Astrophysicists design ‘radically different’ world map

You know the old problem of how to portray the round globe of Earth on a flat map? Now a trio of map experts has worked together to solve this problem. Their new map is 2-sided and round. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/astrophysicists-new-design-world-map…

Astronomers find possible exoplanet-in-the-making within its own whirlpool

Astronomers have discovered a possible newly-born planet forming within its own “whirlpool” of dust and pebbles, in orbit around a young star 330 light-years from Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/star-hd-163296-new-planet-seen-forming-within-whirlpool…

Is Streaming Music Worse For the Environment?

“The environmental cost of music is now greater than at any time during recorded music’s previous eras,” argues Kyle Devine, in his recent book, “Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music.” The New Yorker’s music critic writes: He supports that claim with a chart of his own devising, using data culled from various sources, which suggests that, in 2016, streaming and downloading…

What is a galaxy?

We live in a galaxy called the Milky Way. But there is so much more to know about these grand and glorious star islands in space! Click in here, and prepare to have your mind expanded. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-galaxy…

Facebook Will Donate 720,000 Masks and 1.5 Million Gloves to Healthcare Workers

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Facebook plans to donate 720,000 masks — a combination of the coveted N95 respirators and more basic surgical masks — and 1.5 million pairs of gloves to health care workers around the world. Facebook officials said they bought the masks for their offices’ emergency disaster kits following wildfires in California. Facebook has already donated 375,000 masks…

What is dark matter?

Dark matter doesn’t emit light. It can’t be directly observed with any of the existing tools of astronomers. Yet astrophysicists believe it and dark energy make up most of the mass of the cosmos. What dark matter is, and what it isn’t. here. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-dark-matter…

Massive Building Fire Threatens Worldwide Vinyl Record Production

Apollo Masters, one of two plants in the world that manufacture lacquers that are imperative to the process of making vinyl records, sustained a major fire yesterday and burned down. Loudwire reports: The Desert Sun confirmed that the fire began in the 15,000-square-foot building at 8am Feb. 6. There were multiple explosions reported, and 82 firefighters responded to the scene. The…

Health Concerns Mount As More Old Sewer Pipes Are Lined With Plastic

Residents near renovation sites claim noxious emissions from pipe inserts are making them sick. Scientific American reports: Earlier this year Nicole Davis arrived at one of the San Antonio, Tex., offices of the audiology practice she co-owns ready to see the day’s patients. But upon entering her office, Davis says she quickly noticed a noxious odor that smelled like paint thinner….

Quantum music to my ears

It sounds like an old-school vinyl record, but the distinctive crackle in the music streamed into Chris Holloway’s laboratory is atomic in origin. The group at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, spent a long six years finding a way to directly measure electric fields using atoms, so who can blame them for then having a little fun…