At the time of the big bang, our universe may not have had exactly three dimensions of space and one of time, according to some theorists. In the 6 August Physical Review Letters, a team proposes a way to observe the postulated transition to our current universe using so-called metamaterials, structures in which the propagation of light can be precisely controlled. Experiments on such structures, they say, could test predictions that a "big flash" of radiation would accompany changes in the structure of spacetime that may have occurred in the early universe.
Lionel Jacques on 07 May 12"Scientists are planning to use NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to observe next month's historic transit of Venus across the sun's face. But there's a twist. Researchers can't point Hubble anywhere near the sun, because our star's bright light could damage the telescope's super-sensitive instruments. So Hubble will watch the June 5-6 Venus transit by using the moon as a mirror."
Nicholas Lan on 08 May 12aha. i suggested something like this a few years ago
