Saturn is shining brightly tonight!

Happening Off-Campus: This year, the MacArthur “Genius” grant was awarded to Marika Holland, a climate scientist studying the role of sea ice and the polar climate of the Earth systems. In addition to studying the role of sea ice, she also works with local communities in the Arctic, people who are thinking about policy and decision-making. She says, “To me, there’s a lot of need to have opportunities for more of those kinds of collaborations.” The grant is an award of $800,000, no strings attached awarded annually to 20 artists, writers, scientists, or academics, who show “exceptional creativity.” Of the 20 recipients, Holland is on of three fellows working on climate issues; the others being sociologist, Holly Jean Buck, at the University of Buffalo, working on emerging climate and energy policies, and environmental scientist, Kaiyu Guan at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, working on agricultural modeling to forecast outcomes under different conditions. (New York Times )

Happening Near Campus: October is going to be an amazing month for astronomical sightings, with the appearance of meteor showers, Saturn, and a few autumn constellations. Tonight, Saturn will even be bright enough to see over New York’s light pollution and a full moon. According to Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, “Fall is a great time of year for stargazing because the weather is good.” The best time to spot Saturn will be just after sunset. Look towards the southeast, to the sixth planet from the sun, a shiny yellowish-orange dot. (Gothamist) 

Happening On-Campus: This Monday from 10:00-11:00 A.M., Columbia will be hosting a virtual Naloxone training, open to all Columbia affiliates. The session will cover various topics such as opioid overview, a naloxone kits and its components and uses, etc. For more information, click here. 

Song of the day: Saturn by SZA