The Bad Astronomer writes "Astronomical observatories on the ground and in space return many terabytes of data every year. But which bytes are the best? I combed through thousands of pictures to find the Top 10 astronomy images of the year."

codegen writes "The CBC (among others) is reporting that researchers at the University of Rochester and Immersyve Inc. have released a study indicating that people enjoy video games because they satisfy a psychological need. The study showed that the interrelations between players in MMOGs were particularly important. From the article: 'Gamers said they felt the best about their experience when the games they played produced positive outcomes in scenarios related to the real world ... The researchers evaluated players' motivations in virtual worlds by asking four groups of people to play different games, including a genre known as massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, which some industry watchers regard as the future of video games.'"

There's a very nice profile of the Child's Play charity up on the New York Times site. It goes into some detail on the history of the gamer's charity, and paints the participants in a positive light. Good press all around. From the article: "... Common purpose drew Bernie Burns to get involved. Mr. Burns is a member of Rooster Teeth, a troupe that produces 'Red vs. Blue,' an online comedy series based on the game Halo. Rooster Teeth attended the Child's Play dinner auction this year and successfully bid $9,000 to record dialogue for the coming video game Halo 3, a prize comparable to being given a cameo appearance in a movie. The game's developer, Bungie Studios, would probably have allowed the troupe to record the dialogue anyway, but 'it's for charity,' Mr. Burns said of the $9,000 bid." The article states that the charity has raised $2 Million over its lifespan, and the official site is currently this year's contribution to that number is around $885,000.