Latest news with #MuseumOfNaturalHistory
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meryl Streep Seemingly Trips in Platform Peep-Toes Despite Practicing on Set of The Devil Wears Prada 2
James Devaney 'Even the best fall down sometimes,' Howie Day sang about Meryl Streep, probably. On August 1, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Bridgerton star Simone Ashley were all photographed filming The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the Museum of Natural History, presumably taping a scene involving fashion's biggest event of the year: the Met Gala. Or, more likely, a fictional version thrown by Runway editor in chief Miranda Priestly. By now you've probably seen the photos of Streep appearing to take a small tumble on the blue-carpeted steps in a stunningly voluminous red-belted gown, handling the moment with grace and a laugh. It's hard to imagine Miranda Priestly would find humor in the spill, suggesting it was an unscripted—and relatable—moment from the 76-year-old actor. In fact, there were no photos of Streep in a similar position earlier in the day, when she and her costars were seen practicing the scene out of costume.… Well, not completely out of costume. At one point during the day, Streep changed out of a pair of platform peep-toe sandals into more towering peep-toe stilettos in the same crimson shade as her gown. She wore both pairs of shoes with a pair of black pants, a checkered button-down, and the same elegant trench coat from those first few photos from set. Streep was also photographed walking down the steps in those heels, alongside Tucci and Ashley, who had traded her own white sneakers for a pair of stiletto booties for the run-through. So far, no details have been released about Ashley's role in the film, though it's hard to imagine that will remain the case as paparazzi (and fans) continue to swarm outdoor filming locations. At this rate, we'll be able to put a silent version of the film together long before a trailer is dropped. Whether or not Streep's tumble was written into the script, I couldn't help but think of Jennifer Lawrence's trip down the Cannes Film Festival steps in her own red Dior gown and a pair of black flip-flops. While some believed Lawrence was making a 'political statement' about the festival's strict dress code, the actor later said she was just trying not to 'eat shit' in a pair of heels that were 'a size too big.' It's called learning from experience. Stars, they really are just like us…at least when it comes to the laws of gravity and unsupported ankles. Thankfully, Streep seemed unharmed and was able to continue filming without incident. After all, it's called The Devil Wears Prada, not the The Devil Wears Havaianas. Celebrity Style Anne Hathaway's Latest Andy Sachs 'Fits Have Divided *Devil Wears Prada* Fans But is it much ado about nothing? Originally Appeared on Glamour
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How the largest digital camera ever made is revolutionizing our view of space
Last Thursday, I took my son to the Rose Center for Earth and Space at New York's Museum of Natural History. In the Hayden Planetarium, we watched a simulation of the Milky Way bloom above us, while the actor Pedro Pascal — who truly is everywhere — narrated the galactic dance unfolding on the screen. It was breathtaking. But it didn't compare to what was blasted around the world just a few days later, as the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory began broadcasting its 'first light' — its inaugural images of the cosmos. I found myself pinching-to-zoom through a picture that contains roughly 10 million galaxies in a single frame, a vista so vast it would take 400 4-K TVs to display at full resolution. I could hold the universe itself on my screen. Perched 8,660 feet up Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes, where the crystal-clear nights provide an exceptionally clear window into space, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory began construction in 2015 with funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Energy. Named for the pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin, whose work on galaxy rotation helped prove the existence of dark matter, the observatory was built to run a single, audacious experiment: the 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time. It will photograph the entire Southern Hemisphere sky every few nights to tackle four grand goals: unmask dark matter and dark energy, inventory the Solar System's asteroids and comets, chart the Milky Way's formation, and capture every transient cosmic event. What makes Rubin so special is its eye, which is a marvel. At its core is a 27-foot-wide dual mirror cast from 51,900 pounds of molten glass that is still light enough to sweep across the sky in seconds. The mirror directs a flow of light from the cosmic depths to the 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera, a 5-by-10-feet digital jumbotron that is the largest digital camera ever made. It's like a massive magnifying glass paired with the world's sharpest DSLR: Together they capture a swath of the night sky equivalent to 45 full moons every 30 seconds. And those images, which will be continuously shared with the world, are jaw-dropping. The headlining shot from Rubin's debut, nicknamed 'Cosmic Treasure Chest,' stitches together 1,185 exposures of the Virgo Cluster, our nearest major collection of galaxies, some 55 million light-years away. But the Rubin Observatory is about much more than producing pretty cosmic wallpaper. Its unprecedented scale gives it the ability to search for answers to grand questions about space science. The NSF notes that Rubin will gather more optical data in its first year than all previous ground telescopes combined, turning the messy, ever-changing sky into a searchable movie. As I've written before, the world has made great strides in planetary defense: Our ability to detect and eventually deflect asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth. Rubin has already begun paying dividends toward that goal. In a mere 10 hours of engineering data, its detection software identified 2,104 brand-new asteroids — including seven near-Earth objects, heavenly bodies whose orbit will bring them near-ish our planet. That haul came from just a thumbnail-sized patch of sky; once Rubin begins its nightly scan of the whole Southern Hemisphere, it's projected to catalog over 5 million asteroids and roughly 100,000 NEOs over the next decade, tripling today's inventory. That will help NASA finally reach its congressionally mandated target of identifying 90 percent of the 25,000 city-killer-class NEOs (those over 140 meters) estimated to be out there. How powerful is Rubin's eye? 'It took 225 years of astronomical observations to detect the first 1.5 million asteroids,' Jake Kurlander, a grad student astronomer at the University of Washington, told 'Rubin will double that number in less than a year.' And the images that Rubin captures will go out to the entire world. Its Skyviewer app will allow anyone to zoom in and out of the corners of space that catch Rubin's eye, including celestial objects so new that most of them don't have names. Looking at the app gives you a sense of what it must have been like to be one of the first human beings, gazing up at a sky filled with wonder and mystery. It might seem strange to highlight a telescope at a moment when the world feels as if it is literally on fire. But the Vera Rubin Observatory isn't just a triumph of international scientific engineering, or an unparalleled window on the universe. It is the ultimate perspective provider. If you open the Virgo image and zoom all the way out, Earth's orbit would be smaller than a single pixel. Yet that same pixel is where thousands of engineers, coders, machinists, and scientists quietly spent a decade building an eye that can watch the rest of the universe breathe, and then share those images with all of their fellow humans. Seeing Rubin's images brought to mind the lines of Walt Whitman's 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.' I wander'd off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars. On days when life on our little world feels chaotic, Rubin's first-light view offers a valuable reminder: We're just one tiny part in a tapestry of 10 million galaxies, looking up from our planet at the endless stars. A version of this story originally appeared in the Good News newsletter. Sign up here!
