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Astronomers have discovered some odd goings-on at a neutron star:

Like something out of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel, researchers at NASA and McGill University discovered an otherwise normal pulsar which violently transformed itself temporarily into a magnetar, a stellar metamorphosis never observed before.

NASA covers this story in more depth here. 

 A little blurry, but I'm happy with these photos considering I was trying to time the shutter to open during occasional gaps in the clouds. Besides, it was about five degrees out.

The shot above was taken using a digital Canon Rebel XT with a three-and-a-half second shutter speed and f-stop of 5.6. The one below had an eight-second shutter. Both were zoomed to 300mm. 

Images copyright Daniel James Devine

If you live east of the Rocky Mountains, forget about the winter weather and take a few minutes to step outside before you go to bed this Wednesday night. Provided the sky is clear, you'll be treated to a total lunar eclipse about 9 pm Central. Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon. Although you'd think the Moon would disappear during an eclipse--just like the dark portion of a crescent Moon--the disk actually turns a shade of red or bronze instead. Even though the Moon is in the shadow of Earth, some sunlight can bend through the Earth's atmosphere and reach the Moon's highly reflective surface. And since our atmosphere tends to scatter blue light (that's why the sky looks blue during the day), the light reaching the Moon will cast it an eerie red.

Supposedly one of these lunar eclipses got Christopher Columbus out of trouble once. 

The "totality" of Wednesday's eclipse will begin at 9:00 pm Central Standard Time (about 10 pm EST) and last for 50 minutes. A partial eclipse will begin around 7:45, but will not be very noticeable until totality approaches. The total eclipse will be visible to most people in the western hemisphere, but not west of the continental divide. (Sorry Californians)

Mr. Eclipse, who has a splendid page about lunar eclipses here, will no doubt be outside on Wednesday taking more of his remarkable photos. If you plan to take pictures yourself, read his photography tips.

The British Astronomical Association also has an excellent page of lunar eclipse photography. 

 The photos in this post were taken in woods or fields nearby our home. We're blessed to have so many exhibits of creation close at hand. Enjoy!

 Above: Japanese beatles Below: Aphids feasting

All photos copyright Daniel James Devine 

 See here for more.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Annie Murphy Paul writes in NYT about the research on fetal pain, which is surrounded in ongoing controversy--and not just by pro-lifers, says Paul. Years ago, doctors never bothered to give fetuses anesthesia because they assumed the nervous system was too undeveloped to register pain. More recent research may suggest otherwise, though some argue that babies don't feel adult-like pain until up to a year after birth. Drastically far-fetched, I'd say. Newborn boys cry during circumcision, don't they?

The issue of fetal pain is, of course, an argument often used against abortion. Anyone who's convinced themselves that a fetus being aborted doesn't feel any pain needs to know that from a medical standpoint, they don't have much proof to sit on.

And how about this: I grew up with The Picture Bible, but what do you think of Genesis to Revelation in manga? An evangelistic opportunity or a liberty too far taken?

Here's the link to the audio for the recent debate between anti-Christian blogger and biologist PZ Myers and Dr. Geoff Simmons, who is not a creationist but has written a couple of books critical of Darwinism. PZ's tactic both on his blog and in open debates is to throw some measure of mud on his non-Darwinian opponents--enough to make the radio hosts object--but Dr. Simmons does well holding his own and keeping the discussion centered on the evidence against Darwinism.

PZ appealed primarily to the authority of modern Darwinian biologists and spent much of his time making attacks. Simmons is to be commended for keeping his end of the discussion civil, focused, and intelligible.

A stellar explosion w/out dust? Astronomers had thought novas created dust. And that stars were formed from it.

What might this mean for the nebular hypothesis of star and solar system formation?