Free Republic

Dogs' behaviour - it's all in the wag By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 12:28am GMT 24/03/2007 Dogs wag their tails to the right when they see something familiar, such as their owner, and to the left when confronted with something they want to run away from, it was revealed yesterday. The bias is subtle, requiring video analysis to spot, and not obvious enough for you to tell whether the next dog you meet is going to lick your face or turn tail. But, researchers suggest, the study of wagging could be used in animal welfare to help vets...

China: One-armed Egg Original source: Dahe Daily of China. Comment: It was found by a chef "Mr. Wang" at a restaurant in Henan Province, China. He wondered what would come out of the egg eventually.

An egg in China has been found with a tail. The egg, found by chef Wang of at his restaurant in Anyang city, Henan province, is normal size, but has a tail that is 3 cm long. It is not known why the egg has the tail reports Dahe Daily. Wang says he wants to hatch the egg and see what will come out.

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 10 Comet NEAT Approaches the Sun Credit and Copyright: Anton Spenko (Rezmon Observatory) Explanation: A comet may likely become visible to the unaided eye over the next few days above the horizon where the Sun has just set. Comet NEAT (C/ 2002 V1), discovered last November, has brightened dramatically as it approached the Sun. Over the next few days, the quickly setting comet could appear as...

    Four-winged dinosaur makes feathers fly   19:00 22 January 03 Jeff Hecht   Long flight feathers adorn the hind legs of Microraptor gui (Image: Xing Xu) A stunning set of six fossils discovered in China could rewrite our understanding of how and why birds first took to the sky. The fossils clearly show a small dinosaur that had flight feathers covering its legs, as well as tail and arms, forming an extra pair of wings never before seen by palaeontologists. News of the find comes just days after scientists published work showing that baby partridges flap their tiny wings to...

A Christmas Comet By Roger W. Sinnott Early on the morning of December 14th, Japanese amateur Tetuo Kudo was searching the skies with his giant 20 x 120 binoculars. While scanning the constellation Hercules, he spotted something new — a fuzzy 9th-magnitude glow moving slowly east-southeast. Follow-up observations by Ken-ichi Kadota (Saitama, Japan) confirmed the object and revealed a short tail about 1/3° in length, pointing away from the Sun. The comet (C/2002 X5) was announced on International Astronomical Union Circulars 8032 and 8033, and has been officially named Comet Kudo-Fujikawa. A preliminary orbit calculated by Brian G. Marsden of...

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. 2002 May 15 Tail Wags of Comet Ikeya-Zhang Credit & Copyright: Michael Karrer Explanation: As Comet Ikeya-Zhang approached the Sun two months ago, it developed a complex blue ion tail. The tail was composed of ions that boiled off the nucleus and were pushed away from the Sun by the out-flowing fast-moving particles of the solar wind. Complexity in the tail is created by comet nucleus rotation, variability...

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. 2002 April 4 Ikeya-Zhang: Comet Over Colorado Credit & Copyright: Jimmy Westlake (Colorado Mountain College) Explanation: Comet Ikeya-Zhang ("ee-KAY-uh JONG") has become a most photogenic comet. This lovely early evening view of the comet in Rocky Mountain skies looks northwest over ridges and low clouds. The time exposure was recorded on March 31st from an 8,000 foot elevation near Yampa, Colorado, USA. Sporting a sweeping yellowish dust tail...

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. 2002 March 26 Comet Ikeya-Zhang Over Tenerife Credit & Copyright: Francisco A. Rodriguez Ramirez (AstroEduca) Explanation: Comet Ikeya-Zhang has become bright enough to stand out in the night sky. Discovered February 1, the comet has now just rounded the Sun and has likely attained its peak brightness. The comet appears near the Sun and over the next week moves from the evening sky (just after sunset) to the...