Saturn's moon - Titan - has a tilt that scientists are trying to understand

To this point, scientists can't figure out why Titan is "wobbling."

"We think some event in the past may have knocked the atmosphere off its spin axis, causing it to wobble."

While studying it using telescopes and looking at the data from probes, they noticed that Saturn wasn't impacting the tilt, which made the result curiouser.

"That would've given us clues to the cause," Nick Teanby, co-author of the study and a planetary scientist at the University of Bristol, said in the statement. "Instead, we've got a new mystery on our hands."

Its amazing to me just how much we don't know.  But its also worth noting that this is what's great about scientific curiosity.  We continue to evaluate what we see, and update theories to adapt to that.  And we continue to learn new things.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/solar-system/weve-got-a-new-mystery-on-our-hands-titans-weird-wobble-just-got-even-stranger

Space is hard

Japan's Resilience Lunar Lander apparently crash landed on the moon.  Everything was looking good after its time in space, and the engineers were excited and confident about landing.

But as it was 20m above the surface, and about 2 minutes from landing, the thrusters fired to move it to a vertical position, but it didn't successfully complete the maneuver, and the craft didn't slow down.  

iSpace lost contact with it and later determined that it had crash landed.  And that means its iSpace's second failed attempt to land on the moon,

https://www.reuters.com/science/japans-ispace-tries-lunar-touchdown-again-with-resilience-lander-2025-06-05/

Disney announces Piston Peak

Disney hadn't said much about the Cars themed land slated for the magic kingdom, after their initial announcement. 

The reason for that is: Florida politics. 

Disney proposed filling in the Rivers of America and using that as additional space for their new land. But Disney no longer controls its own waterways. They are now under the purview of the state's water management district. So, when Disney proposed their changes, the state rejected it outright. It's hard to tell what their reasoning was, but presumably it's about their ongoing feud. 

Disney tried negotiating, but they met a lot of resistance. I personally assumed the project died quietly. 

But in the first week of June, they came up with this statement. 

"Since the early days of Magic Kingdom, adventurous guests have traveled across space and time as they pass from Liberty Square to Frontierland.

 

"At the heart of all these stories are heroic characters with a belief in themselves that helped forge a path to their dreams.

 

"To continue this journey in great American storytelling, Piston Peak National Park will be part of the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom.

 

"Visitors will be able to see and explore the visitor lodge, Ranger HQ, trails and more all set within the Disney and Pixar Cars universe.

 

"To make sure these buildings fit naturally within the surrounding majestic landscapes, Imagineers are using a style of architecture called 'Parkitecture,' which was developed by the National Park Service to create structures that harmonize with the natural environment.

 

"From the outside, trees will provide a natural barrier between the off-road rally and other parts of Frontierland and Liberty Square. Rugged mountains with dramatic peaks will be nestled along a calming waterway across from Grizzly Hall, and soaring geysers from the famed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will stretch into the trails of our off-road rally."

Which means that they found a way to make it work. And if you look at the new rendering, you'll note that the waterway surrounds the land. So in effect, they reshaped the Rivers of America slightly, but left it intact. 

I'm not quite sure who won and lost here. But it seems a reasonable compromise. I think, anyway. 

But my one question is why did they put it there, and not over by the Tomorrowland speedway? That seemed to be a more natural tie-in. 

But what do I know?

Original artist rendering - no waterways shown:

Conceptualization shown in June with the announcement, with the waterway!: 

This is just madness

There's a weird story about Elon Musk, Stephen Miller, and Miller's wife. And honestly, I'm not sure why this is any way "news" or relevant. 

But I think it probably does suggest there are problems with this stupid "in crowd"…

If you're unfamiliar with the story, well, it's that Miller assigned his wife to keep an eye on Musk. Miller referred to it as "handling him," and musk reportedly figured out that he was being manipulated. 

Whatever it was ex actor is unclear … but it sure seems like something is simmering among them. 

And of course, there was some weirdness about their relationship, both professional and personal. And there was some side story about Musk no longer contributing to T-rumps personal account, which seems to have rankled some of the keystone cops. 

You can take “constitutional foundations” online, for free, from Harvard university.

You're welcome. Enjoy. And suck it Donald. 

https://www.harvardonline.harvard.edu/course/american-government-constitutional-foundations

In case you wanted to see the proof…

Here is fact-based-evidence that humans are evolving in real time, right in plain view, and in our lifetime. 

The story is that the people living in the Himalayas have adapted to the lower-oxygen environment in this mountainous region. 

Children are being born with the ability for their blood to carry enough hemoglobin to support their regular function. Whereas those of us who live much closer to sea level can not survive in that environment for long periods. 

Please, tell me again how humans haven't adapted and evolved based on environmental factors. 

Ahem. I'll say it again slowly so mouth breathers can get it. Human evolution has happened. And is happening. Every. Day. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-are-evolving-right-in-front-of-our-eyes-on-the-tibetan-plateau

About air force one.

A few years ago, the pentagon was preparing plans to replace air force one.  This is something that has happened several times in the past; the planes used to ferry the president have a life span and they do get replaced.

So during the Biden administration, the pentagon talked with Boeing about a replacement aircraft.  Boeing, being the only US-based airplane company capable of creating an aircraft of that size, said this was going to be a problem.  As you know, Boeing has been having some quality issues and are waaaay behind on orders. 

So they suggested around 10 Boeing aircraft that had been sold around the world, with a smaller number of flight hours, that were for sale, and which might serve as a frame that could be built on to make it suitable for Air Force one.

The pentagon investigated that list and narrowed in on one aircraft: the 747 that Qatar owned as a luxury aircraft and were willing to sell to the US government.  

And then T-rump comes along and starts grifting.  He visits Qatar and they show him the aircraft. He proudly announces that it's a gift, and it's luxurious. And he wants it!

The problems with his statements are many.  But there is no evidence to support they were "giving it away"… that's what he said.  And surely they let him think that, in exchange for whatever they want in return. 

…and everyone lost their minds about this airplane.  So many opinions that had no substance. 

And then this week, the pentagon closed a deal to acquire the aircraft. No mention of the cost, whether it's a gift, and so on.  And the media just runs with it, because what do they care? They have a bias and they let that run…

It will take years for this aircraft to be ready to fly as air force one.  And when it does, it will look nothing like it does now.  The luxury part that dingleberry talked about won't exist.

But it was all just a part of the normal activity.  That got blown out of proportion because he said something stupid (I know, par for the course).