Category: Important Regular News

A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month (November), 2023

Now we wait to see if this proclamation is carried out or just more lip service by another USA president.

A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2023

During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize the invaluable contributions of Native peoples that have shaped our country and honor the hundreds of Tribal Nations who continue exercising their inherent sovereignty as vital members of the overlapping system of governments in the United States.  We also recommit to supporting Tribal sovereignty; upholding the Federal Government’s solemn trust and treaty responsibilities; and working in partnership with Tribal Nations to advance prosperity, dignity, and safety for all Native peoples.

Since time immemorial, Native communities have passed down rich cultures, knowledge, traditions, and ways of life.  But throughout our history, Native peoples’ cultures, identities, and governments were not always seen as a part of this Nation but as a threat to it.  Native people were pressured to assimilate, banned from practicing their traditions and sacred ceremonies, and forced from their homes and ancestral homelands.  This violence and devastation cost countless lives, tore families apart, and caused lasting damage to Tribal communities and institutions.

Despite centuries of violence and oppression, Native peoples remain resilient and proud.  Today, Native Americans are essential to the fabric of the United States.  They serve in the United States Armed Forces at higher rates than any other ethnic group.  They continue to steward so many of our great lands.  Their contributions to science, humanities, arts, public service, and more have brought prosperity for all of us.  Their diverse cultures and communities continue to thrive and lead us forward.

Since the beginning of my Administration, I have been determined to help champion a new and better chapter in the story of our Nation-to-Nation relationships.  I started by appointing Native Americans to lead in my Administration — including the first Native American Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, dozens of Senate-confirmed Native American officials, and over 80 Native American appointees serving across my Administration and in the Federal courts.  I restored the annual White House Tribal Nations Summit to advance communication between key members of my Administration and the leaders of hundreds of Tribal Nations.  My Administration formally recognized Indigenous Knowledge as one of the many important bodies of knowledge that contributes to the scientific, technical, social, and economic advancements of the United States and our collective understanding of the natural world.

Together with leadership from Tribal Nations, we are making historic investments in Indian Country.  Our American Rescue Plan invested $32 billion in Tribal Nations — the largest one-time direct investment in Indian Country in American history.  Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested more than $13 billion to rebuild infrastructure, the single largest investment in Indian Country infrastructure in history.  Our Inflation Reduction Act also made the largest investment ever to combat the existential threat of climate change, including $700 million dedicated to climate change response in Native communities.  Last year, I signed a Presidential Memorandum that improves consultation between the Federal Government and Tribal Nations.

My Administration is also working to address the impacts of harmful Federal policies of the past while ensuring Native communities are safe and healthy.  Through the Department of the Interior’s Road to Healing initiative, Native language preservation, public safety initiatives, and bold new investments, we are supporting Native American families and their communities as they heal.  We are also working to improve public health and safety for Native Americans.  I signed an Executive Order that helps us respond more effectively to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.  Last year, when we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, I was proud to include historic provisions that reaffirm Tribal sovereignty and restore Tribal jurisdiction.  My budget for Fiscal Year 2024 also requested a $9.1 billion infusion for the Indian Health Service, and I have asked the Congress to make that funding a mandatory part of the Federal budget for the first time in our history.

We are also committed to partnering with Tribal Nations to protect and steward their sacred and ancestral lands and waters.  Through Tribal co-stewardship agreements, we work directly with Tribal Nations to make decisions about how to manage those lands that are most precious to them — recognizing and utilizing the invaluable knowledge they have from countless generations.  I established new national monuments protecting lands sacred to Tribal Nations at Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni in Arizona, the Camp Hale-Continental Divide in Colorado, and Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada.  I also restored protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in New England and Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah.

This month, we celebrate Native American history and culture.  We are reminded that with hard work and a commitment to our founding ideals, we can address the wrongs of our past and become a more perfect Union — one that ensures liberty, justice, dignity, and equality for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2023 as National Native American Heritage Month.  I urge all Americans, as well as their elected representatives at the Federal, State, and local levels, to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.  Also, I urge all Americans to celebrate November 24, 2023, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

Earth’s Spin Has Shifted—And Humans Are To Blame

Humans have pumped so much groundwater out of the Earth that we have shifted the Earth’s rotational pole, according to a study.

