Five Bullets 8.4.23
This week: The Lunar Codex, Sun Bears, An Abandoned House & More
Welcome back to Circles in Space.
If you’re new here, read this.
Good morning and happy Friday. I’d like to welcome a few new subscribers and also to say thanks to my readers! I suppose you enjoy the odd collection of items I post here. I enjoy publishing this newsletter every week and researching topics like nuclear fusion to the New York City draft riots. Today’s newsletter is heavy on science with some audio mixed in.
Today’s bullets:
Art: A time capsule of art named the Lunar Codex is being sent to the moon. The artworks include paintings, writings, and film from over 30,000 artists in 157 countries. The digitized collection will travel to the moon over the course of four NASA missions. The Codex is a “message-in-a-bottle to future generations” of humans to highlight what people really felt about what’s happening now on Earth.
Music: I caught Taureg rock guitarist Mdou Moctar perform at Central Park’s Summerstage last Saturday. In between a series of high-energy tunes, Moctar paused to give an update on the military coup occurring in the band’s home country of Niger. While the situation unfolds, the band is unable to return home and started a gofundme to help with costs.
News: A photo of a sun bear at a Chinese zoo was circulating on social media. People thought the bear was actually a human in costume due to the bear’s posture and skin folds. The skin folds allow the bears to turn around and fight back if a larger animal grabs them. Sun bears can grow to the size of a large dog and are an endangered species from South East Asia.
Science: 505 million year old jellyfish fossils dating back to the Cambrian Period were discovered in Canada. Jellyfish fossils are rare because they are mostly made of water and decompose quickly. They are the oldest known jellyfish fossils and show how little the species has changed over millions of years.
Podcast: This American Life’s House on Loon Lake is part mystery, part oral history. As a kid growing up in Freedom, New Hampshire, Adam Beckman explored an abandoned house and wondered what happened to the family that lived there. Originally aired in 2001, this episode is great podcasting for it’s interviews and reporting.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
Keith
Always enjoy Keith's take on what's happening of interest in our world