NASA released the first picture taken of Mercury's surface by the US space agency's orbiting Messenger craft

WASHINGTON (AFP) – NASA released the first picture taken of Mercury's surface by the US space agency's orbiting Messenger craft.

"Early this morning, at 5:20 am EDT (0920 GMT), Messenger captured this historic image of Mercury," NASA said.

"This image is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the solar system's innermost planet."

The spacecraft snapped 363 images over the next six hours, and more were expected to be released Wednesday in conjunction with an expert press conference to discuss the findings.

The upper part of the image shows an unusual, dark-rayed crater called Debussy, while the lower part reveals a portion of Mercury near its south pole that has never before been witnessed by spacecraft, NASA said.

NASA's Messenger craft -- which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging -- became the first vehicle to orbit Mercury on March 17.

Messenger was launched more than six years ago, traveling through the inner solar system and embarking on flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury.

The first NASA craft to study Mercury since the Mariner mission more than three decades ago, Messenger has already been able to return a partial map of the planet's crater-filled surface after just a handful of flybys.

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Grand Lotto winner let another bettor cut in line to win the P740-M pot

The New York-based balikbayan could have missed the mind-boggling jackpot if he did not let another bettor cut in line at the lotto ticket outlet. The winner of the P740-million Grand Lotto jackpot “generously" let another person place her bet first and waited for his turn before he could place his winning combination for the lottery prize, a Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) official said Thursday. The PCSO earlier said that the Grand Lotto winner, who placed his bet at an outlet in Olongapo City in Zambales, used the “Lucky Pick" method, which generates randomly selected numbers, to come up with the winning combination. (See: Jackpot! Olongapo bettor wins P741.176-M lotto prize) “May sumingit na babae bago siya tumaya pero hindi siya nagalit at pinabayaan niya. Mukhang mabait talaga siyang tao," PCSO chair Margie Juico told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Thursday night.

(A woman cut in line before he could place his bet, but he kept his cool and allowed her to place her bet first.)

The woman also used the “Lucky Pick" method, which meant that if she hadn’t cut in line, she would have received the winning combination. “Imagine, kung hindi sumingit ‘yung babae at hinintay, siya dapat ang nanalo," Juico added.

Juico said the Grand Lotto winner, a 60-year-old married man with three children, was a balikbayan from New York in the United States, who returned to the Philippines for a “sentimental journey" in his home country. “He has been staying in the US for a long time. He went back to the Philippines to visit places. Nagkatuwaan lang silang magkakapatid na tumaya sa Subic at doon siya sinwerte [He and his siblings agreed to place a bet at Subic, just for fun, and he got lucky]," she said. The PCSO chairperson, who personally handed the prize to the winner on Thursday afternoon, described the balikbayan as a “kind-looking" man. (See: Lucky bettor claims P741-M Grand Lotto prize) “Nakakatuwa kasi simple lang talaga siya at mukhang mabait. Sinabi niya sa akin na madasalin din siya. Dininig ang panalangin niya," she said.

(It’s so heart-warming, because he’s really just an ordinary guy, and kind-looking. He told me that he prayed often. His prayers were answered.)—JV, GMANews.TV

Trading Cards Launched of Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber fans have another thing to add to their collection of The Biebs items—trading cards.

Panini America has partnered with the “Baby” singer to come up with the Justin Bieber trading cards, a collection that includes 150 cards and 30 stickers. Included in the special trading card collection are four nine-card puzzles that fans can turn into small posters of the 16-year-old pop phenom. The trading cards collection is the latest of a growing list of Bieber merchandizes that have come out since the Canadian teener was discovered through YouTube in 2008.

“I always dreamed of being a hockey player and having my own trading card,” Bieber said in a statement. “I remember collecting hockey cards, so the idea that kids are going to enjoy my cards like I enjoyed my hockey cards is amazing!”

The collection will be available in retail stores next week, with a pack of five cards and a sticker selling for $1.99 each.

Spanish Woman Claimed that the Sun owned by Her!

Take note people, the use of the Sun, yes, that great ball of fire in the sky, is no longer free.