In a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, researchers found that the rotational pole around which our planet spins has drifted around 31 inches east between 1993 and 2010 due to groundwater depletion and resulting sea level rise.

The position of the Earth’s rotational pole relative to the crust can be affected by how the mass of water is distributed across the planet.

“Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University who led the study, said in a statement. “Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”

The model only matched the drift in the pole observed between 1993 and 2010 if scientists took into account 2,150 gigatons of groundwater redistribution. Without accounting for the groundwater that humans had pumped from below the Earth’s surface, the model was off by 31 inches or 1.7 inches of drift per year.

“I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift,” Seo said. “On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised to see that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”

The 2,150 gigaton figure—equivalent to 0.23 inches of global sea level rise—comes from previous estimates by scientists regarding groundwater pumping within the 17-year period from 1993 to 2010. But direct observational evidence supporting this estimate has been lacking.

The modeling in the latest study—taking into account the redistribution of water from underground sources into the oceans—has provided independent confirmation of this estimate.

“This is a nice contribution and an important documentation for sure,” Surendra Adhikari, a research scientist at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was not involved in the study but took part in the research published in 2016, said in a statement. “They’ve quantified the role of groundwater pumping on polar motion, and it’s pretty significant.”

Groundwater depletion involves pumping out water from sources such as underground aquifers faster than the liquid can be replenished. This groundwater is used for agricultural purposes as well as being supplied to urban areas.

Once this groundwater has been extracted, it can find its way into the ocean through run-off or via the process of evaporation and precipitation.

Source: Newsweek.com

Meteoroid expected to safely strike Earth’s atmosphere Sunday evening over France

From Fox News out of Chicago, Illinois, USA

A small meteorite roughly one meter in length is expected to safely strike Earth’s atmosphere over northern France around 10:00 p.m. ET on Sunday evening, the European Space Agency said.

The meteorite, dubbed Sar2667, will enter the atmosphere over Rouen, France, and should be visible in Belgium, the Netherlands, northern France, and southern England, according to the International Meteor Organization. 

It marks only the 7th time that astronomers have spotted an asteroid before it strikes Earth, a trend that the ESA attributes to “rapid advancements in global asteroid detection capabilities.” 

The last asteroid that was detected before breaching Earth’s atmosphere, 2022 WJ1, was spotted just four hours before lighting up the skies over Toronto, Canada, on Nov. 19, 2022. 

Small meteoroids like Sar2667 strike Earth every couple of weeks but aren’t a big danger to the planet.

Astronomers currently know of more than 1.1 million asteroids, about 30,600 of which qualify as near-Earth asteroids because their orbit brings them close to our planet, according to the ESA. 

NASA, the ESA, and other organizations around the world are stepping up their planetary defense capabilities in case a planet-destroying asteroid ever gets on track to strike Earth. 

Last year, NASA’s Dart spacecraft destroyed the asteroid Dimorphos in a dress rehearsal of the agency’s kinetic impact technique. 

Alaska’s Arctic waterways are turning orange, threatening drinking water

Dozens of once crystal-clear streams and rivers in Arctic Alaska are now running bright orange and cloudy, and, in some cases, they may be becoming more acidic. This otherwise undeveloped landscape now looks as if an industrial mine has been in operation for decades, and scientists want to know why.

Roman Dial, a professor of biology and mathematics at Alaska Pacific University, first noticed the starkest water-quality changes while doing field work in the Brooks Range in 2020. He spent a month with a team of six graduate students, and they could not find adequate drinking water. “There’s so many streams that are not just stained, they’re so acidic that they curdle your powdered milk,” he said. In others, the water was clear, “but you couldn’t drink it (because) it had a really weird mineral taste and tang.”

Dial, who has spent the last 40 years exploring the Arctic, was gathering data on climate-change-driven changes in Alaska’s tree line for a project that also includes work from ecologists Patrick Sullivan, director of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Becky Hewitt, an environmental studies professor at Amherst College. Now, the team is digging into the water-quality mystery. “I feel like I’m a grad student all over again in a lab that I don’t know anything about, and I’m fascinated by it,” Dial said.

