Yves Adams took this photo of a rare yellow penguin on South Georgia Island in December 2019. It went viral this month. “It seems we are in desperate need for some mellow yellow news!” Adams said. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photograph-yellow-penguin…
Tag: lucky
Images of shadows cast by jet contrails
Jet contrail shadows may appear to be cast by a low-altitude bright light shining upwards. In fact, this shadow is normally cast on clouds below the jet and its contrail. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/jet-contrail-casts-a-shadow…
Anniversary of mysterious parade of meteors
On February 9, 1913, lucky observers witnessed the Great Meteor Procession, when bright meteors soared horizontally across the sky in a stately marching rank for minutes at a time. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-great-meteor-procession-of-february-9-1913…
When will Betelgeuse explode?
The red supergiant star will explode in a supernova, close enough to shine brightly during the day but far enough away that Earth won’t be in danger. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday…
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…
Google Fiber Rolls Out Insanely Fast 2Gbps Service In Two Lucky US Cities
Google Fiber has made its 2Gbps service “widely available” in Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, the company said Thursday. CNET reports: New and existing Google Fiber customers in Nashville and Huntsville can choose either 1-gigabit-per-second service for $70 a month, or 2Gbps service for $100 a month. The latter is designed for “power users, the latest devices, and advanced smart homes…
The Stingray nebula is disappearing
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured never-before-seen images of the rapid fading of the Stingray Nebula. This nebula is a cloud in space, surrounding a dying star. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/disappearing-stingray-neula-20-years-hubble-images…
Elon Musk is Highly Confident SpaceX Will Land Humans on Mars by 2026
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remains highly confident that his company will land humans on Mars by 2026, saying on Tuesday that it’s an achievable goal “about six years from now.” From a report: “If we get lucky, maybe four years,” Musk said, speaking on an award show webcast from Berlin, Germany. “We want to send an uncrewed vehicle there in two…
Evidence Builds That an Early Mutation Made the Pandemic Harder to Stop
As the coronavirus swept across the world, it picked up random alterations to its genetic sequence. Like meaningless typos in a script, most of those mutations made no difference in how the virus behaved. But one mutation near the beginning of the pandemic did make a difference, multiple new findings suggest, helping the virus spread more easily from person to person…
Comet C/2020 M3 (Atlas) drawing nearer, in a great place to spot Wednesday night
The comet is headed for its closest approach to Earth on Saturday, November 14, 2020. It can’t be seen with the eye, but astrophotographers are capturing glorious images. Charts and photos in this post. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/comet-c-2020-m3-atlas-closest-to-earth-nov-14-2020…