Tuesday Upbeat News
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- 4 min read
Today's eclectic selection of tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news.
Blood Moon Tonight
Tonight, the moon will temporarily take on a striking reddish hue due to a total lunar eclipse. Skywatchers in most of North America can catch a glimpse of the spooky sight, which will last about an hour, in the early morning. The best views will be from the western portion of the continent, as well as Australia, eastern Asia and the Pacific. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon crosses into Earth’s shadow, meaning the planet sits between the moon and the sun. Totality takes place when the objects perfectly align, and the moon is fully blocked from the sun’s view. At that point, the little sunlight that manages to reach the moon gets filtered through the planet’s atmosphere, which scatters away blue and violet wavelengths of light. That creates the eerie orange-red colour, earning the orb the dramatic nickname “blood” moon.
Helping Others
A hospital in Tennessee is partnering with Dolly Parton in a special way - East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville has been renamed Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital. The 80-year-old shared the news, emphasising how her childhood in the mountains of East Tennessee inspired her to believe in “love, faith, music and taking care of one another.” Adding: "Ever since I’ve been in a position to do my part and to help others, I have tried to do just that, especially when children and families need it most. Every child deserves a fair chance to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with love.”
Galileo Notes Found
Notes, annotations and a Bible verse handwritten by a young Galileo Galilei around 1590 have resurfaced in a copy of the ancient world’s most influential astronomy text. Experts say the discovery could reshape the public’s understanding of Galileo’s motivations and the beliefs that led to his world-changing scientific contributions. The inscriptions were discovered in a 1551 copy of the Almagest, a second-century C.E. astronomical manual by the Greco-Roman polymath Ptolemy, which asserts that Earth is at the centre of the universe. Science lovers might be surprised to learn that Galileo was captivated by Ptolemy’s Earth-centric teachings in his youth. Today, the astronomer is perhaps best known for championing Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric model, which (correctly) posited that Earth and the other planets orbit the sun. Galileo defended this view, which went against the teachings of the powerful Catholic Church, at the expense of his freedom. He was ostracised and, in 1633, placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.
Olivia Sweeps The Board
British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean was the big winner at the 2026 Brit awards, taking home awards for artist of the year, pop act, song of the year, and album of the year. In just a few months, Dean has leaped to the forefront of British pop thanks to The Art of Loving, her second album. With songs that get to the heart of the joys and frustrations of casual modern dating, she is enormously relatable, and given her an unusually broad and cross-generational appeal. The 26-year-old also won one of the “big four” Grammy awards this year, best new artist, underlining her considerable commercial success in the US as well as the UK.
Brazilian Amazon
After thousands of Indigenous people protested for 33 days - inspiring solidarity demonstrations across the country - Brazil’s government said it would revoke a decree that allowed private concessions for waterways in the world’s largest rainforest. The Indigenous activists said the waterway projects - which included the responsibility for maintenance, dredging and vessel‑traffic management - threatened the Tapajos River, Indigenous territories, and ultimately the ecological balance of the entire Amazon rainforest. “What won today was life. The river won, the forest won, the memory of our ancestors won.”
Healthier Future
A decade ago, Bogotá was one of Latin America’s most polluted cities, with pollutant concentration levels that were seven times worse than the World Health Organization’s limits. Today, the city has reduced air pollution by 24 percent thanks to more than 350 miles of cycle lanes, more green spaces, 1,400 electric buses (one of the world’s largest sustainable bus fleets) and three new cable car lines to take people to and from the mountains - together, dramatically improving public health for its 8 million residents. “Bogotá is living proof of how cities can cut air pollution, fight climate change and give their residents healthier futures,” says Jaime Rueda, the Bogotá lead at Breathe Cities, a global initiative helping cities tackle air pollution.
Cleaner Cooking Fuels
In 2000, only 7 percent of people in Indonesia had access to clean cooking fuels. That number has now risen to 91 percent - largely thanks to a national program in 2007 that replaced kerosene with cleaner options like liquefied petroleum gas. In low-income households around the world, indoor air pollution is a leading cause of death, reports Our World in Data. Clean cooking fuels emit much lower levels of harmful air pollutants, and their widespread adoption has sharply reduced indoor air pollution - and deaths associated with it.
"Take care of your mind the same way you take care of your body.” Kaysha Love
On This Day
3 March 1877: Rutherford B. Hayes took the presidential oath of office privately on Saturday 3 March in the White House Red Room, because the official Inauguration Day, 4 March, fell on a Sunday. A formal, public inauguration took place on Monday 5 March at the Capitol.
This was the first time a president-elect took the oath in the White House. The move established a precedent for managing Sunday inaugurations.
Today's Articles
"Missing Link": Tiny dinosaur discovered that is smaller than a chicken and "like finding a paleontological Rosetta Stone."
Visual Marvel: Inspired by ancient stepwells, the roof of this university in India doubles as a massive open-air auditorium.
Mood Boosting Video
Mini-Slinky: How to defeat a squirrel from raiding your bird feeder.
