The microwave sky as seen by PlanckMottled structure of the CMB, the oldest light in the universe, is displayed in the high-latitude regions of the map. The central band is the plane of our galaxy, the Milky Way. (Courtesy of European Space Agency)
Eric Linder is a theoretical physicist with Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division and member of the Supernova Cosmology Project. (Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt) Mystery fans know that the best way to solve a mystery is to revisit the scene where it began and look for clues. To understand the mysteries of our universe, scientists are trying to go back as far they can to the Big Bang. A new analysis of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation data by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has taken the furthest look back through time yet – 100 years to 300,000 years after the Big Bang – and provided tantalizing new hints of clues as to what might have happened.“We found that the standard picture of an early universe, in which radiation domination was followed by matter domination, holds to the level we can test it with the new data, but there are hints that radiation didn’t give way to matter exactly as expected,” says Eric Linder, a theoretical physicist with Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division and member of the Supernova Cosmology Project. “There appears to be an excess dash of radiation that is not due to CMB photons.”Our knowledge of the Big Bang and the early formation of the universe stems almost entirely from measurements of the CMB, primordial photons set free when the universe cooled enough for particles of radiation and particles of matter to separate. These measurements reveal the CMB’s influence on the growth and development of the large-scale structure we see in the universe today.Linder, working with Alireza Hojjati and Johan Samsing, who were then visiting scientists at Berkeley Lab, analyzed the latest satellite data from the European Space Agency’s Planck mission and NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which pushed CMB measurements to higher resolution, lower noise, and more sky coverage than ever before.“With the Planck and WMAP data we’re really pushing back the frontier and looking further back in the history of the universe, to regions of high energy physics we previously could not access,” Linder says. “While our analysis shows the CMB photon relic afterglow of the Big Bang being followed mainly by dark matter as expected, there was also a deviation from the standard that hints at relativistic particles beyond CMB light.”Linder says the prime suspects behind these relativistic particles are “wild” versions of neutrinos, the phantomlike subatomic particles that are the second most populous residents (after photons) of today’s universe. The term “wild” is used to distinguish these primordial neutrinos from those expected within particle physics and being observed today. Another suspect is dark energy, the anti-gravitational force that accelerates our universe’s expansion. Again, however, this would be from the dark energy we observe today.“Early dark energy is a class of explanations for the origin of cosmic acceleration that arises in some high energy physics models,” Linder says. “While conventional dark energy, such as the cosmological constant, are diluted to one part in a billion of total energy density around the time of the CMB’s last scattering, early dark energy theories can have 1-to-10 million times more energy density.”Linder says early dark energy could have been the driver that seven billion years later caused the present cosmic acceleration. Its actual discovery would not only provide new insight into the origin of cosmic acceleration, but perhaps also provide new evidence for string theory and other concepts in high energy physics.“New experiments for measuring CMB polarization that are already underway, such as the POLARBEAR and SPTpol telescopes, will enable us to further explore primeval physics, Linder says.Linder, Hojjati and Samsing are the authors of a paper describing these results in the journal Physical Review Letters titled “New Constraints on the Early Expansion History of the Universe.” Hojjati is now with the Institute for the Early Universe in South Korea, and Samsing is with the DARK Cosmology Centre in Denmark.This research was primarily supported by the DOE Office of Science.For more about the Supernova Cosmology Project go hereSource: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Source:
First Hundred Thousand Years of Our Universe Images
... Archaeology News Network: First hundred thousand years of our universe
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Astronomy Cmarchesin: First Hundred Thousand Years of Our Universe
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timeline of the universe the expansion of the universe over most of ...
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The Princeton Review selected Pitt-Bradford as one of 226 institutions in its “Best in the Northeast” section of its website feature “2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region.” 
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947
If you're wondering what it takes to look like The Rock (aside from ridiculous genetics), the new "Hercules" star just revealed the diet he maintains to play the son of Zeus -- and it's unbelievable. Rock just posted the breakdown on Twitter -- and it includes 7 full meals with ridiculous quantities of food, including rice, 14 egg whites, all kinds of vegetables, and more than 3 POUNDS of meat. It's been working too ... Rock's been posting pics of himself during filming (above) and he's more jacked than ever. Unfortunately, you can't just eat like The Rock to look like him ... you kinda have to go to the gym too.....Maybe tomorrow.
A big shoutout to my friend Bully who always comes through for me whenever I ask things like... "Does a comic book about Thomas Edison exist??" Of course it does.I ordered the biographical comics Thomas Edison and the Electric Age by Tatsuyoshi Kurosawa. In reading it through it was very visual and all historically accurate too, so it just added more fun facts to the Kid's research on the history of Wizard of Menlo Park..
The Kid couldn't help but notice that the manga Thomas Edison looked an awful lot like his new obsession, Doctor Who. What with the brown suit and if you squint your eyes just so that's...surely a sonic screwdriver in his hand, no? Uh...no. But that didn't stop him from adding his own touch to the book cover.
Suit on, notecards in hand, the Kid was rehearsed and ready to go. But that wasn't quite enough. See, the Kid is an inventor himself and wanted just the right prop. So he got a flashlight, fashioned a mock 'lightbulb' out some of my architectural trace around the top, and presto! Instant faux lightbulb, just what he needed for the wow factor for his presentation.I learned a lot about Thomas Edison but more than that, I'm prepared for next year when it's the Baby's turn for historical reports. "What do you mean you don't want to do Thomas Edison? No? Are you SURE?? But, I have the comic book...and a prop....and..." Oh well.
