A long-lost star, discovered by the legendary astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard in 1892, has been astonishingly rediscovered in its original location.
Barnard was not just any astronomer; he made significant contributions to the field, including the discovery of Jupiter’s fifth moon, Amalthea, in 1892—nearly three centuries after Galileo’s initial discoveries. Recently, his observations have gained renewed interest due to a puzzling article he published in 1906, titled “Unexplained Observations.”
On a particular morning, Barnard noted a star near Venus while using his telescope to search for its satellite. He estimated its brightness to be around 7th magnitude on the astronomical scale, where fainter objects bear higher numbers. Typically, under dark skies, stars of magnitude 6 are the faintest visible to the human eye.
Beneath the stars at the Bonner Cathedral, which cataloged all stars brighter than magnitude 9.5, Barnard’s 7th magnitude star was conspicuously absent. Instead, the only celestial body he found nearby was a significantly dimmer 11th magnitude star—about 100 times less bright.
Could it have been a large asteroid? “Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta were elsewhere,” he surmised. Some theorized that the 11th magnitude star he eventually observed in that region might have temporarily brightened. Other scientists speculated that Barnard could have been deceived by a “ghost” image of Venus through the telescope. The mystery lingered until late December 2024 when a dedicated group of astronomers sought to unravel it.
“In a weekly Zoom meeting dubbed ‘Asteroid Lunch,’ I brought it up,” says Tim Hunter.
Hunter, an Arizona-based amateur astronomer and co-founder of the International Dark Sky Association, along with both amateur and professional astronomers, evaluated all previous hypotheses and found flaws in them.
As doubts began to consume the group, Roger Ceragioli, an optical engineer from the University of Arizona, revisited the ghost theory by observing Venus at dawn using a vintage telescope similar to Barnard’s. Much to his surprise, although Venus was not positioned where Barnard had seen it, “the star emerged clearly in my field of view,” he noted. This led him to theorize that the star must be bright enough to be visible at dawn, even though the star map revealed it to be only 8th magnitude and therefore relatively faint.
The group’s conclusive findings suggested that Barnard’s purported 7th magnitude star was indeed the 11th magnitude star noted later—appearing brighter due to the dawn light. Using a 36-inch telescope at the Lick Observatory in California, Barnard first spotted this star alongside Venus, but no equally bright stars were visible in the area.
Understanding Star brightness measurement was a specialized skill in Barnard’s era. It had only been refined by astronomers focusing on variable stars, which Barnard had not formally studied. Thus, his mistake was rather excusable, as Ceragioli suggests.
Hunter affirms Barnard’s legacy remains intact, saying, “We’re all big fans of Barnard. It’s a minor error in an impressive career.”
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While at work, Leila Rivera received a text from her boyfriend: someone on Reddit was searching for her.
In the comments of a post on the r/warpedtour subreddit, attendees of the punk rock and emo music festival were looking for missed connections. Rivera recognized one message that mentioned “Leila/Leila (the short girl in a red top)” as likely being from a guy she had met during the band Sweet Pill’s performance at the Warped Tour in Washington, DC, back in June.
“You tapped my shoulder and asked me to help you surf the crowd,” he wrote. “I attempted to lift you up, but no one nearby offered to help, so I awkwardly had to back off. Honestly, I couldn’t assist after that.”
The poster included his Instagram handle, prompting 29-year-old Rivera, who works in real estate, to reach out. She expressed gratitude for his kind message, despite having a boyfriend. The two quickly became friends over DMs and plan to reunite at next year’s Warped Tour in DC.
“I want to meet up and see if he can launch me into the air again,” Rivera said. “I have a boyfriend, but I’m glad to have a friend in him.”
Navigating the Gen Z-Millennial divide, Rivera didn’t grow up with Craigslist’s missed connections, where seekers reached out to strangers in a quest for contact. For many without the courage, these posts provided voyeuristic entertainment.
Such posts became popular, reminding readers of the random wonder of city life. In 2010, Craigslist estimated that around 8,000 new ads were posted on New York City’s Missed Connections page each week.
I once shared a missed connection on Craigslist live. (My recent post read: “We met at a Rockaway BBQ,” “We locked eyes for what felt like ages on the 86th.”) However, the rise of social media and dating apps has somewhat dulled its cultural relevance. A decade later, young people seem to be reviving these traditions on platforms like Reddit and TikTok.
On Reddit, subreddits like r/warpedtour host “megathreads” for missed connections. Commenters recount their encounters, leaving behind contact info in hopeful anticipation. Similar threads can be found in cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis, as well as at festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella, Electric Forest, and the Berghain club in Berlin (where mobile phones bring an extra dance floor vibe).
