Gay Marriage: Will Justices Follow Popular Opinion?

The Supreme Court's announcement that it would hear two cases challenging laws prohibiting same-sex marriage has reinvigorated one of the most hotly contentious social debates in American history, a debate that has been fueled by a dramatic change in attitudes.

With some states taking significant steps towards legalizing gay marriage, the hearings come at a critical moment.

This week in Washington State, hundreds of same-sex couples lined up to collect marriage licenses after Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the passing of a voter-approved law legalizing gay marriage.

"For the past 20 years we've been saying just one more step. Just one more fight. Just one more law. But now we can stop saying 'Just one more.' This is it. We are here. We did it," Gregoire told a group of Referendum 74 supporters during the law's certification.

Washington is just the most recent of several states to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, signifying a significant departure from previous thinking on the controversial subject.

READ: Court to Take Up Same-Sex Marriage

A study by the Pew Research Center on changing attitudes on gay marriage showed that in 2001 57 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while 35 percent of Americans supported it.

The same poll shows that today opinions have greatly shifted to reflect slightly more support for same-sex marriage than opposition -- with 48 percent of Americans in favor and 43 percent opposed.

In fact, just two years ago, 48 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage while only 42 percent supported it -- indicating that opinions have changed dramatically in the last couple of years alone.

David Paul Morris/Getty Images

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Check Out Same-Sex Marriage Status in the U.S. State By State

It's hard to imagine that only 16 years ago, the fervent gay marriage debate led to the conception of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union solely held between a man and a woman.

While debating the Defense of Marriage Act in September 1996, former Sen. Robert Byrd said: "If same-sex marriage is accepted, then the announcement will be official: America will have said that children do not need a mother and a father. Two mothers or two fathers will be OK. It'll be just as good. This would be a catastrophe."

Even a few short years ago a newly-elected President Obama did not support the legalization of gay marriage. It wasn't until earlier this year, at the end of hiss first term and with the impending election in sight, that the president told ABC's Robin Roberts the he'd "been going through an evolution on this issue."

Obama went on to attribute his shift in stance to the influence of his daughters.

"You know, Malia and Sasha, they've got friends whose parents are same-sex couples. It wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently," he said. "That's the kind of thing that prompts -- a change in perspective."

Obama isn't the only one to experience an evolution in thinking on the matter of gay marriage. Attitudes towards same-sex marriage have shifted dramatically over the past decade across the board, particularly in the past few years.

Gone are the days when a majority of people opposed same-sex marriage; the days when gay politicians and supporters of same-sex marriage could not get elected.

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

Today, nine states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex unions -- a number likely considered inconceivable just a few short years ago. And yet, the same-sex marriage debate still begs for the answering of a question: Will this newfound public opinion, largely driven by young people, women and Democrats, have an effect on the Supreme Court's ultimate decision on the matter?

"I think (gay marriage is) just not a big deal for a lot of young people," Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center says. "The justices are human beings so they're not completely immune to public opinion. ... I think the real question for them is going to be do they want to be on the wrong side of history?"

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Today on New Scientist: 9 December 2012

Climate talks stumbling towards a deal

As the Qatar climate summit looks set to run into the weekend, we look at some key issues, such as compensation for poor countries harmed by climate change

Twin spacecraft map the mass of the man in the moon

Two satellites called Ebb and Flow have revealed the fine variations in the moon's surface with the most detailed gravity map ever

Just cut down on fat to shed weight

A review of studies involving 75,000 people shows that simply eating less fat made them lighter

North-east Japan quake rattles same fault as last year

A new quake off Japan's Pacific coast revives memories of 2011 tsunami; Fukushima nuclear power station "undamaged"

YouTube reorganises video with automated channels

Software that automatically classifies video into channels catering to specific interests is YouTube's latest ploy to become the future of television

A mathematician's magnificent failure to explain life

An attempt to explain life was career suicide for mathematician Dorothy Wrinch, we learn from Marjorie Senechal's biography I Died for Beauty

Parasite makes mice fearless by hijacking immune cells

The Toxoplasma parasite does its dirty work by getting immune cells to make a chemical normally found in the brain

'Specialist knowledge is useless and unhelpful'

Kaggle.com has turned data prediction into sport. People competing to solve problems are outclassing the specialists, says its president Jeremy Howard

Feedback: Numerical value of 'don't know'