Most of the rusting waterways are located within some of Alaska’s most remote protected lands: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Gates of the Arctic National Park and …

Click here to read the rest of this article from hcn.org

Volcano Erupts in Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Nov. 28 (UPI) — Mauna Loa, one of the five volcanoes that form Hawaii’s Big Island, is erupting for the first time in 38 years, though no evacuations have yet been ordered.

The eruption began around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday in Mokuaweoweo, the summit caldera of the volcano, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on Monday as it issued a red warning .

“The eruption is currently confined to the summit, and there is no indication that magma is moving into either rift zone,” the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement on Twitter.

 

Webcams maintained by USGS showed lava erupting from fissures running along the floor of the caldera.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in an update around 2:43 a.m. that the vents remained constricted to the summit area but that lava flows were visible from Kona.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a warning on Twitter that “winds may carry volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s hair downwind.”

An ashfall advisory was in effect until 6 a.m., with up to a quarter of an inch of ashfall accumulation possible.

The last time that the 13,681-foot volcano erupted was in…

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Massive Ancient Sea Turtle Discovered in Spain was Nearly the Size of a Car

Paleontologists in Spain believe they unearthed a new prehistoric sea turtle species that may be among the largest ever, according to research published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.

Researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona analyzed the pelvis bone and posterior part of the shell recovered from the Pyrenees mountain region in northeastern Spain in 2016 and 2021, and determined the turtle was about 12 feet long (just smaller than the average sedan ), according to a news release on the study.

A hiker traversing the Pyrenees in 2016 stumbled upon part of the fossil. He called the local authorities who recovered the fossil and transferred it to a local museum, where it sat for years until 2021, according to Albert Sellés, a researcher with the university’s Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology.

That’s when researchers decided to examine the fossil further, Sellés said.

Paleontologists returned to the site where the fossil was found in early 2021 and unearthed another piece of the fossil, according to Sellés.

Sellés, who co-authored the study, said the team began comparing newly discovered remains to other giant ancient sea turtles in the fossil record like Archelon and Protostega , both of which roamed the waters near North America and were the best potential matches. But the fossils had distinct features. Its shell was different, as was its pelvis.

“That’s when we realized that what we had before us was something different,” Sellés told USA TODAY Tuesday.

An ancient treasure trove: Looking back at the King Tut tomb discovery 100 years later

The newly discovered turtle is slightly smaller than the extinct Archelon. The world’s largest known prehistoric sea turtle, Archelon could grow to be up to 15 feet long and weigh as much as 3.5 tons, according to the news release.

Still, they were looking at the largest turtle ever found in Europe, Sellés said. The new species, Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, lived 72.1 to 83.6 million years ago during the Campanian Age, when much of modern-day Europe was underwater, the researcher say.

Sellés and his colleagues could glean relatively little about the giant turtle’s lifestyle with such incomplete remains. But they were able to identify some quirks in its physiology.

The pelvis, for example, has two protruding sections that Sellés hypothesizes could have allowed the turtle to compress its stomach area to expel air from its body and descend into deeper waters.

Hairy snail?: An ancient hairy snail was discovered in 99-million-year-old amber from the Mesozoic era

Leviathanochelys aenigmatica’s very existence also complicates previous understanding about the evolution of large sea turtles because it shows other species of ancient sea turtle could achieve a massive size.

“The evolution of turtles’ sizes is more complex than what he had thought up to this point,” Sellés said. “It was always thought that large sea turtles belonged to the Archelon and Protostega groups. Now it doesn’t seem so.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Massive ancient sea turtle discovered in Spain was nearly the size of a car, researchers say

This plant was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in a crater on Hawaii

A rare plant thought to be extinct in the wild has been discovered in a crater on Hawaii.

The tiny population of Delissea argutidentata was discovered in March 2021, according to a joint news release from Kamehameha Schools, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and nonprofit Three Mountains Alliance published on Monday.

Three separate Delissa plants were found in a crater on land owned by the school system on Hawaii Island, the release noted. The exact location where the extremely rare plants were found is being kept private to protect the species. A protective fence was also installed to keep them safe.

The newly-discovered plants are already being used to help replenish their species, according to the release. Seeds were retrieved from the three plants in the crater, which grew into 30 seedlings.

