Wrapping up the week with an eclectic bundle of positive news stories.
Microscopic View
This remarkably detailed image of isolated scales on a Madagascan sunset moth wing is one of the winners of the 2024 Nikon Small World photomicrography contest. Photomicrography involves attaching a camera to a microscope so that the user can take photographs of objects at very high resolutions. British physiologist Richard Hill Norris was one of the first to use it for his studies of blood cells in 1850, and the method has increasingly been highlighted as art since the 1970s. There have been many groundbreaking technological advances in the ensuing decades, particularly with the advent of digital imaging methods.
Rare Sight
A baby greater bamboo lemur clutches its mother, Bijou, at Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire, England. The zoological collection is one of only two worldwide to have bred the critically endangered Madagascan lemur species this year, with the new, as yet unnamed, arrival taking the total number in captivity to 36.
New York Beats Goal
One year ahead of its target, New York just reached 6 gigawatts of distributed solar installed across the state - enough to power over one million homes. Initially slated for 2025, the milestone was laid out in the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims to generate 70 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. The state now sets its course toward reaching its 2030 goal and with plenty another of solar projects already underway, it’s confident it can achieve that target too.
Candy Jeans
Werther’s Original, the candy maker, has introduced a limited-edition pair of jeans, which are equipped with 30 tiny pockets, each designed to hold a single piece of the company’s hard candy caramel. These are definitely jeans where you’re going to want to check the pockets before you throw them in the wash. The company is hosting a sweepstakes to give away 200 pairs to fans. You’ll also get a bag of Werther’s caramels to fill the pockets. The sweepstakes, which can be entered here, is open through Oct. 25 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Winners will be selected on Oct. 28. Entrants only have to provide contact and shipping information.
Moving Sight
The Tower of London is to be illuminated with a light show in memory of those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. The Poppy Fields installation will run from 8-16 November, including Remembrance Day.
Largest Prime Number
In the 17th century, French monk and mathematician Marin Mersenne developed a method to find prime numbers: values that are only divisible by themselves and one. Some examples include two, three, five and seven, and while there are technically an infinite amount of prime numbers, they get significantly harder to identify as they grow larger. Now, Luke Durant, a 36-year-old researcher and former employee of tech giant NVIDIA, has discovered the 52nd Mersenne prime, which also happens to be the largest prime number known to mathematicians. This goliath number, dubbed M136279841, has 41,024,320 decimal digits - beating the previous record by 16 million digits.
“Friday afternoon feels like heaven.” El Fuego
On This Day
25 October 1940: American military officer Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., became the first African American general in the U.S. Army when he was promoted to brigadier general.
Today's Articles
Unlikely Find: A Buddha statue has been found in ancient Egypt - shedding light on the rich trade relationship between Rome and India.
Mood Boosting Video
One Year in 40 Seconds: Images snapped at the same spot in Norway showing changes over 12 months.