Free Republic

The celestial wonders of April's solar eclipse and the mesmerizing dance of last weekend's aurora borealis captivated millions, yet the cosmos has an even more elusive spectacle in store. Before the year's end, the night sky will unveil an astronomical phenomenon so extraordinary that it eclipses the rarity of both these events combined. A blazingly bright event known as a nova, a light show that happens approximately once every 80 years, is expected to be visible in the coming months. "This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity," NASA said. An animation showing a nova of a white dwarf that is...

I don’t think the House of Mouse can read the room. Months after people showed their dissatisfaction with the new Snow White’s direction, they’re now reportedly working on a Hercules remake. According to Inside The Magic, Disney wants to cast Marvel star Michael B. Jordan as the Greek demigod. The outlet has stated that this news is unconfirmed, but given how Disney has turned into a rage-baiting machine by swapping out redheads with POC (rather than creating new stories for them), I wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan does get cast as Hercules. However, the rumor mill is already rampant on...

In 1217, a German monk looked to the starry southwest sky and noticed a normally faint star shining with unusual intensity. It continued to blaze for several days. Abbott Burchard, the leader of Ursberg Abbey at the time, recorded the sight in that year's chronicle...This medieval manuscript may have been the first record of a rare space phenomenon called a recurrent nova — a dead star siphoning matter from a larger companion, triggering repeated flares of light at regular intervals. According to new research, the "wonderful" star in question may be T CrB, which sits in the constellation Corona Borealis...

Remnants of a statue depicting Hercules that derives from ancient Roman times was unearthed during an excavation of an archeological site in Greece, according to a report by Greek City Times. The larger-than-life statue of a young Hercules, dated to the 2nd century C.E., was uncovered at a site formerly known to be the ancient city of Philippi, located the country’s northern region by researchers at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AuTH). The team was led by Natalia Poulos, a professor at AuTH, in collaboration with her colleagues there Anastasios Tantsis and Emeritus Professor Aristotle Menzos; 24 students (18 undergraduates, 3...

Twice as nice: The two-headed garter snake is in the care of the Herpetology lab on East Campus. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's herpetology lab is seeing double after securing a two-headed garter snake. The newborn bicephalic garter snake was discovered by Joshua Marshall of Hastings while clearing brush in Clay Center on Sept. 4. "I lifted up a log and wasn't surprised to see two small snakes, but then I realized that they weren't making great progress because there were two heads," he said. Once Marshall realized it was a two-headed snake, he placed it in a jar and...

The... burial site in the southern Tuscany region of Italy... survived the Roman conquest of Etruria...Analysis of the grave goods (items buried along with the bodies) and burying rituals from the necropolis, one of the few sites untouched by looters in either antiquity or modernity, suggests how the many entrenched and distinct characteristics of the Etruscan population survived in the presence of the dominant Roman power and its associated law.These persistent and complex Etruscan traditions continued for more than two centuries after the Roman conquest in ways that shaped the social, cultural and economic habits of the territory until the...

If a conservative Congress paves the way, a crusading president elected in 2024 can clean up our deeply corrupt system if he follows a clear, simple plan. Beginning in January 2025, if all goes well, we will have a new president on a mission from the people to clean up the mess in Washington. Congress will have prepared the way. The corruption purge in Washington will have arrived. The final phase of the Seven Year plan will begin. Reform in Washington isn’t new but, this time, the preparation is different. The people have been battling locally and pushing Congress to...

      LOS ANGELES – A Palmdale resident was charged today with illegally importing a mosaic depicting the Roman god Hercules that is believed to have been made nearly two millennia ago.          Yassin Alcharihi, 53, was named in an indictment that charges him with one count of entry of goods falsely classified.         The indictment alleges that Alcharihi claimed he was importing a mosaic and other items valued at $2,199, when in fact he was importing an ancient mosaic worth more than that. The indictment also alleges that he misrepresented the quality of the mosaic and what the artwork depicted.         The charges in the...

Actor Kevin Sorbo slammed the mixed-up priorities of American politics Thursday, noting how abortion facilities are still allowed to kill unborn babies but Christians are being punished for going to church. Sorbo is a rare pro-life voice in Hollywood. The 61-year-old actor is known for his roles in the “Hercules” TV series, “God’s Not Dead” and various other Christian films. On Thursday, Sorbo, a Christian, commented on the drastic measures politicians are taking to protect Americans from the coronavirus. He said America is in a “morbid condition” when it allows unborn babies to be killed in abortions but bans church...

