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Science (General/Chat)

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  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Perseids Over a little Planet

    08/12/2026 12:42:22 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 4 replies
    NASA ^ | 12 Aug, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Marcin Rosadziński Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
    Explanation: It looks like a view from the Little Prince's planet. The featured image is a throwback to the 2024 Perseid meteor shower, surrounded in this projection by the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. Visible in the sky is the arch of the Milky Way, along with several nebulas in red and over a hundred meteors pointing to the radiant. The Perseids are easily visible and quite popular in the Northern Hemisphere summer. (Watching meteor showers in the winter is less convenient for a good reason). This year they are expected to offer an even more dazzling spectacle than usual, because...
  • AOC fuels split rumors with longtime fiancé Riley Roberts as she embarks on public journey to freeze eggs (possible fraud)

    08/11/2026 5:56:19 PM PDT · by Libloather · 36 replies
    NY Post ^ | 8/11/26 | Craig McCarthy, Ryan King, Josh Christenson, Steven Nelson
    WASHINGTON — Speculation is swirling over whether Democrat darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has quietly split with her longtime beau Riley Roberts — following her public announcement this week that she was freezing her eggs to feel “more in control of my life.” The “Squad” star, 36 — who got engaged to Roberts in April 2022 — has been spotted in recent months without her engagement ring and it was noticeably absent in May when the pair was photographed together at a Manhattan burger joint. She also carefully chose her words when asked this week by a reporter about her choice...
  • Archaeologists Baffled After Man Stumbles Upon 2,700-Year-Old Bronze Sword Standing Upright in Forest

    08/11/2026 5:48:12 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 13 replies
    People ^ | July 16, 2026 | Ashley Vega
    A hobbyist searching a forest in northern Poland stumbled across an unusual sight: a bronze sword that had been standing upright in the ground for nearly 2,700 years. The remarkably well-preserved weapon was discovered by metal detectorist Marcin Wiśniewski in the Gdańsk Forest District, according to the Pomeranian Provincial Heritage Conservator. Officials say the sword dates to the Late Bronze Age, between 900 and 700 B.C. Photos released by the conservator show the ancient weapon protruding vertically from the sandy soil before archaeologists carefully removed it. Rather than excavating the find himself, Wiśniewski reported it to heritage officials, who recovered...
  • The Math Superstar Who’s Terrified of AI—and Just Took a Job at OpenAI

    08/01/2026 3:26:35 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 14 replies
    The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 31, 2026 9:00 pm ET | Ben Cohen
    Jacob Tsimerman won the biggest prize in math. Now he’s working on the most important problem of his career.When he won the Fields Medal last week, Jacob Tsimerman accepted the most prestigious honor in math wearing a powder-blue tuxedo with satin lapels.Then he made an announcement as striking as his tux. After the ceremony, the four winning mathematicians were asked what they planned to do next. One said he would keep working on partial differential equations, one said he wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence and one said she had absolutely no idea. That left Tsimerman.“I’ll be starting a position...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Six Moons of Saturn

    08/11/2026 1:33:39 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    NASA ^ | 11 Aug, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Alexandre Trentini
    Explanation: How many moons does Saturn have? While the total will likely continue to grow, as of June 2026 the ringed gas giant had 293 confirmed moons. That's easily more than any other planet of the Solar System, including ruling gas giant Jupiter with a mere 115 confirmed moons. Most of Saturn's known moons are small, irregular satellites. Many are only few kilometers to a fraction of a kilometer across and grouped in tilted outer orbits. Six of its largest satellites can be seen here, though, in this sharp telescopic Saturnian family portrait taken on August 5. Larger than Earth's...
  • Roman shipwreck with hundreds of amphorae found off Sicily

    08/11/2026 6:38:37 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 58 replies
    Euronews ^ | August 9, 2026 | Fortunato Pinto
    A Roman-era shipwreck has been found off Mazara del Vallo, along with hundreds of amphorae on the seabed. Culture Minister Giuli has hailed the discovery as "extraordinary"... A Roman-era shipwreck, probably dating from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has been located around three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, at a depth of 46 metres. On the seabed, the Italian Ministry of Culture reports, there are hundreds of amphorae, mostly of the Dressel 1A type, two lead anchor stocks and another structure made of the same material. The discovery was made during a joint inspection carried...
  • Tucker's Cross: The Man Behind its Discovery, and its Unusual disappearance

