A Big Week for Astrophotography If you’re into space porn, the past week has really been good for you. We’ve followed the James Webb Space Telescope to its new home at a Lagrange Point in the expanse since its launch on Christmas Day 2021. This incredible instrument will soon permit us to peer deeper and […]
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The Great Migration Elton John famously sings about the “Circle of Life” in The Lion King. The piece speaks generally about the cycle of life and death. The animated feature takes part on the continent of Africa. While John’s melodies emerge from an animated feature, the song is more apropos to its setting than most
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The Relativity Engine “Oh, no! I was wondering who the third one might be!” –Arthur Eddington Amalie Noether, born 23 March 1882 in Erlangen, Germany, was named for her mother and grandmother, but soon insisted on adopting her middle name for everyday usage. Max Noether, Emmy’s father, was an esteemed mathematician, sometimes credited as one
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Earth Day By the late 1960s, most humans realized we needed to become better stewards of our planet. A few major incidents helped spur the epiphany. Woman Crush Wednesday honoree Rachel Carson penned Silent Spring in 1962, alerting the world to the unintended dangers of harsh chemicals. In 1968, the Apollo Program provided a new perspective of Earth.
Mount Rainier – Washington’s High Point Mount Rainier is one of the most famous, striking, and prominent peaks in the United States. This beast of a crag racks up an impressive list of superlatives. At 14,417 feet above sea level, the mountain is the High Point of Washington, as well as the eponymous National Park in which she
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Worms in the Rain As temperatures rise, leaves start to peek out of buds, and the critters begin to reclaim the land. April brings precipitation to many spots in North America and warmer, rainy days solicit one creature, in particular: the earthworm. Amble outside during a shower in the spring and you will likely encounter
Amelia, Queen of the Sky Have you flown far? “From America,” she answered. — Dan McCallon, Irish farmhand On 24 July 1897, in Atchison, Kansas, Amelia and Samuel Earhart gave birth to a child who bore her mother and grandmother’s name. Nicknamed “Meeley,” her mother did not believe in raising “nice little girls,” so
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Chicxulub Geologists recognize five major extinction events since life emerged on our planet. Each of these catastrophic periods wiped organisms from Earth, usually to the tune of more than 75% of all living species at the time. One such occasion, the Permian–Triassic extinction event, eliminated between 90-96% of species from existence! The one most people
Bluebirds of Happiness Sawiskera, the Spirit of Winter and Darkness, plagued the Iroquois people, daily banishing the sun and conjuring yearly icy eras of tribulation. One magical melody, however, could ward off the forces of Sawiskera. This musical potion emerged from the syrinx of the Eastern bluebird. Bluebirds are passerines, the order of perching birds
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April April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. — T.S. Eliot, first lines of The Waste Land Some of English literature’s most recognizable and memorable opening lines arise from the last great long poem, The Waste Land. Part of the