With people watching the NBA Finals, trying to #FreeOcho and wondering what kind of the trouble PacMan will get into people probably were not paying attention to the sniper move the Colts pulled off this week. You don’t have to be a Colts fan to respect their come up. This week they signed former New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw isn’t a superstar back but no matter how you cut he’s a very good player. He has battled injuries the last few years but most of the time you can count on him out there making a difference. Despite the injuries he is only 27 years old and coming off of a thousand yard year so I’m willing to bet he still has some gas in the tank. He was only cut by the Giants because of cap reasons it wasn’t play on the field. Bradshaw is a dual threat in the backfield, even though he isn’t a huge back he runs with power and is a major threat in the screen game.The Colts gave the back a one year deal worth a base 1.1 million, 250k signing bonus along with possible 650k game bonuses. The one year deal probably isn’t what Bradshaw wanted but another good year may put him in good position to negotiate next year.Andrew Luck is one happy camper but I bet Donald Brown and Vick Ballard are pissed. No matter what kind of good PR interviews they will or won’t give they know Bradshaw is a threat to a big chunk of the playing time in that backfield. Like it or not the Colts came up this week, let us know how you feel about this signing.Follow me at http://thefrontofficenews.comOn Twitter @frontofficenews-JT 
Starting today and going through May 11 each day a new excerpt is being revealed from Chapter One of Fiery Edge of Steal. Stop by each site to read a new sneak peak and enter the giveaway.Chapter One Part OneIn pre-Apocalyptic times humans stoned their criminals to death by throwing rocks, sharp pieces of metal, and other debris at the wrongdoer until they were so bloody and beaten, death was inevitable. It was said that, until jaws were broken or skulls were smashed, all wrongdoers cried for it to end.Everyone got their wish.Stoning demons is impossible, of course. Trying to kill a demon by throwing rocks at it would be like trying to take down an alligator by blowing soap bubbles at it. So, in modern times, public executions call for a Carne Vale—a “farewell to the flesh” ceremony where waning magic is thrown instead of stones. The practice is even more brutal than its ancient counterpart, but just as cowardly.Ari Carmine and I stood elbow to elbow in Timothy’s Square, waiting for the awful thing to begin. Beside me, Ari squeezed my hand. He likely meant the gesture to be reassuring, but it made me feel trapped and I pulled my hand free. I glanced up at him, quirking my mouth in a half smile meant as an apology. He looked down at me, expressionless, but I could feel his signature, that wispy magical aurora that allowed uncloaked waning magic users to sense one another’s presence. Ari’s signature was warm, as always, but today it was laced with blistery bits, as if the glowing embers of a dying fire had been kicked at me. It made standing next to him uncomfortable.Around us, the crowd of Hyrkes—humans with no magic—continued to build as students from both St. Lucifer’s and the Joshua School gathered. The heat from the unrelenting overhead sun was oppressive. Since there were no trees in Timothy’s Square, there was no shade. There was no cover. Nowhere to hide from what was to come.Peering over my shoulder to check for possible unobserved routes of escape, I made the mistake of catching Sasha de Rocca’s gaze. Sasha was a distant cousin of mine, but that didn’t mean we were close.He sneered openly at me.“Dressed for a funeral, Noon? Do you really think mourning is appropriate for a Carne Vale?”Automatically, I glanced down at my indigo sheath. In Halja, midnight blue—the color of the sky when Lucifer was struck with the lance that killed him over two millennia ago—was the color of mourning.“The thing deserves to die,” Sasha said, his low voice burbling up out of his thick barrel chest. Suddenly his cold, crinkly eyes and dirty blond beard seemed far too close. I stepped back.It wasn’t that I was afraid of Sasha. My power was far greater than his. But, unlike Sasha, I hated using mine, and he knew it. I hadn’t thrown magic since last semester when my demon client had almost killed me. The St. Lucifer’s faculty had given me leave to table my magic use over the semester break, but now that classes were back on, my “recovery” was officially over. I was expected to come out of my self-imposed dormancy today, and I was expected to come out of it so that I could participate in the one thing I abhorred.Killing.May 6 Fang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.comMay 7 Urban Girl Readerhttp://www.urbangirlreader.com/May 8 Preternaturasuzanne-johnson.blogspot.com/May 9 Urban Fantasy Investigationshttp://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/May 10 Rabid Readshttp://rabidreads.ca/May 11 Romancing the Dark Side http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot.com
Fiery Edge of SteelNoon Onyx Book TwoJill ArcherGenre: Fantasy with elements of mystery and romancePublisher: AceDate of Publication: May 28, 2013ISBN-10: 0425257169ISBN-13: 978-0425257166Number of pages: 336Word Count: 105,000Cover Artist: Jason ChanAmazon Barnes and Noble IndieBoundBook Description:Lucifer and his army triumphed at Armageddon, leaving humans and demons living in uncertain peace based on sacrifice and strict laws. It is up to those with mixed demon and human blood, the Host, to prevent society from falling into anarchy.Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, along with a lack of control and a reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider among her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task that will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined.…
Dark Light of DayNoon Onyx Book OneBy Jill Archer Genre: Urban FantasyPublisher: AceISBN: 978-0-425-25715-9Number of pages: 384Word Count: 123,000Barnes & Noble AmazonBook Description:Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, the world from slipping back into chaos.Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret—she was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of and some will consider her an abomination.Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.
About the Author:Jill Archer is the author of Dark Light of Day, the first book in the Noon Onyx series. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jill now lives in rural Maryland with her two children and her husband, who is a recreational pilot. She blogs about books, movies, interesting people, and various weekend adventures.website/blog: www.jillarcher.comtwitter: @archer_jillfacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jillarcherauthorgoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782149.Jill_Archera Rafflecopter giveaway
DOWNLOAD ON MEDIAFIREDOWNLOAD ON RAPIDSHAREA short but excellent piece from the Krotona School of Theosophy- it lays out some of their biyearly programs, which gives a general sense of the schools' teachings and leanings.