The value of indifference, carbon-free sugar, scientists massacred in the nude, and more

Friday Illusion: 100-year-old quilt reveals 3D vortex

See a mind-bending effect crafted into a recently discovered quilt that changes depending on its colours and dimensions

Space-time waves may be hiding in dead star pulses

The first direct detection of gravitational waves may happen in 2013, if new studies of pulsars affected by galaxy mergers are correct

2012 Flash Fiction shortlist: Go D

From nearly 130 science-inspired stories, our judge Alice LaPlante has narrowed down a fantastic shortlist. Story five of five: Go D by Michael Rolfe

Captured: the moment photosynthesis changed the world

For the first time, geologists have found evidence of how modern photosynthesis evolved 2.4 billion years ago

Commute to work on the roller coaster train

A Japanese train based on a theme park ride could make getting around cleaner - and more fun

BSE infected cattle have prions in saliva

The discovery of tiny levels of prions in cow saliva might pave way for a test for BSE before symptoms develop, and raises questions about transmission

Space bigwigs offer billion-dollar private moon trips

Robots aren't the only ones heading to the moon. The Golden Spike Company will sell you a ticket whether you want to explore, mine or just show off

Human eye proteins detect red beyond red

Tweaking the structure of a protein found in the eye has given it the ability to react to red light that is normally unperceivable

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NParks sees healthy increase in volunteer numbers

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) has seen a 33 per cent increase in the number of active volunteers this year, compared to 2011.

Over 800 volunteers now serve on a regular basis and they range from as young as nine years old to over 80. Thirty nine of them have served for more than 10 years.

The volunteers are involved in activities such as leading tours, running programmes and helping out with surveys.

NParks on Saturday honoured its volunteers as part of celebrations for International Volunteer Day, which fell on 5 December, at HortPark.

Dr Leong Chee Chiew, deputy chief executive officer of National Parks Board and Commissioner of Parks and Recreation said: "By making planned programmes like guided walks and talks available to people from all walks of life, our volunteers' efforts have made it possible for everyone to learn more about biodiversity and enjoy nature.

"Thanks to their commitment to various volunteer programmes, they have made it possible for all of us to enjoy a dose of nature as we go about our daily lives.

"Our City in a Garden provides Singaporeans with a high quality of life because of our volunteers."

- CNA/ck

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Hot new games for iOS

The stars lined up just right this week (read: gift-giving season is here!) to have a number of awesome game sequels and new releases launch all at once. Frankly, there are so many new games that there is no better time than the present to check out what the App Store has to offer.

Rick Broida already wrote about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City earlier today, but there are plenty more that would make nice additions to your iOS gaming collection.

This week's collection of apps is a group of excellent games released over the course of this week. The first is a funny and fun dual-stick shooter with tons of weapons to collect. The second is the latest installment in probably the best FPS franchise at the App Store. The third is a port of an old game to the
iPad (and only the iPad), but it might be the most famous classic RPG ever.

Minigore 2: Zombies ($1.99) is the sequel to the fun and funny dual-stick shooter Minigore. The graphics in this zombie-themed sequel still have that funny block-head look, but you're no longer fighting the furry baddies; now you're blowing away the undead.

Part of the fun in the game is John Gore's constant grimace as he blows away zombies.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Much like the first game in the series, Minigore 2 is all about mindless shooting in all directions as hordes of zombies and other creeps try to kill you. You'll also find several melee weapons like swords and giant hammers for close quarters combat. But just when you thought there couldn't be any more zombies swarming around you, a boss will appear that will take a lot of hits to bring down. Fortunately they often also drop a ton of coins so you can upgrade your weapons.

To acquire new weapons, you'll first need to buy them in the store. You get a machine gun for free, but you'll need to purchase new weapons to have them randomly show up in the game for a varied attack. Then, as you collect more coins, you can upgrade your weapons to make them more powerful, unlock new levels, and unlock new characters to play with. Each of the characters can be upgraded as well, helping you last longer against the endless shambling horde. Coins come pretty quickly as you play, so you'll soon be using weapons like shotguns, grenade launchers, and other powerful hardware.

Minigore 2: Zombies is all about mindless fun as you try to complete 300 in-game challenges, blow away 60 different types of enemies, and battle seven giant bosses. If you liked the first Mini Gore game, or just like the mindless action of dual-stick shooters, this sequel is one of the best.

Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour ($6.99) is the latest installment from Gameloft's incredibly popular Modern Combat franchise. While there's not much new gameplay wise, you have more terrorists to kill with a whole new story, and it's still probably the best FPS for the touch screen.

In one level you'll need to clear a path with a remote controlled drone.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

In this latest sequel, the game challenges you to fight in countries around the world, from Barcelona to Africa, and you will find and use several different kinds of weapons as you complete mission objectives. In this installment, you will also have the option to play as the villain, giving you a whole different perspective on the game. The game is a universal download, so you can play on any of your iOS devices, but I think it is at its best on the iPad.

You get three different types of control schemes to pick from, with variations of onscreen joysticks and touch-screen actions. I found the default control method to work best for me, using a movement joystick on the left and the touch screen to aim and fire with my right thumb. Some added controls appear in certain situations where you need to pick up an item or jump down from a wall, for example. You can reload your weapon with a single tap on the gun in the upper right or you can double tap to switch weapons as you discover them in the game. One issue here is that the reload button is a little inconvenient (top right of screen) while playing on an iPad, but I was able to get used it after awhile. It still seems like it should be closer to your right thumb.

Though the touch screen will never be as easy to use as a keyboard and mouse or console controller, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour manages to make the controls fairly easy to use. Auto aim (found in the options) helps a lot to offset the less-than-optimal controls in the beginning, but after spending some time with the game you'll be able turn it off for a more realistic experience.

Along with the fun gameplay, Modern Combat: Zero Hour has amazing graphics, great audio with satisfyingly explosive-sounding guns, and fairly good voice acting in-game and during cut scenes.

When you think you've honed your skills enough, you can take your game online and play in battles of up to 12 players, across eight maps, and in several game modes (FPS staples like Conquest and Capture the Flag are my current favorites). You also have four new specializations for your soldier (chosen before a match) to make him stronger at different strategies like Stealth or Support. Your starting soldier comes with fairly powerful weapons, but you'll need to play several games to earn coins in order to buy new ones. Judging by how populated the servers are so soon after launch, you'll be able to find plenty of games to play do increase your cash.

If you liked any of the earlier installments of Modern Combat, Zero Hour is an excellent choice with more-exciting gameplay, challenging missions, and probably the best graphics yet. If you like first-person shooters, this game is a must-have on your iOS device.

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition ($9.99 - iPad Only) is a touch screen recreation of the mega-hit classic RPG adventure game. While a game based on Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition rules is not for everyone, if you have the patience, tutorial levels teach you the basics so you can start your adventure.

As you explore dank dungeons, you'll need to use the abilities of every character to survive.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

As the port of a game that was originally released in 1998, the graphics are not on par with today's games. Your isometric 3D view from above doesn't show off crystal clear graphics or smooth 3D modeling like you might be used to. But Balder's Gate was a huge fan favorite in its time for its epic storyline and complex gameplay, and the iOS version is a fantastic recreation. So while you won't be dazzled by the graphics, the gameplay definitely holds up, especially if you're a fan of Dungeons and Dragons type role-playing games.

You start by creating your character. Baldur's Gate has three preset options if you want to jump in right away, with a pre-rolled Fighter, Thief, or Mage. But you also can choose to pick from 11 available classes (Druids, Barbarians, Clerics, and more) and set up all the stats yourself, choose your skills or spells, and customize your look. The freedom to set up your own stats means you can customize your character exactly how you want, in effect making the 11 available classes starting points for your perfect character type. It's this type of customization that makes Baldur's Gate great, but it takes some time to learn the ins and outs of all the many skills, so don't expect to just jump in and start hacking away at bad guys.

Once you're in game, you'll quickly realize Baldur's Gate is incredibly complex, requiring you to manage six adventurers all of different classes (Rangers, Druids, Fighters, Wizards, and several others), each with their own abilities that you control. You'll even often need to hit the pause button in the middle of combat in order to plan each characters' moves and actions if you want to stand a chance against the game's many monsters.

To add to the confusion for new players, several skills and spells are not well labeled, making it difficult to pick out the exact action your trying to achieve. Though I was able to figure most of it out with some practice, you should definitely expect a learning curve here. Fortunately, you can experiment all you want in the tutorial levels, and I suggest you try to get familiar with the spell and skill icons before you get too far into the game.

