Good Morning! 🌞 

Package theft and car break-in’s have to be some of the most annoying and frustrating petty crimes out there. If you feel the same, this video by inventor Mark Rober will put a smile on your face. And it seems like some of those thieves may have actually learned their lesson… 😉 

World News

Massive Solar Flare Event

Last Week, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured a rare spectacle involving four nearly simultaneous solar flares from three separate sunspots and a magnetic filament connecting them. This event, impressive in its scope, may pose risks to satellites, spacecraft, and terrestrial electronic systems.

The sun, though it appears a turbulent inferno, follows a somewhat predictable 11-year cycle of magnetic activity, akin to Earth's seasonal variations. This cycle, still not fully understood by scientists, is on the verge of reaching its peak phase, known as the "solar maximum," later this year.

According to Spaceweather.com, the event is classified as a "super-sympathetic flare." This phenomenon occurs when magnetic loops hidden in the sun's corona trigger simultaneous flares across vast distances. In this instance, despite the hundreds of thousands of miles between them, the flares erupted within minutes of each other, affecting roughly a third of the sun’s surface facing Earth.

Earth-facing events like this means electromagnetic debris from the event could impact our planet, potentially manifesting as brilliant auroras near the poles or disrupting satellite operations and ground-based communication systems like radio and GPS. The effects are usually brief.

Such multi-flare events are rare—the last comparable occurrence, dubbed the Great Eruption, happened in 2010. However, they do point out our modern world's vulnerability to the sun's whims. For instance, a solar storm in 2022 dislodged about 40 Starlink satellites from their orbit.

Pretty awesome I would say, but in a slightly scary way. With the solar maximum coming up, I am sure we will get so many breathtaking images out of it. Particularly with the new advanced solar telescope that was able to take detailed pictures of the sun like never before last year.

Innovation

Thermal Insulating Powder

A Filipino engineer named Dexter De Castro, developed a remarkable thermal insulating powder inspired by NASA's technology. This innovative powder, when applied as a coating or paint, effectively reduces indoor temperatures by a substantial margin, ranging between 30 to 60 percent.

De Castro's inspiration stemmed from the thermal coating utilized on NASA's space shuttles, comprising pre-cracked ceramic tiles enriched with silica, alumina, and nano ceramic particles. He ingeniously adapted this concept to formulate his own insulating powder.

Crafted from a mixture of soil and silica clay or white clay, De Castro's insulating powder offers a cost-effective solution to combat indoor heat. He applied the powder to walls directly exposed to heat and observed a notable reduction in temperature after just two coatings.

Encouraged by these promising results, De Castro's insulating powder was used in various residential projects, earning commendation from satisfied clients. Available for purchase at P1,620 ($32.43) per bucket and P330 ($6.61) per kilogram, the powder presents a more affordable means to enhance indoor comfort.

Culture

A Memorial for the Queen — and Her Beloved Corgis

A seven-foot-tall sculpture of the late Queen Elizabeth II was recently unveiled. The memorial also included some of the queens beloved corgis.

Queen Elizabeth II's affection for her corgis was well-known, a fondness Princess Diana amusingly likened to a "moving carpet" as the dogs followed the queen wherever she went.

This cherished aspect of the late queen's life has now been captured in a bronze statue, unveiled on what would have been her 98th birthday. Created by London-based sculptor Hywel Pratley, the monument stands in a green space outside the library in Oakham, England, located roughly 100 miles north of London.

The unveiling ceremony, held in September 2022 following the queen's death at age 96, attracted various dignitaries. Notably, over 40 corgis, organized by the Welsh Corgi League, attended and participated in a parade to Oakham Castle, as reported by Tatler's Ben Jureidini.

Commissioned by Sarah Furness, the Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, the statue cost £125,000 (about $155,000), funded mainly through donations, according to BBC News’ Samantha Noble. The Rutland County Council has hailed the statue as “the first permanent memorial” to Britain’s "much-loved and longest reigning monarch."

Environment

Giant Raptor Dinosaur Footprint Fossil Found

An apex predator can vary greatly in size, ranging from creatures like the raccoon-sized quolls of Australia to the formidable Bengal tiger. Scientists have gained valuable insight from a colossal dinosaur footprint recently unearthed in China.

This footprint isn't remarkable solely due to its size—larger ones have been found before—but because it's the largest fossilized footprint of a raptor ever documented. Discovered in Fujian province, China, it belongs to a new genus named Fujianipus, meaning "foot of Fujian," and its species is yingliangi. This raptor ranks among the largest ever identified, closely approaching the size estimates for Utahraptor.

Raptors, formally known as Deinonychosaurids, entered popular culture with the release of Jurassic Park in 1993. Despite being portrayed as sizable predators in the film, real raptors were typically small in stature.

Scott Persons, an assistant professor of paleontology at the College of Charleston and a member of the research team, explained, "Raptors excelled at being small. As predators the size of house cats or coyotes, they thrived globally for millions of years."

The track was discovered in an area spanning about 17,000 square feet in Fujian, containing over 240 identifiable dinosaur tracks. These tracks likely formed as dinosaurs traversed mud near a riverside.

Lida Xing, a Chinese paleontologist leading the project, noted, "Raptor tracks are distinctive, but these are unlike any previously found."

Raptor tracks typically display only two toe imprints because the middle digit sported a long curved talon, which the animal raised above the ground to avoid damage.

Measuring 14 inches from claw to heel, the five imprints suggest that Fujianipus stood around 6 feet tall at the hip and was approximately 16 feet long, more than double the length of the average velociraptor.

Additionally, based on the toe proportions, researchers believe this animal was a troodontid, a small, relatively intelligent, feathered hunting theropod from the Late Cretaceous period.

While many raptors remained small, Fujianipus evolved to be significantly larger, likely occupying a niche as a large, swift predator in its ecosystem.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

There is a 3-digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
Add “G” to One=Gone

Eugene Hostetler got the answer first!

I saw some other answers that said to put an “n” at the front to make it “None”. Those are close enough that we will count those as correct answers too.

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.