Harry Potter and the film-makers' magic:

Incredibly detailed model of Hogwarts Castle used for every film in blockbusting series is revealed for the first time
Ever since the first Harry Potter novel was released almost 15 years ago, children and adults alike have fantasised about visiting its famous boarding school for wizards and witches.
But, as these incredible pictures show, they need to dream no longer.
Whether you show magic ability or not - fans now have the opportunity to get as close to Hogwarts Castle as they are ever likely to get.
This extraordinary model of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is due to go on display for the first time.

Incredible: This extraordinary model of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is due to go on display for the first time

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Germany Goes Crazy at Rose Monday

Hundreds of thousands of carnival revellers took to the streets of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz on Monday for the traditional Rose Monday parades famed for their satirical procession floats.
This year, the resignation of Christian Wulff as president on Friday featured prominently in the floats rolling through the streets, but the show was stolen by a float design in Düsseldorf illustrating the close Franco-German relationship, with a deliriously amorous Nicolas Sarkozy nestling in the ample cleavage of the noticeably larger German chancellor. The euro crisis was a another theme, with Merkel being portrayed as Europe's savior.
Rosenmontag, also known as Rose Monday, is one of the highlights of the German Carnival. Rose Monday is celebrated on the Monday before Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent in Germany, East Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. The carnival is most extravagant in areas of the Rhineland, including Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Mainz.
Take a look at this year’s carnival pictures. (Rose Monday Pictures of 2011 and 2010)

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Olympics for Rabbit: The Grand National in Harrogate

An unusual sporting spectacle took place in Harrogate, Yorkshire, last weekend. More than 3000 rabbits as well as guinea pigs, hamsters, mice and rats took part in showjumping events in UK’s second Rabbit Grand National. The show is part of the Burgess Premier Small Animal Show which has been running for the past 90 years. The Rabbit Grand National is a new addition to the event.
The Rabbit Grand National, the entertainment centerpiece of the show saw Sweden’s finest rabbit jumpers return. Particpants are required to hop over twelve hurdles up to one meter in height during a timed display of agility unique to the show. The current world record for the highest jump was set in 1997 by Danish rabbit Tosen, who jumped almost a meter, and the long jump record was set by another Danish rabbit, Yabo, who hopped an amazing three meters (10ft) in 1999.

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The Daily Galaxy: News from Planet Earth & Beyond

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"Cosmic Life Engines" --Organic Building Blocks for Life Confirmed in Intersellar Dust New discoveries in vast interstellar dust clouds permeating the universe and in nebula have revealed hints of organic matter that could be created naturally by stars, according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong. The discovery team observed stars...

Is Saturn's Enceladus Emerging as the Solar System's Habitable Hotspot? Enceladus-flyby-browse Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is emerging as the most habitable spot beyond Earth in the Solar System for life as we know it, scientists said last week at a meeting of the Enceladus Focus Group at the SETI Institute...

Milky Way's Newly Discovered Spiral Arm --Will it Prove to Host a Habitable Zone? A large new spiral arm of the Milky Way peppered with dense concentrations of molecular gas has been discovered by two Harvard astronmers. What are the odds that this new arm might host an Earth-like planet capable of evolving advanced...

Enigmatic Radio-Waves Near Milky-Way's Central Region May Hold Clues to Enduring Mystery Twenty years ago, astronomers discovered a number of enigmatic radio-emitting filaments concentrated near the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. These features initially defied explanation, but a new study of radio images of the Galactic center may point to their...

Image of the Day: Source of a Mysterious Outburst from the Edge of the Milky Way This image of the variable star V838 Monocerotis near the edge of our Milky Way Galaxy, about 20,000 light-years from our sun, was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope in September 2006. The picture spans about 14 light-years. Ever since...

from The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel -Your Daily Dose of Awe: Science, Space, Tech