[BLOG] Some Sunday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait notes the first time that an exoplanet, HR 8799e, has been directly observed using optical interferometry.


• Centauri Dreams notes the possibility, demonstrated by the glimpsing of a circumplanetary disc around exoplanet PDS 70b, that we might be seeing a moon system in formation.


• The Citizen Science Salon looks what observers in Antarctica are contributing to our wealth of scientific knowledge.


• The Dragon's Tales shares links to articles looking at the latest findings on the Precambrian Earth.


• The Frailest Thing's L.M. Sacasas writes about his ambivalent response to a Twitter that, by its popularity, undermines the open web.


• Gizmodo notes that NASA is going to open up the International Space Station to tourists.


• JSTOR Daily looks at how croquet, upon its introduction in the 19th century United States, was seen as scandalous for the way it allowed men and women to mix freely.


• Shakezula at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the unaccountable fondness of at least two Maine Republican legislators for the Confederacy.


• Marginal Revolution suggests that the economic success of Israel in recent decades is a triumph of neoliberalism.


• Stephen Ellis at the NYR Daily writes about the gymnastics of Willem de Kooning.


• Drew Rowsome profiles out comic Brendan D'Souza.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at the still strange galaxy NGC 1052-DF2, apparently devoid of dark matter.


• John Scalzi at Whatever shares his theory about a fixed quantity of flavor in strawberries of different sizes.


• Window on Eurasia looks at a contentious plan for a territorial swap between Armenia and Azerbaijan.