Carroll County Times Thursday, November 18, 2010, Page A7

LOCAL/STATE
Amateur helps discover black hole
Maryland man’s find in
1979 leads to research
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SWANTON — The star that ex-
ploded into a supernova first spotted
by amateur astronomer Gus Johnson
more than 30 years ago may have
caused a baby black hole in its wake.
Johnson, 72, a state park worker from
Swanton in western Maryland, said he
was amazed when NASA’s Chandra X-
ray Observatory Center in Cambridge,
Mass., called in early November to say
that researchers believe the exploding
star he found with his home telescope
in 1979 marked the birth of a black hole
50 million light-years away — the near-
est such observation yet made.
Scientists at the Harvard-Smithson-
ian Center for Astrophysics publicly
announced the finding Monday.
It was the third time that Johnson’s
star, SN1979C, has made news.
A year later, radio astronomers found
that it had begun emitting radio waves,
advancing the theory that exploded
stars evolve into pulsars.
Now, there’s evidence it may be a
baby black hole.
By continuing to follow the black
hole, future astronomers will learn just
how much material is left over from the
star’s explosion, said Dan Patnaude, of
Harvard, a co-author of a new paper in
Center
From Page A1
“It’s been an administra-
tive headache that I hope
no one has to go through,”
Ware said. “It takes a long
time to correct this.”
The media center has
also installed a new filing
system, Ware said, to en-
sure personnel tax infor-
mation is not incorrectly
filed in the future.
IRS spokesman Jim
Dupree said the IRS does-
n’t speak specifically about
tax lien cases and could
not discuss hypothetical
situations.
Reach staff writer Chris-
tian Alexandersen at 410-
857-7873 or christian.alex
andersen@carrollcounty
times.com
Sentenced
From Page A1
complex on Charles Street
in Westminster over a
missing cell phone.
Prosecutors said Harris
retrieved a gun from an-
other apartment and fired a
shot at Spaulding in a stair-
well before firing two shots
into the door of an apart-
ment Spaulding and
Williams had gone into.
At Keyser’s plea hearing
in August, Assistant State’s
Attorney Allan Culver told
Stanfield that Keyser had
stuck his foot in the apart-
Amateur astronomer Gus Johnson, 72, checks one of his telescopes at
Deep Creek Lake State Park near Swanton Nov. 16. Harvard re-
searchers announced Monday that a supernova Johnson discovered in
1979 is now believed to be the rarely observed birth of a black hole.
the journal New Astronomy. This black
hole is about five times more massive
than our sun, and the star that ex-
ploded was maybe 20 times bigger than
our sun.
The images were captured by the
Chandra X-Ray space telescope. There
Watermen protest oyster price drop
THE (SALISBURY)
DAILY TIMES
DEAL ISLAND — Wa-
termen who are upset
about a drop in oyster
prices have staged a strike
in the hopes that buyers
who must fill upcoming
Thanksgiving orders will
relent.
The buyers had been
paying as much as $42 per
bushel but, this week, they
lowered the price to $35,
said Danny Webster, of
Deal Island. And rumors
are circulating that the
price could drop to $30
next week.
“It’s just another nail in
the coffin for watermen,”
he said.
About 95 percent of wa-
termen in Dorchester,
is one other possible explanation for
what scientists have seen: They could
be watching the birth instead of a pul-
sar wind nebula, like the famous and
beautiful crab nebula.
But Patnaude said a black hole is
more likely.
Somerset and Talbot coun-
ties decided to stop work-
ing when they heard about
the drop in price Monday,
he said.
So far this season, water-
men are not seeing the sort
of abundant harvest they
had last year.
They also are facing ris-
ing fuel prices for their
boats.
“It’s just getting too ex-
pensive,” Webster said.
Currently, watermen and
buyers are negotiating, al-
though Webster said he
isn’t sure what the out-
come will be.
“We’re willing to sit
down and talk to them,” he
said.
Jody Tull, a waterman
from Marion Station, said
he saw a protest work once
S AT U R D AY ,N O V E M B E R 20T H
AP PHOTO
before when buyers
dropped the price on soft
crabs, then increased them
after watermen com-
plained.
While fluctuations in the
seafood market are normal,
Tull said he doesn’t under-
stand why prices have been
lowered so early in the sea-
son.
“Before Thanksgiving,
there’s no sense in it,” he
said. “Between now and
New Year’s is when people
eat lots and lots and lots of
oysters.”
If buyers had waited until
January or February to
lower prices, there would
probably have been no
complaints, said Tull, vice
president of the Chesa-
peake Bay Commercial
Fishermen’s Association.
Leaves
From Page A1
the end of November. Resi-
dents are asked to bag
leaves and can call the town
hall at 410-775-2711 to
schedule a pickup.
Dec. 4 with the exception of
the Thanksgiving holiday
In Manchester, leaf col-
lection occurs every Mon-
Nov. 25.
Leaves should be raked day and the last day for
into the gutter before pickup will be Dec. 6.
pickup, except during in- Leaves can also be
clement weather. dropped off at the Northern
In Hampstead, leaves and Landfill, 1400 Baltimore
other yard waste will be Blvd., in Westminster at any
picked up through Nov. 30 time.
and should be placed on
curbside Sunday night be- Reach staff writer Megan
fore pickup. McKeever at 410-857-7898
In Union Bridge, leaves or megan.mckeever@car
will be picked up through rollcountytimes.com
Plan Gouge said she thought the
goals outlined in the plan,
From Page A1 such as a 60 percent recy-
cling rate by 2016, were
we need to be aware of the good, and that the recom-
consequences of our posi- mended action steps would
tions.’ ” allow future commissioners
Commissioner Michael to decide their own ways of
Zimmer was the dissent- attaining those goals.
ing vote against the plan. Ridgely said he had been
Zimmer said there were hoping the plan could have
too many suggestions in
passed unanimously, but he
the plan that he didn’t see is glad that it was still ac-
as the direction that the
cepted.
county was going in, such
“This is something for the
as mandatory recycling
next Board of Commission-
and instituting Pay as You
Throw trash collection ers to build off of,” he said.
program, where house-
holds pay for their specific Reach staff writer Carrie
volume or weight of Ann Knauer at 410-857-7874
waste. or e-mail carrie.knauer
Commissioner Julia Walsh @carrollcountytimes.com.
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Keyser’s agreement with

