[NEWS] Five space science links: Psyche, Proxima Centauri b and c, Voyager and Pioneer, humans

• Evan Gough at Universe Today notes the possibility that the asteroid Psyche, in its hot youth, might have had volcanoes ejecting molten iron.
• Matt Williams at Universe Today notes a new paper suggesting that, on suitable exoplanets orbiting red dwarfs like Proxima Centauri b, their stars produce environments not much more hostile than those suffered by the early Earth.
• Nadia Drake at National Geographic notes the news of the possible discovery of a second exoplanet at Proxima Centauri, c, in a five-year orbit.
• Matt Williams at Universe Today shares a study tracing the paths of the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft over millennia of movement in interstellar space.
• Jason Pontin at WIRED shares the result of a study of twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, noting how space affected Scott Kelly in negative ways. Long-distance human spaceflight is possible, but more work is definitely needed for it to be safe, even survivable.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Anthrodendum recommends design researcher Jan Chipchase’s Field Study Handbook for anthropologists interested in field practice.
• Architectuul investigates strange similarities between buildings built in far-removed parts of the world.
• Centauri Dreams takes a look at TESS, the next generation of exoplanet-hunting satellite.
• Crooked Timber investigates the connections between the spiritualism of the 19th century and the fiction of the uncanny.
• D-Brief notes the many names, often delightful, that newly-discovered locations on Mercury and Charon have received.
• Cody Delistraty investigates two exhibitions of French satirists, including Charlie Hedo’s Georges Wolinski, to examine the nature of satire.
• The Dragon’s Tales considers the possibility of cryomagna leaving marks on the surface of Europa.
• Drew Ex Machina takes a look at the strangely alien skies of TRAPPIST-1e. What would its sun look like? How would the other planets appear?
• The Everyday Sociology Blog takes a look at the new prominence of multigenerational households in the United States. While a response to economic strains, it also looks back to past traditions.
• Hornet Stories notes how, on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Monet X Change gave a decent explanation behind the surprisingly recent birth of the modern British accent.
• Imageo notes how a massive blob of warm water is rising to the surface of the Pacific.
• At In A State of Migration, Lyman Stone explores the unique population history of Maine, to my eyes easily the most Atlantic Canadian of the fifty American states.
• JSTOR Daily links to a paper exploring why modern video games can produce such rewarding experiences for players. (We can get meaning from many places.)
• Language Log takes a look at the complexity of Chinese language classifications with a song by Yishi Band. What exactly is Yibin Sichuanese?
• Lawyers, Guns and Money takes a look at an interesting question: When did Jews in the United States become white?
• The LRB Blog takes a look at the baffling reasons behind the poisoning of the Skribins with Novichok, and the science behind it.
• Marginal Revolution notes that this year, GDP per capita measured at PPP in Spain is higher than in Italy. (This probably says more about the disarray in Italy.)
• The NYR Daily shares an interesting interview with cartoonist Art Spiegelman.
• Personal Reflections’ Jim Belshaw tells of his experiences on a trip to the small Australian city of Armidale, in the region of New England.
• Justin Petrone reflects on the tidy and clean, minimalist even, rural landscape of Estonia.
• Progressive Download’s John Farrell notes brain scans that provide evidence of consciousness even in very young infants.
• Drew Rowsome praises the Toronto production of the musical Fun Home, based on the Alison Bechdel graphic novel. I, for one, can’t wait to see it.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel notes that, although Proxima Centauri is far too active a star for Proxima Centauri b to be Earth-like, that world could still plausibly host life-supporting environments.
• Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy suggests a recent deal at the federal level in the US between Trump and Cory Gardner has created space for states to legalize marijuana without fear of federal intervention.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes that a recent massive flare at Proxima Centauri, one that made the star become a thousand times brighter, not only makes Proxima b unlikely to be habitable but makes it unlikely Proxima has (as some suggested) a big planetary system.
• The Dragon’s Tales notes that South Korea, contrary to earlier reports, is not going to ban cryptocurrency.
• Hornet Stories notes that six American states–Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma–have seen the introduction of legislation replacing marriage with a marriage contract, on account of marriage equality.
• JSTOR Daily reports on the deep similarities and differences between serfdom in Russia and slavery in the United States, both formally abolished in the 1860s.
• Language Hat links to a Telegraph article reporting on the efforts of different people to translate different ancient languages.
• The New APPS Blog notes that, after Delta dropped its discount for NRA members, the pro-NRA governor of Georgia dropped tax breaks for the airline.
• This call for the world to respond to the horrors in Syria, shared at the NYR Daily, is likely to fall on deaf ears.
• At Strange Maps, Frank Jacobs shares some maps showing areas where the United States is truly exceptional.
• Supernova Condensate notes how nested planetary orbits can be used to trace beautiful spirograph patterns.
• Window on Eurasia notes how no one in the Soviet Union in 1991 was prepared to do anything to save the Soviet Union.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes J0045, once thought to be a star in Andromeda and but recognized as a binary black hole a thousand times further away.
• Centauri Dreams notes the longevity of the Voyager mission.
• D-Brief notes that some worms can thrive in a simulacrum of Mars soil.
• The Dragon’s Gaze notes an ambitious effort to try to detect a transit of Proxima Centauri b. Did the researchers pick something up?
• Hornet Stories links to a report suggesting HIV denialism is worryingly common in parts of Russia.
• Language Log reports on an apparently oddly bilingual Chinese/Vietnamese poster. Where did it come from?
• The LRB Blog reports on how Tunisian Anouar Brahem fused jazz with Arabic music on his new album Blue Maqems.
• The Map Room Blog links to a lecture by John Cloud on indigenous contributions to mapmaking in Alaska.
• The NYR Daily looks at the grim position of Theresa May in Brexit negotiations.
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer considers what would have happened if the Americas had not been populated in 1492. How would imperialism and settlement differ?
• Roads and Kingdoms notes some of the architectural legacies–houses, for instance–of Basque settlement in the American West.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel notes three conundrums that neutrinos might be able to solve.
• Window on Eurasia notes why Russia is hostile, despite its program of merging federal units, to the idea of uniting Tatarstan with Bashkortostan.
• Using an interwar map of Imperial Airways routes, Alex Harrowell illustrates how the construction of globalized networks can make relatively marginal areas quite central.

