A new theory by scientists says that our Milky Way galaxy survived intense heat generated by the “ignition” of the Universe about half-a-billion years after the Big Bang, because it was already immersed in a large clump of dark matter that trapped gases inside it.Tiny galaxies, inside small clumps of dark matter, were blasted away by the heat that reached approximate temperatures of between 20,000 and 100,000 degrees centigrade, according to the scientists, including experts at Japan’s University of Tsukuba.

The researchers said that the early Milky Way, which had begun forming stars, held on to the raw gaseous material from which further stars would be made.

This material would otherwise have been evaporated by the high temperatures generated by the “ignition”.

Using computer simulations carried out by the international Virgo Consortium (which is led by Durham), the scientists examined why galaxies like the Milky Way have so few companion galaxies or satellites.

Astronomers have found a few dozen small satellites around the Milky Way, but the simulations revealed that hundreds of thousands of small clumps of dark matter should be orbiting our galaxy.

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ARIES [March 21–April 19] Time to diversify your energy sources, Aries. It's as if you've grown too dependent on oil—metaphorically speaking—and have neglected to develop relationships with wind turbines, natural gas, and other means of generating power. What if, in the future, oil becomes scarcer or wildly expensive? And what if, over the long haul, its by-products degrade your environment? I suggest you start now to expand the variety of fuels you tap into. It's a perfect moment to adjust your plans for your long-term energy needs.

TAURUS [April 20–May 20] Your mirror may lie to you this week. Even pets and heroes and normally reliable suppliers might not be completely there for you. Fortunately, I expect that secondary sources will come through. Other people's mirrors may reveal a clue you haven't been able to find in your own. And a previously overlooked connection might become your own personal wellspring. Moral of the story: If you're willing to be flexible and forswear all impulses to blame, you won't be deprived of what you need.

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Happy Birthday: Tighten your belt and stop being so generous. Assess your situation and correct anything that has you worried. Making a move to lower your overhead will serve you well in years to come. You have to be a little hard-nosed to stay on top. You will set a standard for all the people you love to learn and prosper from in the future. Your numbers are 8, 13, 16, 20, 25, 37, 40

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don't be too quick to forget past encounters. Someone who can help you out now will come to mind. You will be able to motivate and inspire people to get involved in something you believe in. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may be offered help but keep in mind that nothing is for free. Find out ahead of time what is expected in return. Negotiations will go well but don't rely on a handshake -- get what you want in writing. 3 stars.

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Astrologers study the movement of the planets from our perspective on Earth, and for this reason astrology is not astronomically correct. From the vantage point of Earth, planets appear to move backward (which we call retrograde) and appear to cross each other's path when in actually they are many miles apart. Still, the movement of the planets can have a powerful influence on the human experience, and understanding the nature of the planetary cycles can help us to navigate through difficult experiences with greater ease.

This occurs on both a personal and a global level. When a planet in the sky is at the same degree or within range of a geometric angle to a planet in our birthchart, it will trigger an experience or events in our lives. We call these "transits" as they define the affect of a transiting planet on our personal chart. However, planets in the sky sometimes combine or make angles to each other that affect everyone on earth to one degree or another.

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The astrological reasearch revealed that there are fertile days for each woman according to her natal chart. Using them in order to conceive might be a solution to otherwise unexplainable infertility.

The method proposed by dr.Eugene Jonas, a Czech psychiatrist, in order to identify the fertile days in a woman's from her natal chart consists in calculating the Sun-Moon distance in the natal chart and looking in the ephemeris for the monthly moment when the exact same distance will be reproduced by the transiting Sun and Moon.

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Before you can have an accurate astrological profile, you must have an accurate date of birth.  In a mundane chart of a nation this gets a little tricky.  What is the moment of birth?  Is it the moment that the nation is announced?  Is it when the constitution is signed?  Ratified?  New leaders elected? 

In my online research today I found several different dates used by astrologers for North Korea.  There is a chart for August 10, 1945, the date that the US War Department decided to partition the country at the 38th parallel.  There is a chart for September 10, 1948 which appears to have come originally from Nick Campion's Book of World Horoscopes and is incorrect.

In my view, using the August 1945 date for North Korea is a bit like using the time of conception for a birthchart.  Information from the US State Department and several Korean websites confirm that the actual birthing of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed by Kim Il Sung on September 9, 1948, and this is the day that is celebrated by the North Korean people as the founding anniversary.

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Spencer Pratt used to be skeptical about the power of prayer. But his wife, Heidi, urged him to keep his mind open. As an experiment, Spencer asked God to help him and Heidi get a double date with teen pop star Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend, despite the fact that neither of them even knew Cyrus. Apparently, God heard and responded, because soon the hoped-for double date did indeed happen. I'm telling you this, Aries, because I think you're entering a phase in which you, like Pratt, will have extra luck in making wishes come true. If I were you, though, I'd focus on more profound wishes than the kind Pratt pined for.

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Russia's ruling regime doesn't stop for even a day from disseminating propaganda to the Russian people. State television has always been its chief propaganda instrument, but the Kremlin is expanding its network by creating well-funded think tanks. They tirelessly crank out reports on various political, economic and foreign policy topics with the goal of providing a "scientific" foundation for the country's authoritarian model.

One such think tank serving the power vertical and sovereign democracy is the Institute for Social Engineering, headed by Expert magazine editor-in-chief Valery Fadeyev. Several days ago, Fadeyev's think tank published a report on Russia's political system and its current tasks. Like numerous similar pro-Kremlin, pseudo-academic reports, the paper boils down to three straightforward assertions. First, there is no reason to criticize Russia for violating its own Constitution or for the absence of democracy because the definition of democracy is itself unclear these days -- and because the West is also guilty of human rights violations. Second, our leaders are great and do a good, if not outstanding, job on everything they tackle. And third, nothing in the country aside from a few minor details needs to be changed because things are going just fine.

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The Astronomy club and Physics department are looking for student artists who would like to help build a scale model of the Solar system. These to-scale models will be set up on Tappan Square during Commencement Week. If you’re interested in helping build representations of the planets, Sun, and moon (no word yet on Pluto), contact Henry McCaslin. The Astronomy Club will partially reimburse materials costs, and your name as designer/artist will accompany this display.

Models are due by May 18, so start thinking today! (Maybe incorporate it into your Big Parade float?)

The University of Colorado at Boulder was awarded two grants totaling $11 million today from NASA's Lunar Science Institute to probe the cosmos from observatories on the moon and to conduct science and safety investigations on the dusty lunar surface and its atmosphere.

The two CU-Boulder grants from the Lunar Science Institute, which was created by NASA in March 2008, are expected to further the space agency's research agenda regarding future moon missions, a key part of NASA's space exploration goals. A total of seven grants were made nationwide to interdisciplinary science teams by the institute, which is managed by the NASA Ames Research Center in California.Professor Jack Burns of CU-Boulder's Center for Astrophysical and Space Astronomy is the principal investigator on a winning four-year, $6 million proposal known as the Lunar University Node for Astrophysical Research, or LUNAR. The goal is to conduct a variety of astronomical observations from the lunar surface, including fundamental studies of gravity and Einstein's general theory of relativity, solar physics -- including explosive eruptions on the sun -- and the development of a new suite of instruments for peering back at the early universe, said Burns.

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