Overall, Baldur's Gate is a faithful recreation of the popular 1998 original with 80 hours of epic RPG adventure and a large world to explore. If you like deep RPG games or played the original Baldur's Gate, this game is a worthwhile purchase.

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.

Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't need it to flourish. The research team from the University of Florida in Gainesville thinks this ability is related to a plant's inherent ability to orient itself as it grows. Seeds germinated on the International Space Station sprouted roots that behaved like they would on Earth—growing away from the seed to seek nutrients and water in exactly the same pattern observed with gravity. (Related: "Beyond Gravity.")

Since the flowers were orbiting some 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth at the time, the NASA-funded experiment suggests that plants still retain an earthy instinct when they don't have gravity as a guide.

"The role of gravity in plant growth and development in terrestrial environments is well understood," said plant geneticist and study co-author Anna-Lisa Paul, with the University of Florida in Gainesville. "What is less well understood is how plants respond when you remove gravity." (See a video about plant growth.)

The new study revealed that "features of plant growth we thought were a result of gravity acting on plant cells and organs do not actually require gravity," she added.

Paul and her collaborator Robert Ferl, a plant biologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, monitored their plants from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using images sent from the space station every six hours.

Root Growth

Grown on a nutrient-rich gel in clear petri plates, the space flowers showed familiar root growth patterns such as "skewing," where roots slant progressively as they branch out.

"When we saw the first pictures come back from orbit and saw that we had most of the skewing phenomenon we were quite surprised," Paul said.

Researchers have always thought that skewing was the result of gravity's effects on how the root tip interacts with the surfaces it encounters as it grows, she added. But Paul and Ferl suspect that in the absence of gravity, other cues take over that enable the plant to direct its roots away from the seed and light-seeking shoot. Those cues could include moisture, nutrients, and light avoidance.

"Bottom line is that although plants 'know' that they are in a novel environment, they ultimately do just fine," Paul said.

The finding further boosts the prospect of cultivating food plants in space and, eventually, on other planets.

"There's really no impediment to growing plants in microgravity, such as on a long-term mission to Mars, or in reduced-gravity environments such as in specialized greenhouses on Mars or the moon," Paul said. (Related: "Alien Trees Would Bloom Black on Worlds With Double Stars.")

The study findings appear in the latest issue of the journal BMC Plant Biology.

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Federal Agencies Brace for Deep Cuts Post-'Cliff'

Dec 7, 2012 4:22pm

Toby Jorrin/AFP/Getty Images

With the “fiscal cliff” quickly approaching, federal agencies are stepping up preparations for deep automatic budget cuts that will kick in Jan. 2 unless the White House and Congress can reach a deal.

The Office of Management and Budget told ABC News that a memo went out to federal agencies earlier this week seeking “additional information and analysis” in order to finalize spending cuts required if we go off the cliff.

The agencies are considering which workers to furlough, projects to put on hold and offices that will have to close.

The request follows the administration’s release of a 400-page report in September that outlined the budget areas to be impacted by the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts and what percentages they would be slashed.

READ MORE: White House Details ‘Doomsday’ Budget Cuts

Billions of dollars could be slashed from defense operations and maintenance programs. Medicare would take a two-percent hit, trimming millions in payouts to health care providers. Scientific research programs would be gutted. Aid for the poor and needy would be sharply curtailed.

The report also detailed operations that would be exempt from any cuts, including active-duty military operations, nuclear watchdogs, homeland security officials, veterans care and other critical areas.

READ: Pentagon Begins Planning for ‘Cliff’ Cuts

Asked about the agency preparations underway, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that OMB “must take certain steps to ensure the administration is ready to issue such an order should Congress fail to act.”

“Earlier this week, OMB issued a request to federal agencies for additional information to finalize calculations on the spending reductions that would be required,” Carney said.

“This action should not be read … as a change in the administration’s commitment to reach an agreement and avoid sequestration.  OMB is simply ensuring that the administration is prepared, should it become necessary to issue such an order,” he said. “OMB will continue to consult with agencies and will provide additional guidance as needed.  This is just acting responsibly because of the potential for this happening.”

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com.

More ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Coverage From Today:

SHOWS: World News

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Space bigwigs offer billion-dollar private moon trips

Robots aren't the only ones heading to the moon. The first private company offering regular trips to the lunar surface plans to start flights in 2020, shuttling people two at a time on exploratory missions. However, with an expected price tag of $1.4 billion per flight, or around $750 million per person, the trek would likely be out of reach for all but the wealthiest moonwalkers.

