A glance at the week that was
We now know
Astronomers using the Herschel space telescope have definitively found molecular oxygen in space for the first time.
Footage from Alfred Hitchcock's first film, 1923's The White Shadow,has been uncovered in New Zealand.
A volcanic vent system and several new marine species have been discovered some 1,000 miles west of the Irish coast.
The numbers
€550,000 -The money stolen from Drogheda Post Office on Tuesday after a mother and her baby were held hostage by a gang.
€105,848 -The total refunds that the European Consumer Centre in Dublin secured on behalf of consumers in 2010.
£1,000 -The maximum fine that sports fans in the North who engage in sectarian or indecent chanting will face under new legislation.
6 -The number of weeks in jail given to 'Johnnie Marbles' for throwing a plate of shaving foam at media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
$77m -Leonardo DiCaprio's estimated earnings in the last year, making him the highest-earning male actor, according to Forbes magazine.
8m -The number of passengers Ryanair carried last month – a first for a European airline.
Scientists over the two moons about their latest lunar theory
Earth may have once had a second moon, according to a new theory published in the journal Nature.
Scientists have long speculated about why the far side of the moon is mountainous with a much thicker crust, while the side visible from Earth is relatively flat.
This new theory suggests that a smaller moon may have become stuck in a gravitational pull between Earth and the Moon, causing a collision that splattered the smaller moon across the larger one.
Most read this week on irishtimes.com
1 Norris presidential campaign in disarray as key staff quit
2 Norris acted wrongly but should not be scapegoat
3 Norris withdraws from presidential election race
4 Croagh Patrick assault investigated
5 Cyclist dies after ‘hit and run’
6 McIlroy looking west for a quieter life
7 Lithuanian mayor acts on bad parking
8 Bomb ‘strapped’ to girl in Sydney
9 ‘Shuttle debris’ found in US lake
10 Prince reigns at Malahide Castle
Next week you need to know about . . . Tiger Woods's return
Golf’s former world number one Tiger Woods returned to action at the Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio this weekend, and will play in this week’s PGA Championship.
It’s the latest in a series of comebacks since 2009, during which time his standing in golf has been overshadowed by scandal, injury and the break-up of his entourage. The 35-year-old has already missed two major championships this year and has not played competitively since pulling out of the Players Championship in May due to knee and Achilles injuries.
Since then, Woods has plummeted to No 21 in the world rankings, to 142nd on the PGA Tour’s money list and last (191st) in the driving statistics. As speculation mounts as to whether this is part of an inexorable decline, Woods will be expected to field questions about the state of his fitness, his plans to re-establish himself as a dominant force in the game and his new choice of caddie.
Woods recently split with caddie Steve Williams after a partnership that lasted 12 years and 13 major championships – a record unmatched by any other player-caddie partnership in the history of golf. Woods was reportedly upset by Williams choosing to work for Australian Adam Scott without seeking permission.
His replacement is Woods’s childhood friend Bryon Bell, who has caddied in just three PGA Tour events. Though he is without a tournament win this season, Woods wrote on Twitter: “Feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week. Excited to get back out there!”
