Researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a sun-like star 155 light-years away using detailed data known as spectra from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (The term water ice specifies its makeup, since many other frozen molecules are also observed in space, such as carbon dioxide ice, or “dry ice.”) In 2008, data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope hinted at the possibility of frozen water in this system.
A cup of coffee brewed with water freshly sourced from the Venetian lagoon has won a Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The project, “Canal Café,” from U.S. architectural firm Diller Scofidio and Renfro (DS+R), was selected as the best piece in the biennale’s 19th international exhibition, titled “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.”
Billed as “part espresso bar, part laboratory” on the firm’s website, the project filters Venice’s notoriously polluted canals before biennale visitors’ very eyes. The murky water passes through a series of filters that mimic the natural cleansing effect of a tidal wetland. Once the water is made potable, it is used—with an assist from Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani—to make a classic shot of Italian espresso.
morning computer: some useful things first thing in the day.
My free weekly newsletter is at https://orbitaloperations.beehiiv.com/