“I’m searching for a beautiful woman with striking eyes. [at] Popeyes,” wrote one Redditor from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Meanwhile, someone in Arlington, Virginia searched for the woman he encountered at a bar—while on a date with someone else. In St. Louis, a visitor in a chemotherapy ward observed strangers in the hallway crying together; he still kept her in his thoughts.
Young people claim this practice, in a romantic context, serves as a remedy for dating fatigue and embodies their ultimate urban fantasy. It’s an analog alternative to dating apps reminiscent of classic comedies where characters search hopelessly for love.
“You move to a big city and feel this hope for unexpected encounters and enchanting moments everywhere,” noted Maggie Hertz, DJ and host on New Jersey’s freeform radio station WFMU. Cat Bomb!, a show featuring missed connections from listeners, remains popular. “There’s something incredibly vulnerable about writing a missed connection.”
Hertz admitted that none of the missed connections on her show have led to real-life meetups, which doesn’t detract from the enjoyment.
“My favorite call came at 3 AM,” Hertz recalled. “The caller was excited and nervous—possibly still buzzing from a few drinks. She was at a diner in Brooklyn and mentioned a waiter who told her she resembled Jake Gyllenhaal.”
Recently, Karly Laliberte spotted an attractive guy while leaving Trader Joe’s in Boston’s Seaport area. “He was tall—rare in Boston,” shared Laliberte, 30, who works in sports marketing. “It’s a stereotype we call ‘Short King City.’ In a movie version of the story, I’d cast Jacob Elordi. They walked in the same direction for a few blocks, and I caught myself stealing glances and ‘feeling his gaze.’ I almost said hi but held back, not wanting to interrupt his conversation.”
Laliberte returned home to film a TikTok, urging viewers to help identify the man. “Within hours, it racked up 50,000 views,” she shared. “TikTok lets you tag your city, making local posts easily visible. It felt like the perfect platform to share missed connections.”
Though she never found the man, Laliberte received messages from people suggesting potential matches—some of whom turned out to be guys she had previously dated.
Laliberte has spent years using dating apps but found herself constantly encountering the same people. Frustrated with swiping, she yearns for charming, old-fashioned interactions. “I crave face-to-face connections,” she said. “I long for authentic, less forced relationships. Why not seek out someone who caught your eye outside Trader Joe’s?”
While young adults today may be realizing the value of missed connections, this practice predates even Craigslist. Francesca Beauman, a British historian and author of “Shapely Ankle Aperer’d,” traced its origins back to 1709.
The earliest ad, published in Tatler (now known as Tatler), mentioned “in the 20th incident, a gentleman wishing to thank the woman who helped him down from a boat at Whitehall, wanting to know where he might wait for her.” The woman was instructed to contact Mr. Samuel Reeves. Beauman discovered a marriage record under the same name a year later, though it remains unclear whether the connection led to a wedding.
While evidence suggesting these methods lead to true love may be scarce even 300 years later, people continue to pursue hope. Recently, actor Colman Domingo revealed he met his husband through a missed connections post in 2005 (they made strong eye contact at a Walgreens in Berkeley, California). Although Laliberte didn’t find her tall guy, she expressed her determination to post another missed connection as “100%.”
“We are all hopeless romantics, ever hopeful,” Beauman said. “Reading them is enjoyable. Placing and responding to them is equally entertaining.”
Mars once boasted a sprawling ocean across its surface. Over time, the magnetic field diminished, the atmosphere thinned, and the water vanished. Yet, the total isn’t accounted for. This water must have disappeared somewhere as the red planet transitioned from a watery haven to the dusty landscape we recognize today. So, what happened to it?
A recent study published in National Science Review by researchers from China, Australia, and Italy has uncovered potential vast reservoirs of water located deep beneath the planet’s surface, providing answers about its fate. Unlike the icy reservoirs found elsewhere on Mars, this water is believed to remain in liquid form, making it a promising candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Around 4 billion years ago, liquid water covered much of Mars’s surface. If evenly distributed, this water would have created a global ocean approximately 1,500 meters (4,920 feet) deep, comparable to the volume of the Indian Ocean on Earth today.
While exact figures are still under debate, this estimation highlights a significant discrepancy.
“Estimated losses of liquid water due to atmospheric escape and crust hydration are predicted to be between 10-200 meters (33-656 feet) and 550 meters (1,800 feet) respectively,” stated Waijia Sun, a geophysics professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of the study, as reported by BBC Science Focus.
“Current estimates suggest a total of 20-40 meters (66-131 feet) of water exists in Mars’s atmosphere and as ice in polar or subsurface deposits.”
