Olympia

Washington -- They call her "President Snowe" in the blogosphere. Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe is the only Republican in Congress who might vote for President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul health care and extend coverage to those who lack it. And that gives the unassuming 62-year-old lawmaker almost as much power over the bill's fate -- and that of the millions of Americans it would affect -- as the big guy himself. Snowe stands as the woman with the most clout in Washington, poised at the intersection of ambitious efforts to change the nation's system of medical care amid competing political forces. If she ... Read Full Story

Posted by divya 9 minutes ago ( http://ratevin.com ) View profile Category : Sci/Tech | Tags : perseids viewing perseids viewing time Tonight will be your last chance to see the Perseid meteor shower at its peak—and the annual sky show is especially dazzling this year thanks to a one-time-only boost from Saturn, experts say. The Perseids light up the night when Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which swings past the sun roughly every 130 years. (See Perseids pictures.) Perseids start streaking across the sky as early as July and continue through late August. But the ... Read Full Story

Scores of amateur astronomers hoping to witness a dazzling Perseid meteor shower in the south of England today were disappointed after half the country was covered by clouds. The phenomenon, which happens each summer as the Earth's orbit takes it through debris scattered by the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, had been due to reach its peak in the early hours of this morning. However, spectacular scenes were witnessed in north America, the Middle East and parts of Europe, with up to 100 meteors an hour streaking through the skies. Shooting stars: Streaks of light zip across the sky above the Los Padres National Forest ... Read Full Story

NASA really comes up with some great stuff. Using bugs on a windshield as a metaphor for meteor impact is a great if completely gross way to teach kidz about this subject. August 10, 2009: Splat! There goes another bug on the windshield. Anyone who's ever driven down a country lane has seen it happen. A fast moving car, a cloud of multiplying insects, and a big disgusting mess. The next time that happens to you, instead of grossing out, try thinking of the experience as an astronomy lesson. Your car is Earth. The bugs are tiny flakes of comet dust. The carnage on ... Read Full Story

Now if you haven't see Perseid Meteor Shower 2009, the best moment in 2009 Perseid Meteor Shower 2009, check video below. I'm sure you'll be amazed. there are a lot of shooting stars/meteors. It was really awesome. they're come Some slow and some really fast. and one things that lots of meteor all over the sky. As many of us know the shooting star perseid meteor on 12 august 2009 . According to NASA For sky watchers in North America, the watch begins after nightfall on August 11th and continues until sunrise on the 12th. Veteran observers suggest the following strategy: Unfold a blanket ... Read Full Story

Man I must be getting old to have missed this one. Not as old as the Perseids of course. Nobody is that old except maybe my mother-in-law. I kid! I kid! Last night (actually early this morning August 12th say around a few minutes after midnight) the Perseid Meteor shower reached its peak. Every year around this time the Perseids put on one of the best meteor shower shows you can't buy tickets for. According to the Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events: The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at their peak. This ... Read Full Story

The meteor watch Twitter campaign launched on the first night of the Perseids meteor shower was so successful it got more tweets than Disney teen star Miley Cyrus. The #meteorwatch Twitter topic, launched ahead of the two-day Perseids meteor shower peak which began on August 12, became a “trending topic” with an estimated 10,000 tweets, according to a Newbury Astronomical Society Twitter-monitoring programme. * Met Office: For the best view of the Perseids meteor shower, go to places with little light pollution in southern and eastern parts of the country. It knocked the #WeLoveYouMiley topic, which has been dominating Twitter after the Hannah Montana ... Read Full Story