a later element in time.

Check the property of your worry really well sooner than you decide to shop for it. As an example, consider the quantity and extend of upkeep and refurbishments you will need to do in a particular belongings to make it plausible to a normal buyer. Understand that, every dollar you put in for repair or refurbishment is a part of your investment and it is going to without a doubt affect the returns you wish from it. Alternatively, in the event you foresee excellent profit opportunities, investing after an assets is probably not a foul deal. For this you need a normal understanding of the true property market and its forces. That you must seek the advice of a brief sale expert company for his or her assistance in this domain. From negotiating with a supplier to that with the concerned loan authority ? the quick sale mavens ? they?ll best possible allow you to deal with each aspect involved within the last of a successful actual property deal.

If you need other facts with respect to caution credit logement, swing by Warner W Rundall?s website in a jiffy.

Source: http://livingwellwithbadcredit.hcibooks.com/2011/11/26/investing-in-quick-sale-assets/

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Data of 13 million South Korean online game subscribers hacked (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? South Korea's communications regulator said on Saturday that personal information of more than 13 million subscribers of a popular online game of Nexon Korea Corp, a leading game developer in the country, had been leaked in a hacking attack.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said in a statement Nexon reported to the commission late Friday afternoon that the company on Thursday discovered the leakage of personal data of its online game Maple Story's 13.2 million subscribers.

The information was leaked weeks before the unlisted company's planned initial public offering of its Japanese affiliate on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 14. Nexon aims to raise more than 95 billion yen ($1.2 billion) through the IPO, which would be the largest on the Tokyo bourse this year.

KCC said it, jointly with police and computer security experts, is investigating the hacking case. The leaked data included user IDs, names, resident registration numbers and passwords, it added.

A Nexon official said the leaked data neither covered no information on financial transactions and bank account numbers. And it did not affect overseas subscribers of the online game.

The company has asked game subscribers to change passwords to prevent additional damage, although the leaked resident registration numbers and passwords were encrypted. The entire subscription membership of Maple Story is about 18 million, the company official said.

Nexon, which has gained a global reputation through Maple Story and online game Kart Rider, is one of the two leading online game developers in South Korea, along with NCsoft Corp.

The incident is the largest such security breach case since late July when information of up to 35 million users of an Internet portal and blogging site operated by SK Comms was attacked by hackers from China, exposing the vulnerabilities of networks in the world's most wired country.

Accusations against China over hacking incidents have mounted this year, with allegations it intruded into the networks of Lockheed Martin and other U.S. military contractors and tried to gain access to the Google email accounts of U.S. officials and Chinese human rights advocates.

South Korea has drawn up a cyber security master plan after a wave of hacking attacks against global agencies, companies and its own financial firms.

In April, government-funded Nonghyup, a large commercial bank, suffered a massive network failure that affected millions of users. Seoul prosecutors at the time said North Korean hackers were responsible for the attack.

In May, hackers breached the personal information of 1.8 million customers of Hyundai Capital, which is owned by Hyundai Motor and GE Capital International.

(Reporting by Sung-won Shim)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111126/wr_nm/us_korea_hacking_nexon

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