Today's announcement, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC backs up recent rumours that Alan Stern, a former administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, had founded a company called Golden Spike in Colorado to run commercial moon trips.

Named for the final spike driven into the first US transcontinental railroad line, Golden Spike plans to market to governments, corporations and individuals to routinely send people to the moon for scientific purposes, to mine for resources or simply for prestige.

"Why the moon? Because it's close, because it's enormous, and because we think that there's going to be a strong market for it," says Stern. No tickets have yet been sold. But preliminary talks with space agencies in Asia and Europe are underway, he adds. "We see our main market as selling expeditions to foreign space agencies."

In 2010 President Barack Obama scrapped NASA's Constellation program for sending astronauts to the moon. Shortly afterwards, Stern convened a secret meeting of heavy-hitters in the space industry in Telluride, Colorado, to discuss the possibility of a private lunar mission. A four-month feasibility study led to the company's quiet founding later that year.

Beyond robots

Golden Spike now has several experienced directors and advisors, including Gerry Griffin, former director of NASA's Johnson Spaceflight Center, and Wayne Hale, former chief of NASA's space shuttle programme. It also boasts some colourful characters: Newt Gingrich, a former US presidential candidate who previously championed a lunar colony, and Mike Okuda, a set designer for the Star Trek franchise, are also on the advisory panel.

"One thing you can say about Stern is that he knows the game," says William Whittaker, CEO of Astrobotic Technology, one of many teams competing to put a robot on the moon and win the $20-million Google Lunar X Prize. "As NASA's former science director, he had a favoured insider's perspective. He knows people."

Although several of the firm's directors have NASA experience, Golden Spike will be a purely private enterprise that will not seek government funding, Stern says. The plan is to purchase a rocket and a crew capsule from one or more of the other private space enterprises that have sprung up in recent years, such as SpaceX or Blue Origin.

Golden Spike has signed contracts to begin development of a lunar lander and space suits. Its first lunar mission is expected to cost the company between $7 and $8 billion. To help cover expenses, the company plans to merchandise each mission, for instance, by selling the naming rights for their spacecraft.

Meanwhile, Space Adventures of Arlington, Virginia says it is on track to send people on flights that would circle the moon starting in 2016 or 2017. The price for each flight is $300 million, or $150 million per seat. There are two seats available for the maiden voyage, and one has already been sold, spokesperson Stacey Tearne told New Scientist.

Fred Bourgeois, head of FREDNET, another Lunar X Prize team, worries that the idea of sending people to the moon on private ships is premature. "We need to prove some things with robotic systems first, so we don't put lives at risk," he says. "I would not get on a private mission to the moon today, even though I would love to go."

But Stern says he's confident that robots will get to the moon's surface long before the first Golden Spike flights at the end of the decade. Human beings, he says, will then be needed for activities beyond the capabilities of a robot – from doing field geology to maintaining mining equipment. Says Stern: "We need to start now in order to be ready for the next phase."

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Resale prices of non-landed private residential, HDB flats at new highs in Oct & Nov

SINGAPORE: Resale home prices of both non-landed private residential units and HDB flats continued to climb to new highs in October and November against the third quarter 2012.

But according to data released by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), the rental market for private homes is showing signs of softening.

As a result, overall gross rental yield dropped to a six-year historic low of 3.77 per cent in the first two months of the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, prices of private resale homes rose to S$1,222 per square foot (psf) in the first two months of the fourth quarter, up 5.4 per cent from the previous quarter's average of S$1,159 psf.

The report found that resale prices of private homes rose across all regions, with non-landed homes in the suburban region seeing the sharpest increase at 4.5 per cent, compared to the third quarter of 2012.

This is followed by a 3.3 per cent increase in the city fringes and a 2.8 per cent increase in the core central region.

Compared with the first two months of the third quarter this year, transaction volume rose by 6 per cent to reach 2,483 resale transactions in the October to November period.

Meanwhile, the average unit monthly rent of private homes dropped by 1.0 per cent, from S$3.88 psf in the third quarter to S$3.84 in the first two months of forth quarter.

Leading the drop is non-landed homes in the city fringe where prices fell by 2.5 per cent to S$3.91 after rising for the first three consecutive quarters in this year.

