Our Star

Well, our kitten is famous. Not only is she famous, but she has made into the latest issue of one of the most prestigious science journals in the world, Nature (which, by the way, my work has not made it even close to making it into this journal and my kitten makes it in after only about 2 and a half months of life, some people have all the luck). Mira, the several billion-year old star (not to be confused with our kitten) has recently been found to have a 13 light-year long tail, and is the first star ever discovered to have any such appendage. You can read more about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6947607.stm or if you are a physicist, you can read the article at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7155/full/nature06003.html (I could barely make it past the abstract). I think that I see a resemblance, though our Mira is much cuter. The list of similarites between the star and the kitten is growing:

1. Our Mira can probably give the star a run for its money when it comes to gas emissions.

2. Both have tails (okay one is 13 light years, but since when does size matter?).

3. Both move very quickly, the star at 80 miles per second, and our furball can't be far behind.

4. Both leave in their wake plenty of destruction and waste.

5. Both continue to astound scientists, one captivates an entire field of physicists, the other mesmerizes just one, me.