spacetoday.net: News briefs: December 21

Posted: Sat, Dec 22, 2001, 10:15 AM ET (1515 GMT)

Integral Systems announced Friday that it is acquiring Newpoint Technologies, a New Hampshire developer of satellite and terrestrial network systems. Newpoint will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integral.
Giant arcs of hot gas in a distant galaxy could be the aftermath of a "cycle of violence" triggered by gas falling into a supermassive black hole, astronomers said this week. The arcs of gas, with temperatures approaching 10 million degrees, extend 25,000 light-years in the elliptical galaxy NGC 4636.
Astronaut Mike Massimino will carry an unusual item with him into space when he flies on the shuttle Columbia early next year on STS-109: a New York Mets baseball jersey. Massimino, a lifelong Mets fan, was given the jersey by veteran relief pitcher John Franco. "Coming out of the bullpen sometimes, I feel like I'm in space," Franco told the New York Times.