The school system’s natural resources manager Amber Nāmaka Whitehead called the discovery “the first step toward a much bigger focus on rare species recovery,” in the release.

“We need both: healthy native ecosystems and…

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World’s Oldest Complete Star Map, Lost for Millennia, Found Inside Medieval Manuscript

Scholars may have just discovered a fragment of the world’s oldest complete star map.

The map segment, which was found beneath the text on a sheet of medieval parchment, is thought to be a copy of the long-lost star catalog of the second century B.C. Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who made the earliest known attempt to chart the entire night sky. The fragment was concealed beneath nine leaves, or folios, of the religious Codex Climaci Rescriptus at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The codex is a palimpsest, meaning the original writings have been scraped from their parchment to make way for a collection of Christian Palestinian Aramaic texts telling stories from the Old and New Testaments. The researchers thought that even earlier Christian texts were buried beneath the pages, but multispectral imaging revealed something more surprising: numbers stating, in degrees, the length and width of the constellation Corona Borealis and coordinates for the stars located at its farthest corners. The researchers published their findings Oct. 18 in the Journal for the History of Astronomy .

“I was very excited from the beginning,” study lead researcher Victor Gysembergh , a science historian at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, told Nature . “It was immediately clear we had star coordinates.”

The researchers’ excitement grew when the precise coordinates enabled them to estimate the date when the coordinates were written down — roughly 129 B.C. when…

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The Many Titles of Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty The Queen, since her birth in 1926, has been granted the use of numerous official and unofficial titles and styles befitting her position as a child of a royal Duke, the heir presumptive to the throne, the spouse of a royal Duke and as Sovereign. Although The Queen is known as, simply ‘The Queen’ or ‘Elizabeth II’ by her subjects, this is an oversimplified version of her royal title.

In the United Kingdom, the Queen is officially titled ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’, with the style of ‘Majesty’. This title was altered in 1953 in order to reflect more clearly the relations of the members of the Commonwealth to one another and of their recognition of the Crown as a symbol of their free association.

Prior to this, as altered following the independence of India in 1947, the title of the Sovereign was ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen, Defender of the Faith’.

In Her Majesty’s other fifteen realms, variations of this title are officially used, reflecting her position as the head of state in these countries. These, in most cases, follow the style of ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of [name of the Commonwealth Realm] and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth’, which applies to most of her other realms.

In the realms of Canada and Granada, Her Majesty’s title denotes her position as Queen of the United Kingdom; in Canada, the title is ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’. In Grenada, her title is ‘… Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Grenada and Her other Realms and Territories…’. New Zealand follows a similar way of referring to the Queen, but include the title ‘Defender of the Faith’.

As well as these official titles, there are many unofficial titles that the Queen has been granted. Her Majesty The Queen was awarded the title ‘Mother of all People’ by the Salish nation in Canada. In Jamaica, Her Majesty is unofficially known in Jamaican Patois as ‘Missis Queen’ or ‘The Queen Lady’. In New Zealand, The Queen is unofficially known as ‘the White Heron’ by the Maori people, a cherished bird rarely seen in New Zealand.

In addition to these affectionate titles, Her Majesty The Queen is also known by various historic but informal titles. In the Channel Islands, consisting of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and their dependencies, The Queen is known as the Duke of Normandy. This title reflects the fact that these islands had been part of the Duchy of Normandy since the 10th century. However, The Queen reigns as Queen and is also referred to as ‘The Crown in Right of Jersey/Guernsey’, although sometimes referred to as ‘The Queen, Our Duke’.

From 2010, The Queen has been called ‘Queen of Gibraltar’ in a semi-official way. This title appeared on a Gibraltarian £5 coin and now appears on Gibraltarian and British government documents in reference to The Queen as Sovereign in Gibraltar. However, as a British Overseas Territory, the Rock does not enjoy this as an official title in the same way that the Commonwealth Realms enjoy differing titles.

Even though Fiji abolished their monarchy in 1987, The Queen was still known, unofficially, as ‘Tui Viti’ which translates as ‘Paramount Chief’. The Great Council of Chiefs, a constitutional body disbanded in 2012, recognised The Queen as being the incumbent holder of these titles, although these titles were not recognised by the Fijian government.

