appearance

Every 80 years, a new star appears in the sky. According to an astronomer, his new stellar appearance will be tonight

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The sky is as mysterious as it is fascinating. In case it wasn’t enough to have this week the most unpredictable meteor shower of the yeartonight a new star could also appear out of nowhere in the sky. Okay, it doesn’t really appear out of nowhere. It’s always there. The thing is that it is usually invisible to our eyes; But, if an astronomer’s predictions come true, a brutal explosion could make it visible for a few days from today. This is the white dwarf T. Coronae Borealis. This is a binary system composed of a red giant and a white dwarf, in which one of the few recurring novae also forms. of the Milky Way. Until now, only 5 of these explosions have been documented that are repeated from time to time, drawing a new bright point in the sky. The last time T. Coronae Borealis “exploded” was in 1946. It is clear that the next explosion must be soon, although few scientists dare to give a date. Astronomer Jean Schneider, from the Paris Observatory, did dare some time ago to provide 4 possible explosion dates. The first three were not fulfilled. The last one is tonight. Better to look at the sky in case the flies. Most scientists believe that the next explosion of this recurring nova must be soon, but they believe that there is no way to calculate an exact date. However, Schneider has a different hypothesis. Although T. Coronae Borealis has always been considered a binary system, he believes that, in order for the explosions that have already been documented to occur, a third astronomical object is necessary. This would not only increase the intensity of the explosion, but also makes calculations easier. Thanks to that, he estimated four dates. The first three have passed without pain or glory. The last one is the night of this June 25. Therefore, he recommends setting your sights on the constellation Corona Borealis and looking for a new bright point. As bright as the North Star. Companion stars that engulf each other. Beyond Schneider’s predictions, what is known at the moment is that in T. Coronae Borealis, located 3,000 light years from Earth, there are two stars: a red giant and a white dwarf. Both rotate around each other, with an orbit of 227 days, in a process in which, from time to time, the red giant becomes unstable due to an increase in pressure and temperature and begins to expel its outermost layers into space, forming an accretion disk around it. Little by little, the gravitational attraction of the white dwarf pushes the material from that accretion disk towards it. In a way, the white dwarf “feeds” on its companion. It is a process in which the atmosphere heats up, until a very intense thermonuclear reaction occurs in the form of an explosion. A change of brightness. Normally, T. Coronae Borealis is magnitude 10. This equates to a brightness that is minimally on the edge of what can be seen with binoculars. The brightness increases inversely proportional to the magnitude: if it decreases, the star appears brighter. When the explosion occurs, the magnitude drops abruptly to a figure between 2 and 3, making it look very very bright. For a few days, a little less than a week, it shines brightly. similar to that of the polar star. Blasts from the past. This phenomenon was observed in 1866when the magnitude fell to 2, and in 1946, when it was around 3. In the second case it was possible to study much more thoroughly and something interesting was seen. That the magnitude did not suddenly fall from 10 to 3, but rather, as the white dwarf warmed its atmosphere, signs began to be detected. Starting in 1938, the magnitude had begun to decrease to 9 and the star’s brightness was more bluish. He was getting ready. The constellation is located between Hercules and Bootes It’s happening. After the 1946 explosion, the magnitude of T. Coronae Borealis was fixed at 10.2. However, in February 2015 it dropped to 10. It was a striking figure, which became even more interesting just a year later, when in 2016 it dropped again to 9.2. The shine also began to look more blueish. The same thing was happening as in 1938 and since then there have continued to be fluctuations around 9. Since then it was 8 years until the explosion, it was calculated that there should be another explosion in 2024, but it never occurred. We are already in 2026 and at the moment nothing; But, for Schneider, the moment of truth could be today. You can track the brightness. There are websites where you can track the brightness of the stars. This is, for example, the case of the website of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. In it, when entering T CrB in the search engine, we see that the magnitude is currently 9.9. Most experts believe that Schneider does not have sufficient evidence of the existence of a third object to validate his observations. The shine does not seem to have fallen again. Still, at some point the explosion should occur. What if you don’t go out to look and you miss it? Image | NASA | E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani In Xataka | We have been studying the planets of TRAPPIST-1 for years with great hope. James Webb just knocked it down

Lorca wants to improve his appearance. So he will fine those who hang clothes on their balconies with up to 1,500 euros.

