Astronomers sifting through data from theDark Energy Survey(DES) have spotted a large Oort Cloud object approaching the outer regions of the solar system.
The discovery has caused ripples of excitement within the planetary science community because of the object’s unusually large size – initial estimates suggest it may be as big as 130–160km across, substantially bigger than some of the largest comets. Studying the object could also give researchers insights into an enigmatic process in the solar system.
Catalogued as C/2014 UN271, the wandering visitor was found in archival data captured by the DES project, which investigates the cosmological mystery of dark energy by photographing distant galaxies.
Recognized instantly
“The object appears in about thirty images out of the [approximately] 80,000 that were taken over six years for the survey,”Gary Bernsteinof…
Astronomers estimate 29 habitable planets are positioned to see Earth transit and intercept human broadcasts
The scientists identified 1,715 star systems where alien observers could have discovered Earth in the past 5,000 years by watching it ‘transit’ across the face of the sun.Photograph: c/o Cornell
For centuries, Earthlings have gazed at the heavens and wondered about life among the stars. But as humans hunted for little green men, the extraterrestrials might have been watching us back.
In new research, astronomers have drawn up a shortlist of nearby star systems where any inquisitive inhabitants on orbiting planets would be well placed to spot life on Earth.
The scientists identified 1,715 star systems in our cosmic neighbourhood where alien observers could have discovered Earth in the past 5,000 years by watching it “transit” across the face of the sun.
The U.K. government is gathering evidence to inform a potential ban on fur imports and sales, and it needs to knowyourviews.
Foxes, minks, and coyotes urgently need you to take part, asthe U.K. government needs to hear from as many people as possiblebeforethe June 28 deadline!
Just a few minutes spent responding could help secure monumental legislation that would spare millions of animals suffering around the world for thecruel fur trade.
Skull found at the site among other items at Nesher Ramla.(photo credit: DR. YOSSI ZAIDNER)AdvertisementA new type of early human previously not known to scientists has been discovered in Israel, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University researchers announced Thursday as their extraordinary findings appeared in the prestigious academic journal Science.Researchers believe the new “Homo” species intermarried withHomo sapiensand was an ancestor of the Neanderthals.Read More Related Articles
Lucy Draper says noisy children on Father’s Day was the last straw (Picture:Kennedy News & Media)
A landlady has banned all children under 12 from her pub after they caused ‘complete havoc’ on Father’s Day and ‘ruined everyone else’s lunch’.
Lucy Draper, 67, says parents did nothing to stop their little ones screeching and even had to move one table away because the noise was ‘unbearable’.
The Compass Inn, in New Forest, Hampshire, hit the headlines last year when under-12s were banned except for Sunday lunchtime to stop the pub turning ‘into a creche’.
The landlady of 26 years says she made the decision after a family with three children under five disturbed other customers.
She told the Advertiser and Times: ‘The children were jumping up and down on chairs, literally screeching. It was the kind of noise that goes straight through you.
‘We were packed because it was Father’s Day. The parents did nothing to stop them, even after I had a polite word.
Children are now strictly prohibited from the dog friendly and gluten free pub (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
‘It ruined everyone else’s lunch. I had to move one table away from them because the noise was so unbearable. The kids were just feral.’
In an announcement on its Facebook page, the dog friendly and gluten free pub said: ‘Today we have yet again experienced a family with no respect for other diners as their children were so badly behaved.
‘When we take bookings we have no idea if children are going to behave in an adult environment.
‘Today we had complaints about the rowdy children, we had to move people to a quieter area, apologise for them and the staff had to put up with the backlash this family created.
‘All bookings we have already taken with children on a Sunday we will honour but as from today we will not be taking any further booking for children on a Sunday.
‘It’s a shame that I have had to make this decision but we are ultimately an adult only pub but some families disregard this fact that we expect their children to behave which unfortunately is not always the case.’
The family involved in Sunday’s incident appear to have left a one-star review on TripAdvisor, saying: I’m sad to say it was clear that staff weren’t huge fans of young children.
‘We noticed a scowl at one point, and felt they couldn’t get us out quick enough. There was no warmth or friendliness towards us but there was plenty to other customers.
‘Others were getting “see you again ” & “enjoy the rest of your day”. We were given the Bill without asking if we were finished & received a flat “thanks” upon paying. A simple smile costs nothing and goes a LONG way.’
Replying to the scathing review, Mop writes: ‘I would think that any pub you went to would not put up with your family.
‘You and families like you that hold no regard for other diners are the reason we went adult only.
‘Tables near to you complained about the noise and how unruly your children were. A few basic manners would not go amiss and disciplining you children on how to behave in public.’
The ban has had a mixed reaction on social media, with some criticising the pub for ‘punishing’ well behaved children and ‘tarring every family with the same brush’.
But Wendy Bruder wrote: ‘Good for you. Poorly behaved kids are the worst. Shame on their parents.’
Pierette Odgers added: ‘It’s a shame that some ruin it for others. I would have liked to have booked a family meal, as I’ve heard fantastic things about your food. My eldest is a coeliac. Nevermind, hopefully in 4 years time we can come as a family.’
The report, which is scheduled for official release next year, is the most comprehensive rundown to date of the impacts of climate change on our planet and our species.
“The worst is yet to come, affecting our children’s and grandchildren’s lives much more than our own,” the report warns.
Millions of people worldwide are in for a disastrous future of hunger, drought and disease, according to a draft report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was leaked to the media this week.
“Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions,” according toAgence France-Presse, which obtained the report draft.
The report warns of a series of thresholds beyond which recovery from climate breakdown may become impossible,The Guardiansaid. The report warns: “Life on Earth…
Two kitten siblings being rescued by the HSUS in Texas after Hurricane Harvey forced a sudden mandatory evacuation of the area.Anthony Rathbun/HSUS via AP Images
The past few years have shown how suddenly natural disasters and other emergencies can upend our lives. Take, for instance, recentsevere hurricanesand wildfires, the early 2021deep freeze in Texasor the ongoing worldwide Covid-19 crisis. Families everywhere have seen how crucial it is to have disaster plans in place for their loved ones.
Animal lovers have always been aware that human beings aren’t the only ones in need of disaster preparedness plans, and in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, the rest of society caught on. Within a year of that disaster, Congress passed the PETS Act, mandating that state and local response agencies receiving federal funds…
Irish Council Against Blood SportsMullingar, Ireland
JUN 24, 2021 —
Fur farming will finally be banned in Ireland in 2022, it has been confirmed.
On 22 June 2021, the government approved the ban, with Fianna Fáil tweeting: “Ban on fur farming in Ireland. A key commitment in the Programme for Government, the ban will come into effect next year.”
Earlier in the day, the Irish Independent reported that Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue sought “approval from his ministerial colleagues to implement a prohibition on fur farming in Ireland within a short timeframe.”
The owners of the three remaining fur farms in Counties Laois, Kerry and Donegal are set to receive compensation for closing down and demolishing the hellholes where an estimated 120,000 mink are cruelly caged every year and gassed to death at six months of age.
Speaking outside Government Buildings, Minister McConalogue said that fur farming “really has become outdated”.
“It’s no longer appropriate to our time,” he stated. “It is something that societal views have changed towards and indeed it is something that the government’s views have very much changed as well.”
Of course, fur farming has never been appropriate to any time. It shamefully involves confining animals to cages where they can be seen repeatedly pacing back and forth and jumping against the bars, cruelly denying them their ability to express natural behaviours and pulling them out squealing and thrown into a gassing box where they spend their last moments desperately trying not to inhale poisonous Carbon Monoxide.
Mink are semi-aquatic and highly evolved physiologically to hold their breath. They are able to detect a lack of oxygen in their blood and are prone to hypoxia, which means they can suffer particularly during gassing.
The upcoming fur farming ban follows long-running campaigns by several groups (including an ICABS campaign over more than 20 years), protests, petitions, political lobbying, a statement from Veterinary Ireland backing a ban and a RED C opinion poll which showed that an 80 per cent majority in Ireland want fur farming banned.
Among those calling for a ban were over 400 from the worlds of film, television, theatre, radio, sport, literature and music. The list of high profile personalities, compiled by Irish actor Rachel Pilkington, includes Oscar-nominated actors Saoirse Ronan, Ruth Negga and Stephen Rea, Oscar-nominated directors Lenny Abrahamson and Jim Sheridan, Emmy award-winning director Emer Reynolds, Olympic medallist Sonia O’Sullivan, former international rugby player Alan Quinlan, musicians Sharon Shannon, Damien Dempsey, Mundy, Don Mescall, Mary Coughlan, Josh Gray and Brian Kennedy, author Cathy Kelly, comedians Deirdre O’Kane and PJ Gallagher and many more.
This week’s development comes two years after the then government pledged to ban the practice.
In June 2019, prior to the current government coalition, former Agriculture Minister Michael Creed (Fine Gael) agreed that “the farming of mink is counter to good animal welfare” and that “it is considered timely to commence the phasing out of the industry in Ireland.”
“The government will now proceed to bring forward a Bill which will be drafted in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office,” he stated. “The Government Bill will provide for a phased basis for the ban for existing operators. The Government Bill will make it illegal for any new fur farms to be established. Phase out arrangements will be put in place for the small number of current operators to allow for an orderly wind down of the sector and to allow time for employees to find alternative opportunities.”
Fianna Fáil had previously “agreed to back the proposal to introduce a ban on the farming of mink for the production of fur in Ireland”.
This came after the introduction to the Dail of the “Prohibition of Fur Farming Bill 2018” by Solidarity/People Before Profit TDs Paul Murphy, Mick Barry and Ruth Coppinger and majority political support for a ban. Along with Fianna Fáil, other parties which gave their backing to a ban were Sinn Féin, Labour, Independents 4 Change, the Green Party, the Social Democrats and Aontú.
A big thank you and well done to all who campaigned for a ban.
![PIC FROM Kennedy News and Media (PICTURED: THE COMPASS INN, DECORATED TO CELEBRATE BREXIT DAY ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 31.) A landlady is facing the wrath of irate locals after announcing the pub was to be 'adults only' - banning under 12s to save the boozer from being 'a creche'. Lucy Draper announced her new no-child policy on The Compass Inn's Facebook page yesterday [Tuesday] as she banned youngsters from entering any time except Sunday lunchtimes. However the move has been branded 'inconsiderate' and 'ridiculous' as hundreds of customers took to social media to declare they would now boycott the establishment. DISCLAIMER: While Kennedy News and Media uses its best endeavours to establish the copyright and authenticity of all pictures supplied, it accepts no liability for any damage, loss or legal action caused by the use of images supplied and the publication of images is solely at your discretion. SEE KENNEDY NEWS COPY - 0161 697 4266](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PRI_163029830.jpg)
Exposing the Big Game 