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cultural
literacy
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teaching
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late August 2015 |
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New Ceres images (Earth&Sky) Dawn now in 900-mile orbit Last look at Saturn's icy moon, Dione (Earth & Sky) by Cassini; Enceladus is next, in December Liquid water? where to find it in the solar system (Earth & Sky) Sunspot analysis: solar activity has been stable since the 1700s (IAU, via Physics World) unlike Earth's global mean surface temperatures, which have been rising since 1880 |
In the wrong place at the wrong time: double-star systems too close to binary SMBHs (Hubble) leading to supernovas that explode outside of galaxies Type Ia Supernovae: caused by one white dwarf or two? (Kavli) both scenarios apparently are possible |
92% chance that Earth is not the only civilization that the universe might ever have (astro-ph) result is independent of Drake equation, authors claim First exoplanet imaged by Gemini (Gemini) 51 Eridani b is Jupiter-like, and orbits a very young star Nucleobases and amino acids can be formed in meteor-ocean impacts (Earth and Planetary Science Letters) in simulations using a propellant gun How Jupiter and Saturn formed? (Nature) the accreted pebbles must interact gravitationally A new class of planets? (Astrobites) ice planets, predicted, not (yet) seen |
Evidence for evolution of galactic shape: from disk to spheroid (Nanowerk) multiple mergers eventually destroy the disk.... or a stellar pileup in the central bulge? Nearest quasar powered by binary black hole (Hubble) 15 new Milky Way companions announced (IAU, via Sky and Telescope) that makes 23 so far just this year Smallest SM black hole so far (Sky and Telescope) a puny 50,000 solar masses |
ETH black-hole information-paradox conference: lots of hype. little accomplished? (Washington Post) physicists behaving badly Multiverse theory: "kookier than the Old Testament" (Spectator book review) such a perfect description Is it time to embrace non-verifiable theories? (Nautil.us) No! Multiversal (un)Truths (The Economist) The Economist's science is as bad as its politics --------------------------- Ruling out chameleons? (Sky & Telescope) as a fifth force, and a source of dark energy Bernard d'Espagnat dies in France at 93 (NY Times) with a link to his article on Quantum Physics and Reality, perhaps the best ever written on the meaning of quantum mechanics Record breaking hydrogen-sulfide superconductivity published (Nature) superconductivity now at -70 C (OK, OK, admittedly at 1.5 million times atmospheric pressure) |
When did parents become so afraid? (Boston Globe) is there value in children being unsupervised? Poor in NC cities? not a good idea (Raleigh N&O) upward mobility is particularly bad in NC Science Isn't Broken (538) it's just hard Corporate Evil? the Amazon exposé (NY Times) spoiler alert: this article will make you want to cancel your Amazon/Kindle accounts the fallout from the article Bezos responds to Amazonians the NYT public editor: was the story fair? yes and no the real Amazon scandal: its treatment of blue-collar workers (Vox) ----------- Wall Street bankers (Atlantic) how they stayed out of jail AT&T (Pro Publica) so very eager to help the government to spy on us the trail of evidence Dupont (Intercept) chemistry of deception ----------------------- Can blacks qualify as refugees in their own country? (Washington Post) |
Vouchers in NC Enemies of public education (Raleigh N&O) along with the GOP House & Senate Making a mockery of a sound education (Raleigh N&O) judicial restraint becomes judicial activism Despite NC Supreme Court ruling, No 'public purpose' in school vouchers (Raleigh N&O) the real purpose of vouchers is clear: to privatize public education ----------------------- Teacher evaluation method (or is it teachers?) on trial (Washington Post) Common Core approaches crossroad in NC (Raleigh N&O) NC teachers confront poverty (Raleigh N&O) part 1 of a series |
early August 2015 |
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Conundrums raised by Philae's comet discoveries (Nature) why is comet surface so hard? (which caused the lander to bounce); how is this consistent with the comet's low density? more details at Philae's first days on the comet (Science) special issue devoted to landing Photos from the back side of the Moon (Guardian) and still ignorantly called the 'dark side' Hawaiian telescope draws local protests at IAU meeting (Nature) the visible planets in August (Earth & Sky) Saturn up all night; the others are lost in the glare of the sun Mars quest: the one-way trip (Texas Monthly) An improbably active Pluto (Science) |
First ever 3-D supernova simulation (Michigan State) progenitor turbulence and neutrino production both aid explosion The remarkable journey of stars in the galaxy (Nanowerk) and you thought they moved in nice stable circular orbits First brown dwarf with jets (and disk) (NRAO) direct evidence that the brown dwarf formation process is the same as that of stars (but not planets) |
Searching for life in the alpha Centauri system (Nanowerk) via polarization of reflected light from photosynthetic plant pigments Preview: The race to image alien Jupiters (Scientific American, August 2015 issue) the battle between 2 research groups First confirmed exoplanet found by microlensing (Hubble) the size of Uranus |
