Link About It: This Week’s Picks
An underground park for NYC, up-close with the Crab Nebula, why silence is good for you and more in our look around the web
1. Hubble’s Beautiful Close-Up Image of the Crab Nebula
In yet another image and discovery that are difficult to comprehend fully, NASA has delved into the core of Taurus’ Crab Nebula—via the Hubble Telescope—and released an up-close image that shows the left-overs of a supernova. The glistening, colorful picture shows a neutron star in the middle of the nebula that’s “about the same mass as the sun but compressed into an incredibly dense sphere that is only a few miles across” which means that as it spins (30 times a second) it shoots out beams of light. Find out more about the image on NASA’s website.
2. Nintendo Set to Release Miniature NES
Nintendo (hot on the heels of the enormous success of Pokemon Go) has announced it will be releasing a miniature version of the original classic Nintendo. Complete with 30 games pre-loaded—including Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and a couple Zelda games—the mini NES is small enough to fit in one hand and is sure to give kids and kids at heart plenty of entertainment. Expected to drop in November, the NES will cost $60 and will connect to your TV via a HDMI cable.
3. NYC Officially Approves the Lowline Project
Great news for NYC: city regulators have given the first official approval to build the Lowline, a subterranean park that will exist in the abandoned Williamsburg Bridge Railway terminal in the LES. Similar to the Highline, the park will use a once abandoned public space and fill it with lush greenery, but will also endeavor to be tech-forward—growing plants underground, next to an active subway is no easy feat. While it’s a big step in the right direction after their successful pop-up, there’s plenty more work (and money to be raised) in the future. Read more on The Verge.
4. Fukushima Radiation Zone Photos
Bangkok-based, Malaysian-born photographer Keow Wee Loong says that he recently sneaked past authorities in Fukushima to photograph the ghost city, which was hit by a nuclear meltdown as a result of the devastating tsunami in 2011. Loong’s photos—which are equal parts bleak and fascinating—show a minimart with groceries all over the floor, a pharmacy similarly disheveled, a video store and a laundromat—with clothing still in the washers and dryers. Take a look at some of the images on Mashable.
5. American Museum of Natural History Partners With The Cuban National Museum of Natural History
As America strengthens its ties with Cuba, museums from both are uniting as well. NYC’s American Museum of Natural History and the Cuban National Museum of Natural History recently signed an agreement to deepen their work together. This agreement includes collaborative research and education, as well as exhibitions. The first exhibition, “¡Cuba!,” will take place in NYC this coming November and highlight Cuba’s biodiversity by featuring numerous specimens and even live animals. Additionally, the Cuban Environmental Agency signed the agreement and will play a role.
6. Mapping The London Underground On The Street
Rather than wait in line to enter a crowded tube station, what if one could walk on a colored path that corresponds directly to the train underground and arrive at the next stop? That’s what UK design student Jamie Quantrill proposed at the recent Design & Art Direction Awards, sponsored by Ford. The project, named Streetlines, won the New Blood Award and would offer a visual guide between stops—something that could benefit disoriented tourists and locals alike. Walking is London’s second most popular mode of commuting but most don’t often skip the crowded stops and walk to the next, something Quantrill says will make things so much better—above ground and below.
7. Amazon is Building Treehouses for Employees
Amazon’s Seattle headquarters is on the brink of an impressive new renovation. Outdoing free candy, nap rooms or massages, the corporation is going to offer employees a greenhouse complete with treehouses, an indoor creek and some 3,000 species of plants—many of which are endangered. While the irony of Amazon—who creates a lot of waste and recycling with their packaging—building a greenhouse won’t be lost on many, there’s no denying that it sounds like a true sanctuary for workers to meet up, eat lunch or even have a secret cry in a canopy.
8. Silence is Good for Your Brain
While plenty of people sing the praises of white noise or classical music, silence is actually incredibly important for your brain’s health. From generating new cells to exercising memory and imagination, encouraging self-reflection and relaxation (two minutes of silence proved to be more calming than “relaxing” music or sounds), there’s a lot to be said for the sound of silence. No wonder the very word “noise” comes from a Latin root meaning pain. Read more from Daniel A Gross on Nautilus.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
