Cat’s Head Nebula (Hubble WFC3, Webb NIRCam, and Webb MIRI images)

science & techESA/Webb

Cat’s Head Nebula (Hubble WFC3, Webb NIRCam, and Webb MIRI images)

the gist

Hubble and Webb have both observed the Cat's Head Nebula, a star-forming region in the Carina Nebula about 7,500 light-years from Earth. Hubble's visible-light view shows the cat as a dark, elongated pillar of dust with hints of young stars forming inside. Webb's infrared views, from its NIRCam and MIRI instruments, see through the dust to reveal the hidden stars and the warm material around them. Together the two telescopes give complementary views of the same process. The combined images show how star formation looks across visible and infrared light.

so what

Using two telescopes at different wavelengths gives a far more complete picture of how stars form than either could alone. It shows how space telescopes work together to study the same objects.

fun fact

The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky.

ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA · CC BY 4.0

Image: ESA/Webb

source: ESA/Webb ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