NASA counts down to launch of first spacecraft to ‘touch Sun’

This handout illustration obtained July 6, 2018 courtesy of NASA shows an artist’s conception of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, the spacecraft that will fly through the Sun’s corona to trace how energy and heat move through the star’s atmosphere. (AFP)
Updated 13 August 2018
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NASA counts down to launch of first spacecraft to ‘touch Sun’

TAAMPA: NASA counted down Friday to the launch of a $1.5 billion spacecraft that aims to plunge into the Sun’s sizzling atmosphere and become humanity’s first mission to explore a star.
The car-sized Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to blast off on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday.
The 65-minute launch window opens at 3:33 am (0733 GMT), and the weather forecast is 70 percent favorable for takeoff, NASA said.
The probe’s main goal is to unveil the secrets of the corona, the unusual atmosphere around Sun.
Not only is the corona about 300 times hotter than the Sun’s surface, it also hurls powerful plasma and energetic particles that can unleash geomagnetic space storms and disrupt Earth’s power grid.
“The Parker Solar Probe will help us do a much better job of predicting when a disturbance in the solar wind could hit Earth,” said Justin Kasper, one of the project scientists and a professor at the University of Michigan.

The probe is protected by an ultra-powerful heat shield that is just 4.5 inches thick (11.43 centimeters).
The shield should enable the spacecraft to survive its close shave with the center of our solar system, coming within 3.83 million miles (6.16 million kilometers) of the Sun’s surface.
The heat shield is built to withstand radiation equivalent up to about 500 times the Sun’s radiation here on Earth.
Even in a region where temperatures can reach more than a million degrees Fahrenheit, the sunlight is expected to heat the shield to just around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius).
Scorching, yes? But if all works as planned, the inside of the spacecraft should stay a cooler 85 F (29 C).
The goal for the Parker Solar Probe is to make 24 passes through the corona during its seven-year mission.
“The sun is full of mysteries,” said Nicky Fox, project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.
“We are ready. We have the perfect payload. We know the questions we want to answer.”

The tools on board will measure the expanding corona and continually flowing atmosphere known as the solar wind, which solar physicist Eugene Parker first described back in 1958.
Parker, now 91, recalled that at first, some people did not believe in his theory.
But then, the launch of NASA’s Mariner 2 spacecraft in 1962 — becoming the first robotic spacecraft to make a successful planetary encounter — proved them wrong.
“It was just a matter of sitting out the deniers for four years until the Venus Mariner 2 spacecraft showed that, by golly, there was a solar wind,” Parker said earlier this week.
He added that he is “impressed” by the Parker Solar Probe, calling it “a very complex machine.”
Scientists have wanted to build a spacecraft like this for more than 60 years, but only in recent years did the heat shield technology advance enough to be capable of protecting sensitive instruments, according to Fox.
Tools on board will measure high energy particles associated with flares and coronal mass ejections, as well as the changing magnetic field around the Sun.
“We will also be listening for plasma waves that we know flow around when particles move,” Fox added.
“And last but not least, we have a white light imager that is taking images of the atmosphere right in front of the Sun.”
When it nears the Sun, the probe will travel rapidly enough to go from New York to Tokyo in one minute — some 430,000 miles (700,000 kilometers) per hour, making it the fastest human-made object.


Fantasia Barrino-Taylor flaunts Monot in New York

Updated 28 April 2024
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Fantasia Barrino-Taylor flaunts Monot in New York

DUBAI: Helmed by Lebanese designer Eli Mizrahi, New York-based label Monot  dressed US actress Fantasia Barrino-Taylor for a red carpet appearance at the 2024 Time100 Gala.

Barrino-Taylor showed off a custom look by the label, which featured head-to-toe sequins and wrist cuffs that flared dramatically to cover her hands. The backless number was figure hugging and Barrino-Taylor complemented the outfit with a black, sequined head wrap.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Fantasia Taylor (@fantasia)

Mizrahi is no stranger to star power and made headlines in 2020 when he enlisted the likes of British supermodel Kate Moss, Italian star Mariacarla Boscono, British model Jourdan Dunn, US celebrity Amber Valletta and China’s Xiao Wen to star in a Monot campaign shot in Saudi Arabia.

The label has garnered a legion of celebrity fans, with US Olympian Simone Biles, model Kendall Jenner, Brazilian influencer Camila Coelho and US model Emily Ratajkowski donning Monot looks in the past. 