The other regions remained relatively stable compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the report included for the first time data about the sales of small private apartments, commonly known as shoebox units in Singapore.

Year-to-date, just 198 shoebox units changed hands in the resale market.

But the report said there was strong demand for rentals of shoebox units, with 1,328 rental contracts signed this year. This represents 6.7 times more rentals than resales for shoebox units year-to-date. In contrast, the average is 2.4 times more rentals than resales for other types of units.

As a result, shoebox units continue to draw higher rental offers in the fourth quarter.

In the HDB resale market, SRX said overall cash-over-valuation rose to S$34,000 in the first two months into forth quarter. This is S$2,000 shy of the five-year historical high of S$36,000 attained in the third quarter of 2011 since tracking began in 2007.

On a month-to-month basis, overall COV increased from S$33,000 in October to S$35,000 in November.

This has contributed to a 1.1 increase in median prices of HDB flats to a new high of S$455,000, compared to the third quarter.

Overall HDB median rents remained unchanged at S$2,400.

- CNA/ck

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Here comes 'Az' -- one iPad news app closes, another goes live

Screengrab of "AZ" a new iPad magazine launched by Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com and KPNX-TV.

This morning, I had a meeting with a former student who is now the U.S. correspondent for one of the biggest dailies in Europe. He is on a listening tour, helping his newspaper look for innovative ideas that will stave off some of the troubles that American newspapers have had.

Like many places overseas, there's still a strong newspaper culture in his country, but he and his bosses don't want to sit around, waiting for the business to tank. So they are looking for good ideas around the world.

While talking about the demise of "The Daily," Rupert Murdoch's pet
tablet-only project (here's Don Reisinger's CNET take), I told him that it would be easy to draw the wrong lesson.

Just because one, high-profile, expensive attempt at innovation fails doesn't mean that we should all stop trying. There will be others experiments to watch, I told him.

A few hours later, I got an alert about someone else playing in the
iPad space, but this time, it was not launching in New York City.

I received an email from Keira Nothaft, senior director/news publishing and programming, at the Arizona Republic. She works on AZCentral.com, which is a joint effort of the newspaper and the local NBC affiliate, KPNX-TV. In it, she described "AZ," which she called "a significant development in the evolution of newspaper-to-digital publishing" - an evening news magazine for the iPad. It will be published once a week through January and then move to Monday-Friday after that. It's free until February, with Android and
Kindle versions en route.

I've been playing with "AZ" (downloadable here, or search "AZ Today" in the App Store) over the past hour and have been impressed so far. Big, beautiful photographs, strong graphics and punchy stories that make use of iPad's functionality. This isn't just a tablet version of the website, but a magazine-like experience broken up into four chapters to: "Inform you about the world. Engage you with storytelling. Entertain you with the world of sports. Amuse you with the fun features you want every time."

I like to see media companies try new things. Nothaft's e-mail explains why her team is doing this:

Like most legacy media outlets, The Arizona Republic is striving to hold onto print readership while simultaneously building a profitable digital audience. We're in a good position, though, because we're the biggest newspaper in the state, the leading news TV station in the market and one of the largest news websites in the country. But we recognize we need to do more.

Until recently, almost every newspaper in America gave away their content online, but now many are moving to various versions of a paywall (one count as 20 percent using paywalls). The Republic's readers, Nothaft explains, are being asked "to pay to subscribe to content in all its forms, on many different platforms. In return, the newsroom would deliver more -- more great storytelling, more watchdog reporting, more great multimedia. The app is free until February, when it will be included with every full-access subscription, for everyone who owns an iPad."

Other points she makes in her note:

AZ is timed to be released when people are using their tablets the most, in the evening, with time to lean back and sink into an immersive read. We know that about 70 percent of tablet usage is in the home between the hours of 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. While AZ will draw on content produced by the Republic newsroom, as well as original photo, video and text, it will go far beyond a typical duplication of a newspaper website. Editors will create, curate and tailor the content for the tablet, keeping in mind the different demands and pleasures afforded by the digital reading experience.

There's a market for smart, sophisticated, interactive journalism - in metro Phoenix, 14 percent of all adults, more than half a million people, already own and use a tablet. The number's growing every day.