    08/10/2026 9:56:20 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 8 replies
    Medium ^ | April 18, 2022 | Charlie O'Brien
    The discovery of the gold cross is an interesting story in itself, but the story becomes even stranger. 'Tucker's Cross' had been on display at the museum for years. One day, as they were preparing for Queen Elizabeth II's royal visit to the island, it was discovered that at some point, the highly valuable cross had been stolen -- and swapped out for a cheap plastic replica! The loss of the golden cross was a huge blow to Bermuda, especially as it has never been recovered. Its location is still an unsolved mystery to this day.
  • Celebrated Rutland mosaic depicts 'long-lost' Troy story connecting Roman Britain to the ancient classical world

    08/10/2026 9:27:20 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 9 replies
    University of Leicester ^ | December 4, 2025 | editors / unattributed
    New research from the University of Leicester has conclusively determined why the famous Ketton mosaic in Rutland -- one of the most remarkable Roman discoveries in Britain for a century -- cannot depict scenes from Homer's Iliad as was initially believed. Instead, it draws on an alternative version of the Trojan War story first popularised by the Greek playwright Aeschylus that has since been lost to history. The mosaic's images combine artistic patterns and designs that had already been circulating for hundreds of years across the ancient Mediterranean, suggesting that craftsmen in Roman Britain were more closely connected to the...
  • WNBA to Hold Meeting to Discuss What the ‘W’ Stands For.

    08/10/2026 9:12:16 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 41 replies
    American Thinker ^ | 08/10/2026 | Eric Utter
    The more I hear of the WNBA, the more I realize there is no intelligent life here on this planet. Here is a recent headline, one that should be an excellent example of a Babylon Bee headline, but that isn’t a Babylon Bee headline, but a real one from Townhall -- an actual news outlet:AdvertisementWNBA to Hold Meeting to Discuss What the ‘W’ Stands For.The more I hear of the WNBA, the more I realize there is no intelligent life here on this planet. Beam me up, Scotty. Please.AdvertisementThe league is actually going to hold a meeting in an attempt...
  • Alexandria - The City of Sciences [Free with ads] [52:22]

    08/10/2026 9:09:33 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 2 replies
    YouTube Movies & TV ^ | Release date October 4, 2003 | Metropolis I
    Alexandria, a royal Greek city in the land of the Pharaohs. Along the sandy banks of the Nile delta on the African Mediterranean coast, the most powerful metropolis of its time rose from virtually nothing. The Hellenistic culture mingled with the legacy of the Pharaohs and bore the fruits of a glorious new heritage. Alexandria - The City of Sciences [Free with ads] | 52:22 YouTube Movies & TV | 199M subscribers | Release date October 4, 2003
  • MIT scientists’ new framework could make nuclear fusion power a commercial reality

    08/10/2026 6:40:21 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 29 replies
    Interesting Engineering ^ | August 10, 2026 | Ameya Paleja
    Representational image of a nuclear fusion energy. Commonwealth Fusion Systems A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have looked into the economic challenges of fusion power and built a framework to make it commercially feasible. The framework is technology agnostic and takes into account the physical inputs need to build and operate a fusion power plant which is competitive in energy markets. Nuclear fusion is regarded as the future of energy, which is non-polluting, abundant and cheaply available. In principle, it recreates the reactions that occurs in stars, where hydrogen in a state of high temperature...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Three Galaxy Pairs

    08/10/2026 12:22:26 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    NASA ^ | 10 Aug, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Rafael Sampaio
    Explanation: Each of these pairs of galaxies is different. The two galaxies at the top are likely not interacting, at least presently. However, the top galaxy with the blue stripe, NGC 4650A, is a polar ring galaxy and may be the result of a past galaxy collision. The two galaxies in the middle of the featured image appear like they could be interacting gravitationally -- but their relative speeds make this unlikely. Of these two, the larger galaxy, NGC 4650, is a spiral galaxy with a bright bar of stars across its center. The two galaxies at the bottom are...
  • The Mysterious Tombs of Xanthos [8:44]

    08/10/2026 10:41:01 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 14 replies
    YouTube ^ | July 17, 2026 | Scenic Routes to the Past (Garrett Ryan, Ph.D)
    Xanthos, the ancient center of Lycia, boasts the longest extant Lycian inscription, an array of pillar tombs, and a Roman theater adapted for bullfighting in late antiquity. The Mysterious Tombs of Xanthos | 8:44 Scenic Routes to the Past | 61.4K subscribers | 16,252 views | July 17, 2026 Chapters 0:00 Introduction 0:42 Theater 2:03 Harpy Tomb 3:03 Lycian Acropolis 4:22 Inscribed Pillar 5:33 Roman Agora 6:13 Nereid Monument 6:55 Decumanus Maximus 7:56 East Basilica
  • Bullets and Booze: How WWII Changed America's Drinks [16:30]

