Oct 15

Positive News Tuesday

Some bite-sized chunks of positive news to perk up the day.

Reaching The Heights

This is Nima Rinji Sherpa, an 18-year-old who reached the summit of Shishapangma, a 26,335-foot-tall Tibetan mountain. In doing so, he became the youngest person to reach the world’s 14 highest peaks. “This summit is not just the culmination of my personal journey, but a tribute to every Sherpa who has ever dared to dream beyond the traditional boundaries set for us. Mountaineering is more than labor; it is a testament to our strength, resilience, and passion,” said the Nepalese teen.

Where to Stand on Earth to be Closest to The Stars: Most people's immediate reaction to that question would be: the top of Mount Everest. But that would not be correct.

The Iron Throne

'Game of Thrones' fans came out in droves to bid on hundreds of costumes, props and other items from the series in an auction that raked in over $21 million. The Heritage Auctions event in Dallas featured over 900 lots including suits of armour, swords and weapons, jewelry and several other items of significance from the HBO series. The top-dollar item was the very thing the characters in the series vied for throughout its eight-season run: the Iron Throne. After a six-minute bidding war, the throne sold for $1.49 million. The replica was made of plastic and molded from the original screen-used version, then finished off with metallic paint and jewel embellishments.

Bord de Mer (Seaside), Claude Monet, circa 1865

FBI Returns Monet

After eight decades, a Nazi-looted Claude Monet painting stolen during World War II has finally been returned to its rightful owners. The artwork - Bord de Mer (Seaside) - could be worth up to $700,000. Painted around 1865, the hazy pastel depicts rocks along the beaches of Normandy, which Allied forces would later storm on D-Day in 1944. The Gestapo seized the Impressionist painting from storage after its owners fled from their home in Vienna. Now, the piece has been returned to their granddaughters. “We are immensely proud to have been able to recover this remarkable piece of art and bring it home to its rightful owners,” says Chad Yarbrough, the FBI’s criminal investigative division assistant director.

The Aurochs Effect

A rewilding charity is releasing a herd of large cattle-like tauros into the Scottish Highlands to mimic an ecological role played by their extinct wild ancestor, the aurochs. The tauros have been “back-bred” to replicate the behaviour of the extinct cattle species in order to increase biodiversity and wildlife in the region. Steve Micklewright, chief executive of the charity, said: “Introducing the aurochs-like tauros to the Highlands four centuries after their wild ancestors were driven to extinction will refill a vital but empty ecological niche – allowing us to study how these remarkable wild cattle can be a powerful ally for tackling the nature and climate emergencies.”

Blazing a Trail

One of the highlights of the 2024 Astrophotographer of the Year competition is this dramatic shot of Comet C/2021A1 Leonard. Snapped from Namibia by Gerald Rhemann, this image captures one of the most impressive comets in recent years, just a few months before it disintegrated. For more stunning snaps, see Astrophotographer of the Year.

Wildfire Detection

Next year, Google, Muon Space, and the Earth Fire Alliance will launch FireSat, a constellation of satellites that will monitor Earth’s surface for wildfires, updating imagery every 20 minutes. It will be capable of detecting fires as small as five square meters, catching them before they turn into forest-devouring conflagrations.

"We must know what we think and speak out, even at the risk of unpopularity." Eleanor Roosevelt

On This Day

15 October 1993: South Africans Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were named the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.”