Animal Saboteurs from the Future, Red Dragon on Mars, and Storms in Space

Weasel

Marten

The humbling effect of nature reaches us through this weeks news that the multi-billion dollar Large Hadron Collider was recently taken down and rendered inoperable .
Terrorist action ?
No, apparently a weasel chewed through an electrical cable.
I say apparently , as it is yet to be determined whether the culprit is indeed a weasel, or a marten.
Either way, given the frazzled nature of the poor interlopers remains, it may never be conclusively proven.
It seems that incursions by wildlife are an occupational hazard for particle accelerators like the LHC.
In 2009, a bird dropped a 'piece of baguette' onto an electrical substation above ground, causing a dangerous heat surge in sector 81.

Also, a report dating from way back in 2006 tells of a ' co-ordinated attack' (May 30th entry) by raccoons on the Fermilab accelerator in the USA .

Fermilab, Illinois

It could be argued that the animal kingdom is determined to undermine these experiments - two physicists have actually proposed a theory that the animals are time travelling saboteurs, I kid you not - read this link to TIME magazine !
It's odd how something so bizarre as the ongoing search for theoretical particles renders the most outlandish ideas as somehow - normal .
Anyway, my attempts to further research the unusual animal interventions at Particle Accelerators led to a world of conspiracy, with wayward physicists and exploding magnets.
Then I took a deep breath and stepped back from the abyss...

Footnote
It appears that the creature involved was a beech marten , although whether it was a time- travelling saboteur determined to prevent the Earth from certain apocalypse by misguided physicists remains unknown .
As of 29/04/16 it will be a week until the LHC is back in action.


MEANWHILE, UP IN SPACE...

Space X have announced their intention to land a ' Red Dragon' craft on Mars in 2018, a feat which, if accomplished , will provide a major boost to the idea of colonising space.
Their recent successful launches and recovery of first stage Falcon rockets prove that where there is a will, there is a way - and NASA will be watching closely  (and no doubt with a tinge of jealousy) at the progress of the mission.


FURTHER OUT...

Neptune - roughly the size of Hat-P-11B

A previously unexplained radio signal from space now has an explanation - using complex algorithms, scientists have discovered that the signals from a large, icy exoplanet some 122 light years away were infact triggered by an immense storm estimated to be five hundred times bigger than anything on Earth.
So they now have an answer for strange signals from space - " Oh, that's nothing special -  it's raining on Hat - P - 11B "
So even in deep space, we can talk about the weather...