The real index of civilisation is when people are kinder than they need to be. Louis de Berniere, novelist. Saying goodbye to the old year seems an apt time to ponder this quote (from Word a Day). I’ve foregone opportunities this week, this day, to be kinder than necessary (to others, to the earth, to…

…could prove beautiful. Okay, perhaps I haven’t picked the most elegant image but prepare to be awed by the others at this BBC site — with thanks to Grace at Rata Weekly for pointing me in that direction. Via vast new telescopes and exploratory eyes-in-the sky, we’re seeing planets, stars and galaxies in scope and…