The “missing water” on Mars, estimated at a range between 710 and 920 meters (2,330 and 3,020 feet), remains unaccounted for, according to Sun and colleagues.
Marsquakes and Meteorites
With NASA’s InSight lander landing on Mars on November 26, 2018, a new perspective of the planet’s interior became available. Equipped with a dome housing a seismometer, it measures seismic activity similar to how earthquakes are monitored on Earth, dubbed “pulsing” by NASA.
The research team utilized measurements from two meteor impacts and seismic waves generated by a “Marsquake.” BBC Science Focus co-author Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić compared this technique to medical ultrasound, allowing glimpses into the Martian interior.
“In essence, earthquake waves generated from distant events travel through the Earth’s crust beneath the seismometer,” explained Tkalčić. “By analyzing their reverberations, we can deduce the thickness of these layers and the depth of boundaries.”
Scientists set up solar arrays for NASA’s InSight Lander in 2015 – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin
Seismic waves travel faster through rock that contains water. By measuring the velocity of waves resulting from impacts or quakes, scientists can investigate the presence of deep underground water without the need for excavation.
This innovative method, known as the “receiver function,” enabled the team to identify layers approximately 5.4-8 km (3.4-5 miles) below the Martian surface where seismic waves slow down, indicating water’s presence.
At these depths, temperatures are sufficient for liquid water to exist. Researchers estimate that the water present ranges between 520-780 meters (1,700-2,560 feet) beneath the surface.
Could There Be Life on Mars?
If substantial aquifers lie below the Martian surface, it could be an ideal location to search for alien life. Water is a crucial element for life on Earth, sustaining even deep subterranean microorganisms like bacteria and archaea, which constitute around 15% of Earth’s total biomass.
While finding complex life forms is unlikely at such depths on Mars, microbial life remains a distinct possibility.
“The availability of liquid water is viewed as a key factor in our search for life, as it is essential for existence,” noted Tkalčić. “Consequently, pinpointing locations with liquid water on Mars is vital for identifying potential life.”
Additionally, if humanity establishes a presence on Mars, water becomes a critical resource. Excavating kilometers below the surface presents significant engineering challenges, but such obstacles are to be expected in pioneering a human settlement on another planet.
However, before rushing to buy tickets to Mars, Sun and Tkalčić caution that the aquifer’s existence is not yet confirmed. They emphasize the necessity for additional data before reaching any conclusions.
Liquid water is the most plausible explanation supported by current data, but other viable explanations for the observed seismic waves, such as layers of sediment, exist.
Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić oversees seismology and mathematics in geophysics and heads the Warramunga Seismic & Infrasound Facility at the Australian National University – Photo credit: Jamie Kidston/ANU
On Earth, seismic measurements are taken from numerous seismometers worldwide that cross-validate data points. The situation is different on Mars.
“We must remember that we are limited to data from a single seismometer on a faraway planet. It’s a challenging observational environment, and we are maximizing the quality and quantity of our data,” Tkalčić added.
Researchers aspire that upcoming Mars missions equipped with more seismometers will facilitate more comprehensive studies across the planet. Eventually, we may even analyze the crust for direct chemical evidence of water, and potentially signs of life.
For now, this research offers a hopeful glimpse into what future missions may reveal. Sun remarked: “These findings shed light on the evolution of Mars’s water cycle and its potential habitability, laying a solid groundwork for future inquiries into Martian life and the planet’s climatic history.”
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About Our Experts
Weijia Sun is a professor of geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recognized for his work in Earth and Planetary Physics. His research has appeared in prominent journals such as Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, and Journal of Geophysical Research.
Hrvoje Tkalčić heads the Geophysics Department and directs the Warramunga Seismic & Infrasound Facility at the Australian National University. His research focuses on observational seismology, particularly the Earth’s deep structure and dynamics, appearing in journals like Science, Geophysical Research Letters, and Journal of Geophysical Research.
Whenmai* began studying psychology in mid-2019. She looked forward to traveling to college to have a lively conversation with her classmates working on new ideas.
However, when her in-person tutorials were exchanged for a Zoom meeting in 2020, her excitement turned into horror.
“People don’t switch cameras. They have their names displayed,” says Mai. “It’s very lonely and very isolated. If you’re struggling with questions, then no one will talk.”
The auditorium, once full of students, was emptied in favor of pre-recorded lectures, Mai said. Even the lab demonstrations have been replaced by a lively, undirected Zoom breakout room.
Mai sat through an online class who fell silent mid-hour time slot as the instructor sued a grid of faceless viewer names to engage in simple questions.