The universe is dying (Sky and Telescope) as in the starbirth rate is decreasing.... not exactly big news Most distant galaxy ever (Earth&Sky) z = 8.68.... galaxy seen at 600 MY A.B., only 200 MY after reionization Galactic starbirth regulated by black-hole fountain (Hubble) associated jets heat the halo, which then controls the cooling and infall of star-forming gas |
LHC confirms that only left-handed bottom quarks particles can decay (Nature Physics) just as predicted by the Standard Model G, Gravitational constant is universally constant? (NRAO) based on a pulsar study |
August anniversaries: 1 yr after Ferguson, 10 years after Katrina, 25 years after the first Iraq invasion, 50 years after the Voting Rights Act, 50 years of Medicare, 70 years after Hiroshima-Nagasaki, 80 years of Social Security American Dream? Incurable American excess (NY Times) so what if we have crumbling infrastructure, dirty cities, acute poverty, and we waste incredible amounts of food & energy? we're innovative! what's more important? USA, land of limitations? (NY Times) troubled by publicly subsidized meals, but not by tax exemptions for corporate meals and entertainment -------------------------- The Uber-ization of activism (NY Times) by using customers as lobbyists, Uber (et al.) cheapens grass-roots activism The inanity of selfies (with or without sticks) (NY Times) Hiroshima: A noiseless flash of light (John Hersey, New Yorker) the original, prize-winning article, on the 70-year anniversary of the bombing How the Obama administration runs foreign policy (Washington Post) a long, but revealing, article Should you walk or run for exercise? (Vox) what the science says (spoiler alert: running 2-3 days/wk, at a slow pace) Wealthy oligarchs dominate 2016 campaign (Washington Post) 400 families have contributed half the money so far.... surprise, suprise Social Security: the case for expanding the program (American Prospect) its finances are sound, despite rumors to the contrary How Planned Parenthood actually gets and spends its money (Washington Post) and why the GOP attempt to de-fund them will actually increase the number of abortions GOP: Not fit to lead (Slate) Iran hearings show the Republican party is unfit to be in charge of the country |
Dueling articles on the purpose(s) of a liberal college education The Coddling of the American Mind (Atlantic) How trigger warnings are hurting mental health on campus The Neoliberal Arts (Harpers) How college sold its soul to the market and comments on both (Washington Post) ---------------------------- Teacher Shortages, credentials optional (NY Times) Teacher shortages across the US (Diane Rehm show, 1 hour podcast) Wanted: new American teachers (OnPoint, 1 hour podcast) as usual, no teacher on either program, although I suppose it's nice that someone is paying attention to the problem The frenzy over high-tech talent (NY Books) Does America have sufficient STEM- trained workers, or not enough? Building the 21-st century learner: A new vision for testing (Scientific American, August 2015 issue) more frequent testing boosts learning From blackboards to bombs: the legacy of the physicists' wars (Nature) US Math Olympiad win 'breaks Chinese dominance' (538) but girls are rare at the IMO (538) Why teachers can't leave Kansas fast enough (Washington Post) Kansas joins NC and AZ in making teaching unappealing as a career Can college tenure survive the 2016 campaign? (Real Clear Politics) |
late July 2015 |
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Earth's bigger, older cousin (Earth & Sky) nearly Earth-sized planet in habitable zone around sun-like star (and where water, if there, likely would be liquid) Sky and Telescope reminds us that although we know the size, we don't know the mass (and likely never will) and therefore we don't know the density and whether it's really Earth-like How we'll live on Mars (Diane Rehm 1-hr podcast) Pluto, continued flowing N2(?) ice on Pluto's surface (Earth&Sky) Pluto is alive, but where is the heat coming from? (Science) that's needed to for the ice-flow resurfacing and the mountain building Another ice mountain range (Earth & Sky) New Horizons and Pluto (OnPoint 1-hr podcast) getting to Pluto and what we know so far Science covers Pluto Sky and Telescope coverage Earth & Sky coverage Charon's mountain in a moat (NASA) Frozen plains in Pluto's heart (JHU APL) frozen mud cracks? Ice mountains and absent craters (NY Times) absence of craters particularly baffling ditto says Washington Post Latest photos here (JHU APL) also NASA Pluto page |
first extraterrestrial aurora (BBC) around a brown dwarf New solar model contains double dynamo: is a new Maunder minimum on the way? (Royal Astro. Society) and if so, will it offset global warming due to CO2? Interstellar buckeyballs (Science) C60+ explains ISM bands at 0.96 microns |
Densest known galaxies discovered (Earth & Sky) the New Jerseys of galaxies Dark matter bridge connects Local Group to Virgo Supercluster (Earth & Sky) with empty bubbles on each side of the bridge |
New SETI project gets $100 M (Breakthrough Listen) 10-year project will listen to nearest million stars and nearest 100 galaxies but Arecibo is prevented from participating (Scientific American) NSF has poison-pilled the world's largest radio telescope Long-claimed pentaquark found at CERN (Nature) |
