What are degrees, arc minutes and arc seconds?

How do skywatchers measure distances in the night sky? Here’s how to understand it when they speak of objects as being several degrees (or several arc minutes or arc seconds) apart. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/sky-measurements-degrees-arc-minutes-arc-seconds…

Apple Added a Secret Button To Your iPhone

Your iPhone got a new button last month, and you may not have even noticed. The Verge reports: No, Apple didn’t sneak into your house and secretly superglue a button onto your smartphone. But it did release iOS 14, the latest version of its iPhone software, which includes a feature called Back Tap. Back Tap adds a fascinating new “button” to…

Naked mole rats invade neighbouring colonies and kidnap their babies

The world’s most social mammals can be positively antisocial, as naked mole rats have been observed invading each other’s colonies and kidnapping newborn pups Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2256695-naked-mole-rats-invade-neighbouring-colonies-and-kidnap-their-babies/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites this week

After 2 weeks of scrubs, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off October 6, 2020, carrying 60 more Starlink satellites to orbit. The rocket successfully landed at sea 9 minutes later. Video of the launch and landing here, plus steps taken to reduce the bright satellites’ effect on astronomy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/spacex-starlink-falcon-9-launch-oct-6-2020…

What’s the youngest moon you can see with your eye alone?

It has long been a sport for skywatchers to spot the youngest possible crescent moon after sunset, with the eye alone. What does it take to see a very young moon? Details here. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-youngest-moon-you-can-see-with-your-eye-alone…

Venus Might Host Life, New Discovery Suggests

There is something funky going on in the clouds of Venus. Telescopes have detected unusually high concentrations of the molecule phosphine — a stinky, flammable chemical typically associated with feces, farts and rotting microbial activity — in an atmospheric layer far above the planet’s scorching surface. From a report: The finding is curious because here on Earth, phosphine is essentially always…