Fantasia Barrino-Taylor also made headlines when she attended the Astra Film Awards in Los Angeles in January in a mandarin orange gown by Saudi designer Yousef Akbar. (Getty Images)

“The Color Purple” star Barrino-Taylor also made headlines when she attended the Astra Film Awards in Los Angeles in January in a mandarin orange gown by Saudi designer Yousef Akbar. 

Barrino, who is also a singer, most recently starred as protagonist Celie in “The Color Purple,” a musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. The film’s screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. 

The movie tells the story of Celie, who is torn apart from her sister and her children and faces many hardships in life, including an abusive husband. With support from a sultry singer named Shug Avery, as well as her stand-her-ground stepdaughter, Celie ultimately finds strength.

Barrino showed off Akbar’s gown at an event in Los Angeles and paired it with chunky gold jewelry and slicked back hair. 


Jordanian Crown Prince marks Princess Rajwa’s 30th birthday

Updated 28 April 2024
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Jordanian Crown Prince marks Princess Rajwa’s 30th birthday

DUBAI: Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II took to social media to wish his Saudi-born wife Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein on her 30th birthday as a new official portrait of the princess was unveiled.

"May God continue to bless and nurture the bond between us. Happy Birthday Rajwa," the Crown Prince wrote on Instagram, sharing a brand new photo of the couple.

The Jordanian royal family also shared a new official portrait of Princess Rajwa to celebrate her birthday. Set against a blue background, the portrait shows the princess in a matching blue outfit from French label Rabanne.

The Jordanian royal family also shared a new official portrait of Princess Rajwa to celebrate her birthday. (Twitter)

Earlier this month, it was announced that the royal couple, who married last year in June, are now expecting their first baby.

The news of the pregnancy was announced by the Jordanian royal family in a statement.

“The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce that their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein are expecting their first baby this summer,” it read.


Muse to perform in Abu Dhabi this year

Updated 28 April 2024
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Muse to perform in Abu Dhabi this year

DUBAI: British rock veterans Muse are headed to Abu Dhabi for the second time as they get ready to perform at the 2024 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-party concert series.

Running from Dec. 5 - 8, Muse is the first the band to be announced as part of the concert series. Access to all concerts is exclusive for Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix ticket holders.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by AbuDhabiGP (@abudhabigp)

“Catch the Grammy Award winning rock icons electrifying the stage at @etihadpark this December at the #F1Finale Yasalam After-Race Concerts,” read a social media post on the official Instagram account of Abu Dhabu Grand Prix.

A date has not yet been announced for the concert.

This is the second time the “Starlight” rockers are performing as part of the concert series, having made their debut in the UAE capital in 2013.


Music ‘haven of freedom’ Tangiers hosts global jazz festival

Updated 28 April 2024
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Music ‘haven of freedom’ Tangiers hosts global jazz festival

  • This year’s Jazz Day will be held over four days starting on Saturday, during which talks and open-air performances will be held in Tangiers

TANGIERS, Morocco: The Moroccan city of Tangiers, which has a long history as a haven of inspiration for American jazz musicians, will host UNESCO’s International Jazz Day for the first time on Tuesday.
Over the last century, jazz greats such as Randy Weston, Idrees Sulieman and Max Roach all crossed the Atlantic to play and record music in the North African port city, perched on the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar.
“The city has had a fascinating power of attraction on a wave of intellectuals and musicians,” Philippe Lorin, the founder of an annual Tangiers jazz festival, told AFP.
“It’s not for nothing that a writer once said there was always a cruise liner in New York preparing to sail for Tangiers.”
This year’s Jazz Day will be held over four days starting on Saturday, during which talks and open-air performances will be held in Tangiers.
The festivities will culminate in an “All-Star Global Concert” on Tuesday led by jazz icon Herbie Hancock, also featuring bassists Marcus Miller and Richard Bona, as well as guitarist Romero Lubambo.
The city’s cosmopolitan artistic reputation stems from its location between Africa and Europe as well as its history, having been administered by several colonial powers from 1923 to 1956, the year Morocco gained independence.
This melting pot of influences prompted visits from international writers and poets, notably from the Beat Generation movement, as well as African American musicians seeking to find “their African roots,” Moroccan historian Farid Bahri told AFP.
Lorin said that Tangiers “was a haven of freedom — just like jazz music.”

