February 2005 in Science - February 23, 2005

February 23, 2005

• Astronomers of a team led by Cardiff University, UK, have discovered an object VIRGOHI21 that appears to be an invisible galaxy made almost entirely of dark matter. This star-less galaxy is the first such object to be detected, using radio telescopes in England and Puerto Rico. It lies 50 million light-years away. Astronomers find star-less galaxy (BBC News)
• The Finnish security company F-Secure raises an alarm after Cabir, the first cell phone virus is spotted on two cell phones in a Santa Monica store. (EarthTimes) (Khalsa)
• A bacterium called Carnobacterium pleistocenium has been recovered from permafrost in Alaska. Believed to have been frozen since the Pleistocene, they came back to life when once they had been thawed, however they were shown to divide slowly and produce carbon dioxide and methane while frozen. This raises hopes of finding bacteria in the recently discovered frozen seas on Mars. (CNN) (BBC)
• Living bacteria from 400 metres below the seafloor in 16 million year old sediment have been discovered. The researchers propose that 70% of the world's microorganisms could live in ocean sediment and could produce significant amounts of methane by their anaerobic metabolism. (Nature)(BBC)
• The European Space Agency announces the March 4, Earth flyby of the Rosetta spacecraft to the public. It is expected to be visible with binoculars or other amateur instruments. Sky watchers everywhere are invited to submit their photos of Rosetta passing Earth to ESA. (space.com) (ESA)