Finally, A Reason For Space Travel

Astronomers discover a planet made of diamond

Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard.
The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.

"The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon -- i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun," said Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.

That's a lot of rough...
do you think that DeBeers is developing a space program?

And for something closer to home
The jewelry collection of Elizabeth Taylor will be on display prior to the December auction by Christie's.
Here are the locations
- Moscow: Sept. 15 – 16, GUM, Red Square 3
- London: Sept. 24 – 26, Christie’s, 8 King St., St. James
- Los Angeles: Oct. 13 – 16, venue to be determined
- Dubai: Oct. 23, Jumeirah Emirates Towers
- Geneva: Nov. 11 – 12, Four Seasons Hotel, 33 quai des Bergues
- Paris: Nov. 16 – 17, Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon
- Hong Kong: Nov. 24 – 27, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center
- New York: Dec. 3 – 12, Christie’s, 20 Rockefeller Plaza

I can't wait to see this collection

Meanwhile, according to IDEX, a 32.77 carat yellow diamond is expected to fetch some $18 million or so.

According to Christie’s, the diamond's color is highly saturated. “The vivid yellow literally blazes with color, unlike any yellow diamond I’ve ever seen,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s Head of Jewelry for Christie’s Americas.

Yellow diamonds gain their color from nitrogen replacing carbon atoms in the diamond’s structure. The level of nitrogen determines the intensity of the color. The vivid yellow offered by Christie’s absorbed an unusually high level of aggregated nitrogen, giving it a superbly saturated golden yellow color, the firm said.

I won't be bidding...in case you were wondering.

Have a great weekend...and to my peeps on the east coast, stay dry!

Looking Back To The Summer of 1969

For all of us there is some pivotal event that occurred in our childhoods that we still remember because in some way it influenced the way that we feel about the world.
For the generation before me it was the assassination of President Kennedy. Ask anyone of that generation and they will probably be able to tell you where they were when the event took place and have some memory of watching the funeral on TV.
For my children it was September 11th.

But for my generation it was 40 years ago in the summer of 1969
The Apollo mission to the moon and Neil Armstrong's "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".
We all thought that a Mars landing would only be a few years away.

That summer while my parents were in New York City, my brother's and I spent 8 weeks at camp in the hills of Malibu. It the the usual kind of summer camp except instead of having a lake we had the big waves of Zuma Beach. Most of my days at that camp were spent riding horses, especially learning gymkhanna events. But one day, all of us campers were herded into the main house and sat in front of the television to watch the moon landing.

And it was awesome.



So, yes it makes me really feel old to realize that this incredible event took place 40 years ago.

The summer of 1969 was also a summer of music

and not just the Top of the Pops...

There was the wildness of Woodstock

And plenty of Soul Music

Pretty girls looked like these bikini clad babes from the Pirelli Calendar

and high fashion was both buttoned down

and Boho Glam

Bright colors and Big jewelry

and my mother, the easy breezy California girl running around the streets of New York,

would have looked a lot like this

So where are we today in the summer of 2009?

Less buttoned down and more Boho Glam for sure

with short skirts, strappy sandals and big sunglasses

And where is the space program?

Well, certainly not on Mars...but maybe a Mars landing will be the pivotal event of my future grandchildren's lives.

We shall see