Tech
The best reason to see the imminent total lunar eclipse
There are a number of compelling reasons to catch the looming March 13-14 total lunar eclipse, which will be visible in the entire lower 48 states and greater Americas.
Perhaps the best one is that no two such eclipses are the same. That means, weather permitting, you'll witness something unique.
Total lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon are in alignment, allowing Earth to cast a shadow on the moon and block most sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. But our planet's atmosphere still allows red wavelengths of light to squeeze through, illuminating the moon in reddish, rusty, orangish, or crimson colors. Crucially, both the fickle conditions in Earth's atmosphere, and how deeply the moon passes through Earth's shadow, impact how light is ultimately projected onto the moon. This means different, and even unexpected, light shows.
"It's part of the thrill," Bennett Maruca, an astronomer at the University of Delaware who has witnessed a number of total lunar eclipses, told Mashable. "You don't know exactly what you're going to get."
Totality — meaning when the moon is totally within Earth's shadow — will begin at 11:26 p.m. PDT on March 13, 2025 / 2:26 a.m. EDT on March 14 / 06:26 UTC, lasting for 65 minutes. And the reddening progresses over hours, as the moon gradually moves into the Earth's shadow. (Technically, the eclipse starts with slight dimming on March 13 at 8:57 p.m. PDT / 11:57 p.m. EDT / 03:57 UTC). So, weather permitting, you'll have ample opportunity to see these bloody colors in action.
Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
Credit: NASA
The first major factor at play in the amount of light and coloration illuminated on the moon is what's transpiring in our atmosphere, as sunlight must pass through our skies.
"Dust and clouds can affect the ultimate color of the moon during this event, which means that each total lunar eclipse ends up being somewhat unique and ultimately 'reflective' of the state of our own planet's weather," Eric Edelman, the planetarium director at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium, told Mashable.
For example, if there's lots of dust in the atmosphere — such as expansive dust clouds from the Sahara desert — you'll generally get a redder eclipsed moon, Edelman noted. Storms play a role in impacting how the penetrating light hits the moon, too. And volcanic eruptions — which can blast prodigious amounts of ash and gas high into the atmosphere — can dim lunar eclipses, as volcanic particles impede light that would otherwise get refracted towards the moon.
"It can be quite surprising."
The other significant player in the moon's illumination is how far the moon travels into Earth's shadow (called the "umbra," and visualized in the short NASA video below). When passing closer to the shadow's center, the moon is illuminated with the darkest colors — to deep browns and even purples. When passing nearer to the shadow's edge, the moon is illuminated with rusty, orange colors. The coming March 2025 eclipse, then, may be more on the rusty spectrum.
But the moon won't be all the same color. Our expansive natural satellite, some 2,159 miles across, will be illuminated by different parts of Earth's shadow, meaning it will display some of those darker colors, as well as the lighter rusty colors. "That's one of the cool things about this eclipse," noted Maruca. "You see the color gradient."
Witnessing totality will mean a late night, or early morning, for many of us. But Maruca emphasizes it's worth it. It'll be a one-of-a-kind space light show. And you don't know exactly what you're going to get.
"It can be quite surprising," Maruca said.
Thousands of private ChatGPT conversations have been appearing in Google search results because of the chatbot's "Share" feature, which the company recently removed following a backlash.
Fast Company reported this week that ChatGPT users may have inadvertently made their conversations with the AI chatbot public and searchable. The Fast Company report found nearly 4,500 ChatGPT conversations in Google search results, some of them regarding mental health struggles, relationships, and other personal and sensitive topics. Fortunately, the public conversations did not identify the users behind the posts.
How did these conversations end up on the web?
Until recently, ChatGPT users had the ability to share chats with friends, family, or coworkers by making them public. The function worked similarly to the sharing settings on a Google Doc, and users would be given a public link to the chat they could send to others. An additional option gave users the option to make the post "discoverable," and specifically discoverable by Google — whether users realized it or not.
When users created a shareable link to one of their conversations, a pop-up would appear that read: "A public link to your chat has been created." A checkbox also appeared under this message, labeled "Make this chat discoverable." And in fine print below this message, a warning appeared: "Allows it to be shown in web searches."
