Well, I'd Heard of "Plan Nine".

 There's more than usually interesting news from and for the scientific community this week. Two researchers from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) announced that they 'think' they have found another real planet that's part of our solar system.

This isn't something that happens every day. In fact, every time the astronomical community gets bored they re-open the debate about Pluto. Is it a planet or isn't it? They promote it, argue about it, then demote it. Poor Pluto, it just can't catch a break.

Now, though, it appears that there's something Out There that's causing these scientists to salivate.

It's egg-head stuff, but essentially they've been studying the Kuiper Belt, the astronomical junkyard that scientists used to think marked the outer edge of our solar system. There were some objects in that collection of planetary left-overs that were behaving strangely.

It's interesting stuff and, if you want to read more, the story is here:

https://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523

So, the cynical, amused and rather whimsical thought I had was: 'Was Ed Wood prescient?' After all, there is his turkey of a movie 'Plan Nine from Outer Space' and now the astronomical community is calling this new find 'Planet Nine'. That has a certain symmetry: 'Planet Nine from Outer Space'.

Yeah, I know. They aren't really calling it Planet Nine. They have some long moniker that trips off the tongue like 2015BBBlah345.


On a completely different subject, the intelligence community and police in England are mumbling accusations in Vlad's direction. Seems he might have ordered the murder of a Russian citizen who didn't like Putin and who spied against Russia for the UK.

This man died by drinking tea laced with polonium-210. This element is not something common to the grocery store shelves, so it wasn't accidental and it was probably quite painful.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35370819

This wouldn't be the first time a foreign spy died an "interesting", albeit slow and painful death ordered by the Kremlin (they're such lovely people there).

Back in 1978, a Bulgarian man was killed by ricin delivered via the prick of an umbrella. He was just waiting for his bus at the end of the day when another man walked up and hesitated. The man waiting for the bus felt a pain in his thigh, the walker-upper man mumbled an apology, dropped the umbrella and hurried off. A few days later, the waiting man was dead from ricin poisoning.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2158765/Poison-tip-umbrella-assassination-of-Georgi-Markov-reinvestigated.html

It's an interesting story - rather James Bondish. The umbrella used in the event is on display at the CIA Museum in Langley, Virginia. Of course, neither you nor I, unless we're a CIA employee or family member, or are there on Agency business can get into the museum. Still, it's interesting.

What interests you, today? Just curious because there is a lot of interest outside of politics and other nonsense.

Best~
Philippa

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