It’s not a super-noticeable star, but Hamal is the brightest star in Aries the Ram and can be found fairly easily. Plus Hamal has a special place in the history of the Earth and sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/hamal-ancient-equinox-star…
Tag: fun
Astronomers catch a record-setting X-ray burst
The sudden spike of X-rays released as much energy in 20 seconds as our sun does in nearly 10 days. Turns out it was a massive thermonuclear flash on a pulsar, the crushed remains of a star that exploded as a supernova long ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/record-setting-x-ray-burst-j1808-pulsar…
Iceland Livestreams 10-Year-Old McDonald’s Cheeseburger That Won’t Decompose
dryriver shares a report from the BBC: When McDonald’s closed all its restaurants in Iceland in 2009, one man decided to buy his last hamburger and fries. “I had heard that McDonald’s never decompose so I just wanted to see if it was true or not,” Hjortur Smarason told AFP. This week, it’s 10 years since the seemingly indestructible meal was…
Will Smith’s action thriller Gemini Man falls into major logic holes
A movie that sends a young Will Smith to kill his older self sounds fun. But there are two big flaws in its logic, says Simon Ings in his latest column Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24432540-400-will-smiths-action-thriller-gemini-man-falls-into-major-logic-holes/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Ask Slashdot: How Do You Spot Bullies During an Interview?
An anonymous reader writes: I have met approximately two bullies in my career so far in which I have had about 15 bosses. One of them I was able to spot during the interview itself but I took the job (I shouldn’t have) and left five months later. The other boss only revealed his bully persona to me in secret and…
Go young moon hunting in late October
To maximize your chances of catching the young moon on October 28, find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset. Binoculars will come in handy! On October 29-31, the moon will be easier to see, from all parts of the globe. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/go-young-moon-hunting-in-late-october…
Orionid meteors late night until dawn
A bright moon interferes for much of the night for 2018’s Orionid meteor shower. Watch shortly before dawn, after moonset. Try watching on the mornings of October 20, 21 and 22. A dark sky is always best. Have fun! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/radiant-point-for-orionid-meteor-shower…
Wired Remembers the Glory Days of Flash
Wired recently remembered Flash as “the annoying plugin” that transformed the web “into a cacophony of noise, colour, and controversy, presaging the modern web.” They write that its early popularity in the mid-1990s came in part because “Microsoft needed software capable of showing video on their website, MSN.com, then the default homepage of every Internet Explorer user.” But Flash allowed anyone…
Laser Cutters Sold On Amazon and Elsewhere Are Cheap, Fun — and Dangerous
harrymcc writes: Go to Amazon, Walmart.com, and eBay, and you can find an array of companies selling laser cutters and engravers for a few hundred dollars — dramatically less than you’ll pay for a brand name such as Glowforge. But these budget models lack the safety features required to keep lasers safe, and may even have ignored the required FDA paperwork…
This weekend’s Full Hunter’s Moon
The legacy of the Harvest and Hunter’s Moons are the grand procession of moonlit nights in the season of waning daylight. In 2019, watch for the full, or nearly full moon, around October 11, 12, 13 and maybe even 14. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/full-hunters-moon-from-dusk-till-dawn…