This is phenomenal. You’re looking at the first visible light picture of an extrasolar planet that has been taken by mankind. Fomalhaut b – presumed to be similar in size and mass to Jupiter – orbits its parent star 25 light years away from Earth. This photograph taken by the Hubble telescope was released yesterday, along with the first direct (near-infrared) image showing a planetary system circling a different star, taken by the Gemini North telescope. I’m always amazed by the somewhat incomprehensible speeds, temperatures, sizes and distances involved in astronomy, so to be able to get a snapshot of a planet over 762 trillion miles away… well, that’s hella impressive.

That said, who’s got The Ring? This system looks pissed and it’s probably sending some badass interstellar ringwraiths for us as we speak. Somebody had best get their ass down to Fomalhaut and toss in the ring ASAP. Thanks!

Lykke Li @ Black Cat 10.19.2008

Last Sunday, I headed down to the Black Cat to see Lykke Li. Standing in line, I managed to snag a free ticket from a guy who didn’t need his, and that seemed to set the tone for the evening.

The opening act – Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – was rather forgettable, but when the evening’s headliner came out, she didn’t disappoint. The energy level was high from the get-go, with plenty of percussion, dance moves and enthusiasm. The hour long set included highlights from her debut album, “Youth Novels” with a few covers (Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod” and Wendy Rene’s “After Laughter (comes tears)”) sprinkled in for good measure. At the end of the set, Lykke Li broke out her trademark megaphone to perform the as-seen-on-Conan O’Brien, “Breaking it Up.” She came back out to encore with her first single, “Tonight” and one more cover: A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?”

All in all, it was a fun and entertaining show. Josh might call me a hipster for going, but hey… even hipsters aren’t always wrong! Although I wasn’t nearly as taken with the show as DCist’s Amanda Mattos, her writeup does the show much greater justice than I could. Also, here’s my photoset from the show.

This evening was also my first trip to the Black Cat. While the show was evidently sold out, it certainly didn’t feel like it, judging just by the number of people in the room. Ultimately, this is a good thing, since few things can ruin an otherwise fun show like an overcrowded venue (ie: a sold out 9:30 Club).

For those of you not familiar with Lykke Li, here’s a couple clips to get you started: