How to find Delta Aquariid radiant point

How to spot the radiant point for the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, going on now. Plus … why meteors in annual showers have radiant points. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/skat-radiant-for-delta-aquarid-meteors…

Scientists film rotating carbonyl sulphide molecules

Scientists have used precisely tuned pulses of laser light to film the ultrafast rotation of a molecule. The resulting “molecular movie” tracks one and a half revolutions of carbonyl sulphide (OCS)—a rod-shaped molecule consisting of one oxygen, one carbon and one sulphur atom—taking place within 125 trillionths of a second, at a high temporal and spatial resolution. The team headed by…

Word of the Week: Conjunction

When you hear the word “conjunction” in astronomy, you know it means 2 objects close together on our sky’s dome. Here’s more about the various kinds of conjunctions, including some we can’t see, and many we can, beautifully. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-conjunction-astronomy…

Sleep Trackers Can Make Your Insomnia Worse

Some sleep specialists are warning that the apps and devices that are used to track your sleep may provide inaccurate data and can exacerbate symptoms of insomnia. “Fiddling with your phone in bed, after all, is bad sleep hygiene,” reports The New York Times. “And for some, worrying about sleep goals can make bedtime anxiety even worse.” From the report: There’s…

The Long-Awaited Upgrade To the US Weather Forecast Model Is Here

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For the first time in about 40 years, the guts of the U.S. model got swapped out for something new today. The upgrade brings us a new “Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere” (or FV3) dynamical core, which simulates the basic atmospheric physics at the heart of this endeavor, a change that has been in the…

Why Some Businesses Really Hate Yelp

An anonymous reader quotes Slate: The overall argument of Billion Dollar Bully, the new documentary about Yelp released on Amazon and iTunes in May, is that Yelp extorts small business owners for advertising fees in return for helping to manage and improve reviews on their platform… Yelp has fought back against the allegations made in the film, arguing that “There has…

Boeing Says Some 737 Max Planes Might Have Defective Parts

“Boeing on Sunday said some of its 737 planes, including many 737 Max aircraft, may have faulty parts on their wings,” reports CNN. Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing said it has reached out to airlines that fly 737 planes, advising them to inspect their slat track assemblies on Max and NG aircraft. The 737 NG series includes the 737-600,…

Teen Makes His Own AirPods For $4

samleecole writes: Apple’s AirPods are a tragedy. Ecologically, socially, economically — they’re a capitalist disaster. The opposite of AirPods, then, is this extremely punk pair of DIY wireless earbuds that someone on Reddit hacked together using an old pair of wired Apple headphones and some hot glue. “I started this project roughly two months ago when my friend got a new…

Bitcoin ‘Roars Back’, Surges 50% in 30 Days

A week ago bitcoin was trading at $6,000. Today Forbes reports bitcoin “which has been swinging wildly throughout this week, has suddenly rallied back to over $8,000 per bitcoin, somewhat putting to rest investor and trader fears the recent bitcoin bull run may have already ended”:
The bitcoin price has risen around 50% over the last 30 days, pulling many other major…