Couple of days ago I came across a YouTube video that has become an instant hit among the scientist, especially PhD students. It has been made by couple of scientists doing laboratory research on Alzheimer’s Disease. The video is called ‘Bad Project’ and it features a graduate student who has been given ‘project straight from hell’, as the song puts it. The song melody itself is of course Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.

In this profession one ends up moving a lot. So, you get used to it. Still, I have to say that the level of the complexity increases a lot with age and number of family members.

As the title tells, Europe is currently quite a hot place, but also my own life has been very hectic lately. The last months I have been preoccupied with finding my next job, figuring out where to move and in general what to do after August when my contract at ESO ends.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has sent the first images to us. And they are simply amazing! This observatory can image the full Sun with an amazing detail and time resolution, and also zoom into small parts of the disk to look at specific features. Just look at the beautiful first light images in the NASA press release!

For a long time scientist thought that they knew a lot about planet formation, but those results were based on one planetary system, our own solar system. Now with an increasing amount of planetary systems detected around other stars we have had to change our old views drastically. The most resent results from the booming field of exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars than the Sun, are again very exciting and puzzling.

Huh. That was a longer break in blogging than I wanted, or expected. February/March is always very busy time with many deadlines, and the first two weeks of April I was on vacation. But now I am back in my office wondering what an Earth am I supposed to do next.

It seems that everything has to be finished this month. I get new deadlines for end of February/early March on daily basis now. Job application deadlines, grant application deadlines, observing time application deadlines, conference abstract deadlines… And on top of that I should still give few talks within the next three weeks and prepare some observations. And for one of the talks I should still analyse some data. Sigh.

I am originally from Northern Europe, so I am used to snow. I even like it. I think cold dry air with some snow is much nicer than warmer, but still cold, weather with rain.

Happy New Year to everyone! Hyvää Uutta Vuotta! It is a bit more than one year since I wrote my first ever blog entry. Now 50 entries later the IYA2009 has ended and with it also the year 2009. What happened during the last year? What is the same and what has changed?

I wish you all very happy and relaxing Christmas!

Hyvää Joulua! Merry Christmas! Glædelig Jul! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Feliz Navidad!