A pivotal moment in the city’s musical history came in 1959, when Tangiers jazz promoter Jacques Muyal — then just a teenager — recorded a session with trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, pianist Oscar Dennard, bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Buster Smith at the Radio Tanger International studio.
The recording gained renown in jazz circles decades before its distribution as “The 4 American Jazzmen In Tangier” album in 2017.
Bahri, the author of “Tangiers, a world history of Morocco,” said “the presence of American musicians in Tangiers was also linked to a very active American diplomacy.”
Famous US pianist Randy Weston settled in Tangiers for five years after visiting 14 African countries in 1967 during a tour organized by the US State Department.
The Brooklynite virtuoso would play a key role in building the musical reputation of the city, to which he dedicated his 1973 album “Tanjah.”
“Randy was an exceptional, kind and respectful man,” said Abdellah El Gourd, a 77-year-old Moroccan legend of gnawa music, a centuries-old style played with a three-stringed lute and steel castanets, rooted in West African rituals and Sufi traditions.
“He gave a lot to the city and its musicians,” added the friend and collaborator of Weston, who died in 2018.

Together, El Gourd and Weston blurred the lines of their respective genres, creating the beginnings of jazz-gnawa fusion, which remains a key part of Tangiers’ musical legacy.
“The language barrier was never a problem because our communication was through (musical) scales,” El Gourd recalled in a rehearsal room lined with old photos and memorabilia from the years he toured with Weston and jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp.
“Our language was music.”
The two men’s collaborative work would years later yield the acclaimed 1992 album “The Splendid Master Gnawa Musicians of Morocco.”
Two years after settling in the city, Weston opened the African Rhythms jazz club, above the iconic Cinema Mauritania in downtown Tangiers.
“We used to rehearse there,” El Gourd recalled. “Randy would invite his musician friends. It was a beautiful time.”
With El Gourd’s help, Weston launched Tangiers’ first-ever jazz festival in 1972, featuring big names such as drummer Max Roach, flautist Hubert Laws, double-bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and saxophonist Dexter Gordon.
“It was quite a unique experience, because it was the first time we played in front of such a large audience,” said El Gourd, who was then used to small crowds for gnawa performances.
Weston and El Gourd’s festival was only held once.
But three decades later it inspired Lorin to create the Tanjazz festival, which is held in the port city every September.


Guerlain’s Ann-Caroline Prazan on mixing cultures, Mideast inspiration 

Updated 27 April 2024
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Guerlain’s Ann-Caroline Prazan on mixing cultures, Mideast inspiration 

DUBAI: Ann-Caroline Prazan, the director of art, culture, and heritage at French luxury beauty brand Guerlain, shared her affection for the Middle East and shed light on why she is so keen to mesh together cultures when creating new products.

“The Guerlain family is totally in love with the region. I am in love with this region because it is like a paradise,” she told Arab News. “People here love fragrances and they are such experts. When Guerlain creates a fragrance for the Middle East, it is always with a French touch.”

Prazan and Diala Makki at the Dubai event. (Supplied)

For Prazan, who joined the Guerlain team in 2000, understanding the brand’s story has been pivotal, motivating her to craft fragrances over her 24-year tenure, prioritizing longevity over trends.

“It is important to understand the past to create a future,” Prazan said. “You know, a house is like a big tree. You need to know the roots to create the leaves and to create new flowers. Without roots, you cannot do anything if you do not understand the brand.”

“Innovation is our obsession,” she added. “Guerlain created the first lipsticks, the first lip liners, the first modern perfume, the first moisturizing Nivea cream was by Guerlain.”

Guerlain has collaborated with regional creatives before. (Supplied)

Her regional knowledge shapes Guerlain’s tailored fragrances for its customers.

“You have the best perfumers here, local perfumers. What was interesting is to mix the roots with the leaves to mix different cultures. And for me, when you mix different cultures, when you mix traditions and modernity, you can create beautiful products,” she explained.

Guerlain has collaborated with regional creatives before. In 2023, the brand worked with Lebanese artist Nadine Kanso to design a fragrance bottle for the label, making her the first Arab designer to collaborate with the LVMH-owned perfume and beauty house.

The Parfumerie D’Art collection features the Bee Bottle by Baqué Molinié. (Supplied)

She designed 30 limited edition bee-inspired bottles, decorated with 1,720 crystals, with Arabic calligraphy that read “Love.”

At an event in Dubai last week, the label chose to work with contemporary Tunisian artist Nja Mahdaoui, who showcased his abstract Arabic calligraphy with engraved Cherry Oud bottles serving as place cards for the invitees.

Balqees performed at the DUbai event. (Supplied)

The brand also created a number of bottles, showcased at the event in Dubai, that celebrate Arab design elements.

The Parfumerie D’Art collection features the Bee Bottle by Baqué Molinié. Unveiled to mark Eid Al-Fitr this year, the bottle features hand-placed mother-of-pearl beads and moonstones, designed by the Parisian atelier as a tribute to the “wonders of Arab architectural art,” according to a released statement.