Good News Thursday
Today's smorgasbord of tasty news nuggets from around the world.
The Crown
Bulgarian photographer Radoslav Sviretsov has won first place in the Aurorae category in this year’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year, with The Crown. It shows a powerful aurora above an Icelandic church. One of the competition's judges said: “It has a fantastic setting: the small church stands defiantly in the wilderness. The photographer has captured the moment when the Aurora Borealis bathed the chapel with a magnificent green glow gifted by the geomagnetic storm.”
Rainwater Harvesting
16 years ago, Visakhapatnam, a city in India made rainwater harvesting mandatory for every resident - and they haven’t had a water shortage since. Elsewhere in India, they are bringing their ancient, architecturally magnificent stepwells back into service.
Obvious Idea?
Seiko’s Power Design Project is where its designers are allowed to go a little mad. Most remain experiments. But occasionally Seiko does actually make one. This one is an idea so obvious that the maddest thing about it may be that nobody thought of it before. In watch-speak, a “panda” is a chronograph with a light dial and contrasting black subdials, so called because the arrangement looks a bit like a panda’s face. Seiko designer Kiyotaka Sakai decided to make one that actually does. His prototype has proved popular enough to put into production. There are two versions. Choose from black-and-white or pale pink (inspired by a newborn panda). Both cost £500 / $660 and go on sale in November. Speaking of new designs...
No Hot Pink Option
Jaguar has finally launched the electric car that thrust the marque into a storm of controversy - but this time a pink version was nowhere in sight. The Type 01, based on a concept car first revealed nearly two years ago, is designed to move the brand upmarket and will sell for £130,000 ($170,000). A four-door grand tourer that is described as “Jaguar’s most powerful road car”, it can go from nought to 62 miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds and has a range of up to 400 miles, with sales commencing next year. An official product description of the new Type 01 conspicuously left out pink when listing what colours the vehicle comes in. Customers are instead told that the new electric vehicle (EV) comes in “visionary silver, dramatic white, iconic black, compelling blue and refined grey”. Satin finishes in “modernist blue and mesmerising copper” are also available.
Ex-Jaguar Designer Creates Gorgeous New E-Type: Enzo Ferrari called it “the most beautiful car ever made.” But there's now the possibility of a sublimely updated E-Type.
Targeting Oligarchs
Hungary has announced it will start imposing a wealth tax starting in 2027. The tax is primarily aimed at oligarchs who have amassed wealth over the past sixteen years thanks to their ties to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, and his friendship with Vladimir Putin.
Barrels Per Day
In January this year, the International Energy Agency forecast a rise in demand of 930,000 barrels of oil per day. By September, it had actually fallen by 2.5 million barrels per day - a 2.4 percent reduction from 2025.
"After you make a fool of yourself a few hundred times, you learn what works." Gwen Stefani
On This Day
8 October 1988: Finishing a 741-week stay, Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon makes its final appearance (of its initial run) on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, that began after its release in March 1973. Generally cited conservatively at over 45 million physical copies sold worldwide to date. Note: David Gilmour’s 1969 Fender Stratocaster, used on The Dark Side of the Moon, became the most expensive guitar ever sold earlier this year.
Today's Articles
Victorian Masterpiece: The Palm House at The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, is to undergo a major renovation.
Earth's Lungs: Amazingly, all the trees on Earth have been counted. But is it better to plant more or to protect what we have?
Mood Boosting Video
First Look: Sir David Attenborough narrates the awe-inspiring Blue Planet III, for release in November.