America, change your gun laws (Washington Post) since 9/11, 74 Americans killed by terrorists; 150,000, by gun homicides A Dream Undone (NY Times) the 50-year GOP campaign to roll back voting rights continues The only way to fix campaign finance (NY Times) matching federal funds for small contributions Uber's hypocrisy and arrogance (Washington Post) and pretty typical of the entire 'sharing' economy Killing the Colorado (ProPublica) the coming war over water The South How the South continues to skew the vision of America (Politico) there would be less violence, less inequality, and less upward mobility What went wrong in the Deep South (Washington Post) an opportunity gamed away... with county graphs of the statistical bad news wait... wait: It's not the South's fault (Washington Post) the North is just as racist as the South How the South drives the low-wage economy (American Prospect) its aversion to minimum wages and unions has made its way North Racial subordination in North Carolina (Gene Nichol) ----------------------------- Presidential candidates "on the issues" (1st link = NY Times 2nd link = Diane Rehm Show) John Kasich Scott Walker Jim Webb Jim Webb Chris Christie Bobby Jindal Donald Trump Jeb Bush Lindsey Graham Rick Perry Lincoln Chafee Martin O'Malley George Pataki Rick Santorum Carly Fiorina Mike Huckabee Ben Carson Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders Marco Rubio Hillary Clinton Ron Paul Ted Cruz |
Why we are teaching science wrong (Nature) and how to make it right STEM education (Nature) How to build a scientist Ohio makes very difficult teaching job 'impossible' (Washington Post) |
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early July 2015 |
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Pluto, at last Pluto is indeed largest of the KBOs (Johns Hopkins) diameter is 19 miles larger than Eris Best images before final close-up (Johns Hopkins) shiny heart is front and center Pluto has spots (Johns Hopkins) hints of geology? latest images: the whale, the heart, and the poles (Earth & Sky) New Horizons arrives July 14 (Johns Hopkins) A graphical timeline guide to the fly-by (Nature) Almost time for Pluto's closeup (NY Times) age of planetary discovery may not be quite over Pluto and us (Washington Post) Humans, on occasion, do manage to soar ----------------------- Amino acid abundances in meteorites (Astrobites) which amino acids formed where? the visible planets in July (Earth & Sky) after 6/30 conjunction, Venus & Jupiter separate, dusk to mid-evening... Saturn all night long ... Mercury at dawn |
Most luminous supernova ever? (Sky & Telescope) Accurate distances from neutron star light echoes (Sky & Telescope) with a useful diagram explaining light echoes Black-hole in binary wakes up after 27 years (Earth & Sky) V404 Cygni |
The radial-velocity method of finding exoplanets: current & future prospects (Astrobites) with a mass-period diagram for exoplanets by discovery method Even old stars have planets (SAC, Aarhus U.) stellar ages measured by astroseismology |
Is the CMB tilted? (Quanta) another satellite is probably required to find out National Astronomy meeting in Wales in early July, the source of much of the news below Sterile neutrinos and non-standard cosmology (Earth & Sky, via NAM) mostly hype Galactic radio jets and dark matter (Royal Astro. Society, via NAM) distortions in the CMB tell locations of dark matter In the beginning (Aeon) Is cosmology's hot streak over? Hidden SMBHs uncovered (Royal Astro. Society, via NAM) hidden by gas & dust |
LHC announces discovery of pentaquarks (CERN) first verified state has two up quarks, one down, one charm and one anti-charm quark Are black holes fuzzballs? (Quanta) it might solve the firewall paradox Turning black holes into dark matter labs (NASA) with computer simulations |
NC voter law blocks voters, not fraud (Raleigh N&O) weakened a bit, but still an affront to voters The limits of religious freedom (NY Times) how "I can't... it's against my religion" has become "You can't.... it's against my religion" The Illusion of a liberal Supreme Court (NY Times) so much for the brief, shining moment Trump tops poll of GOP presidential candidates in NC (Raleigh N&O) and this is a surprise? Saving Greece (Joseph Stiglitz, NP 2001) despite the hypocrisy of the Germans (whose debts the US forgave post WWII, a German-caused (!) war Political roots of rising inequality (American Prospect) it's not technology or globalization... it's the rich trying to change the rules The case for eating small fish (New Yorker) the best way to save their species The New York Public Library wars (Chronicle of Higher Ed) why is the library intent on destroying itself? Last Hominin Standing (Aeon) was human evolution inevitable, or were we just lucky? Why does the US have 800 military bases around the world? (Vox) probably because no one complains about it Science Friction (Washington Monthly) the divide between science & Republicans (from 2003! but more true now than then?) A disappointingly narrow ruling on Obergefell (Washington Post) why only the narrow marriage 'dignity', and not full access to Equal Protection? war history 150 years later, schools are a battlefield for Interpreting Civil War (Washington Post) you wouldn't learn about segregation or Jim Crow laws in most books Textbooks and monuments need to stop lying about the Civil War (Washington Post) how the South won the battle of revisionist history The Revolutionary War wasn't a great thing for everyone (Vox) particularly for slaves and Native Americans |
20 schools are responsible for 20% of grad school debt (Washington Post) why are for-profit and on-line colleges over-represented on this list?? Rich kids study English & History (Atlantic) whereas poor ones study "more 'useful' subjects, such as math or physics" (no, actually, they go for Law Enforcement and Firefighting) Universities: The outrageous reality (NY Review of Books) is education still the great equalizer? apparently not, but was it ever? The ?problem with Ds (Atlantic) and why D grades should be banned from high school |