Jane C. Bright
arXiv:2503.22795
This paper explores an unexpected yet compelling parallel between the evolution of the universe, as described by cosmological eras, and the artistic evolution of Taylor Swift, delineated by her distinct album eras. By mapping key characteristics and transitions in the universe's history to corresponding themes and milestones in Swift's career, I offer a novel perspective on both. I culminate with predictions for Swift's future work and dare to ask a question of cosmic importance: Could Taylor Swift's thirteenth album hold the secret to the universe's ultimate destiny?
Vito Squicciarini, Irina Mirova, Francis D. Anderson, Zhiyuan He, Wahman al-Khwarizmi
arXiv:2503.24242
High angular resolution holds the key to extending our knowledge in several domains of astronomical research. In addition to the development of new instruments, advancements in post-processing algorithms can enhance the performances attainable in an observation, turning archival observations into a treasure. We developed a machine-learning tool, named zoom-in, that is able to improve the angular resolution of an astronomical image by a factor of ∼100 by optimally recombining short-cadence sequences of images. After training our model on real-life photographs, we tested our method on archival images of the Moon taken through ESO instruments. We were able to achieve a remarkable spatial resolution of ∼1 m of the lunar surface. While analyzing one of the fields from the sample, we discovered structures of clear anthropic origin inside the Aristarchus crater. The features appear to be consistent with ancient ruins of cities and castles. A thorough analysis of the relevant literature allowed us to conclude that this valley corresponds to the one described in Ludovico Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso": a place where all the items lost by humans gather and pile up. Analyses of the surface brightness from our images, indicating an abnormally high albedo of ∼0.25, further corroborate this idea suggesting a conspicuous presence of glass. We infer the presence of >1 billion flasks of human wits on the lunar surface, whose origin we investigate in detail. We urge for a dedicated mission, astolfo, to be carried out by Artemis astronauts in order to recover human wits and bring them back to the Earth.
Michael B. Lund
arXiv:2503.23614
For generations, people have complained that things used to be better in the past. In this paper, we investigate this change by specifically looking at creativity in astronomy. To do this,we explore if older constellations reflected a greater sense of creativity on the part of those designing them than more modern constellations do. We find that things really have become simplistic and less original over time.
Joanne Tan
arXiv:2503.23957
We all love the ecstasy that comes with submitting papers to journals or arXiv. Some have described it as yeeting their back-breaking products of labor into the void, wishing they could never deal with them ever again. The very act of yeeting papers onto arXiv contributes to the expansion of the arXiverse; however, we have yet to quantify our contribution to the cause. In this work, I investigate the expansion of the arXiverse using the arXiv astro-ph submission data from 1992 to date. I coin the term "the arXiverse constant", a0, to quantify the rate of expansion of the arXiverse. I find that astro-ph as a whole has a positive a0, but this does not always hold true for the six subcategories of astro-ph. I then investigate the temporal changes in a0 for the astro-ph subcategories and astro-ph as a whole, from which I infer the fate of the arXiverse.
(Republished in Acta Prima Aprilia to coincide with its publication on arXiv)