The moon will block part of the sun Thursday to create a potentially amazing “ring of fire” and you can watch the celestial sight live online. The “ring of fire” solar eclipse — known as an annular solar eclipse — will be viewable (weather permitting) over certain areas of Australia and islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean where the local time will be Friday. If you don’t happen to live in those parts of the world, however, you can still catch the cosmic show as the online Slooh Space Camera will host a free webcast featuring live views of the eclipse today.

In Japan, the word “cute” or kawaii can be stamped on just about everything when it comes to aesthetics. Cute dogs, dolls, cartoons and cars are the accepted standard. Now picture human bodies with wolf heads tearing each other apart. Pigs crowded around a dinner table salivating over their roasted brethren. Japanese artist and Tokyo resident Ryohei Hase illustrates beautifully disturbing scenes with obsessive detail. Using Photoshop and other software, Hase creates digital art that almost challenges traditional painting.

A French court has sentenced an Algerian-born nuclear physicist to five years in prison for his role in plotting terrorism with al-Qaida’s north African affiliate. Adlène Hicheur, a former researcher at Switzerland’s Cern laboratory, was convicted on Friday of “criminal association with a view to plotting terrorist attacks”. The 35-year-old scientist and his defenders claim he was a victim of overzealous French anti-terror laws and that he explored ideas on jihadist websites but never took any concrete step toward terrorism.

Perhaps more than all other federal agencies, NASA tells stories about big things: big places, big data, big ideas. Using extraordinarily high resolution data sets from some of the most innovative and powerful scientific instruments ever built, the media team at NASA Goddard presents PURSUIT OF LIGHT. The presentation showcases top level goals of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, with an eye toward capturing the imagination of mainstream audiences. Data visualizations at resolutions far greater than HDTV present NASA’s science goals like never before.