During the Great Conjunction event in which Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other in the sky than they have for hundreds of years, photographer Jason De Freitas captured a photo showing the ISS zipping between the two planets. PetaPixel reports: While planning to photograph the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, De Freitas realized that he could also include the…
Tag: luck
The Zodiac Killer’s Cipher Has Been Solved After 51 Years
“It’s taken over 50 years, but the solution to the Zodiac Killer’s cipher has been found,” writes Slashdot reader quonset. CNN reports: Dubbed the “340 cipher,” the message was unraveled by a trio of code breakers — David Oranchak, a software developer in Virginia, Jarl Van Eycke, a Belgian computer programmer, and Sam Blake, an Australian mathematician. The Zodiac Killer is…
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…
Tips on choosing telescopes and binoculars for beginners
Tips for beginners: how to choose binoculars or your first telescope. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars…
Druids called in to reverse ancient Irish ‘curse’
An Irish farmer who had been plagued by bad luck has blamed a ‘curse’ caused by a damaged standing stone. When Donal Bohane began to experience a spat… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/340786/druids-called-in-to-reverse-ancient-irish-curse…
Watch for Mercury, below Venus, during the week of November 10
For northerly latitudes, the coming week presents a golden opportunity to spot the most elusive bright planet – Mercury – in the east before sunup. The waning crescent moon, and dazzling Venus, can help you find it. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/mercury-beneath-venus-before-dawn…
Silk Road Bitcoins Worth $1 Billion Change Hands After Seven Years
A billion dollars worth of bitcoins linked to the shuttered darknet market Silk Road has changed hands for the first time in seven years, prompting renewed speculation about the fate of the illicit fortune. The Guardian reports: Almost 70,000 bitcoins stored in the account which, like all bitcoin wallets, is visible to the public, had lain untouched since April 2013. The…
Flash of luck: Astronomers find cosmic radio burst source
A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe? Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-luck-astronomers-cosmic-radio-source.html…
See all 5 bright planets in November!
See all five bright planets in November 2020. Three of them – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – pop out first thing at dusk and nightfall. The other two – Mercury and Venus – are found in the early morning sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/see-all-5-bright-planets-in-november…
Glenn Greenwald Resigns From The Intercept
Long-time Slashdot reader imAck writes: Glenn Greenwald announced via Twitter recently that he has resigned from The Intercept (and First Look Media), the former being a media outlet that he co-founded [in February 2014]. Purportedly, a recent attempt to constrain his editorial freedom was the incident that pushed him to make the decision. “Not content to simply prevent publication of this…