[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• Anthrodendum takes a look at the way community knowledge is now being subject to a privatization.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlyn Kelly starts a discussion about what makes home.
• Bruce Dorminey suggests a pre-Theia, Moon-sized impactor gave the Earth its metal crust.
• The Dragon’s Gaze looks at the current state of knowledge about Proxima b.
• The Dragon’s Tales notes that Russia is apparently testing advanced nuclear weapons.
• The Frailest Thing’s Michael Sacasas considers the religious impulse in so many technophiles’ view of the world.
• Language Hat considers the dynamics associated with learning minority languages in Europe.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money shares a classic traffic safety clip from 1913.
• The LRB Blog mourns the loss of Glen Newey, long-time contributor.
• Lovesick Cyborg notes a NASA study into the economics of a viable space-based solar power project.
• Roads and Kingdoms takes a look at the açorda of Portugal, a bread-based broth that was a long-time food of the poor.
• Cheri Lucas Rowlands celebrates the passage of summer into fall through photos of her vegetable garden.
• Drew Rowsome takes a look at the representation of LGBTQ people on television, and sees much reason for cheer.
• Science Sushi notes that different dolphin groups seem to have different dialects.
• Understanding Society takes a look at Robert Merton’s refinement of social functionalism.
• Window on Eurasia notes that many ethnic Russians in Belarus, as in Ukraine, have shifted identity to that of the titular nation.
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell notes one mistake made about artificial intelligence: it is not automatically more accurate.

[NEWS] Five science links: Uganda coffee, the cetenophore, the Rapanui, Proxima b, Przybylski’s star

• National Geographic reports on how, unchecked, global warming may wreck the coffee industry of Uganda.
• Aeon notes the nervous system of the ctenophore, product of a separate evolutionary process from our own.
• Phys.org describes a recent study suggesting Easter Island was not wrecked by ecocide. (The Rapanui were devastated by others, I would add.)
• Even with an active magnetic field, an Earth-like atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b might be eroded away by flares. Universe Today reports on the climate model making this prediction.
• Does bizarre Przybylski’s star, HD 101065, contain exotic superheavy elements in its atmosphere? New Scientist wonders.

