Sonnet 80 arrives on the eve of my 80th birthday. #ASonnetADay pic.twitter.com/iqkUcAXSEM

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) July 13, 2020

Back in March, Sir Patrick Stewart posted something on Instagram. It was a video of him reading Shakespeare’s sonnet, and the post quickly went viral. Delighted by the response to his video, Stewart decided to post another video the next day, this time reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 1.

"When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn't much) and as she put it in front of me she would say, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away,'" tweeted Stewart. "How about, 'A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away?' So, here we go: Sonnet 1."

Ever since then, the legendary actor has been posting videos of himself reading Shakespeare’s sonnets, and just a few days ago he managed to work his way up to Sonnet 80, which was pretty significant to him, because the next day (July 13) would be his 80th birthday.

The rest of his readings can be found on his Twitter feed, along with the glorious news that he's started work on a memoir.

Heartwarming.

(Image Credit: Patrick Stewart/ Twitter)

Bluish-white stars, as well as red and yellow stars shine brightly in this part of the cosmos, while clouds of dust and gas hover around. At the center of the most famous of all astronomy nebulas — the Great Nebula in Orion — the star-forming nebula, the M43, can be spotted.

The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye near the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. The entire Orion Nebula, including both M42 and M43 spans about 40 light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun.

Beautiful.

(Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Reprocessing & Copyright: Bryan Goff)

Quantum mechanics and Einstein's relativity. Both are pillars of 20th-century physics, and, as pillars go, these scientific fields stand opposite of each other, at least when it comes to the concept of time.

When derived from quantum mechanics, time is a parameter that is ever-flowing at a constant rate. When derived from relativity, however, time can be seen as something relative from two observers. So what really is time?

"We don't know," Martin Bojowald, a physicist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, told Live Science. "We know that things change, and we describe that change in terms of time."

But it seems that we're now closer to reconciling the conflicting concepts of time through this new theory of a universal clock.

More details about this over at Live Science.

(Image Credit: FelixMittermeier/ Pixabay)

When Pluto was downgraded to a “dwarf planet” in 2006, the number of officially known planets in our Solar System decreased from nine to eight. But astronomers have been seeing strange gravitational patterns beyond the planet Neptune. Dubbed as “trans-Neptunian objects”, or TNOs, these objects suggest that there is a ninth planet in our Solar System. Various theories about these TNOs have been offered.

The hypothetical planet, dubbed “Planet Nine,” would orbit our star at hundreds of times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

It’s been a contentious topic, with some writing off the odd behavior of TNOs as being caused by a cluster of much smaller space rocks. Others predict that such a planet would be five times the mass of the Earth, orbiting our star at about 400 times the Earth’s distance from the Sun.

Finally, there’s the possibility that Planet Nine is actually a teeny-tiny black hole left over from the Big Bang. So tiny, in fact, that it’d only measure about five centimeters across — basically impossible to see with any kind of telescope.

“There has been a great deal of speculation concerning alternative explanations for the anomalous orbits observed in the outer solar system,” explained Amir Siraj, a Harvard undergraduate student, in a statement. “One of the ideas put forth was the possibility that Planet Nine could be a grapefruit-sized black hole with a mass of five to 10 times that of the Earth.”

But if the so-called “ninth planet” is not really a planet, but a very tiny black hole, then how would astronomers confirm its existence?

Learn more about this intriguing story over at Futurism.

(Image Credit: Comfreak/ Pixabay)

It was 2014, and the United Arab Emirates announced that it would be launching a mission to Mars by December 2021, the country’s 50th birthday (the United Arab Emirates was founded on December 2, 1971). They had several challenges to overcome before achieving that dream, however, as the country had no space agency or planetary scientists, and it only just launched its first satellite at that time. With only less than a decade as its time limit, and with odds stacked against it like that, one would wonder whether the country could really accomplish their goal.

The rapidly assembled team of engineers, with an average age of 27, frequently heard the same jibe. “You guys are a bunch of kids. How are you going to reach Mars?” says Sarah Al Amiri, originally a computer engineer and the science lead for the project.

But they prevailed.

Six years on, Al Amiri beamed as she admired the country’s fully assembled Mars orbiter while it underwent tests in February. In the bright, clean room at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, engineers were testing the car-sized orbiter before shipping it to the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. It will launch sometime during a three-week window starting on 15 July.

