The Large Hadron Collider has finally managed to collide the beams inside it. This is very exciting. As with any massive undertaking, there were several kinks to work out, as well as system failures to correct. Since November 2009 the LHC has been sending it's energy beams at ever faster speeds and ever higher energy levels. They plan to run the collisions constantly for almost 2 years. In those two years the amount of scientific data that will be gained will seem so massive, it will take scientists and researchers decades to analyze it all. The video below details some of the issues the LHC has had in the 18 months since it went online.
As readers of -FUPPETS- know, -FUPPETS- and Astronomy go together like Ice T and Coco Austin. Astronomy is possibly the oldest scientific field, and yet it is still the one where intelligent amateurs can contribute in meaningful ways. Sometimes backyard astronomers discover new comets, or help do stellar cartography. Sometimes, like Robert Harrison explains in the video below, these amateur astronomers figure out novel ways to capture images of our planet and of space. Robert Harrison sent a camera with balloons up to 22 miles above the Earth to take spectacular images.
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