Today’s Big Story

Astronomical Fall

As daylight dwindles, the fall equinox arrived Sunday

It’s fall. Well, astronomically speaking, of course. Yesterday was the autumnal equinox, officially welcoming the new season. The autumnal equinox is one of only two days—the other is the spring, or vernal, equinox—when the Sun is directly above the Equator, ostensibly dividing night and day into equal portions. On every other day of the year, either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere is inclined in the direction of the Sun because the Earth’s axis is tilted 23.4 degrees. This means that one hemisphere receives more sunlight than the other.

The exact time of the fall equinox changes slightly each year. This year, the equinox came on Sept. 22 at 8:43 a.m. Eastern time. From now until the winter solstice, which will be Dec. 21, days will shorten and nights will lengthen.

Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to “feel” like fall right away. As the New York Times points out, the ever-changing dates of equinoxes and similar events cause the timing and length of the astronomical seasons to vary, which means they are not useful for scientists analyzing climate trends from year to year. “Instead, meteorologists rely on a separate system that establishes seasons by the months of the calendar. Meteorological fall began on Sept. 1 and will conclude at the end of November.”

Did you know that the line dividing day and night on a planet’s surface is called a “terminator”? On most days, Earth’s is slanted when viewed from space. But on both of the equinoxes, the terminator aligns straight up and down, running from pole to pole—as seen in the photo above. Pretty cool, right?

During the September equinox, the sun’s direct rays cross Earth’s equator into the Southern Hemisphere. And we’ll continue to lose daylight until the winter solstice, as the sun traces a shorter and lower path across the sky. The reduced sunlight is the main reason trees change color before dropping their leaves for the winter.

House Unveils Stopgap Funding Bill

If the measure passes, the government would avert a shutdown that is set to begin at the end of the month

House Republicans on Sunday unveiled a three-month stopgap spending bill—with plans to vote on the measure on Wednesday as the clock ticks down to a Sept. 30 deadline to avert a government shutdown.

According to the Washington Post, Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to shift gears to a more-bipartisan plan after the failure of his initial proposal. It was a setback for his Republican conference, which spent the past two weeks demanding a longer funding bill with unrelated legislation attached requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections that was demanded by former President Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that while he was “pleased” about the result of the bipartisan negotiations, he criticized Johnson's handling of the situation.

I’m sure you’re getting used to this, because it seems like it happens over (and over, and over), but Congress has just over a week to pass a short-term funding bill, also known as a continuing resolution, to avert a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1. If the House passes the bill, it will move on to the Senate. The new bill would keep the government funded until Dec. 20, punting longer term spending decisions until after the Nov. 5 election.

What’s GPS Spoofing?

Hundreds of daily flights are running into the hazard that poses risks for pilots and passengers

If you—like me—assume the electronic flying aids in today’s aircraft are beyond the reach of bad actors, then it seems we all need to think again. And while this story is not yet making real headlines, that will likely change. As reported by Reuters last month, “a recent surge in GPS ‘spoofing’, a form of digital attack which can send planes off course, has entered an intriguing new dimension, according to cybersecurity researchers.”

Now the Wall Street Journal has a big report on the phenomenon. It found that spoof GPS signals are spreading beyond active conflict zones near Ukraine and the Middle East, confusing cockpit navigation and safety systems and taxing pilots’ attention in commercial jets carrying passengers and cargo. “The attacks started affecting a large number of commercial flights about a year ago, pilots and aviation experts said. The number of flights affected daily has surged from a few dozen in February to more than 1,100 in August, according to analyses from SkAI Data Services and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.”

Airlines are huddling with aircraft makers, suppliers and air-safety regulators to develop short-term workarounds and longer-term fixes. Equipment standards designed to harden civilian aircraft against spoofing won’t be issued until next year at the earliest, according to people familiar with the matter. We often hear about the world becoming less safe and less secure, well this is one of the byproducts. We’ve seen occasional headlines, especially from the conflict in Ukraine, but OPS Group warns that “the trouble is that these shifts in safety risk are happening without much attention to them.”

Will Meta Win the AI Arm’s Race?

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses exceeded expectations, but can it keep the momentum going?

It’s been a tough year for AI wearables, right? As The Verge points out, just a few short months ago, the tech world was convinced AI hardware could be the next big thing. “It was a heady vision, bolstered by futuristic demos and sleek hardware. At the center of the buzz were the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. Both promised a grandiose future. Neither delivered the goods.” Apple’s Vision Pro sort of came and went.

So it’s a bit ironic that the best shot at a workable AI wearable is a pair of smart glasses—specifically, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. But the collaborative brands are doubling down. It was just announced that Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica have extended their partnership into the next decade. And it should bring more “multi-generational smart eyewear products.”

The smart glasses originally came with an AI assistant, but Meta has since introduced Multimodal AI. The toolset allows the assistant to see and comprehend the world in real-time, processing photos, videos, text and audio. You can ask it to identify things you're looking at, such as a dog's breed, the name and information for landmarks, and a road sign in a different language. Plus, there are new frame designs to choose from, starting at $300. Of course, going forward, the pressure is on. Meta’s gambit is if people can get on board with simpler smart glasses, they’ll be more comfortable with face computers when AI—and eventually AR—is ready for prime time.

The Long Read

From rock to rap to country and beyond, it’s an assortment of images that you can’t unsee no matter how hard you try

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