For republicans, the unofficial address of ‘Mrs. Windsor’ has entered into circulation as a pejorative title to demonstrate discontent towards the existence of the monarchy. However, this title is not one that will be received with disdain from some and disregard by many.

From royalcentral.co.uk

1.2 billion-year-old groundwater is some of the oldest on Earth

Groundwater that was recently discovered deep underground in a mine in South Africa is estimated to be 1.2 billion years old. Researchers suspect that the groundwater is some of the oldest on the planet, and its chemical interactions with the surrounding rock could offer new insights about energy production and storage in Earth’s crust.

In fact, Oliver Warr, a research associate in the department of Earth sciences at the University of Toronto in Canada and lead author of a new study about the groundwater discovery, described the location in a statement as a “Pandora’s box of helium-and-hydrogen-producing power.”

 

The South African groundwater was also enriched in the highest concentration of radiogenic products — elements produced by radioactivity — yet discovered in fluids, according to the study, demonstrating that ancient groundwater sites may one day potentially serve as energy sources.

The gold and uranium mine, known as Moab Khotsong, sits about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Johannesburg and is home to one of the world’s deepest mine shafts, plunging to depths of 1.86 miles (3 km) below the surface at its deepest, according to the mine (opens in new tab).

The new find follows the prior discovery of approximately 1.8 billion-year-old groundwater made during a 2013 research expedition (also led by Warr). That finding occurred at Kidd Creek Mine in Ontario, which lies beneath the Canadian Shield, a geologic structure comprised of igneous 

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The Earth is Rotating Faster

On June 29, 2022, something extraordinary happened to the rate of spin of planet Earth. However, it probably had such a minuscule impact on your life that you can be forgiven for not even noticing.

Believe it or not, but you actually gained an extra 1.59 milliseconds to your day. We hope you spent it wisely!

According to TimeAndDate.com, on that day, our planet, as far as scientists can tell, set a new record for the quickest time to complete one rotation.

But what? Isn’t the Earth’s day exactly 24 hours? Actually, no, well, not quite.

The first thing to note is that there are actually “kinds” of days, depending on your definition.

The first, a solar day, is a period of 24 hours during which the Earth rotates so that the Sun appears at the same location in the sky. However, a sidereal day, which is defined as 23 hours, 56 minutes, and …

 Earth is suddenly rotating faster and the shortest day just recorded

Public Service Announcement – Security flaws in a popular GPS tracker are exposing a million vehicle locations

Security vulnerabilities in a popular Chinese-built GPS vehicle tracker can be easily exploited to track and remotely cut the engines of at least a million vehicles around the world, according to new research. Worse, the company that makes the GPS trackers has made no effort to fix them.

Cybersecurity startup BitSight said it found six vulnerabilities in the MV720, a hardwired GPS tracker built by MiCODUS, a Shenzhen-based electronics maker, which claims more than 1.5 million GPS trackers in use today across more than 420,000 customers worldwide, including companies with fleets of vehicles, law enforcement agencies, militaries and national governments. BitSight said in its report that it also found the GPS trackers used by Fortune 50 companies and a nuclear power plant operator.

But the security flaws can be easily and remotely exploited to track any vehicle in real time, access past routes and cut the engines of vehicles in motion.

Security vulnerabilities in a popular Chinese-built GPS vehicle tracker can be easily exploited to track and remotely cut the engines of at least a million vehicles around the world, according to new research. Worse, the company that makes the GPS trackers has made no effort to fix them.

Cybersecurity startup BitSight said it found six vulnerabilities in the MV720, a hardwired GPS tracker built by MiCODUS, a Shenzhen-based electronics maker, which claims more than 1.5 million GPS trackers in use today across more than 420,000 customers worldwide, including companies with fleets of vehicles, law enforcement agencies, militaries and national governments. BitSight said in its report that it also found the GPS trackers used by Fortune 50 companies and a nuclear power plant operator.

But the security flaws can be easily and remotely exploited to track any vehicle in real time, access past routes and cut the engines of vehicles in motion.

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In Case You Missed the Lunar Eclipse on May 15 Nothern Hemisphere/16 Southern Hemisphere

What You Need to Know about the Lunar Eclipse

The Moon moves right to left, passing through the penumbra and umbra, leaving in its wake an eclipse diagram with the times at various stages of the eclipse. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon is within the umbra, it will turn a reddish hue. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called “Blood Moons” because of this phenomenon.