By checking this box, users were making it possible for their conversations to be indexed by Google, meaning Google's web crawlers could identify the page and make it eligible to appear in search results.
After Fast Company published its report, OpenAI removed the feature, with one company leader calling it a "short-lived experiment."
OpenAI Chief Information Security Officer Dane Stuckey explained on X how the feature worked — and where it ultimately went wrong.
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Even though ChatGPT users had to opt in for their chats to become public, the company decided the potential for user error was simply too high.
As Mashable has reported previously, OpenAI is required to save user conversations — even conversations users have actively deleted — because of an ongoing lawsuit from the New York Times. As part of this suit, OpenAI must retain all conversations indefinitely. (This does not apply to ChatGPT Enterprise or ChatGPT Edu customers, according to OpenAI.)
So, while ChatGPT users can toggle on a "Temporary Chat" feature that's similar to an incognito mode in a web browser, your chat data may still be retained.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
If there’s one thing STAY know for sure about Hyunjin from Stray Kids, it's that the K-pop star has a deep, poetic love for flowers.
Whether he's painting delicate blossoms in his studio or on the road, sharing poems that echo the beauty of nature, or adorning his space with preserved petals, Hyunjin has made it clear: flowers are more than just pretty — they're a core part of how he expresses himself.
So it's no surprise that floral phone cases are his actual accessory of choice. On Instagram, the dancer has shared mirror selfies snapped during his global travels on the group's dominATE World Tour, and in several, his iPhone is dressed in a floral-covered case. If you don't know what case we're talking about, pop over to Instagram to see the floral case in question.
These rich, botanical designs perfectly capture his dreamy, introspective energy. And the best part? You can shop the same aesthetic to match your own phone to Hyunjin's signature style.
Romance with an edge
Dark and dramatic, this matte black Roses and Thorns phone case from Casetify is adorned with deep red roses and subtle gold detailing. It's elegant, bold, and unmistakably Hyunjin-coded. The design balances softness with edge, much like Hyunjin's stage presence itself. It's a clear favorite in his rotation and gives off serious romantasy vibes.
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Floral nostalgia, Hyunjin-style
This one's for the romantics. With dainty bouquets in pink, red, and white set against a matte black background, the Vintage Flower Monday case from Casetify has a worn-in, dreamy vibe, like something out of a vintage diary. The delicate florals and washed tones feel straight from Hyunjin's sketchbook, capturing that quiet elegance he's so known for.
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Hyunjin’s elegant life hack: a magnetic cardholder
Technically not a case, but definitely 100-percent Hyunjin. This Butterfly Sunday by Monika Strigel magnetic cardholder stand from Casetify features butterflies and white florals, and it’s been spotted attached to his phone more than once. During a 2024 livestream, Hyunjin explained that he'd stopped using a wallet "a long time ago" but kept misplacing his cards. The Snappy™ was a game-changer. He even called the accessory "amazing," and this is the second design he's been seen using. Stylish and practical? Very Hyunjin.
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These floral cases and accessories are romantic, artsy, and effortlessly cool. Just like him.
This is your last chance to get the original lineup of Nintendo Switch consoles before the prices go up on Aug. 3.
On Friday, Nintendo announced that it would be raising prices on the Nintendo Switch 1, Nintendo Switch OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite, and some Switch accessories. While the Nintendo statement didn't specify how much prices would increase, a popular Nintendo fan account on X spotted higher prices in effect at Target already. If these numbers are correct, then shoppers will soon face these prices:
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Nintendo Switch 1, originally $300, now $339.99
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Nintendo Switch OLED Model, originally $350, now $399.99
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Nintendo Switch Lite, originally $200, now $229.99
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Nintendo Joy-Con 2 controllers, originally $95, now $100
However, these higher prices haven't gone into effect at other retailers, which means gamers have about 48 hours to get the beloved console at the usual price.
As of this writing, all three of these consoles are available for sale at Walmart for their original prices. Unfortunately, the new Switch 2 landed with a higher price tag of $449. While it was consistently out of stock, a recent Switch 2 restock has changed that. But if that $449 price tag still gives you pause, you can still have a lot of fun on the original Switch, one of the greatest gaming consoles ever made.
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