Reality Checks: Troubled Aquifers, Decoded Racist Manifesto, Apps for STDs, and Weighing a Black Hole

On the left, an optical image from the Digitized Sky Survey shows Cygnus X-1, outlined in a red box. Cygnus X-1 is located near large active regions of star formation in the Milky Way, as seen in this image that spans some 700 light years across. An artist's illustration on the right depicts what astronomers think is happening within the Cygnus X-1 system. Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole, a class of black holes that comes from the collapse of a massive star. New studies with data from Chandra and several other telescopes have determined the black hole's spin, mass, and distance with unprecedented accuracy.
- The Earth’s aquifers are in trouble. (via The Atlantic)
- References in Dylan Roof’s deeply racist manifesto, decoded. (via Mother Jones)
- Planned Parenthood’s new app helps you determine if you have an STD. (via NPR)
- How do you weigh a monster black hole? (via Discovery News)
Featured image credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
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