You topped me. All I was going to talk about was gravity waves.

Bowie was not my generation, I was not into music when he was popular. Listening to bits and bobs that have popped up, I'm very much enjoying him. He was quite good.
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Here, found it, what cha think?

Rumors of a massive physics discovery swirl

By Michael Harthorne Published January 13, 2016 Newser
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Scientists may have discovered gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago but never observed.

Scientists may have discovered gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago but never observed. (AP Photo/File)

Rarely does a tweet not involving a Kardashian or a cat stir up such a swell of excitement. On Monday, physicist Lawrence Krauss tweeted that scientists may have discovered gravitational waves, phenomena first predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago but never observed, Gizmodo reports.

"If true … it would probably be a shoo-in for this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics," the blog states. According to Discovery, gravitational waves—ripples in space-time—are believed to be created by things like black holes, supernovas, and "galactic mergers." The Washington Post reports their discovery could help scientists study black holes and other cosmic curiosities.

"We would have a new window on the universe,” Krauss tells the Guardian. “Gravitational waves are generated in the most exotic, strange locations in nature." But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Gizmodo reports the official word out of LIGO—the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory—is that it's still analyzing data and has nothing to report at this time.

And Krauss tells the Guardian he's only 60% positive the rumors are true. He tells the Post he only tweeted about the possible discovery because he's heard other physicists discussing it.

But scientists say it could be dangerous to post those kinds of things before findings have been peer-reviewed and confirmed. If what's reported turns out to be false, the public trust in science and scientists could be damaged.

But, as Gizmodo notes, "If confirmed, this would be one of the most significant physics discoveries of the last century." (Another discovery, finally confirmed, grabbed headlines earlier this month.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Rumors of a Massive Physics Discovery Swirl
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In answer to the David Bowie clip (which naturally is in the completely wrong place.... ) I LOVE Dick Cavett and it was nice to see him young and on his game. Cavett suffered from clinical depression, and I heard many interviews where he talked at length about it, it was very very serious, not sure if he's even still alive. What a very nice man tho. He was good friends with Groucho Marx, and I was really into HIM at one time, so I saw Cavett a lot over the years.

Love the sound of that Les Paul, growling in the background

I know why I stopped being interested in music in those days. If you close your eyes, this is very very good music. Bowie has a great voice! BUT.... the entire era was this "gratuitous weirdness" era, and I saw no point in it... .and got bored easily. There was a counter-movement at the same time, toward Country western, and I swung more that way, being in the Navy at the time. Anyway this was "progressive rock" and all I could see at the time, and still do, is "weirdness for weirdness sake" and it seems redundant. Bowie WAS a great artist however, and some of his later stuff is very enjoyable visually. And to boot, he was a nice, intelligent guy.

SEE? when he talks to Cavett, he's very genuine. Cavett is so deadpan, it's pretty funny. Dig the wide lapels. I used to wear those.

"The lives of the rock stars are not as interesting as the lives of the fans" --- hehehe

I liked what he said about story telling. He's not my type really (too fragile) but he was young here. Wow what a showman!

Won't step up to the political plate. It's death that kills people anyway, and being in the wrong space at the wrong time. Darn how dare that floor get in the way when I stumble, fall and get a concussion, brain bleed and die? "Gravity: it's a killer" Dihydrogen-oxade kills a lot of people too, by displacing all the air in their lungs under the wrong circumstances. Dangerous stuff.

Yes............... weren't they both really sweet and smart? A very nice interview.... David a little twitchy, but with style.

Did I talk about the Great Heinlein mystery? But I think I know what the gadget is, and he lied about which story it's in, to drive people nuts no doubt. It's an INS.... if you watch Apollo 13, it's the big green numbers they have to turn off and get coordinates for, with slide rules. I think it's still classified. Or the schematics are anyway.

YEAH people who work with spook stuff and secret physics, lie a lot, misdirect, have mischievous fun, and generally don't tell you anything anyway. Once we untangle dark matter and dark energy, I suspect we'll find out it's a lot simpler than we expected. All of it.
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John Bish put this on his FB

I don't know how accurate this is... because Mars doesn't exactly have a vicinity. It moves around. But it's a nice thought anyway.

David Bowie: astronomers give the Starman his own constellation
Scientists have registered a constellation shaped like a lightning bolt in honour of David Bowie and his out-of-this-world talent

David Bowie has been given his own constellation, consisting of seven stars that shine in the shape of the lightning bolt.
Belgian astronomers announced the registration of the constellation, which appropriately sits in the vicinity of Mars, following the artist’s death last week.

It is a fitting homage to Bowie, who used the universe as a key inspiration throughout his career. Bowie first found success with the single Space Oddity and later crafted the persona Ziggy Stardust, an extra-terrestrial rockstar. His hits also included Starman and Life on Mars.
He appeared on the cover of the 1973 album Aladdin Sane with a red and blue lightning bolt painted on one side of his face.
Belgian radio station Studio Brussel and the MIRA public observatory teamed up to register the constellation, but finding the right place for the legendary rock star in the heavens was a complicated task.

Philippe Mollet from the MIRA Observatory said in a statement: “it was not easy to determine the appropriate stars”.

“Studio Brussels asked us to give Bowie a unique place in the galaxy,” he said.

“Referring to his various albums, we chose seven stars — Sigma Librae, Spica, Alpha Virginis, Zeta Centauri, SAA 204 132, and the Beta Sigma Octantis Trianguli Australis — in the vicinity of Mars.

“The constellation is a copy of the iconic Bowie lightning and was recorded at the exact time of his death.”

The creation of the constellation is part of the Stardust for Bowie tribute project, where fans can use Google Sky to add their favorite Bowie songs with a short note to a virtual version of the constellation.

Bowie died on 10 January aged 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Some new tidbits for the thread. First is a really fun visual link, for space tourism. I wonder if this will ever happen.... these sorts of things were very popular in the 50s when there was still hope for a space program. The art is even a bit retro... really nice stuff.

http://mic.com/articles/134899......6oBdbU6GY

The second is a real jaw dropper if you have a bit of physics in your soul. I'm still thinking about it. If we can detect it, we might be able to tap the energy and use it...

http://www.foxnews.com/science.....stein.html

I only fall back on empiricism when someone p**ses me off. It's too much fun to speculate! C'mon I mean GRAVITY WAVES?????

It's just too cool.

Of course, cold fusion was a cool thought too (pardon the mixed metaphor) but turned out to be hogwash when an empirical spotlight was shone on it. You have to DREAM. I'm firmly in the pop science field.... stuff like Iron Man, can you imagine a dude with a nuclear reactor in a little doo dah on his chest, flying around in that high tech suit, saving people and bashing bad guys???

You need some catharsis!

some neat math hoo doo, but short on specifics

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....id-it.html

Even a bit more to go with the gravity waves article. This DOES seem to be long on science babble, and short on specifics.

http://phys.org/news/2015-02-b.....verse.html

Try josiec5150@gmail.com

I don't think I'm in love. Too cynical and worn out right now. Need sleep....

My policy is to blame the computer. In a funk right now. May just see you on the road.