OGN Friday

12 hours ago

Celebrating the end of the week with an eclectic bundle of upbeat news stories.

Map of Gulf of Mexico — What would you call it?

MapQuest

While Google and Apple’s mapping services have complied with Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” MapQuest is holding its ground. “Our maps are like grandma’s Thanksgiving recipes - once they’re printed, they’re not changing. The Gulf of Mexico stays put on MapQuest.” To add to the fun and games, it has now given the internet a perfect tool for trolling Trump by launching the Gulf Map Generator, which allows anyone to rename the body of water themselves and then publish the fruits of their imagination on social media.

Encyclopaedia Britannica: First published in 1768, the venerable publication has decided not to follow Trump's edict. But why? And what does it reveal about Trump?

The Last Lost Tomb

Egyptian officials have announced the discovery of the tomb of King Thutmose II, the last of the lost tombs of the kings of ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, which reigned for over two centuries between about 1550 BC and 1292 BC. It's the first royal Egyptian tomb to be discovered since King Tutankhamun's final resting place was found in 1922. A joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission discovered Thutmose II's tomb in the mount of Thebes area, west of Luxor and the renowned Valley of the Kings.

Artist's impression of exoplanet Tylos — Artist's impression of Tylos | Engine House VFX

Planet's Iron Wind

Scientists have reconstructed the insane weather of Tylos, a world so hot, and so close to its sun that the clouds are made of vaporised metal, and where it rains liquid sapphires and rubies. Using the European Space Observatory's telescopes in Chile to look into the planet's atmosphere, they've discovered the fastest atmospheric jet stream ever recorded, made of 'iron winds' that blow faster than the planet rotates. This jet stream can reach speeds of 26.8 km (16.7 miles) per second, reports ScienceAlert. That makes it the fastest atmospheric jet stream ever recorded. "This planet's atmosphere behaves in ways that challenge our understanding of how weather works - not just on Earth, but on all planets," says astrophysicist Julia Victoria Seidel of the European Southern Observatory. "It feels like something out of science fiction."

Test Flight, Literally

A 19-year-old Indian student came up with a novel way get to his exam on time: paragliding to the test centre. Samarth Mahangade, a commerce student in Maharashtra state, didn't notice a change to the exam time until 30 minutes before it was due to start, but a neighbour who runs a paragliding centre came to the rescue, offering him a lift to avoid heavy traffic. "I was hesitant as I had never paraglided before," Mahangade told The Indian Express. After a five-minute flight, he arrived at the test centre just a few minutes late.

Global South Races Ahead

The Global South is deploying renewables twice as fast as the Global North, thanks to record levels of investment and decreasing costs of clean power. Last year, deployment of clean energy sources in the Global South outpaced fossil fuel-based electricity generation seven-fold, a huge shift from a decade ago when it was even, reports RMI.

The Neoliner Origin cargo ship — Credit: RMK Marine

Greener Cargo Ship

In late January, the world's largest wind-powered ship launched in Turkey. The Neoliner Origin is 450 feet long and utilizes 3,000 square meters of sails to haul up to 5,300 tons of freight. It also boasts a massive reduction in emissions relative to comparable fuel-powered ships. By utilizing wind power and slightly reducing the ship's speed, Neoline says "We can cut fuel consumption and therefore emissions by a factor of five compared with a conventional ship." By turning back to an ancient method of seafaring and combining a cutting-edge hybrid diesel-electric engine, this ship is charting a greener era of ocean travel for the cargo industry - which currently accounts for roughly the same global emissions as the aviation industry.

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." Michael Jordan