Quickies: Barrier Busting DJ, Identified Flying Objects, Hacking NASA…

Hey, y’all. It’s officially summer! Well, in the Northern Hemisphere, at least. Happy winter to our Southern Hemisphere friends! That little fact of opposite hemispheres having opposite seasons is helpful when I teach Astronomy 101. It also makes my geographically diverse Instagram feed confusing at times.

Okay, enough chit-chat, we have some news and animals for you…

• “My parents wanted me to marry. I became a DJ.” Puja Seth is challenging gender norms and just having a good time as she works as a DJ in Bangalore. This story caught my eye because of how joyous she looks in the lead photo!
• NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was hacked through a rogue Raspberry Pi. Oops. JPL is fixing this and a number of other cybersecurity issues. Weird place to hack, since so much planetary mission data is public anyway. But I guess it’s bragging rights to “hack NASA.”
• Well preserved 32,000 year old wolf head is uncovered in permafrost. I considered putting this in the cute animal section, but I think it lost its cuteness being a SEVERED WOLF HEAD. Via Muscadine.
• Unidentified flying objects spotted in Kansas City prompts cries of ALIENS! when the National Weather Service is stumped. Except it’s never aliens. They were balloons. Fun to see how the turnaround from spotting, speculation, and identification happens much more quickly in the social media age.

And now for our animal friends…

• This starts off cute but turns into “pee your pants” scary. A polar bear decides that a BBC filmmaker is a boxed lunch. It’s like your dog licking your car windows but terrifying. Via Muscadine.
• BIRBS! via Rhuu
• Today’s featured animal, the pronghorn antelope, is what I thought of when I read about “multi-stomached, headgear-bearing mammals.” The genomes of 44 of these species have recently been released. Not only will this help scientists trace their evolution, the genomes can be used to study bone regeneration and tumor suppression. And yes, it is totally cool to see antelope graze at the Very Large Array. Go visit during the summer weekends to get a tour from a summer student!

Have a suggestion for the Quickies or a cute animal to share? Contact us!