prosecutors is at the center
441001

of Harris’ motion for a new NO W

trial, which Stansfield is
1 00% O PEN
considering after a hearing
Tuesday. HAND TO
Harris’ attorney has ar- M ADE T HE
gued that he was improp-
erly prohibited from
U niversal Shades of Am erica, LLC PUBLIC
questioning Keyser about a
specific element of the
agreement, which may have
W O O L AREA RUG
misled the jury.
Prosecutors told jurors
LIQ UIDATIO N
during their closing argu- W AREHO USE SALE
ments in Harris’ trial that SATURDAY NO VEM BER 20TH • 9AM -6PM
they didn’t believe Keyser
had been completely truth- SAVE UP TO 70% O FF D EPT.
ful in his testimony. STO RE & RUG STO RE PRICES!
On Wednesday, Culver
said that belief arose from a PERSIAN DESIG N
discrepancy between the
r NO DEA LERS PLEA SE! PRICES A S MA RKED!
testimony of Keyser and
Corey Williams’ fiancee,
o v00er u g!s 5’X 8’
1 5,0 s t o c k
Faith Hatcher. Hatcher had in d Hea v y W ool Persia n
t ee
ra n
es t
& C ontem p ora ry
testified that it was Keyser Gu a
lo w c es !
Desig n
who pointed a gun in her
Sa tu rd a y
face and laughed as he, Har- p r it O ne-of-a-KinrdldR–u gs O nly
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M agnif A rou nd th l,India,
through the Bishops Garth from n, N ep a
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$
79
com pa re a t $399
parking lot after the shoot- Egy
ing. Keyser denied pointing
the gun at Hatcher. 8’X 1 0’
Prosecutors have no rea- Hea v y W ool Persia n
& C ontem p ora ry
son to believe Hatcher was
EARLY BIRD Desig n
not telling the truth, Culver
said. SPEC IALS Sa tu rd a y
O nly
But despite that discrep-
ancy, other witnesses cor-
9 AM -1 1 AM $
149
2x 2 Rou nd W ool Ru g s 2.9 9 $ com pa re a t $699
roborated Keyser’s test-
imony that Harris was the 2x 4 Persia n Desig n
shooter, he said. W ool Sca tter Ru g s $9 .9 9 433C H a h n R d .,
6 ’ O cta g on W ool Ru g s $29 .00
W e stm in ste r
Reach staff writer Ryan 410-858-8610
H ug e assortm ent ofsizes
Marshall at 410-857-7865 or at sim ilar saving s! (B ehind Westm inster A ntique Mall)
r ya n . m a r s h a l l @ c a r ro l l
400249

428249
countytimes.com.