New planets discovered

Three new planets have been found orbiting a nearby star that is almost identical to the sun.The planets, forming a mini-solar system, circle the star 61 Virginis which is just 27.8 light years away and can be seen with the naked eye.They have masses ranging from 5.3 to 24.9 times that of the Earth.Astronomers hope to discover even smaller potentially habitable worlds within a few years.The same international team also found a fourth planet orbiting another sun-like star 84 light years away called 23 Librae.61 Virginis lies in the constellation of Virgo, visible from both hemispheres. It has 0.96 of the sun's mass and is only slightly less bright.The star's family of planets was discovered by British, Australian and US astronomers using the Anglo-Australian Telescope in New South Wales, Australia, and the Keck telescope in Hawaii.The new worlds were identified by measuring the "wobble" effect of their gravity tugging on their parent star, a standard planet-finding technique.Professor Chris Tunney, one of the astronomers from the University of New South Wales, said: "These planets are particularly exciting. Neptune in our Solar System has a mass 17 times that of the Earth. It looks like there may be many sun-like stars nearby with planets of that mass or less. They point the way to even smaller planets that could be rocky and suitable for life."The findings on 61 Virginis are to appear in The Astrophysical Journal. The fourth planet is a Jupiter-sized "gas giant" orbiting 23 Librae in the constellation of Libra. Another planet was found orbiting this star in 2006. It takes 14 Earth-years to circle its star, only slightly more than Jupiter's 12-year orbit.

Spiral

well this is a great story one that needs to be recorded and kept for posterity.

Speculation was increasing today that the display was the result of an embarrassing failed test launch of a jinxed new Russian missile.
The Bulava missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early on Wednesday but failed at the third stage, say newspapers in Moscow today.

Strange spiral: Residents in northern Norway were left stunned after the lightshow, which almost looked computer-generated, appeared in the skies above them

Curious: A blue-green beam of light was reported to have come shooting out the centre of the spiral
This emerged despite earlier reports denying a missile launch yesterday. Even early today there was no formal confirmation from the Russian Defence Ministry.
The light appears to be unconnected with the aurora borealis, or northern lights, the natural magnetic phenomena that can often be viewed in that part of the world.
The mystery began when a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain in the north of the country. It stopped mid-air, then began to move in circles. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky.

Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre - lasting for ten to 12 minutes before disappearing completely.
Onlookers describing it as 'like a big fireball that went around, with a great light around it' and 'a shooting star that spun around and around'.
Yesterday a Norwegian defence spokesman said the display was most likely from a failed Russian test launch.

Tromsō Geophysical Observatory researcher Truls Lynne Hansen agreed, saying the missile had likely veered out of control and exploded, and the spiral was light reflecting on the leaking fuel.
But last night Russia denied it had been conducting missile tests in the area.
A Moscow news outlet quoted the Russian Navy as denying any rocket launches from the White Sea area.
Norway should be informed of such launches under international agreements, it was stressed.
However this morning media reports claimed a missile had indeed been launched from the White Sea. Test firings are usually made from the White Sea, close to the Norwegian Arctic region.
Kommersant newspaper reported today that a test-firing before dawn on Wednesday coincided with the light show in the northern sky.
It also emerged today that Russia last week formally notified Norway of a window when a missile test might be carried out.

This included a seven hour period early on Wednesday at the time when the lights were seen.
The submarine Dmitry Donskoy went to sea on Monday, ahead of the test, and some reports suggest the vessel is now back in port.
A Russian military source said today that 'the third stage of the rocket did not work'.
The Russian Defence Ministry, with characteristic secrecy, has so far been unavailable for comment.

The Bulava, despite being crucial to Russia's plans to revamp its weaponry, is becoming an embarrassment after nine failed launches in 13 tests, prompting calls for it to be scrapped.
In theory, it has a range of 5,000 miles and could carry up to ten nuclear weapons bound for separate targets.
A previous failure in July forced the resignation of Yury Solomonov, the director of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology which is responsible for developing the missile.
However, he is now working as chief designer on the jinxed project.
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute was flooded with telephone calls after the light storm yesterday morning.
Totto Eriksen, from Tromsø, told VG Nett: 'It spun and exploded in the sky,'
He spotted the lights as he walked his daughter Amalie to school.
He said: 'We saw it from the Inner Harbor in Tromsø. It was absolutely fantastic.
'It almost looked like a rocket that spun around and around and then went diagonally down the heavens.
'It looked like the moon was coming over the mountain, but then came something completely different.'
Celebrity astronomer Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard said he had never seen anything like the lights.
He said: 'My first thought was that it was a fireball meteor, but it has lasted far too long.
'It may have been a missile in Russia, but I can not guarantee that it is the answer.'
Air traffic control in Tromsō claimed the light show lasted 'far too long to be an astronomical phenomenon'.

here's the link to view the whole show
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1562587976?bctid=55946023001

article
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1234430/Mystery-spiral-blue-light-display-hovers-Norway.html

Meteo-tsunami

Abnormal tides reported in northern Tasmania last week are being attributed to a rare atmospheric disturbance, known as a meteo-tsunami.
The Weather Bureau took several calls from people in Stanley, Port Sorell and Bridport who noticed particularly high and fast moving tides on November the 22nd.The bureau says they was caused by a rare rissaga, or meteo-tsunami, but spokesman Brendan McMahon says it is not known what triggered the event.
"Unlike the conventional tsunami which we've come to know which is produced by a seismic activity, so an undersea earthquake or some sort of earthquake...this is produced by an atmospheric phenomenon.""So a deep low pressure system, the passage of a front moving through quite vigorously."
Bridport shack owner Tony Power witnessed the event.He says in a matter of minutes the tide came up to his shack and then went back out dragging two trees with it.
"I reckon within 10 minutes it was up over the sand bar coming towards us," he said."Fairly forceful, you probably wouldn't have stood up in it.
"It was pretty strange and eerie because you sort of didn't know how far it was going to come."We didn't know whether to retreat to higher ground."