The First Observed Black Hole

Scientists with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) announced on April 10, 2019 that they have obtained the first visual record of a supermassive black hole and its shadow. Utilizing an international network of eight ground-based radio telescopes, a collaborative team of more than 200 researchers captured images of the black hole at the center of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the Virgo galaxy cluster. The black hole is some 55 million light years from Earth and has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. The results of the years-long effort were published in a series of six papers in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, and were announced in a joint NSF/EHT press conference.

NASA Turns Sixty

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began operations on October 1, 1958, and was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act which was signed by President Eisenhower on July 29, 1958. NASA supplanted the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and T. Keith Glennan served as its first administrator. On October 11, 1958, NASA launched its first mission, the Pioneer 1 satellite (note that the first U.S. satellite overall was Explorer 1, launched January 31, 1958). A timeline of NASA's rich and illustrious history can be found at NASA's 60th anniversary website.

UNESCO Statement on the Withdrawal of the United States from Membership

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, delivered on October 12, 2017 a statement of "profound regret" on the decision of the United States to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization effective December 31, 2018. Bakova stated that "Universality is critical to UNESCO’s mission to strengthen international peace and security in the face of hatred and violence, to defend human rights and dignity," and delineated numerous initiatives, collaborations, and projects that have involved the United States, which was one of the original signers of the Constitution of UNESCO on November 16, 1945.

One notable UNESCO program achievement, in 2008, was the designation of Iowa City, Iowa as a UNESCO City of Literature. It was just the third city in the world to be accorded such recognition, and to date is the only such city in the United States. Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature Executive Director John Kenyon, in an article in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, observed that he was personally very disappointed by the withdrawal, and noted that "This decision has not made things better for UNESCO." He also remarked that "UNESCO's ability to better the world was compromised" when the United States ceased paying membership contributions in 2011 under the Obama administration.

A press statement by the U.S. Department of State earlier today indicates that UNESCO was informed, despite the withdrawal, of the United States' ongoing:

. . . desire to remain engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer state in order to contribute U.S. views, perspectives and expertise on some of the important issues undertaken by the organization, including the protection of world heritage, advocating for press freedoms, and promoting scientific collaboration and education.

Meanwhile, the Iowa City Book Festival continues this week with its full slate of activities, including events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the International Writing Program. Festival highlights for today also include the bestowal of the Paul Engle Prize to this year's recipient, Alexander Chee.

It is worth recalling that the Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO begins with the assertion "that since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed." And today that must include the minds of everyone.

Sputnik I Launches the Space Age 60 Years Ago

Euronews recounts in its Legends of Space series the story of the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, Sputnik I (Спутник-1), which was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.

March for Science on Earth Day

The March for Science will be held on Earth Day, April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C. and at several hundred satellite locations throughout the United States and around the world. Thousands of scientists and scientific-minded individuals will be marching in solidarity to support the work of the scientific community and the critical role it plays in formulating sound, evidence-based public policy, particularly in the realms of public health and environmental protection.

The March for Science "champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science," and its stated goals for the upcoming event are to:

humanize science; partner with the public; advocate for open, inclusive, and accessible science; support scientists; and, affirm science as a democratic value. 

Further information about the movement's goals and principles, as well details about local marches, can be found on the March for Science web site. Be there or be square!

Climate of Concern: Shell's 1991 Warning of Global Environmental Damage

In 1991, the multinational oil company Shell released Climate of Concern, an educational video warning of the risks of environmental damage on a global scale due to climate change caused by the increasing consumption of fossil fuels. Confidential reports as early as 1986 document Shell's awareness of the risks of anthropogenic climate change, but the 1991 video has not been widely available (WorldCat shows that it is apparently only held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France). The Correspondent recently acquired a copy, and it can also be viewed at their website.

"Alternative Facts" Are Not Facts

Not only are so-called alternative facts not facts, they are not even alternatives. The Map of the Square and Stationary Earth . . . shown above was published by Prof. Orlando Ferguson of Hot Springs, South Dakota in 1893. He asserts that 400 biblical passages "condemn the Globe Theory, or the Flying Earth, and none sustain it." For 25 cents, Prof. Ferguson offered a book "explaining this square and stationary Earth." He states further that "It knocks the Globe Theory clean out. It will teach you how to foretell eclipses. It is worth its weight in gold."

The Ferguson map was donated to the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress in 2011, and is fully described in the Library's online catalog. High-resolution images of the map are also available for download.