A Spanish woman has claimed that she has obtained a legal document that designates her as the rightful owner of the center of the Solar System, and therefore authorized to collect fees for its use. Angeles Duran said in an interview with El Mundo newspaper’s online edition that she has a notarized document to prove her ownership of the Sun.

The 49-year-old from the town of Salvaterra de Mino said her document does not violate international law because only countries are prohibited from claiming ownership of planets and stars, not private individuals. “There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first,” she said.

According to her purported legal document, she is the “owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the center of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers.”

As for the proceeds of her “income” from collecting fees for the use of the Sun, Duran said she would get only 10 percent, with the Spanish government getting 50 percent. The remaining 40 percent will be set aside for pension fund, research, and food for the poor, she said.

A mid-18th century Chinese vase found

A mid-18th century Chinese vase found at a north-west London house has been sold for $68.9 million on Thursday, setting a new record for a Chinese work of art, a small auction house that carried the sale said.

The 16-inch high Qing Dynasty vase was sold by Bainbridges auction house to a private buyer from mainland China. The antique was believed to have been made around 1740 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and was brought to London in the 1930s, when the Second Opium War ended. A brother and sister found the vase while they were clearing out their parents’ house in Pinner, a suburb in north-west London.

A researcher for Bainbridges said the siblings who found the vase never thought that the piece would sell for such a huge price. “They were hopeful but they didn’t dare believe until the hammer went down. When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air,” Bainbridges researcher Helen Porter said. The double-walled, sky blue and yellow-colored vase with intricate fish and floral designs was estimated to sell for around $2 million.

facebook in Email?

Is Facebook aiming for the email market this time? According to a report by Techcrunch.com, Facebook is set to launch a full email service that could compete with Gmail, among other more established names.

Techcrunch reports that an invitation-only event on Monday has been set up by Facebook to officially launch “Project Titan,” the name of the web based email service that Mark Zuckerberg and company have been planning for a time now. The unveiling of “Project Titan,” according to reports, could take place at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, as hinted by the invitation sent to selected people.

The news about the Facebook email service comes after Google excluded Facebook from its policy of allowing users to export their Gmail contacts. Google’s move was a response to Facebook’s export restriction, which prevents users from exporting contacts and data out of the social networking site.

And as speculations about a Facebook email service become stronger, rumors are also circulating that Google is developing its own social network, making a head-on collision between the two Internet players inevitable.

And the most valuable college degree goes to... By Chris Kyle

And the most valuable college degree goes to...

By Chris Kyle
What makes a degree valuable?
-Career opportunities?
-Starting salaries?
-Time to completion?
-Versatility?
Our answer is: all of the above.
With back-to-school season in full force, we've compiled our list of Most Valuable Degrees based on these criteria.
And without further ado...the Most Valuable Degree goes to...

Winner: Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration

The most popular college degree in the world is also the best college degree. A superb pick for students looking for a versatile bachelor's degree with major earning power.
Time to completion: 4 years
Starting salary: $45,200
Mid-career salary: $73,000
Winning factor: One of the advantages of a business degree is that you're able to move into many different industries. To name just two, health care is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and finance is one of the most stable.
Search for online and local Business schools!

2nd Place: Associate's Degree in Medical Assisting

The timing for earning an associate's degree in medical assisting couldn't be better. The suddenly red-hot career was highlighted in Laurence Shatkin's book Best Jobs for the 21st Century and was also named by Forbes as one of the fastest growing jobs for women in 2010.
Time to completion: 18 months to 2 years
Average salary: $28,650
Potential salary: $39,970
Winning factor: Medical assisting opportunities are expected to grow an amazing 34 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Search for Medical Assisting schools near you!

3rd Place: Bachelor's Degree in Accounting

Accounting is often overshadowed by the more popular business degree but the salary figures are higher for this more specialized degree. And you don't need an accounting degree to know that money talks!
Time to completion: 4 years
Starting salary: $46,500
Potential salary: $77,600
Winning factor: There's a lot of opportunity for those with an accounting degree. In a recent survey of more than 500 senior finance executives, more than half of the CFOs expressed concern about a lack of qualified accountants entering the workforce, according to global accounting organization Grant Thornton.
Search for Accounting degree programs now!

