• Bad Astronomy notes the discovery of water vapour clouds in the atmosphere of nearby brown dwarf WISE 0855.
• blogTO notes the imminent arrival of winter weather.
• Centauri Dreams reports on a new theory of the Moon's origins suggesting the impact collision which create it was much more violent than we thought.
• The Dragon's Gaze notes how snowlines ( Read more... )

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One category of exhibit that I liked in the Aga Khan Museum were the rare items manufactured in the Muslim world for Western consumers: a pair of albarelli (singular albarelli), an Andalusian astrolabe, a Hindustani painting of the crucifixion from the 16th century. Commerce was a univeral.


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The Aga Khan Museum lies just east of the Ismaili Centre, on a non-descript part of Toronto west of the Don Valley Parkway made striking by truly inspired architecture. The simplicity of the lines of the two buildings, and of the park space--including pools--lying between the two, is breathtaking.


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The Toronto Star's Azzura Lalanis reports on the arrival of the Ahmadiyya caliph on a visit to Toronto.

The leader of millions of Ahmadiyya Muslims arrived in the Greater Toronto Area this evening, touching off joyous celebrations among the faithful ( Read more... )

• The Big Picture shares photos of motorbike racing in South Africa.
• Centauri Dreams considers the stellar weather that planets of red dwarf stars might encounter.
• Dead Things looks at two genetic studies which complicate the narrative of humanity's spread.
• Dangerous Minds shares the infamous anti-disco night of 1979 that spelled the end of the genre in ( Read more... )

• Beyond the Beyond links to an exhibition of art by a Brazilian inspired by War of the Worlds.
• blogTO shares photos of Vaughan's new library.
• Centauri Dreams reports on the difficulty of reaching Proxima b.
• The Dragon's Gaze reports on KS-39b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a subgiant.
• False Steps reports on a proposed late Soviet space shuttle.

• Bloomberg notes the recent challenge to one-family rule in Gabon, looks at Russia's new Internet firewall, examines the Syrian Kurds' withdrawal beyond the Euphrates, and reports on near-record migration into the United Kingdom.
• Bloomberg View talks about inequality in China, looks at continuing disputes over Second World War history in Poland and ( Read more... )

• News of Proxima Centauri b spread across the blogosphere yesterday, to Discover's D-Brief and Crux, to Joe. My. God., to the Planetary Society Blog, and to Centauri Dreams and The Dragon's Gaze.
• blogTO notes the impending opening of Toronto's first Uniqlo and suggests TTC buses may soon have a new colour scheme.
• The Dragon's Gaze discusses detecting ( Read more... )

• blogTO writes about the impending installation of snooze stations across Toronto.
• Centauri Dreams considers the astrobiological implications of stromatolites.
• D-Brief notes that Titan has methane-flooded canyons.
• The Dragon's Gaze looks at the Kepler-444 system and notes studies of HR 8799.
• The Dragon's Tales notes an assassination attempt against a ( Read more... )