#131 - Open for Comets

Strange Realm

This week, we bring you a potentially calamitous episode as we enter the time when interstellar object 3i/ATLAS is making its closest approach to the planet Mars, and we look at the possible astrological significance of this epic event. We also discuss news of a "Noah's Ark" launched into space by Russia full of plants and animals, as well as news that we have a new record-breaking number of qubits assembled together, and we investigate the enduring mystery of the "Dark Watchers" of the Santa Lucia Mountains. All of this and then, after the break, we continue our reading series as Frobisher reads more from "Beware of the Woods," by Tony Urban.

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Notes:
- The Astrology of 3i/Atlas
https://www.skyscript.co.uk/comet.html
- Russian "Noah's Ark" satellite retrieved
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/russian-noahs-ark-probe-carrying-75-mice-and-1-500-flies-lands-back-on-earth
- Largest array of qubits yet debuts
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-physicists-qubit-array.html
- Watching out for the Dark Watchers
https://www.livescience.com/dark-watchers-california-optical-illusion.html
- Beware of the Woods
https://www.amazon.com/Beware-Woods-Stories-Unexplained-Encounters/dp/B0C63RJ77H

Intro music: "night drive" by bbrainz (slowed + reverb)
Outro music: "Curious Constellations" by SURGE
Background art: "The Time Machine" by Interesni Kazki (AEC)
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