Apr 14, 2013

No, its not science fiction

The following intriguing picture  is not a man made artifact from the series Star Trek, no, it has been taken from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star. It is located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). 
Planetary Nebula IC 1295   (c) ESO

This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken. I love it, isn't it beautiful?
Links:


Apr 11, 2013

Bitcoins lose half of its value

The extreme rise of the Bitcoin exchange value as described in my previous post Bitcoin exchange value exploding has come to an end. The Bitcoin prize rose to a peak value of 270 US$ per Bitcoin (BTC) yesterday 10th, April in the afternoon (UT) but fell in a few hours sharply for 100 US$  to a value of  140 US$.
Today, 11th, April, the value stabilized, but still fell slightly to currently 120 USD/ BTC.
On a long term view the fascinating features of the Bitcoin currency should promise further acceptance and grow in use.

Link: Actual five day chart from bitcoincharts.com

exchange price USD/ BTC and volume  on April 11-12, 2013

Seen on a larger time scale, the Bitcoin prize had risen in the three months of 2013 incredibly 1500 % and lost now in one day half of its value (see below)! 
exchange price USD/ BTC (%) 13 Jan -11 April 2013