The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) will be the first interplanetary venture of any Arab nation, but it’s not just a technology demonstrator. Once it arrives at the red planet in February 2021, the orbiter, known as Hope (or Amal in Arabic), will produce the first global map of the Martian atmosphere. And, somewhat unusually for a space mission, the EMM will release its data to the international scientific community without an embargo.

But the battle’s not over yet, as going to space is not the UAE’s main concern, but rather, its economy. But for spectators, the UAE’s future is bright.

More about this over at Scientific American.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Natalie Naccache for Nature/ Scientific American)

After 85 years as a museum (since 1934), the Hagia Sophia will turn into a mosque on July 24, as Turkey’s Cabinet of State repealed the order that turned the building into a museum. With this being the case, some are curious as to what Hagia Sophia’s future will be.

The Turkish government has stated that, although Muslim religious services will resume at the site, it will remain open to visitors of all nationalities and faiths—much like the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which has been an active Catholic church as well as a major tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erdogan’s spokespeople have also stated that Christian iconography inside the Hagia Sophia will continue to be preserved as it has been since the 1930s.

Some say that this was done in order to make a political statement, and this political move could be compared as to how the building was treated in the past: a place of power.

Know more about the intriguing history of the Hagia Sophia over at Ars Technica.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Arild Vågen/ Wikimedia Commons)

Police stationed at Plymouth, UK, were shocked when they saw a man sinking his teeth into a seagull before throwing the bird on the floor. According to the man, the seagull attacked him because it took a taste of his McDonald’s meal, and so he grabbed and bit it . The police immediately rushed into the scene and detained the man.

Around this time, the man volunteered the information that he was under the influence of drugs and it was decided that he should be taken to Derriford Hospital for treatment.

The seagull was clearly injured by the incident but flew off before we were able to check on its welfare. We don't know what happened to it afterwards.

Because seagulls are protected by UK laws, the man, if found guilty, could face six months in jail or a fine of £5000 (around $6300).

Via 9GAG

(Image Credit: JJ Harrison/ Wikimedia Commons)

It has always been humanity’s dream to go to other planets like Mars and the gas giants, like Jupiter, beyond the asteroid belt. But it seems that it won’t be possible, at least not now, because of the massive obstacles such as the pressure, temperature and radiation in these planets.

In 1995, NASA’s Galileo mission sent a probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere; it broke up at about 75 miles in depth. Pressures here are over 100 times more intense than anything on Earth. At the innermost layers of Jupiter that are 13,000 miles deep, the pressure is 2 million times stronger than what’s experienced at sea level on Earth, and temperatures are hotter than the sun’s surface.

So clearly, no human is going to be able to venture too far down into Jupiter’s depths. But would it be safe to simply orbit the planet? Perhaps we could establish an orbital space station, right?

Well, there’s another big problem when it comes to Jupiter: radiation. The biggest planet in the solar system also boasts its most powerful magnetosphere. These magnetic fields charge up particles in the vicinity, accelerating them to extreme speeds that can fry a spacecraft’s electronics in moments. Spaceflight engineers have to figure out an orbit and spacecraft design that will reduce the exposure to this radiation. NASA figured this out with the triple-arrayed, perpetually spinning Juno spacecraft, but it doesn’t look as if this would be a feasible design for a human spacecraft. 

Instead, for a crewed spacecraft to safely orbit or fly past Jupiter, it would have to keep a pretty significant distance away from the planet. 

More about this over at Technology Review.

Do you think we’ll be able to overcome these obstacles in the future?

(Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center)/ Wikimedia Commons)

It is already a well-established fact that exercise can have great effects on one’s brain. It helps in sharpening the mind and also helps in reducing the risk of age-related diseases such as dementia. It seems that those who do not exercise that much could also get the same positive effects for their brains, by getting blood from physically active ones. Such is the case for these mice.

This effect, traced to a specific liver protein in the blood, could point the way to a drug that confers the brain benefits of exercise to an old or feeble person who rarely leaves a chair or bed.

More details about this study over at Science Magazine.

(Image Credit: Shutterbug75/ Pixabay)

A simple pat on the head. A hug. Holding hands. Or a light rub on the back. These are just some of the little gestures that we do whenever we are with our partner in life. But despite being little gestures, they can make great differences in a romantic relationship, so make sure you always shower your beloved with affection.