Nothaft shares how this experiment differs from "The Daily," including the geography:

We think it's a significant development for a newspaper to have such an aggressive and unique tablet strategy. We also think the timing is interesting, coming as another tablet experiment, The Daily, folds. We're approaching AZ as a startup, using existing resources and minimal investment. (Though, I challenge anyone to differentiate the sophistication of this multimedia magazine from anything that's produced in Midtown Manhattan.) The financial model differs from The Daily in that subscribers to AZ will gain access to our suite of digital products that includes the magazine, other tablet apps, mobile and desktop. And for print readers, the tablet magazine and all of our digital products is included with their subscription. The strategy is to increase the satisfaction of current subscribers and gain nontraditional newspaper readers. The magazine will include ads beginning with the new year.

If you don't have an iPad, you can get a sense of the publication by see this slideshow.

What do you make of this? Share your thoughts in the comments, please.

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

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  Cassiopeia’s Bubble

  Image courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSF

  A new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible for this enticingly crisp image of the Bubble Nebula. Released on December 4, this closeup highlights the sphere of gas blown out by the nebula's central star, which is 45 times larger than our own sun.

  Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the Bubble Nebula is ten light-years across. Intense radiation from the massive star causes the otherworldly glow that lights up what looks like a celestial soap bubble.

  (Related: "Amazing Hubble Images.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Midnight Light

  Photograph by Frank Olsen, My Shot

  Delicate green auroras light up the water at Buksnesfjord, Norway, in a picture taken just after midnight on December 4.

  (See pictures of auroras sparked by a massive solar flare.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Great Escape

  Image courtesy SDO/NASA

  Sheets of plasma—or superheated gas—break off from the surface of the sun in this image taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Before floating free, the plasma rose up and danced along pathways determined by magnetic fields. These unseen forces pushed and pulled the gas into contorted shapes.

  (Learn about the sun.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  New Look

  Image courtesy NASA

  What looks like a jawbreaker is actually a gravity map of the moon. Red areas indicate places with higher gravity fields while blue areas indicate lower gravity fields.

  (Learn about lunar exploration.)

  Twin probes circling the moon—part of NASA's GRAIL mission—since 2011 have been recording changes in gravity as they fly over peaks and valleys on the lunar surface. As one probe flies over an area with a greater gravity field, the washing-machine-size instrument speeds up slightly, increasing the distance between it and its sister probe. These minute changes in position have enabled scientists to construct this very detailed view of local changes in the moon's gravity.

  (How well do you know your moon myths? Take our quiz.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Grainy Picture

  Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO/NAOJ/NRAO
  

  In this artist's conception of fine-grained particles around a brown dwarf—or a failed star—bits of debris are on their way to becoming a rocky planet.

  Current thinking on Earthlike, rocky planet formation says that random collisions between tiny debris occur in the disc of material surrounding newborn stars. But the recent discovery of such a disc surrounding a brown dwarf has some astronomers rethinking that hypothesis. If planets can form from the debris around these failed stars, then rocky planets may be much more common than previously thought.

  (Related: "Coldest Star Found-No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Night Vision

  Image courtesy Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Suomi NPP/NASA

  The Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime image of the aurora australis over the Antarctic coast south of South Africa. Despite the winter darkness and a waning crescent moon, the auroras produced enough light for sensors on board the new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite to capture the boundary between the ice shelf and what some scientists call the Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean (dark line across the bright center swirl).

  Launched last year, Suomi NPP enables scientists to capture nighttime images of the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The new sensor is so sensitive, it can capture the lights from one ship at sea.

  (Learn about Antarctica.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Pearl Islands

  Image courtesy Michael Taylor, Landsat/NASA

  In NASA's Landsat 5 satellite image, the Mergui Archipelago shows off the vibrant greens of its rain forests and the brilliant blues of the surrounding tropical ocean. Located along the southern border of Myanmar (Burma), next to Thailand, the area is known for valuable pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) and a highly diverse concentration of plants and animals.

  (See photos of Myanmar.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Venusian Volcano

  Illustration courtesy AOES Medialab/ESO

  The Venusian atmosphere is made mostly of carbon dioxide, along with periodic spikes in sulfur. Recent research has found that volcanoes on the planet's surface, seen here in an artist's conception, are likely injecting that sulfur into the upper atmosphere. Direct confirmation is difficult, however, since Venus's thick atmosphere precludes a peek at its peaks.

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Image courtesy SSI/ISA/ESA/NASA

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  

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