CNET is a place I often recommend folks go to for their camera comparisons and reviews (easy to sort by price range, features, variety of categories :-)
Joao Silva, a photographer for The New York Times who lost both legs in Afghanistan, discusses his recovery and competes in the handcycle competition of the New York Marathon, finishing in 2:38:14.
And he still smokes? :-(
Share
A group of NASA scientists received a rare glimpse of a black hole earlier this month, finding glowing matter falling into the depths of a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy.
The team of scientists used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to observe a quasar accretion disc — a brightly glowing disc of matter that is slowly being sucked into its galaxy’s central black hole. The astronomers, using an observation technique known as gravitational lensing, obtained a direct image of the disk surrounding a black hole, which is made of gas and dust, and is slowly being consumed as it spirals down into the black hole’s center.
Astronomers were able to capture the image of the distant disk, which is approximately 18.5 billion light-years away, due to the fact that the galaxy is found just between Earth and a distant quasar. Using the gravitational lensing technique, researchers were able to directly determine the temperatures at different parts of the quasar, and determine measurements of its size. Using that measure, officials were then able to discern the shape and the temperatures of the massive black hole.
hile black holes themselves are invisible, the forces they unleash cause some of the brightest phenomena in the Universe. Quasars — short for quasi-stellar objects — are glowing discs of matter that orbit supermassive black holes, heating up and emitting extremely bright radiation as they do so.
NASA astronomers said the image would likely present scientists with additional information regarding how black holes and quasars interact.
“This result is very relevant because it implies we are now able to obtain observational data on the structure of these systems, rather than relying on theory alone,” said one astronomer. “Quasars’ physical properties are not yet well understood. This new ability to obtain observational measurements is therefore opening a new window to help understand the nature of these objects.”
Ironically, the article didn't include a photo.
Apple will refresh all of its product lines in 2012 and is expected to have completed the process of choosing components for the next-generation iPad by the end of this year, a report claims.
Digitimes reports that sources in the upstream supply chain have confirmed that Apple will update the MacBook Air, iPad, iMac, and iPhone product lines in 2012. We've already heard that the MacBook Pro is likely to be overhauled as well and there could be a new, larger MacBook Air on the scene next year as well. Apple issued slightly modified configurations for the MacBook Pro last week, upgrading processors and hard disks while keeping the price tag the same.
The report also states that Apple will have enough inventory to produce two million next-generation iPads by the end of December 2011. There are apparently two iPad prototypes -- known as J1 and J2 -- Apple has asked manufacturers including TPK Holdings and Wintek to develop flat panel modules and LED light bars for both.
The next-generation iPhone and iMac are unlikely to be revealed until the second half of 2012, the report also says.
Meanwhile, the future of the Mac Pro is seemingly in doubt, with inside sources apparently claiming that sales figures for Apple's high-end workstation are low and that Thunderbolt capabilities mean that the iMac is now a suitable alternative for customers.