If an object floating through space passes near the line of sight between the earth and a distant star, its gravity should, according to the theory of relativity, bend and focus the light from that star.

ECONOMIST: The dark side of cosmology

It is more likely, then, that the object was floating free in space, and was captured by the sun's gravity in what was, in astronomical terms, the fairly recent past.

ECONOMIST: X marks the spot

The object of the game is to keep the floating ball in the center of the tube with judicious application of throttle and brake.

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