As it turns out, according to a new study by Sabrina Bierstetel of Wayne State University and Richard Slatcher of the University of Georgia, even the slightest touch or smile could be enough to make a difference in your partner’s life. Examining the effects of small expressions of affection on the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, Bierstetel and Slatcher showed that even holding your partner’s hand can be enough to produce measurable health benefits.

More details about this over at Psychology Today.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

Scientists have known for quite a while that the dwarf planet Pluto has a strange orbit. Unlike other planets in our Solar System, Pluto’s orbit is tilted, which makes its revolution weird. Scientists, however, have found in November 2019 an orbit weirder than Pluto’s — the wobbly orbits of Naiad and Thalassa, Neptune’s moons.

Compared with Thalassa, Naiad's orbit is tilted by about five degrees – it spends half of its time above Thalassa and half of it below, in a linked orbit that's unlike anything else on record.

"We refer to this repeating pattern as a resonance," said physicist Marina Brozovic, from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory back in 2019.

"There are many different types of dances that planets, moons and asteroids can follow, but this one has never been seen before."

More details about this over at ScienceAlert.

(Image Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech)

With the recent release of Sega’s GameGear Micro, it would only be fitting if a very tiny device that could run Nintendo games was developed, and the FunKey Project just developed one. And not only can it run Nintendo games; it can also run games from the Sega GameGear, as well as games from the PlayStation 1.

The FunKey S is a teensy gaming system that’s small enough to fit onto your keychain, yet it’s capable of playing all kinds of retro games thanks to a relatively zippy processor, and a custom Linux-based operating system optimized for gaming. The miniature game system uses Open Source emulation software to run games from the GameBoy (Classic, Color and Advance/SP), NES, SNES, Sega MasterSystem, GameGear, Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, NeoGeoPocket, Wonderswan and even the Playstation 1.

[...]

The makers of the FunKey S are currently raising funds for production over on Kickstarter, where you can get in on the gaming action for as little as $71. They’re hoping to start shipping the first orders by November 2020, so hopefully you can get one in time for the holidays if you order now.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: FunKey Project/ Technabob)

Horoscopes usually consist of three things: a brief description of a person (which is sometimes accurate) born within a certain star sign, pros and cons of being born in the sign, and a prediction (which is likely inaccurate) of what might happen to the person in the future. While various horoscopes generally give us good advice on how to live our lives, they shy away when it comes to telling us our bad traits. This horoscope doesn’t, and you’ll love it for its brutal honesty.

See this honest horoscope over at Sad And Useless.

What does it say about you?

(Image Credit: Sad And Useless)

Much of the cosmos remains a mystery to this day, and as we learn more about our universe, the stranger it becomes. A study last month in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reports that some planets have water in an exotic state between liquid and gas.

Olivier Mousis, a planetary scientist at Aix-Marseille University in France, and colleagues ran simulations of ocean-covered worlds in close orbits around their stars, where mini-Neptunes are often found. Intense stellar radiation would cause water on the planets to puff up into a diffuse layer of “supercritical” water between liquid and gas, topped by a steamy water vapor atmosphere, the team found. On Earth, supercritical water can be used to break down toxic waste.

Such extreme [sauna-like] worlds could bridge the divide between rocky and gaseous planet types…

(Image Credit: NASA / JPL / Voyager-ISS / Justin Cowart/ Wikimedia Commons)

Solar flares are, as astronomer Kosuke Namekata puts it, “sudden explosions that emanate from the surfaces of stars, including our own sun”. On rare instances, an interesting phenomenon occurs on the surface of a star: an extremely large superflare. But what makes them interesting, you may ask? They are interesting because “these result in massive magnetic storms, which when emitted from our sun can significantly effect [sic] the earth's technological infrastructure." Studying these flares could also help us understand how they affect the existence or non-existence of life on planets.

Hence understanding the properties of superflares can be vital, but their rareness means that data from our sun is difficult to gather. This has led researchers to look for exoplanets similar to earth, and to examine the stars they orbit.

And thanks to Kyoto University's 3.8 meter Seimei telescope, astronomers from Japan can now observe other stars from great distances. And they have been very lucky to observe a superflare on their very first night of observation.

Learn more about their findings over at EurekAlert.

(Image Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/ EurekAlert)