Technology & Innovation — February 6, 2009

There is a Green Comet Gunning For Planet Earth

According to NASA, there is a green comet named Lulin approaching Earth. One astronomer calls it “a green beauty that could become visible to the naked eye any day now.”

Named after the observatory in Taiwan where the discovery-photo was taken, Lulin makes its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 24, according to a NASA release. “Current estimates peg the maximum brightness at 4th or 5th magnitude, which means dark country skies would be required to see it. “No one can say for sure, however, because this appears to be Lulin’s first visit to the inner solar system and its first exposure to intense sunlight.” But surprises are possible!

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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