By April 1972, the American military presence in Vietnam had largely been reduced to air power. North Vietnam launched their Easter Offensive — the largest military invasion since China crossed the Yalu River during the Korean War. Soon, the 5th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam'(ARVN) was surrounded by three enemy divisions at An Loc, the capital of Binh Phuoc province. Their only hope of the defenders was American air power, calling on B-52s and AC-130 gunships to hammer the enemy infantry and armor. The ARVN troops were holding out, but badly needed supplies. The roads to...

Think of aerobatics and it's fighter jets and light aircraft that spring to mind. But the crowds at the recent Farnborough Airshow were treated to the sight of a new Rolls-Royce-powered LM100-J Hercules transport plane pulling outrageously nimble manoeuvres – including a loop. The man at the controls was chief test pilot Wayne Roberts – and his stunt was caught on camera.

An Interesting SETI Candidate in Hercules by Paul Gilster on August 27, 2016 A candidate signal for SETI is a welcome sign that our efforts in that direction may one day pay off. An international team of researchers has announced the detection of “a strong signal in the direction of HD164595” in a document now being circulated through contact person Alexander Panov. The detection was made with the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic of Russia, not far from the border with Georgia in the Caucasus. The signal was received on May 15, 2015, 18:01:15.65 (sidereal time),...

Hercules has been crushed — because of a selfie! A couple of tourists are in hot water after climbing onto a priceless marble statue of the mythical Greek hero in the northern city of Cremona, Italy, the Daily Mail reported. The miscreants put too much weight on the statue at the Loggia dei Militi palace during their boneheaded bid to snap a photo of themselves — shattering the crown of the Statue of the Two Hercules.

Former "Hercules" star, political conservative and outspoken Christian Kevin Sorbo unleashed a Facebook rant about the protestors in Ferguson, Missouri, labeling them "animals" and "losers." Sorbo took to Facebook Wednesday, Aug. 20, to discuss the Ferguson protestors who have been calling for justice since the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. The actor criticized those who have been gathering in the St. Louis suburb for having what he said are ulterior motives. "Ferguson riots have very little to do with the shooting of the young man," Sorbo wrote. "It is an...

Tim Nguyen regards the C-130 “Hercules” as a “good friend.” The 60-year-old military aircraft has been the focus of his professional career, and quite possibly saved his life. During the 1975 Fall of Saigon, Nguyen -- then serving in the South Vietnamese air force -- escaped on the last C-130 out of Vietnam. During a lull in enemy fire, he emerged from a bunker at Tan Son Nhut Air Base to see the last flyable C-130 stopping and going on the taxiway. The aircraft’s rear ramp was still open, apparently weighed down by the crowd of people standing on it.

Explanation: These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster, an archipelago of island universes a mere 500 million light-years away. Also known as Abell 2151, this cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star-forming spiral galaxies but has relatively few elliptical galaxies, which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars. The colors in this remarkably deep composite image clearly show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and galaxies with older stellar populations with a yellowish cast. The sharp picture spans about 3/4 degree across the cluster center, corresponding to over 6 million light-years at the cluster's...

watch"><>p>Just a cool video about the Blue Angels' C-130.

Hercules owners (Newland family) putting up a fight Hercules Industries, a Colorado-based HVAC manufacturer, is a family-owned business that has been operated for 50 years. Currently, the four Newland siblings – James, Paul, William, and Christine – own the business and employ 265 people. According to CNS News, the Department of Justice is taking action to ensure that this Catholic family complies with the demands of the contraceptive mandate in ObamaCare: "The Justice Department last week presented the Newland family of Colorado–who own Hercules Industries, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business–with what amounted to an ultimatum: Give up your...

A federal court issued an order Friday that halts enforcement of the Obama administrationÂ’s abortion pill mandate against a Colorado family-owned business while an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit challenging the mandate continues in court.The mandate has generated massive opposition from pro-life groups because it forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties.Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys obtained the first-ever order against the mandate on behalf of Hercules Industries and the Catholic family that owns it. The administration opposed the order, arguing, contrary to the U.S....

Explanation: In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent." Of course, M13 is now modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. Telescopic views reveal the spectacular cluster's hundreds of thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd into a region 150 light-years in diameter, but approaching the cluster core upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just...