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It doesn’t matter where you live, whether it’s a big city or a town with a few thousand inhabitants, chances are that if you take a walk through the streets of the center and look at the facades, you’ll come across a neighbor who uses their balcony to dry their laundry. Perhaps with a clothesline or perhaps by hanging clothes directly over railings or window frames. In Lorca (Region of Murcia, 99,000 neighbors) that is about to change. There the City Council has decided that practices like this tarnish the image of the town, so they want to punish them with fines of up to 1,500 euros. They are not the first in declaring war on such customs, although their fines are especially large. What has happened? That in Lorca they want to put an end to a relatively common image in the cities and towns of Spain: balconies and facades with clothes hanging. A few days ago, its City Council agreed (with the votes of the PP and Vox) to modify the ordinance which since 2010 has been combating “antisocial actions” in the town. The idea is to add a new section to “protect the image of buildings, facades and spaces visible” from the street. And that involves, among other things, ending the indiscriminate use of clotheslines. What exactly have you decided? The idea, clarify from the City Council, is to prohibit “all kinds of acts or behaviors that negatively affect” the image of buildings and the urban environment, “causing their degradation.” It sounds somewhat vague, but the truth is that its promoters distinguish between two types of very specific infractions: minor ones, which will be punished with fines of between 151 and 750 euros, and serious ones, whose penalty can go up to 1,500. Do we know anything else? Yes. Although the update of the ordinance has not yet been published in the Official Gazette of the Region of Murcia (BORM), the City Council has launched a statement in which it details what behaviors it will sanction from now on. If we talk about “minor infractions”, which can lead to fines of up to 750 euros, mention three: a) Hang all kinds of clothes on the balcony railings and on the lower lintels of the windows. b) Accumulate belongings on the balconies such as mattresses, bed bases, butane cylinders, as well as any other element unrelated to the proper use of this space in the home. c) Do not remove signage, awnings, plaques and banners from businesses once their activity has ceased. And serious infractions? Those are the ones that will cost the most to the residents of Lorca, who may face fines of between 751 and 1,500 euros. While waiting for the new restrictions to be officially reflected in the 2010 ordinance, the City Council has advanced in your statement What practices will be considered “serious violations” from now on: a) The installation of clotheslines on the main façade of buildings unless they are located in spaces provided for this purpose or protected by screens or lattices that are aesthetically integrated into the environment. b) Failure to remove air conditioning units or smoke vents on the facades of buildings that are in poor condition. Is it that important? If we ask the Lorca City Council, the answer is yes. Its mayor, Fulgencio Gil, claims that “the objective is to raise awareness, order and improve coexistence”, and insists: “The state of facades, balconies and elements visible from the public street is part of the general perception of Lorca, so this ordinance supports exemplary behavior.” And although the City Council argues that the change will adapt the 2010 ordinance to the “new needs”, it also assures that it has been promoted largely because the local residents themselves demanded it. “It responds to a growing demand from neighbors, social groups and citizen associations, who have been demanding more specific regulation in the face of situations that deteriorate the urban image and generate a feeling of abandonment in different neighborhoods and areas of the urban area,” remark. Is it a unique case? Not quite. Lorca is not the first city council in Spain to clarify what can be done (and what cannot) on the balconies of buildings. Vigo Lighthouse remember For example, in the Galician city, local regulations also restrict hanging clothes on balconies in such a way that they are visible from the street, in addition to shaking clothes, emptying washing buckets on the sidewalks or hanging decorations on balconies that may pose a danger to pedestrians. In other parts of Spain, like Andalusiathere are also localities that regulate the hanging of clothes on terraces. The same thing happens in big cities, like Barcelonawhere in 2025 a rumor circulated that a new measure was going to be adopted to tighten control, when in reality the issue has been regulated since the 90s. In Madrid, the issue is addressed in the Urban Planning Standardswhich clarify that clotheslines must have “a protection system that makes it difficult to see the clothes from public roads” and “they cannot be integrated into balconies.” Image | Fernando (Flickr) In Xataka | If there are elderly people in your building, an elevator can be installed without the board’s approval. The key: the Horizontal Property Law

the appearance of two new species of toxic puffer fish is the best proof

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The cold Atlantic waters of the Rias Baixas in Galicia they are changing. Until now we were accustomed to a rich marine biodiversity dominated by native species from temperate and cold waters, but now researchers have found visitors as exotic as they are unwanted: puffer fish. Something is happening. Although this discovery may remain a biological anecdote to add to encyclopedias, the truth is that we are facing an indicator that the “tropicalization” of our seas is knocking at the door. This has been demonstrated by the research staff of the Oceanographic Center of Vigowhich set off alarm bells by documenting the presence of these exotic fish. We didn’t expect them. The published study in Fisher is a pioneer by analyzing for the first time globally the diversity of fish in the order of Tetraodontiformes, which is where puffer fish, sunfish and triggerfish are found in Spanish waters. In total, they have cataloged 26 different species, paying special attention to their distribution areas between the Peninsula and the Canary Islands. But the big surprise has come in Galicia with two unprecedented sightings that have been rigorously confirmed through morphological analysis, photographs and also with DNA itself. The two species. The first species that attracted attention was a green drum, captured for the first time in Galician waters off the Costa da Vela in 2021. The second specimen is a land drum, located in 2025 in the middle of the Pontevedra estuary. Tropicalization. Here the almost obligatory question is: What is a puffer fish doing swimming calmly through the Pontevedra estuary? The short answer is climate change. The long and scientific answer is the tropicalization of the sea. Just like the researcher points out Rafael Bañón, the progressive warming of ocean waters is blurring marine thermal boundaries and this allows species that originate from tropical and subtropical waters to now find temperatures in the Galician Atlantic comfortable enough not only to survive, but to expand their territory. They are a problem. In addition to the ecological challenge it poses and the movement of local species, we must also remember the risk to public health that it entails. And one of the best-known characteristics of puffer fish, especially due to Japanese gastronomy and its famous fuguis that they harbor tetrodotoxin inside. And it is nothing more than a powerful neurotoxin for which there is no known antidote and which can be lethal if ingested. Although in Spain there is no culture of consumption of these fish, the risk of amateur or commercial fishermen catching them by accident and ending up on someone’s plate without the necessary care may exist. In this way, monitoring is needed for these new species and others that may arrive due to the temperature changes that are recorded. Images | Brian Yurasits WINDENRIC In Xataka | Although it may seem impossible, there is a 12-millimeter fish that makes as much noise as an airplane turbine

