The Echoes of Light

What’s popular this week in Nautilus. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( EDITORS' CHOICE Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( This Sunday, read the latest and most popular stories from Nautilus [READ NAUTILUS]( ASTRONOMY [The Echoes of Light]( What astronomers see in the light bouncing across the universe. BY LIZ KRUESI Twenty years ago, Andrea Tiengo was a junior scientist watching data stream in from a distant space telescope. [Continue reading →]( Out-Of-This-World Gifts The sky isn’t the only place you can find a shooting star. Explore the stars with the perfect space gift at [Mini Museum](. From meteorites, NASA collectibles, and even a piece of the Moon, you will discover the perfect gift for anyone obsessed with space. Save 10% with code [SHOOTINGSTAR](. [SHOP NOW]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What do you imagine a climate apocalypse would look like? Let us know! Reply to this newsletter with your response, briefly explaining your choice, and we’ll reveal the top answers. (This question was inspired by [“Tame Your Climate Anxiety in 2024.”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On the One Piece of Music You’d Listen to for the Rest of Your Life) - “Méditation” from the opera Thaïs is the piece of music I would choose if I only had one piece to listen to. It evokes emotions that are thought provoking whether joyful or melancholy. For me, it also calms my brain as I get lost in the piece and life’s distractions fade. – Patricia O. - The final movement of Beethoveen's 9th symphony. – Eric - “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. I love music that gives me goosebumps, even now in my 70s. Kashmir does that. It's theatric, has poetry, aspects of classical music, great rhythm. It's a gem of great rock and roll that still has me wired and feeling alive. – Joe H. - “Gabriel’s Oboe” by Ennio Morricone. – Roz - The Emperor Concerto by Beethoven, because it is the most amazing music ever. – Jeneen B. - I seldom listen to classical music, but it seems I can listen to Pachelbel's Canon In D Major almost endlessly. There's something about it that, at a visceral level, moves me and calms me at the same time. – Alice C. - I need two: “People in Sorrow” by Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Deaf Dumb Blind by Pharoah Sanders. To me they represent the yin and the yang of life on earth, each participating in the other. – Wendy L. - Mozart’s 23rd Piano Concerto. Specifically the second movement. Sublime. – David C. - Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, because it gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. – Juandedios S. Popular This Week [SOCIOLOGY]( [How Eugenics Shaped Statistics]( Exposing the damned lies of three science pioneers. BY AUBREY CLAYTON [Continue reading →]( [COMMUNICATION]( [The Most Beautiful Science of the Year]( These are a few of our favorite things from 2023. BY NAUTILUS EDITORS [Continue reading →]( The latest from Nautilus [ZOOLOGY]( [Night Swimming]( Specialized underwater photographers reveal secrets of the sea’s flamboyant babies. BY SARAH GILMAN [Continue reading →]( [ENVIRONMENT]( [Tame Your Climate Anxiety in 2024]( A poet invited people to share their climate fears. What she found surprised her. BY KATHARINE GAMMON [Continue reading →]( [“We see the light from our black hole’s last snack as echoes, hundreds of years later.”]( [Liz Kruesi writes about how photons reverberate through the cosmos.]( [It’s Time to Break Our Addiction to Plastics]( Plastic products are easy to make and hard to get rid of. When they do break down they become microplastics and leach harmful chemicals into our environment and our bodies. To help break our addiction to plastic products, [One5C]( has published the definitive guide to plastics and plastic pollution. Check it out today to start your journey to becoming plastic-free. [READ IT HERE]( From The Porthole—short sharp looks at science [ARTS]( [We Were Born to Groove]( Babies dig the beat, a new study shows, offering a cool insight into the origin of music. BY HENKJAN HONING In 2009, my research group found that newborns possess the ability to discern a regular pulse— the beat—in music. [Continue reading→]( Your free story this Sunday! [NEUROSCIENCE]( [Why We Sense Somebody Who Isn’t There]( When expectations aren’t met, our brains spook us. BY PHIL JAEKL For 10 months, Ernest Shackleton and his crew, bound for the South Pole, were stranded in Antarctic ice. [Continue reading for free→]( EXCLUSIVE MEMBER CONTENT | [Explore Memberships→]( [Adventure Is Calling]( A call to adventure. A wise mentor. A transformational quest. These are all elements of the iconic “hero’s journey”—a narrative trope so pervasive, that our brains seem hardwired to respond to it. In Nautilus Issue 53, writer Adam Piore takes us on a quest of our own that explores the transformative power of seeing your life as a hero’s journey. Heed the call to adventure and [subscribe to Nautilus today](. [JOIN NOW]( P.S. “Luck is vital in modern games,” [wrote Simon Parkin in a story about engineering fortune into programmed play](, “whether it emerges from dice rattling in a cup or the treacherous Chance cards in Monopoly.” The ubiquitous zero-sum board game, played in dozens of languages and countries, was patented on this day in 1935. Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher Thanks for reading. [Tell us](mailto:brian.gallagher@nautil.us?subject=&body=) your thoughts on today’s note. Plus, [browse our archive]( of past print issues, and inspire a friend to sign up for [the Nautilus newsletter](. 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