Planets Align for the 4th of July from PhysOrg.com

News Flash: On 4th of July weekend, NASA forecasts lights in the sky. No, not those lights. Look beyond the fireworks. Almost halfway up the western sky, just above the twilight glow of sunset, a trio of worlds is gathering: Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon.

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I’ve always been a fan of forensics. Its amazing to me that we can discover cool stuff like this… even 75 years after the fact.

Phar Lap died of arsenic poisoning

Jun 19, 12:20 am EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Forensic scientists say champion Australian gelding Phar Lap died of arsenic poisoning, solving a mystery that has intrigued the horse racing world for more than 75 years.

Phar Lap won 37 of his 51 starts before his death in mysterious circumstances at Menlo Park in California in April 1932. Days before his death, he won Mexico’s Agua Caliente Handicap, which was then the richest horse race in North America.

Arsenic poisoning has long been suspected as the cause of Phar Lap’s death, but confirmation had been lacking until Thursday when researchers Dr. Ivan Kempson of the University of South Australia and Dermot Henry, manager of Natural Science Collections at Museum Victoria, released the findings of their forensic investigation.

Kempson took six hairs from Phar Lap’s mane and analyzed them at the Advanced Photon Source Synchrotron in Chicago, finding that in the 40 hours before Phar Lap’s death the horse had ingested a massive dose of arsenic.

Phar Lap’s mounted hide is on display at the Melbourne Museum, while his heart is kept at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

“We can’t speculate where the arsenic came from, but it was easily accessible at the time,” Henry said.

Notebooks kept by Phar Lap’s handler Tommy Woodcock, obtained by Museum Victoria, show the horse was administered tonics and ointments containing both arsenic and strychnine. An accidental overdose has long been considered the likely cause of death.

Interesting article from Yahoo about tonights full moon and how it will appear to be larger than it really is…
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This is amazing! I love it!
I am not a swimmer nor a diver (although I would like to be) but lemme tell ya, this underwater cemetery is just toooo cool! I’d LOVE to be buried there! I can only think of one or two friends who dive so my visitors would be few, but it just looks so amazing.  Makes me want to learn to dive so I can check it out. I’ll be sure to put that on my “Things To Do Before I Die” list.

clipped from www.physorg.com Artificial reef near Miami is cemetery, diving attraction By LISA ORKIN EMMANUEL, Associated Press Writer   A pair of porkfish and sergeant major fish swim near a section of the Neptune Memorial Reef 45 feet under the surface Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 3.25 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, Fla. Creators of the reef hope it will become a memorial for the dead and a diving site. Instead of a burial funeral, people can pay to have their remains placed in one the reef’s structures after their death. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (AP) — About 45 feet beneath the ocean’s surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches. The Neptune Memorial Reef, which opened last fall, is seen by its creators as a perfect final resting spot for those who loved the sea. They hope that one day the reef will cover 16 acres and have room for 125,000 remains.

Standing alligator walks into the hearts of aquarium visitors!
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I love science. I know some of this might not be that exciting to some of you but I just love this kind of stuff!

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