All Netflix series have the same appearance and the same photograph. And Netflix has proposed to solve it

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It is a runrún in the audiovisual industry for years: all Netflix productions have the same finish. In the case of the most almighty fiction factory of the moment, it is a problem, and has won him abundant criticism. Netflix herself knows it and has got to work to solve it: a series of technical novelties that want to end what has been known for years as “Netflix aesthetics.” What is Netflix aesthetics? It is about Visual finish of the series and platform filmsthat It draws attention For generating common features in products that, on paper, would not have to have them: romantic series, horror movies and even realities And documentaries end up receiving a very common distinctive bath with very recognizable characteristics: Excess shine and color; or, on the contrary, areas of the plane very dark or unnecessarily in gloom. Saturated lighting, especially in night images. Devotion to neons, in a kind of aesthetics inherited from the eighties (of what We believe that were the eighties, at least) and that is perceived in series like ‘Stranger Things‘. In terms of editing and assembly, little innovative decisions and Manido resourceseven sometimes overexpressive. The lighting highlights details of makeup and the costumes, which underlines how often Netflix productions have a little original or unnecessarily “studied” production design. In general terms, all these decisions lead to a Netflix production being recognizable at a distance, even in series and films with large production values ​​(‘red alert’) or that should be characterized, precisely, by its distinctive touch (‘Sandman’). But … why? This visual standardization is completely sought after, and there are several reasons for it. One is the standardization of the image due to the technical specifications that Netflix seeks. Among other things, A couple of years ago There was the obligation to use certain cameras, the minimum resolution requirements and what percentage of each production could use an unauthorized camera. These approved cameras began being just a couple, but the list has grown a lot since then. As Some observers claimthat list is currently as long as it could be in an independent production shot in digital. That is, you can no longer blame everything to the limitations that Netflix put a few years ago, because that list of recommended material to roll has grown a lot. What matters. The theoretical Haley Nahman It contributed a possible reason for this visual standardization of Netflix, when it began to detect it in productions outside the platform, such as the horror film ‘M3gan’, and which can basically be reduced to a search for “less conflict.” That is, scenarios with fewer elements, or less illuminated elements (more scarce characters, more sober decoration, more areas in gloom …). Thus costs are not only cheaper because you have to take care of less problematic aspects of a plane, but because it generates an “instruction book” to apply in every situation. The algorithm culture. Of course, the Blind faith of Netflix in the designs of the algorithm It also has a lot to do with this replacement for constants: if something works, it is tried to repeat, and that not only applies to the themes and genres, which we have seen with the appearance of clones of ‘The squid game‘ either ‘Bridgerton‘. It also affects aesthetics, and in that sense, manufacturing visual rollers that coincide with the most popular is more than a technical issue. Even the most striking finishes, such as ‘Stranger Things’, find their immediate replica (in ‘Fear Street’, for example). Below the risk. It is not necessary to influence it too much, but if Netflix has become the most popular and followed platform, it is to polish all kinds of stridency or aesthetics that leave the norm, in order to appeal to as many audience as possible. Again ‘red alert’ is the best example: a cast (The Rock, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot) that seems elaborated by an AI, an aesthetic that is the common average term of all spy films, an argument that has been made with an Excel sheet of common places … Beyond the final quality, what matters is to appeal to the most, the better. An improvement. Aware that this aesthetic can have its positive side in terms of effectiveness, but not so much if the belief is spread that everything that comes from the Netfllix factory is identical (and therefore, it is not worth approaching new proposals), the platform recently announced support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. They are formats that allow a much broader dynamic and color range, and better preserve the creative intention and offering richer and detailed images. Specifically, the platform promises with this improvement more precise colors and greater detail in each frame, which will help mitigate one of the eternal complaints of the specyers: the darkest scenes of movies and series barely have details. It is a key movement for a future in which platforms are obliged to stand out in front of the competition. Or at least, it seems that each of its proposals has a distinctive and unique style. Header | Netflix In Xataka | ‘The Eternaluta’ is a masterpiece of science fiction, but the story of its creator gives him an absolutely unique background

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