Looking In, Looking Out:No OCO, but Kepler Made It

As investigators search for the cause of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory's launch "mishap", the successful launch of the Kepler spacecraft provided some relief for those of us giddy about humanity's ever-expanding observation of the big picture "here" and our hopes for what we may find "out there."

Blueprint paper photography?! Turns out blueprint paper develops with a little ammonia...

Scientists at the U.S. DOE Ames Laboratory have developed a silver-based, mesh-like material with a negative index of refraction:

Metamaterials, also known as left-handed materials, are exotic, artificially created materials that provide optical properties not found in natural materials. Natural materials refract light, or electromagnetic radiation, to the right of the incident beam at different angles and speeds. However, metamaterials make it possible to refract light to the left, or at a negative angle. This backward-bending characteristic provides scientists the ability to control light similar to the way they use semiconductors to control electricity, which opens a wide range of potential applications.