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Sky 'fell in' on Everest By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent (Filed: 27/05/2004) The eight climbers killed on the single deadliest day on Everest may have been victims of the "sky falling in", according to a study. An analysis of weather patterns in May 1996 suggests the mountaineers died when the stratosphere sank to the level of the summit, 29,000ft above sea level. The freak weather caused pressure and oxygen levels to plunge within the "death zone" - the area above 26,000ft where the oxygen is extremely thin. Normally Everest's summit lies just below the atmospheric layer. But on May 10,...

Comets to put on morning sky show By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor Comet Bradfield passes the Sun Astronomers say there could be three comets visible to the unaided eye in the night sky in a few weeks' time. Comet Bradfield has just rounded the Sun and is heading for the dawn sky. It will be visible around 24 April. Comet Linear, too, is promising and should be seen at northern latitudes in the morning sky on about the same date. Finally, Comet Neat may be visible though experienced observers say it will be a week or...

Eight American troops died in Baghdad, as fighting erupted between Coalition troops and followers of Muqtada al-Sadr. Hearing the news, Senator Edward Kennedy (D., Mass.) declared Iraq to be "George Bush's Vietnam." Evening-news anchors question whether this weekend's violence marked the start of a Shii revolt. Quite the contrary. Far from rebelling, the majority of Shia are breathing sighs of relief. Iraqis consider action to rein in Muqtada al-Sadr long overdue. An Iraqi judge issued a warrant for Muqtada's arrest last summer, charging him with instigating the April 10, 2003, murder of respected cleric Majid al-Khoie, hacked to death in...

Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute today unveiled the deepest portrait of the visible universe ever achieved by humankind. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), the million-second-long exposure reveals the first galaxies to emerge from the so-called "dark ages," the time shortly after the big bang when the first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. The new image should offer new insights into what types of objects reheated the universe long ago. This historic new view is actually two separate images taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS)....

'Hole in sky' amazes scientists By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor A giant hole that appeared in a uniform layer of cloud over Mobile, Alabama, in the US, has produced some intriguing photos. Local resident Joel Knain said as he took pictures: "I immediately realised that I was seeing something unique." Meteorological experts believe the hole formed when ice-crystals from a passing plane fell through the cloud, causing the water droplets in it to evaporate. Experts say the process involved is related to that of cloud seeding, which is used to make rain over crop fields. The...

European airlines win concessions on sky marshals By Stephen Castle in Brussels 17 January 2004 The United States yesterday said it will not ban European airlines without sky marshals from its airspace, providing alternative security measures are deemed satisfactory. Asa Hutchinson, the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, announced the compromise following talks with European Union officials in Brussels. Mr Hutchinson said there was no "blanket policy" to prevent airlines without armed guards from entering American territory. The Homeland Security Department announced last month that airlines would be required to place armed law enforcement officers on flights to America...

'Hole in sky' amazes scientists By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor Rarely seen: A "hole-punch" cloud A giant hole that appeared in a uniform layer of cloud over Mobile, Alabama, in the US, has left scientists puzzled. Local resident Joel Knain said as he took pictures: "I immediately realised that I was seeing something unique." Meteorological experts believe the hole formed when ice-crystals from a passing plane fell through the cloud, causing the water droplets in it to evaporate. Experts say the process involved is related to that of cloud seeding, which is used to make rain...

Police on meteor alert after huge balls of fire light up Spanish sky Giles Tremlett in Madrid Tuesday January 6, 2004 The Guardian (UK) Was it a brightly shining star leading the present-laden three kings to the homes of millions of children at today's Epiphany, Spain's biggest gift-giving day of Christmas? As police scoured a remote mountainous district of the northern León province yesterday for remnants of a large, brilliant, burning object that fell to earth on Sunday, the most likely explanation was that it was part of a meteor. The search concentrated near Renedo de Valderaduey after neighbours saw...

Terror in the sky: the net tightens By David Usborne in New York and Kim Sengupta in London 03 January 2004 A week of terrorist alerts that has caused disruption on a scale not seen since 11 September 2001 culminated in dramatic scenes at Heathrow airport yesterday, when a British Airways flight to Washington DC was barred from taking off, for the second successive day, because of a specific terrorist threat. BA flights to and from the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, were also cancelled after warnings from British intelligence services. BA 263, which was to take off from Heathrow at...

Woman accused of attacking US sky marshal A woman has been accused of trying to strangle a US air marshal after she became disruptive on a flight from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis. Officials say the armed marshal approached the woman, who was allegedly drunk, vocal and obnoxious on board Northwest Airlines Flight 1057 on Tuesday. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Jennifer Marty said the woman continued to be disruptive and tried to choke the marshal in a later exchange. She also kicked the marshal in the groin and bit a law enforcement officer after she was escorted off the plane, Marty said....