How can I observe the eclipse?

You don’t need any special equipment to observe a lunar eclipse, although binoculars or a telescope will enhance the view and the red color. A dark environment away from bright lights makes for the best viewing conditions.

The eastern half of the United States and all of South America will have the opportunity to see every stage of the lunar eclipse. Totality will be visible in much of Africa, western Europe, Central and South America, and most of North America.

Click here for more information about Lunar Eclipse from NASA – May 2022

Live Video of the Total Lunar Eclipse – May 15/16, 2022 (unhosted)

Black hole at the center of our Galaxy imaged for the first time

The second-ever direct image of a black hole — Sagittarius A*, at the centre of the Milky Way.Credit: Event Horizon Telescope collaboration

The Event Horizon Telescope network has captured the second-ever direct image of a black hole — called Sagittarius A* — at the center of the Milky Way.

Radio astronomers have imaged the super massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. It is only the second-ever direct image of a black hole, after the same team unveiled a historic picture of a more distant black hole in 2019.

The long-awaited results, presented today by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, show an image reminiscent of the earlier one, with a ring of radiation surrounding a darker disk of precisely the size that was predicted from indirect observations and from Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity.

“Today, right this moment, we have direct evidence that this object is a black hole,” said astrophysicist Sara Issaoun of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at a press conference in Garching, Germany.

“We’ve been working on this for so long, every once and a while you have to pinch yourself and remember that this is the black hole at the centre of our Universe,” said computational-imaging researcher and former EHT team member Katie Bouman at a press conference in Washington, DC. “I mean, what’s more cool than seeing the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way?”

Black-hole observations …

Click here to read the rest of this article about the Milk Way’s Black Hole

Giant sinkhole with a forest inside found in China

I found this article to be interesting and informative.

Species unknown to science could be hiding in this gaping hole. A team of Chinese scientists has discovered a giant new sinkhole with a forest at its bottom.

I found this on NewsBreak: Giant sinkhole with a forest inside found in China https://share.newsbreak.com/11zjnnrz

Printable – May 2022 Northern Hemisphere Gardening/Planting Moon Calendar

May 2022 – Gardening by the Moon, Biodynamic Planting Guide

From Astro-Seek.com

Please read this first:

1) Moon Phase x Moon Zodiac Sign:

Please keep in mind, that Gardening by Moon Phase and Gardening by Moon Zodiac Sign are two different/independent biodynamic systems and they might give you different or contradictiory gardening recommendations.

  • a) Each Moon Phase (except Full Moon and New Moon) lasts about 1 week
  • b) Each Moon Zodiac Sign lasts about 2.5 days

Try to experiment with these two systems to find which recommendations suits you the most.

2) Tropical (Astrological) x Sidereal (Astronomical) Zodiac:
(1-2 days difference in Leaf, Fruit, Root and Flower days)

There are two different zodiacs for determining the Moon Sign:

  • a) Tropical zodiac (Astrological) is based on the seasons – Vernal Equinox is fixed as 0° Aries (The 1st Fruit day)
  • b) Sidereal zodiac (Astronomical) takes into account Precession of Equinoxes and shifts 0° Aries back by cca 1-2 days. Maria Thun who was an authority on biodynamics was using this Sidereal zodiac

Try to experiment also with these two zodiac systems to find which system suits you better.

MAY

2022

 Moon Phase Gardening by the
Moon Phase		 Gardening by the
Moon Zodiac Sign

Tropical Zodiac (by Seasons)
Sidereal Zodiac (Maria Thun)
May 1
Sun		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
fruit Days
AriesAries

until 23:13
root Days
from 23:13

TaurusTaurus
May 2
Mon		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
TaurusTaurus
May 3
Tue		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
TaurusTaurus
May 4
Wed		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
TaurusTaurus

until 11:15
flower Days
from 11:15

GeminiGemini
May 5
Thu		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
flower Days
GeminiGemini
May 6
Fri		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
flower Days
GeminiGemini
May 7
Sat		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
flower Days
GeminiGemini

until 00:04
leaf Days
from 00:04

CancerCancer
May 8
Sun		 First Quarter Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
leaf Days
CancerCancer
May 9
Mon

