11x11 (12. 724)

out damn spot: the attempted erasure of a Banksy mural shows one cannot scrub away complicity in genocide  

free return trajectory: acting NASA administrator faces the space press on getting intriguing rock samples from Mars to Earth for further study 

canonically accurate: Spirit Halloween corrects the spelling on their Betelgeuse prop sign—see previously here and here 

jawsome: the promotional hyping of some thing as “awe dropping” connotes rather the opposite for me     

maternity ward: track new website launches by category in real-time—a lot of click-bait landing sites being cloned badly by AI but some genuine births as well—via Web Curios  

goodbye computer: a sad little send off from April Clucks about a machine she adored until they became unlovable

me＇te.o.ra: ambient music generated by local weather conditions—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest, which also features a defence of the em-dash 

midway: the aesthetics of arcade game marquees 

cornutam: Moses’ depiction in art as having horns is a mistranslation from the Vulgate perpetuated by centuries of tradition

an asymmetrical curiosity: physicists construct a tangible demonstration of time-crystals  

what sophistry is this: at the advice of legal counsel, Jezebel pulls an article from early in the week about hiring some Etsy witches to curse a right wing influencers and conservative activist—see previously, see also

eighty-nine seconds til midnight (12. 361)

Via the New Shelton wet/dry, we are directed to this scrolly-telling essay (in the style of the artists from the sadly former Nib, from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (previously) blog entitled “Mars Attacks” about how Elon Musk’s and his colonial aspirations for the Red Planet, as a part of a general aversion towards rules, could transform into a flagrant violation of the Outer Space Treaty, which far from a relic of the Cold War has served to preserve humankind here on Earth by preventing weaponisation of the higher ground and includes liability rules for damage caused by spacecraft, the safe return of fallen astronauts, an international rocket registry and the prohibition of projecting national sovereignty or claiming domain. Surely it is the intent of Muskovite Martians to proclaim their independence from terrestrial entanglements, however that first Virginia Dare might be reliant on Earth-based resources and wealth, and even if the flag nation does nothing to stop this assertion, other signatories will, launching a new geopolitical conflict over extraterrestrial claims.

a sunken dream (11. 763)

Poring through volumes of data taken over the course of four years when the Insight Lander touched down on the surface of the arid Red Planet back in 2018 shows on further analysis of the seismic survey that there are reservoirs of liquid water deep within the rocky outer crust of Mars. Studying the little quakes measured by the probe reveals the signature of significant pockets as it passes through various strata. Whilst there is ice at the poles and evidence of vapour in the thin atmosphere, none in liquid form had heretofore been detected outside of Earth, which too has vast subterranean aquifers. Buried some ten kilometres deep, researchers can extrapolate from Insight’s readings, which were limited to the depths directly beneath it, that there is potential enough water to form a surface ocean extending almost a kilometre down.  This discovery also may hint at possible life on Mars subsurface.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: La Linea (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: a chapel of the Seven Sleepers, Male Fantasies plus never-before-seen photographs of David Bowie

ten years ago: Marie Curie goes to war

eleven years ago: insightful maps plus the etymology of drug names

twelve years ago: a look back at Peenemünde plus a lily in a glass

radio silence (11. 189)

Weird Universe points us to an event that took place in mid-August 1924 in the US that reminds us this other potential coordinated effort to make astronomical observations more successful and reminds how from the earliest days of the communication medium, forerunners like Guglielmo Marconi, Lord Kelvin and Nikola Tesla believed that radio transmissions could be exchanged with extraterrestrial civilisations, the existence of intelligent life on Mars being widely accepted. With the Red Planet approaching its closest point to the Earth for nearly eight decades, scientists at the Naval Observatory used a blimp to lift a “radio-camera” to an altitude of three kilometres and arranging with broadcasters along the eastern seaboard to observe an hourly five-minutes’ cessation of transmissions in order to eliminate interference from terrestrial sources and increase the chance of intercepting a message from Martians. Military cryptologists were on stand-by to decipher any alien signals.