A group of reality show contestants are taking legal action against Sky after being tricked into seducing a woman who turned out to be a transsexual. The men are angry at being duped as part of the Sky One series Find Me a Man, which was recorded in Ibiza during the summer. The participants had to pick the woman they found most attractive from a line-up; all selected Miriam. Cameras filmed them attempting to woo the object of their affections, including scenes of them kissing. Only later did they discover Miriam was once a man. Six of the seven men...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 October 21 The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the Moon Credit & Copyright: Christine Churchill Explanation: Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it. During a cloudless twilight, just before sunrise or after sunset, part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears slightly off-color, slightly pink. Called the Belt of Venus, this off-color band between the dark eclipsed sky and the blue...

<p>BERLIN, Connecticut (AP) -- Hurricane Isabel brought unholy high winds and lashing rain to the East Coast. It also dumped something almost biblical on Connecticut.</p> <p>Primo D'Agata was startled by what he thought was hail smacking on his porch September 19 as the remnants of Isabel moved through the state. But when he went outside to investigate, D'Agata discovered tiny, gelatinous eggs with dark spots in the middle.</p>

Lorraine Heggessey: Murdoch is 'against everything the BBC stands for' The Monday Interview: Controller of BBC1 By Vincent Graff, Media and Culture Editor 25 August 2003 They are sentiments which until now have been conveyed only in whispers, conspiratorial asides over lunch with sympathetic journalists. Strictly for background, you understand, we could not possibly be seen to be saying this. Now for the first time, the BBC is prepared to say in public what its executives have long believed in private about Rupert Murdoch's long-running, destabilising campaign against the corporation. Lorraine Heggessey, the controller of BBC1, does not show any...

BBC launches public attack on Murdoch 'imperialism' By Vincent Graff, Media and Culture Editor 25 August 2003 The controller of BBC1 launched an unprecedented attack on Rupert Murdoch yesterday, calling the media billionaire a "capital imperialist" who wants to destabilise the corporation because he "is against everything the BBC stands for". Lorraine Heggessey said Mr Murdoch's continued attacks on the BBC stemmed from a dislike of the public sector. But he did not understand that the British people "have a National Health Service, a public education system" and trust organisations that are there for the benefit of society and not...

The fountains of lightning that rise in the sky By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 26/06/2003) Huge discharges of lightning that flash from the tops of thunderclouds for distances of 40 miles or more, have been observed for the first time on Earth. The dramatic discovery of a new class of lightning adds to a collection of strange atmospheric electrics, with evocative names such as blue jets, sprites and elves, that have been documented by scientists in the past few years. Though there have been anecdotal reports by pilots of blobs, jets and other unusual effects for decades, scientists have...

  Sky's Chater in Baghdad ME AND SADDAM'S HEAVIES First light came with gunfire throughout the city.A fat, waxing American moon hung over Baghdad. The armoured wagons of the US Marine Corps surrounded our hotel, writes Sky's Baghdad correspondent, David Chater. The pools of burning oil had been extinguished...but fresh flames were being set by the looters.My last night in the Iraqi capital after three weeks of war.Paranoia punctuated the dawn drive westwards to Jordan.In the outskirts of the city, we passed a checkpoint still manned by the Iraqi militia.Then through the Coalition's surrounding chokeholds where all questions were...

At 11:51PM(Central Time) on Wed night March 26, 2003, an apparent meteorite flash was seen throughout the Midwest. Per WGN Radio AM 720, Chicago, people have seen it in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. I was eastbound on US 24, just east of Eureka, Illinois. A bright white light appeared in the NE sky, at about 60 degrees high in the sky. While falling, shades of orange and yellow were seen with the white flash. It lasted for about 3 seconds before darkening. It did NOT appear to hit the ground from my vantage point. It feel...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 26 Anticrepuscular Rays Over Horseshoe Canyon Credit & Copyright: Peggy Peterson Explanation: What's happening over the horizon? Although the scene may appear somehow supernatural, nothing more unusual is occurring than a setting Sun and some well placed clouds. Pictured above are anticrepuscular rays. To understand them, start by picturing common crepuscular rays that are seen any time that sunlight pours though scattered clouds. Now although sunlight...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 12 WMAP Resolves the Universe Credit: WMAP Science Team, NASA Explanation: Analyses of a new high-resolution map of microwave light emitted only 380,000 years after the Big Bang appear to define our universe more precisely than ever before. The eagerly awaited results from the orbiting Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe resolve several long-standing disagreements in cosmology rooted in less precise data. Specifically, present analyses of above WMAP...