MoonOppositionSaturn

 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)

Spraying days: Moon Opposition Saturn
leaf Days
CancerCancer

until 11:37
fruit Days
from 11:37

LeoLeo
May 10
Tue		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
fruit Days
LeoLeo
May 11
Wed		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
fruit Days
LeoLeo

until 20:02
root Days
from 20:02

VirgoVirgo
May 12
Thu		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
VirgoVirgo
May 13
Fri		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
VirgoVirgo
May 14
Sat		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers
Optimum planting day (2 days before the Full Moon)

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
VirgoVirgo

until 00:42
flower Days
from 00:42

LibraLibra
May 15
Sun		 Waxing Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Fruit plants
also Cereals and Flowers
Optimum planting day (2 days before the Full Moon)

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
flower Days
LibraLibra
May 16
Mon		 FULL MOON
at 04:13		 Time to rest, celebrate and meditate

Pick medicinal herbs and plants
flower Days
LibraLibra

until 02:23
leaf Days
from 02:23

ScorpioScorpio
May 17
Tue		 Waning Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
leaf Days
ScorpioScorpio
May 18
Wed		 Waning Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
leaf Days
ScorpioScorpio

until 02:39
fruit Days
from 02:39

SagittariusSagittarius
May 19
Thu		 Waning Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
fruit Days
SagittariusSagittarius
May 20
Fri		 Waning Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
fruit Days
SagittariusSagittarius

until 03:15
root Days
from 03:15

CapricornCapricorn
May 21
Sat		 Waning Gibbous Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
root Days
CapricornCapricorn
May 22
Sun		 Last Quarter Sow/Plant:
Below ground plants, especially Root plants
Plant trees, shrubs and perennials

– Harvest all crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
root Days
CapricornCapricorn

until 05:42
flower Days
from 05:42

AquariusAquarius
May 23
Mon		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
flower Days
AquariusAquarius
May 24
Tue		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
flower Days
AquariusAquarius

until 10:56
leaf Days
from 10:56

PiscesPisces
May 25
Wed		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
leaf Days
PiscesPisces
May 26
Thu		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
leaf Days
PiscesPisces

until 19:08
fruit Days
from 19:08

AriesAries
May 27
Fri		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
fruit Days
AriesAries
May 28
Sat		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
fruit Days
AriesAries
May 29
Sun		 Waning Crescent Barren phase:
Time to rest. Avoid seed sowing

– Harvest and store crops
– Fertilize, Transplant
– Destroy weed
– Mow lawns & Prune (to reduce growth)
fruit Days
AriesAries

until 05:45
root Days
from 05:45

TaurusTaurus
May 30
Mon		 NEW MOON
at 11:30		 Time to rest, celebrate and meditate
root Days
TaurusTaurus
May 31
Tue		 Waxing Crescent Sow/Plant:
Above ground annuals, especially Leaf plants
also Cereals, Herbs, Cucumbers

– Mow lawns (to increase growth)
– Graft & Prune (to increase growth)
root Days
TaurusTaurus

until 17:59
flower Days
from 17:59

GeminiGemini

Gardening by the Moon Zodiac Sign (Element) – Legend

Biodynamic Calendar – Icon Legend
Leaf Days Leaf days (Water Element)

  • It is the appropriate time to sow, transplant and cultivate plants from which the intention is to use Leaves and Stems.
  • Ex: Cabbage, Salads, Lettuce, Spinach, Green onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Celeriac.
  • Leaf plants should be harvested in Flower days (or Fruit days).
  • Harvesting in Leaf days is not recommended (products start decomposing in a shorter time).
  • Beekeeping: Working with the hive is not recommended in Leaf days.
Fruit Days Fruit days (Fire Element)

  • It is the appropriate time to sow, transplant and cultivate plants that produce Fruits and Seeds.
  • Ex: Cherry, Strawberry, Tomato, Pea, Bean, Corn, Pumpkin, Nut, Cereal, Courgette.
  • Harvesting in Fruit days allows fruits and seeds to have a better storage quality.
  • Leaf plants should be harvested in Flower days (or Fruit days).
  • Beekeeping: Fruit days stimulate the collection of nectar. Bees are also supposed to be more gentle these days.
Root Days Root days (Earth Element)

