UPDATE:  SOLVED at 12:13 CDT by George

*yawn*  Is everybody up and ready for the riddle today?  I’m not so sure I am.  It’s been an interesting week, for certain.

Okay.  Time to get your name in for the next bonus riddle.  It’s been a while since I’ve gone over the game rules, so for anybody joining us in the middle of the saga, here they are:

The subject is always either an object or an event with which you will have been familiar since childhood (or since  discovery, if it’s contemporary).
The winner chooses the subject of my next post (must be about astronomy; must be researchable).
Each weekly winner becomes eligible to compete in the bonus riddle.

That’s it in a nutshell, and now that you’re all fired up and ready to go (okay, mildly interested and ready to go), here are the clues:

Yippee Emoticons - Doing the Wave

Today’s subject is an object.

It is a single object.

It was known to ancient man.

Although not the smallest of it’s kind everywhere, within it’s “local group”, it is the smallest.

An Atom Encased in its Electrons

Although relatively close to us, it’s not easy to see.

This object is well represented in modern fiction.

Modern observation of this object has revealed some surprises.

Image credit: Mila Zinkova; Sunspot #923

Okay – that’s it for today.  Any ideas?  It’s another easy one, so get your guesses in quickly.  Rob shot down last week’s riddle in ten minutes, so let’s see if you can solve this one in less time.  You know where to find me…

DON'T LOOK, TRUDY!