In this infrared photo taken by Cassini's VIMS camera, the blue color traces auroras at high altitudes in Saturn's atmosphere. Red indicates the amount heat filtering up through clouds below. Researchers believe the auroras and the hexagon are unrelated.

The hexagon could be a distant cousin of Earth's polar vortex, but while Earth's vortex is a circle, Saturn's may be molded into a hexagon by some strange pattern of atmospheric waves. "Saturn's thick atmosphere where circularly-shaped waves and convective cells dominate is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure," says Baines. In short, it's a mystery.

Hexagon links: press release, movie, Cassini home page

When Your Teacher is a Witch

Now here's where it gets difficult- if she was fired for being Wiccan, and attendance was simply an excuse, she has a case for religious discrimination. On the other hand, if she were offering religious lessons to school children, it would be a firing offense- but why pin it on attendance, if this was true? 

To those of you with school-aged children, how much sharing is too much? Should a teacher share his or her religious beliefs in the classroom, or keep quiet to maintain neutrality?

Dreamed up phone number leads man to a bride
A British man has met and married a 22-year-old woman after, by his own account, dreaming of her phone number and then sending her a text message. David Brown, 24, says he woke up one morning after a night out with friends with a telephone number constantly running through his head. He decided to contact it, sending a message saying "Did I meet you last night?." Random recipient Michelle Kitson was confused and wary at first but decided to reply and the two began exchanging messages. Eventually they met and fell in love.

A real invisibility cloak is in our grasp
Harry Potter fans take note: scientists have finally come up with a workable design for an invisibility cloak. Physicists figured out the complex mathematical equations for making objects invisible by bending light around them last year. A group of engineers at Purdue University in Indiana have now used those calculations to design a relatively simple device that ought to be able to - one day soon - make objects as big as an airplane simply disappear.

Volcano's fury throws up mystery fish
Scientists on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion have discovered hundreds of fish of unknown species, floating belly-up in the sea, following a spectacular volcanic eruption over the past week.

Cernunnos

Cernunnos was a mysterious deity worshipped by Iron age Celts across Europe until the end of the first century. Nothing is known about Cernunnos except his name and his image, which appears on numerous stonecarvings and other artifacts throughout Europe. He appears crowned with stag's antlers, is often seated in a meditative position, and is almost always depicted with images of wild animals. Cernunnos is a Roman name (his) meaning "horned one." He is often associated with Herne the hunter, a character of British folk myth, and the "Green man" of European architecture. The image which appears above is derived from the "Gundestrup Cauldron," a ritual object of unknown use discovered in pieces in a peat bog in Denmark.

Veve

In Vodoun (Voodoo)practice, Veves (pronounced vay-vay)are intricate symbols of the Loas (gods), and are used in rituals. Each Loa has his or her own veve, which is traced on the ground with powdered eggshell or a similar substance prior to a ritual. The ability to draw a Veve correctly is considered to be the skill of an initiate. A veve is believed to be more powerful if it is drawn with the correct details. The picture above is the veve of the love Goddess Erzulie. Curiously, the Veve is similar to the Hindu Kolams, symbols drawn in rice flour for the Hindu deities.

See you in the ether !