synchronoptica

one year ago:  assorted links to revisit plus Last Christmas

two years ago: Gingerbread Dreamhouses, artist Brad Holland plus more links to enjoy

three years ago: more links worth the revisit, Esperanto Day plus Trivial Pursuit

four years ago: more links, the Nobel banquet plus Lisztomania (1975)

five years ago: even more links, the mythos of Zermatism, Wort des Jahres plus early Home Office

terraforming (11. 125)

Via Good Internet, we learn that AI-powered robot chemist, analysing Martian meteorites as a proxy for available materials in-situ (see previously) the Red Planet, has devised an efficient method for splitting the abundant reserves of water ice into its components—hydrogen and oxygen not only for air for potential human explorers to breathe but also for fuel—by trialing millions of molecular compounds (metallic ores bonded with those component elements are normally inert) apparently readily present in the Martian terrain to find the best catalyst to set off the reaction with the least need for extra energy to trigger the reaction and least effort of extraction. Though accomplished without human-intervention—drawing on the sum of human learning—the proposal would still need to be vetted by scientists for unintended consequences or biases for Earth gravity and weather. If proven safe and effective, maybe as an encore, the robot chemist could come up with the best way to capture and store carbon back home.

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Mouse and his Child (1977), the first book printed in English (1477) plus assorted links to revisit

two years ago: bias in photo developing, the consecration of Old and New St Peter’s plus not all symbols are universal

three years ago: your daily demon: Haagenti, more medieval remixes, a Star Trek TOS fashion show plus the origin of the asterisk

four years ago: the Triadic Ballet reprised, Super Robot manga, separating texting from emails plus the Rabbrexit tapestry

five years ago: exterior walls of Japan plus a 1950s scrapbook of Moscow

ask sherloc (10. 878)

Whilst not definitive proof of past life in the form of preserved or residual biological matter, exploring the Martian Jezero crater the Perseverance rover has detected organic molecules, gaining insights about the Red Planet’s carbon cycles and the potential to host life as we know it—utilising its deep ultraviolet laser instrumentation with the title acronym for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals. The non-uniformity of these deposits—which will be sampled and hopefully returned to Earth for further study in 2030, suggests that different catalysts were in action to synthesise or metabolise these chemicals over time, preserving them under distinct conditions, possibly consistent with biological processes.  Learn more at the links above.

synchronoptica 

one year ago: a Brian Adams power ballad (1991) plus a summer research project on artificial intelligence from 1956

two years ago:  your daily demon: Aim, plus more adventures in Sweden as we drive to the Glass Realm

three years ago: assorted links to revisit plus a review of audio recording and playback formats

four years ago: remixed Gregorian chants, assorted links worth revisiting, Manhattanhenge plus artist Judith Jans Leyster

five years ago: White House recording device revealed (1973), Karlheinz Stockhausen’s musical zodiac, Trump Baby, the book cover art of Manuja Waldia plus reimagined propaganda for the current state of civil discourse

ascraeus chasmata (10. 740)

Although less well known than Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the Solar System (at least by some measures), there are other enormous shield formations on the Red Planet, including the 18 kilometre high Ascraeus Mons—named in 1973 for the rustic birthplace of Greek poet Hesiod, which has yielded recently some rather amazing imagery of its terrain to Mars Express of “sinuous rilles,” features thought to be collapsed lava tubes. Not only towering by terrestrial standards, the gently sloping flanks cover a huge area, a footprint roughly the size of Romania or the state of Arizona. More from Universe Today at the link above.

wilson! (10. 689)

Carrying around this steadfast hitchhiker for the past odd four hundred sols—some three-quarters of a Martian year—and over a distance of ten kilometres the rim of ones of its wheels, the rover’s monitoring team has reported that Perseverance (previously) has lost his companion, affectionately followed by the engineers as its Pet Rock, noticing its absence overnight, finally dislodged.