4th Place: Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies

It's hard to imagine a two-year degree with more upside than an associate's degree in paralegal studies. This extremely solid degree allows you to work for a law firm or for yourself, in whatever city or town you want in America. And the pay isn't just good; it's great.
Time to completion: 2 years
Average salary: $46,120
Potential salary: $73,450
Winning factor: Opportunities for paralegals and legal assistants are expected to grow at a healthy 28 percent clip between 2008 and 2018, according to the Department of Labor.
Search for Paralegal schools near you now!

5th Place: Bachelor's of Science in Nursing

Add job security to the long list of reasons to become a nurse. A Vanderbilt University analysis in 2009 predicted that the U.S. will have a shortage of 260,000 nurses in 2025. Find a Nursing school near you.
Time to completion: 4 years
Starting salary: $52,700
Mid-career salary: $68,200
Winning factor: Employment opportunities are expected to soar 22 percent between 2008 and 2018, with hundreds of thousands of job openings expected from retirements, according to the Department of Labor.
Search for Nursing degree programs now!
*All starting salary and mid-career salary information comes from Payscale's 2010-2011 college salary report. Average salary comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, using May 2008 median salary information, and potential salary reflects earnings by the top ten percent.

The Northern Lights have petered out during the second half of this decade

The Northern Lights have petered out during the second half of this decade, becoming rarer than at any other time in more than a century, the Finnish Meteorological Institute said Tuesday.

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, generally follow an 11-year "solar cycle", in which the frequency of the phenomena rises to a maximum and then tapers off into a minimum and then repeats the cycle.

"The solar minimum was officially in 2008, but this minimum has been going on and on and on," researcher Noora Partamies told AFP.

"Only in the past half a year have we seen more activity, but we don't really know whether we're coming out of this minimum," she added.

[Oceans of fire? A 'dance' of dead spirits? Myths and facts about the polar auroras' curtains of light]

The Northern Lights, a blaze of coloured patterns in the northern skies, are triggered by solar winds crashing into the earth and being drawn to the magnetic poles, wreaking havoc on electrons in the parts of the atmosphere known as the ionosphere and magnetosphere.

Click image to see photos of Northern Lights

AP Photo/Bob Martinson

So a dimming of the Northern Lights is a signal that activity on the sun which causes solar winds, such as solar flares and sun sports, is also quieting down.

For researchers like Partamies, it is the first time they can observe through a network of modern observation stations what happens to this solar cycle when it becomes as badly disrupted as it is now.

"We're waiting to see what happens, is the next maximum going to be on time, is it going to be late, is it going to be huge?" Partamies said.

During the cycle's peak in 2003, the station on Norway's Svalbard island near the North Pole, showed that the Northern Lights were visible almost every single night of the auroral season, which excludes the nightless summer months.

That figure has fallen to less than 50y percent, while the southernmost station, situated in southern Finland, has been registering only two to five instances annually for the past few years.

Philippines is the # 7 rank in the world beauty pageant

The fourth runner up finish of Venus Raj in the recently-concluded Miss Universe 2010 pageant put the Philippines in 7th place of the world’s beauty pageant ranking.

Pageant website globalbeauties.com has been ranking more than 150 countries based on their performance in major beauty pageants in the world: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International. They give points to each winning, runner-ups and semi-final placements from each country and consolidate their totals to determine their ranking.

The Philippines ranked 8th in 2009 but after the fourth runner up finish of Venus Raj in the Miss Universe pageant, RP climbed one notch to no. 7 behind pageant leaders Venezuela, USA, India and Mexico:

The ranking changes after each one of the grand slam pageants conclude.

The next update is after the 50th Annual Miss International pageant on November 7 which is happening in China. RP’s bet for the said pageant is Jay-R‘s girlfriend Krista Arrieta Kleiner.

Fisherman Raphael Biagini reeled in what is believed to be a 30-pound koi carp in France

This just in from the "strange but probably true" files. Fisherman Raphael Biagini reeled in what is believed to be a 30-pound koi carp in France, where the fish are quite popular. The fish, a vivid orange, looks a great deal like a giant goldfish. The photo is several months old, but it's buzzing right now, thanks to an article from the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

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