The Independent
30-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Moths the size of human hands successfully mate inside Mexico museum
A pair of large moths, which are the size of a human hand, were recently observed mating just hours after hatching at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture in Mexico City. Known locally as "four mirrors" moths, or scientifically as Rothschildia orizaba, their successful mating is a testament to the museum's conservation efforts. Their wings are adorned with a mosaic of brown and pink around four translucent sections and are a sight to behold. María Eugenia Díaz Batres, who has dedicated nearly six decades to caring for insects at the museum, expressed her delight at witnessing the event. "When I get here and find this, I jump with delight," she said. The museum rescued 2,600 cocoons from an empty lot, and the moths' emergence and mating indicate the project's success. These moths, whose population has declined in Mexico City due to increasing urbanisation, hold cultural significance in the region, making their preservation all the more critical. Díaz Batres said: 'The Aztecs called them the ' butterfly of obsidian knives,' Itzpapalotl. And in northern Mexico they'd fill many of these cocoons with little stones and put them on their ankles for dances.' These cocoons arrived at the museum in late December. 'They gave them to us in a bag and in a box, all squeezed together with branches and leaves, so my first mission was to take them out, clean them,' Díaz Batres said. Mercedes Jiménez, director of the museum in the capital's Chapultepec park, said that's when the real adventure began, since they had never received anything like this before. Díaz Batres had the cocoons hung in any place she thought they might do well, including her office where they hang from lines crisscrossing above her table. It has allowed her to watch each stage of their development closely. The moths only survive for a week or two as adults, but they give Díaz Batres tremendous satisfaction, especially when she arrives at her office and new moths 'are at the door, on the computer." So she tries to help them 'complete their mission' and little by little their species recovers.
Washington Post
30-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Rescued giant moths emerge from cocoons in Mexico's sprawling capital
MEXICO CITY — Two moths the size of a hand, their wings patterned with brown and pink around four translucent sections, mate for hours hanging from a line alongside cocoons like the ones they emerged from just hours earlier. 'When I get here and find this, I jump with delight,' said María Eugenia Díaz Batres, who has been caring for insects at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture in Mexico City for nearly six decades.
Arab News
30-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Rescued giant moths emerge from cocoons in Mexico's sprawling capital
MEXICO CITY: Two moths the size of a hand, their wings patterned with brown and pink around four translucent sections, mate for hours hanging from a line alongside cocoons like the ones they emerged from just hours earlier. 'When I get here and find this, I jump with delight,' said María Eugenia Díaz Batres, who has been caring for insects at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture in Mexico City for nearly six decades. The mating pair of 'four mirrors' moths as they're popularly known in Mexico, or scientifically as Rothschildia orizaba, are evidence that the museum's efforts to save some 2,600 cocoons rescued from an empty lot were worth the trouble. The moths, whose numbers have fallen in Mexico City due to urbanization, have cultural relevance in Mexico. 'The Aztecs called them the 'butterfly of obsidian knives,' Itzpapalotl,' Díaz Batres said. 'And in northern Mexico they'd fill many of these cocoons with little stones and put them on their ankles for dances.' These cocoons arrived at the museum in late December. 'They gave them to us in a bag and in a box, all squeezed together with branches and leaves, so my first mission was to take them out, clean them,' Díaz Batres said. Mercedes Jiménez, director of the museum in the capital's Chapultepec park, said that's when the real adventure began since they had never received anything like this before. Díaz Batres had the cocoons hung in any place she thought they might do well, including her office where they hang from lines crisscrossing above her table. It has allowed her to watch each stage of their development closely. The moths only survive for a week or two as adults, but they give Díaz Batres tremendous satisfaction, especially when she arrives at her office and new moths 'are at the door, on the computer.' So she tries to help them 'complete their mission' and little by little their species recovers.