    08/09/2026 1:54:42 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 38 replies
    YouTube ^ | November 1, 2024 | The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered
    Eighty-two years ago, on November 1, 1942, America's distilleries were faced with a second prohibition, this time coming from the War Production Board. No more liquor would be produced by the nation's distilleries, as the entire efforts of their industry was needed to produce war alcohol. It is one of the many ways that America's booze was affected by the World War. Bullets and Booze: How WWII Changed America's Drinks | 16:30 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.64M subscribers | 150,246 views | November 1, 2024
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Contemplating the Sun

    08/09/2026 12:07:29 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 8 replies
    NASA ^ | 9 Aug, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Steven Gilbert
    Explanation: Have you contemplated your home star recently? Featured here, a Sun partially eclipsed on the top left by the Moon is also seen eclipsed by earthlings contemplating the eclipse below. This spectacular menagerie of silhouettes was taken in 2012 from the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page, Arizona, USA, where park rangers and astronomers expounded on the unusual event to interested gatherers. Also, faintly visible on the Sun's disk, just to the lower right of the dark Moon's disk, is a group of sunspots. A new solar eclipse will occur this week and give many people in northern...
  • Cash-strapped Gen Zers are tapping retirement funds to care for their kids and parents, study says

    08/09/2026 11:50:50 AM PDT · by Libloather · 48 replies
    NY Post ^ | 8/09/26 | Asia Grace
    They’re struggling to foot the Z bill. Gen Z can no longer afford to revel in the footloose and fancy-free freedom of youth, as nearly half of twenty-somethings are financially supporting both a child and a parent simultaneously, forcing most to tap into their retirement savings just to stay afloat, per alarming 2026 data. It’s a tough break for the youngsters amid the surging cost of living crisis, a squeeze leaving roughly 70% of Americans in danger of healthcare, food and housing insecurity. And these newcomers to adulthood are left holding the bag. Oft-maligned as “lazy,” skittish brats with zero...
  • New film may unravel the mystery of how 'transgender' paper dolls came to be

    08/09/2026 10:39:44 AM PDT · by Morgana · 12 replies
    live action news ^ | August 7, 2026 | Sheena Rodriguez
    Recent news reports discussing the upcoming launch of 'transgender' paper dolls for young children — funded by American taxpayers and promoting destructive, sex-rejecting, transgender ideology — have led many to wonder how our society lost its common sense. But an upcoming film documenting the 'work' of a sex researcher (and child sexual abuser) — who believed society might be better off if men were castrated like farm animals at birth — may hold the key to unlocking the mystery of the paper dolls. Key Takeaways: * The NY Post reported about new paper dolls for "gender diverse children ages 4-10"...
  • Travelling At 99% of The Speed Of Light Looks Strange - Project Hail Mary's Space Warp [11:09]

    08/08/2026 9:01:47 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 60 replies
    YouTube ^ | August 5, 2026 | Scott Manley
    Project Hail Mary is my favourite movie of the year, and while many people have made videos explaining time dilation due to travelling close to the speed of light, nobody has tried to visualise how the universe appears to warp due to relativistic aberration. I wanted to create these visuals to give you an idea of what it would look like at these speeds, even without a warp drive or hyperspace nothing looks right. Travelling At 99% of The Speed Of Light Looks Strange - Project Hail Mary's Space Warp | 11:09 Scott Manley | 1.87M subscribers | 168,417 views...
  • Jew-hating Cornell student kicked out of parents’ home claims 5G tower scrambling his brain

    08/08/2026 4:40:02 PM PDT · by Libloather · 37 replies
    NY Post ^ | 8/08/26 | Sonya Gugliara
    He’s losing his connection with reality. Days after getting booted from his family’s $1.75 million Virginia mansion, the Cornell University student who declared he’s “not interested in working for a Jew” is losing his mind over a new enemy: a 5G cell tower. In a bizarre Aug. 2 rant on X, Austin Franco claimed a mysterious 5G box outside the window of his new Ithaca, NY, pad is blasting harmful radiation right into his brain. “My head has been ringing for the past hour and I have a massive headache,” Franco, 19, whined in the midnight post. “The ping on...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - A Messier Moment for Tempel 2

    08/08/2026 10:38:27 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 4 replies
    NASA ^ | 8 Aug, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett
    Explanation: Which of these is not a comet? You guessed it - the one on the right is a globular star cluster. The diffuse greenish coma of periodic comet 10P/Tempel 2 is at left in the frame. In fact the globular star cluster is Messier 30, also known as M30, or the 30th entry in astronomer Charles Messier's catalog of things which are not comets. The well-known 18th century astronomer kept a list of objects he observed, now his famous Messier Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters, which did not move from night to night against the background stars and...