Green Comet to Pass Earth

Starting today, a green comet, called Lulin, will be visible to the naked eye after 10pm tonight. It should be located to the right of saturn in the southern skies, below the constellation of Leo. It will be seen by places of mid-northern latitudes, such as North America and Europe. The reason for its green coloring is due to ionized cyanogen and carbon gases emitting radiation in green wavelengths. The special thing about this comet is that for the first time ever, it entered our solar system and also for the first time it will be seen by human eyes. It was discovered in Nantou, Taiwan on July 11, 2007 through a collaboration between Taiwanese and Chinese astronomers.

China's Mandarin Oriental Hotel Goes Up in Flames

Last night, just as the Chinese Lunar New Year comes to a close, a small fire, within 13 minutes turned into an inferno and engulfed the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Luckily it wasn't opened yet and there were no people inside the building. Some people had thought that it was just a show since fireworks were still going on for the last day of the celebration. But it soon became apparent that it was not a show. As the new building of the hotel giant went up in flames, thousands of onlookers took out their cameras and cellphones to take pictures. Fred Rice, who is a British iReporter says about the fire, "We weren't sure if it was gas canisters or what. It was a spectacular sight for sure." Although seeing a huge building engulfed in flames really is an interesting scene, spectacular might not be the correct word to describe it. All jokes aside, there were no injuries reported even though there were people within 60 yards of the building before the firefighters arrived to block off the perimeter. The new CCTV building, a broadcasting station, as well as other buildings near the fire was untouched by the flames.

The picture to the right shows the burning tower, the CCTV tower, and some spectators.