“No one spoke,” she says. “It’s so annoying, it hurts so much, you just want to go out.”
As soon as she graduated, Mai moved to Hobart to study medicine. The lockdown was fading memory and she was expecting a packed campus.
But apart from her medication classmates, she says it was abandoned – it remains two years later.
“I had this very naive vision, ‘Oh, wow, I’m going to meet a lot of students from many different places.” [but] Many students don’t attend just because they have other work or life commitments,” she says.
Australian students like MAI enroll in college in the hopes of experiences that many facilities no longer offer. They imagine themselves in time and space exploring big ideas with their peers and teachers, share vibrant discussions and share their path to becoming independent adults.
Those who can’t afford to spend the whole week on campus or are not given the option of in-person classes are worried that they are missing out. High quality education While increasing fees are being charged.
Students under financial pressure cut classes and picked up more jobs. The result is a malicious cycle of lower campus attendance, according to students. Few students will be taking part in the class in person, and attending classes is even less attractive and there will be fewer face-to-face opportunities for universities as they do not appear.
Like Mai, many people ask themselves: “What is the point of going to campus?”
AAccording to Dr. Thuc Bao Huynh, a researcher at the Center for Youth Policy and Education Practice at Monash University, Ustralian’s expectations for university life go back to research ideals before the 1980s, before the 1980s.
“If someone was a student, they wouldn’t actually do that much except they were students,” he says. “That’s not the case anymore.”
The myth of campus life opposes the modern reality where increasingly fewer students have the luxury of their own research and social life, their primary responsibility. Since the 1990s, the number of Australians from a wider background has increased. Costs of living are accelerating this trend, Huynh said it forces more students to treat the university as a part-time commitment.
Those who can’t afford to spend the whole week on campus, or who don’t have in-person classes on the course, are worried that they are being charged a growing number of fees, rather than overlooking a quality education. Photo: Agenzia Sintesi/Alamy
“Being a student is 1740532059 I mashed with everything else that young people are experiencing,” Huyn says. “That’s another thing they have to deal with.”
Classmates at Jed Brockhouse who struggled to work juggle college and were given the option to do coursework online will not be able to come to campus at Latrobe University in North Melbourne.
“If you know you don’t need to be there, why do you sit in class for two hours, fit in an hour of traffic?” he says.
Sam Lane only learned how much he missed when he took a break from law classes and reached out to art history.
He says he went to university in 2019 looking for a photo of his parents’ campus life. To people. “
Lane got a glimpse into the fantasy world at the University of New South Wales Art School on Sydney’s bustling Oxford Street. His long three-hour art history class forced him and his peers to meet face to face or gave him time to tackle and discuss aesthetics and philosophy.
“You didn’t feel like you were there just to get bitten and spit out of the auditorium,” he says. “If there’s something interesting for the class, you can dig into it.”
However, once his art tutorial is over, Lane has to hurry back to the main campus of UNSW in eastern Sydney, reducing the teaching time on campus, and the professor has rushed through an impossible amount of information. Ta.
Sam says he went to university in 2019 looking for photos of campus life drawn by his parents. Photo: Lisa Marie Williams/The Gardian
“We don’t have time to chat, we don’t have time to get to know the people around you,” he says. “You’re too busy trying to get through all the content very quickly.”
Lane is now approaching the end of his degree and watching attendees get nervous with the Student Association, stopping the long-term party tradition, including Battle of the Band events.
“People want to understand what they have lost and really go back to it… [but] There’s no good time to put it [on] “There aren’t enough people on campus so they don’t get voter turnout,” he says. “I’m a little dead.”
THis tendency towards online learning reflects wider pressure. A decline in federal funding and threatened losses from international students, the main source of income, forced the university to save. At the same time, university staff teach 200,000 students more than they did a decade ago.
Kaab Qureshi, a sophomore at Australian National University in Canberra, says it’s difficult to learn in classes that have become “strange” as the university is cut and contact time condensed.
“They just want to cut costs as quickly as possible,” he says. “I think they’ve made more reputation and profitable than student involvement and support.”
Even the face-to-face class stuffing didn’t stop them from finding the community they wanted for those who could afford to stroll around campus.
Kristy Sauw, a classmate at ANU in Qureshi, says his first year in college wasn’t good. After moving from Wagga Wagga High School to the on-campus residential hall, it was easy for her to make friends and go to classes in person.
“We made a lot of friends in our philosophy tutorials because we considered it an hour to yap. It was really fun,” she says. “As much as we focus on what we’re actually talking about, we’ve also become bonded and talked about random topics.”
Qureshi spent extra money to live in the residential hall for his first year, but the
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