What’s the birthstone for December?

If you were born December, you’ve got 2 birthstones, turquoise and zircon. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/december-birthstone-zircon-turquoise…

Massachusetts Lawmakers Vote To Pass a Statewide Police Ban On Facial Recognition

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Massachusetts lawmakers have voted to pass a new police reform bill that will ban police departments and public agencies from using facial recognition technology across the state. The bill was passed by both the state’s House and Senate on Tuesday, a day after senior lawmakers announced an agreement that ended months of deadlock….

A magnified view of Jupiter and Saturn at conjunction

On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will be only 1/5 of a moon-diameter apart! Guy Ottewell offers insights and charts showing a magnified (telescopic) view of their once-in-20-years great conjunction. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/jupiter-saturn-conjunction-telescopic-magnified-dec-2020…

Does Europa glow in the dark?

The icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa may glow on its nightside, the side facing away from the sun. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/jupiter-moon-europa-glows-radiation…

Cosmic furnace seen by X-ray observatory

This burst of color shows a fascinating discovery: a galaxy cluster acting as a cosmic furnace. The cluster is heating the material within to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius—well over 25 times hotter than the core of the sun. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-cosmic-furnace-x-ray-observatory.html…

What is a supernova?

A supernova is a star’s colossal explosion at the end of its life, potentially outshining its entire galaxy. Read about the causes and types of supernovae here. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-supernova…

Google Photos Tests Locking Color Pop Behind a Google One Paywall

According to XDA Developers, Google is testing locking the Color Pop feature in the Google Photos app behind a paywall, requiring users to sign up for a Google One subscription to access this feature, and presumably other photo-editing features in the future. From the report: Shortly after we published our teardown of Google Photos 5.18 confirming that a Google One paywall…

2020 Antarctic ozone hole among largest, deepest in recent years

This year’s ozone hole covers most of the Antarctic continent and is among the largest and deepest in recent years. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/antarctic-ozone-hole-2020-among-largest-deepest-in-recent-years…