Re: It's that time of year again..
You're an old cynic.
Funding negotiations are not necessarily tied to the financial year - at least not in the UK, and I doubt in the USA either (where the financial year starts in October).
In any case, "Astrophysicists think ..." is pop-sci journalese for "At least one astrophysicist speculated ...". Which is fine, scientists are supposed to speculate (modulo Occam's Razor, which I suspect may kick in rapidly for this one).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