  • It is the appropriate time to sow, transplant and cultivate Root plants and Root vegetables.
  • Ex: Carrot, Turnip, but also Potato, Beet-root, Garlic, Onion, Leek.
  • Crop should be stored in Root days.
  • Beekeeping: Bees should be encouraged to build more comb.
Flower Days Flower days (Air Element)

  • It is the appropriate time to sow, transplant, cultivate and harvest Flower plants or herbs used for medicinal purposes.
  • Flowers, if cut in these days, have a more intense scent and endure longer.
  • Leaf plants should be harvested in these Flower days.
  • Beekeeping: Flower days stimulate brood activity and colony development. Bees are also supposed to be more gentle these days.

Gardening by the Moon Phase – Legend
NEW MOON

  • Time to rest, celebrate and meditate.


NEW MOON PHASE

New Moon -» First Quarter (Waxing Crescent)

– Moonlight is increasing

– Strongest gravitational pull

– Soil releases / Earth exhales / Energy draws UP into upper planets

  • Sow/Plant: Above ground Leaf plants, Cereals, Grains, Lawns, Herbs, Cucumbers.
  • Jobs: Graft, Mow lawns & Prune foliage (to increase growth).


FIRST QUARTER PHASE

First Quarter -» Full Moon (Waxing Gibbous)

– Moonlight becomes stronger

– Gravitational pull is a little less now

– Soil releases / Earth exhales / Energy draws UP into upper planets

  • Sow/Plant: Above ground Fruit plants (with “inside seeds” such as Tomatoes, Peppers, Peas and Bean), Cereals, Grains, Lawns and Flowers.
  • Jobs: Graft, Mow lawns & Prune foliage (to increase growth).
  • Planting and Grafting take best if done two days just before the Full Moon.
FULL MOON

  • Time to rest, celebrate and meditate.
  • Pick medicinal herbs and plants.


FULL MOON PHASE

Full Moon -» Last Quarter (Waning Gibbous)

– Moonlight is decreasing

– Gravitational pull is decreasing

– Soil absorbs / Earth inhales / Energy draws DOWN into the Roots

  • Sow/Plant: Below ground Root plants such as Potatoes, Carrots & Onions.
    Plant trees, shrubs, biennials & perennials.
  • Jobs: Harvest all crops, Fertilize, Transplant, Mow lawns & Prune foliage (to reduce growth).


LAST QUARTER PHASE

Last Quarter -» New Moon (Waning Crescent)

– Moonlight has decreased

– Gravitational pull has decreased

– Soil absorbs / Earth inhales / Energy draws DOWN into the Roots

  • Barren phase: Time to rest and prepare for the next New Moon.
  • Jobs: Avoid seed sowing.
  • Jobs: Harvest and store crops, Fertilize, Transplant, Destroy weed, Mow lawns & Prune foliage (to reduce growth).

Moon Opposition Saturn
MoonOppositionSaturn SPRAYING DAYS

  • Spraying Biodynamic preparations out during Moon opposition Saturn increases soil activity.
  • The MoonMoon represents fertility and germination, while SaturnSaturn represents form and strong structure.
  • It is also a perfect time to plant seeds out.

Click here to see the Tropical Zodiac (By Seasons) Calendar from Astro-Seek.com

New swarms of sunspots are so gigantic they could devour Earth whole

I am not sure if I believe this story or not. But with all the activity from our Sun this year who knows.

https://share.newsbreak.com/ww47yiia

Scientists Come Up with Fresh Take on Moon Mystery

A very interesting article about the Moon’s surface and interior many, many millions of years ago.

https://share.newsbreak.com/urkkhkcj

Solar storm could supercharge northern lights as far south as New York | Space

https://www.space.com/solar-storm-northern-lights-april-2022

A 12,000-mile-deep ‘canyon of fire’ has opened on the sun, spitting intense solar wind toward Earth

Filaments of plasma escaped from a fiery canyon that opened on the sun’s surface on Sunday (April 3) releasing powerful streams of magnetized solar wind(opens in new tab) that might bring more auroras to Earth later this week. 

Use this link to read the rest of this important story: https://share.newsbreak.com/tabrv6cu