Short Takes – 2-26-24

Japan Moon lander revives after lunar night. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “It [JAXA] said that communications were "terminated after a short time, as it was still lunar midday and the temperature of the communication equipment was very high."”

Guest comment: Deja vu, all over again. ProgressiveRailroading.com commentary. By Robert Primus, STB Boardmember. Pull quote: “They ‘unnamed activist investors’ say they want to move forward but have chosen individuals who have strong ties to PSR. If they succeed in returning the company to the old slash-and-burn strategy, recent history may repeat itself in unfortunate ways. Doing so would also invite additional scrutiny from Congress and federal regulators, who may prefer to increase regulatory intervention rather than watch the same story play out again.”

What the Pentagon has learned from two years of war in Ukraine. WashingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: “The war remains an active and bountiful research opportunity for American military planners as they look to the future, officials say. A classified year-long study on the lessons learned from both sides of the bloody campaign will help inform the next National Defense Strategy, a sweeping document that aligns the Pentagon’s myriad priorities. The 20 officers who led the project examined five areas: ground maneuver, air power, information warfare, sustaining and growing forces and long range fire capability.”

Stunning Comet Could Photobomb This April’s Total Solar Eclipse. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “And Comet 12P will make its closest approach to the sun on April 21—less than two weeks after the total solar eclipse. The timing means that the comet will appear about 25 degrees away from the sun during totality. (Your clenched fist held at arm’s length can be used to measure about 10 degrees across in the sky.)”

Science Fiction Meets Reality: New Technique Overcome Obstructed Views. HomelandSecurityNewswire.com article. Pull quote: “As published in Nature Communications, Czajkowski and Murray-Bruce’s research is the first-of-its-kind to successfully reconstruct a hidden scene in 3D using an ordinary digital camera. The algorithm works by using information from the photo of faint shadows cast on nearby surfaces to create a high-quality reconstruction of the scene. While it is more technical for the average person, it could have broad applications.”