[NEWS] Some Tuesday links

• The CBC notes the consensus that the new Ontario minimum wage will not hurt the economy, overall, but provide a mild boost.
• The Toronto Star notes that, from 2019, analog television broadcasts will start ramping down.
• The Toronto Star notes that high prices in Ontario’s cottage country are causing the market to expand to new areas.
• Gizmodo reports on one study suggesting that Proxima Centauri b does have the potential to support Earth-like climates.
• Gizmodo notes one study speculating on the size of Mars’ vanished oceans.
• Quartz reports on how one community in Alaska and one community in Louisiana are facing serious pressures from climate change and from the political reaction to said.
• CBC notes an oil platform leaving Newfoundland for the oceans.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• James Bow calls for an end to the US-Canada Safe Third Country agreement prohibiting people coming from American soil from claiming refugee status in Canada.
• D-Brief reports on the vast array of man-made minerals appearing in what is now being called the Anthropocene Era of Earth.
• Dangerous Minds notes the efforts of the Disco Preservation Society to preserve DJ mixes from 1980s San Francisco.
• Language Log takes issue with Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s argument that cryptographers, not linguists, would be needed in Arrival.
• The LRB Blog notes impunity for murderers of civil society activists in Honduras.
• Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen talks about Joyce Gladwell’s autobiography Brown Face, Big Master.
• The NYRB Daily celebrates the work of Hercules Segers.
• The Planetary Society Blog is skeptical of the Space X plan to send tourists past the Moon by 2018.
• Supernova Condensate lists 8 things we know about Proxima Centauri b.
• Towleroad reports on new walking tours being offered of gay London.
• Arnold Zwicky engages with a California exhibition comparing paintings with movies.

[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• blogTO notes that a Toronto family known for its Christmas lights display may be forced to ratchet back by city inspectors.
• Centauri Dreams notes the apparent discovery of Kuiper Belt objects around white dwarf WD 1425+540.
• The Dragon’s Gaze links to one paper examining the possible orbital inclination of Proxima Centauri b, and points to another one speculating about upper limits to the masses of other exoplanets orbiting P_roxima Centauri.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money links to interviews with different historians noting how close the United States is to a scenario from 1930s Germany.
• The LRB Blog notes that the actions of the American deep state to undermine elements of the Trump Administration seen as potentially threatening will certainly also undermine American democracy.
• Personal Reflections’ Jim Belshaw looks at reasons for the continuing gap in life outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
• The Power and the Money’s Noel Maurer links to a paper looking at the effect of Huey Long’s populism on Louisiana’s economy, noting that he had little effect on the markets. This suggests that counting on the markets to reign in populists before the crash may be a mistake.
• Strange Maps links to a map and history of the Gagauz of Moldova.
• Torontoist looks at the continuing decline of live music venues in Toronto.
• Towleroad notes the origins of Der Spiegel‘s cover art showing Trump with the severed head of lady liberty in a Cuban exile’s work.
• Window on Eurasia notes differences between how Russians and Americans think about ethnicity and citizenship in their diverse societies.

[BLOG] Some Friday links

• Centauri Dreams notes the sad news that, because of the destructive way in which the stellar activity of young red dwarfs interacts with oxygen molecules in exoplanet atmospheres, Proxima Centauri b is likely not Earth-like.
• Crooked Timber takes issue with the idea of Haidt that conservatives are uniquely interested in the idea of purity.
• D-Brief notes the discovery of an intermediate-mass black hole in the heart of 47 Tucanae.
• The Dragon’s Tales reports on the search for Planet Nine.</li.
• Far Outliers reports on the politics in 1868 of the first US Indian Bureau.
• Imageo maps the depletion of sea ice in the Arctic.
• Language Hat remembers the life of linguist Patricia Crampton.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes some of the potential pitfalls involved with Buy American campaigns (and like political programs in other countries), including broad-based xenophobia.
• The LRB Blog looks at nationalism and identity in their intersections with anti-Muslim sentiment in Québec.
• The Map Room Blog links to an essay on the last unmapped places.
• Torontoist notes the 2017 Toronto budget is not going to support affordable housing.
• Transit Toronto reports on TTC revisions to its schedules owing to shortfalls in equipment, like buses.
• Window on Eurasia claims that Putin needs a successful war in Ukraine to legitimize his rule, just as Nicholas II needed a victory to save Tsarism.