a rapid unscheduled disassembly (10. 686)

After action reports reveal that the cause of the explosion of the uncrewed test flight from an aerodrome in Texas, Star base on the Gulf of México, of the SpaceX Super Heavy reusable booster rocket was the triggering of a safety mechanism that caused the launch to abort. What was scheduled to be a sub-orbital trial on 4/20 (get it?) was one of the preliminary blast-offs of the largest and most powerful rocket made, surpassing in size and thrust both those designed for the first and return voyages to the Moon, Saturn and Artemis, that its makers believe will one day enable a journey to Mars and back.  The original flight-plan was for the rocket to fly over Florida and make a hard splashdown in the Pacific Ocean just off of the Hawaiian archepalgo, nearly circumnavigating the globe.

7x7 (10. 512)

nothing, forever: an endless AI generated episode of Seinfeld, livestreamed—via Waxy 

construction spree: an annual survey of China’s Ugliest Buildings  

fictive flyover: still photographs of the Red Planet captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter transformed into a stunning video  

word of the day: eleemosynary—that which is supported by charity—and gives us the derived term alms  

he gets us: the billion dollar rebranding of Jesus—mostly financed through dark money, via Super Punch  

35f no pmh, p/w cp: OpenAI gives a correct diagnosis but can’t show its work, fabricating a fake citation for its conclusion—via the new shelton wet/dry  

yeldard: a forgotten British television oddity rediscovered in Paul Bradley

8x8 (10. 466)

mouldiness manifesto: a celebration of the architecture of Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser—see previously here and here 

olympus mons: detailed maps of Martian terrain from the United States Geological Survey 

cobra mist: a tour of the deserted Orford Ness, the UK’s Area 51 

the george santos special: disgraced congressional representative (see previously) has a really specific skill—via Super Punch 

yurt of invincibility: Kazakh community in Ukraine provides warm-banks, accommodations for those without power  

welcome to garbage town: or how three decades of social media urged us to stop talking and start buying things  

portland district: the US Army Corps has a collection of monumental felines with their engineering projects—for those not yet with their 2023 calendars—see previously 

triple aught foundation: revisiting Michael Heizer’s City in the Nevada desert—via Things Magazine

colour-by-number (10. 426)

Among the first detailed satellite views of an extraterrestrial planet came in the form of telemetric data from the Mariner IV probe as it passed over the surface of Mars, but absent a technique to quickly encode and render that information as a picture—for a public eager to confirm or be disabused of the prospect of Little Green Men—mission engineers plotted the imaging data on a grid and buying a set of pastels from a nearby arts and crafts shop (told that their desired shaded chalk was for hardware stores), in preternaturally accurate tones of sienna, umber and buff, and filled in the landscape nearly instantaneously from the point of view of the awaiting, at-home audience—something we take for granted today. More to see from Kottke at the link above.

8x8 (10. 220)

punto di ebollizione: pasta maker introduces ‘passive cooker’ meters 

capricorn one: a thoroughgoing review of a 1977 film about a faked Mars landing  

a shropshire lass: four decades of mushrooming in England and Wales  

friluftsliv: the term for the Danish tradition of unwinding in the wilds popularised by playwright Henrik Ibsen  

perfect for roquefort cheese: all about blue cheeses—see also  

yes sirah: origins and production of wine grape varietals around the globe—via tmn  

wormsign: building a functional Fremen thumper 

hasta la pasta: the Italian influence in Argentinian cuisine

8x8 (10. 174)

on pointe: an Australian ballet company recites an alphabet of foot poses  

detour: experts urge adding a Venus-flyby to first crewed mission to Mars  

suaviter in modo, fortiter in re: the Royal Mail’s Investigative Branch is the oldest recognized crime fighting organisation in the world—via Messy Nessy Chic  

puffling: with blása Icelanders help to reset sea bird chicks internal compass  

bisexual lighting: the story of a strange picture and other Wikipedia articles in need of an illustration—via Super Punch  

only you could be so bold: whilst Putin invades Ukraine, a studio in Kyiv is creating the voice of Darth Vader

asteroid! coming in from the void: ripped from the headlines 

tiptoe: performer dazzles with their bottle-walking routine

7x7 (10. 141)

jezero: Perseverance explores a Martian crater  

lingthusiasm: an interview with xkcd author Randall Munroe on hypothetical questions about language and orthography—via Language Log  

achievement unlocked: a radical redesign for Girl Scout badges—see also  

3½, 5¼: an interview with the last purveyor of floppy disks—via JWZ  

emoticons: more on the IPA, EPA (English Phonotypic Alphabet), Issac Pitman and other champions of spelling reform from Shady Characters  

jazz and cats: the life and surrealistic art of Gertrude Abercrombie  

earth below us: outstanding images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest

8x8 (10. 131)

le milieu du monde: influential Swiss director Alain Tanner has passed away at 92  

zodiaco: we liked these astrological sign matchboxes from José María Cruz Novillo—see previously  

circadian rhythm: an infographic comparing sleeping patterns across the animal kingdom  

landscape, portrait: a relatable, cautionary comic from xkcd  

punching down: US Republican governors ask Joe Biden to be less generous with his student debt forgiveness plan  

moxie: Perseverance’s experimental oxygen generation—via Super Punch 

trap set: chimpanzees in Uganda demonstrate their signature drum-beats, can communicate across great distances 

maître à penser: French New Wave film pioneer Jean-Luc Godard has exited the scene, aged 91

7x7 (10. 098)

nerva i: scrapped space programme with nuclear rockets aimed at a crewed Mars mission  

der anschlag: Anglophone retitling of foreign films—see previously  

xenobots: reframing how we think of epigenetics and gene maps–see also

superposition: a handwashing guide posted in a physics laboratory lavatory–see previously

extended orthography: facilitating digital communication in First Nations’ syllabics—see also  

yāntái delenda est: more Chinglish roundups  

artemis i: the inaugural mission to return the Moon—previously

capricorn one

The 1978 conspiracy thriller by Peter Hyams starring Karen Black, Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Sam Waterston, OJ Simpson, Hal Holbrook and Telly Savalas, considered the most successful independent production of that year, premiered in cinemas on this day and tells the story of an aborted crewed mission to Mars whose members are kidnapped from the launchpad—the life-support systems deemed unfit for purpose—and transported to a film studio, under duress with their families under threat—to complete their journey of exploration in front of the cameras. Fearing another blow to public interest and confidence in the space programme and attendant loss of billions in contracts, NASA administrators force the astronauts to act out their Martian adventure. Unfortunately this plot strengthened and perpetuated the theory that the Moon landing was faked and directed by Stanley Kubrick with The Shining being a veiled confession for his involvement in the deception.

otherworldly

Perfectly embodying the above phrase, the Martian helicopter Ingenuity on a recent survey flight found and documented the wreckage of the landing gear, parachute and buffering shell of the rover Perseverance.  Click to enlarge plus more at the link above.  The photographs and telemetry will inform future missions on how to best protect payloads and optimise equipment.

8x8

song birds: a printed circuit bluejay and other avian friends  

industrials: a leitmotif of edifying vocabulary—see previously—from Futility Closet  

occultation: Perseverance rover captures Mars’ lumpy moon Phobos partially eclipsing the Sun 

infinite tapestry: a generated side-scrolling landscape—via Web Curios  

days of rage: a gallery of activism posters curated by the USC Library system—see previously—via ibīdem  

art bits: an archives of HyperCard stacks (see also)—via Waxy  

ghost in the shell: skeletons in video games  

cheeps and peeps: the rich, melodic syntax of birdsong