Technologies

What’s life like in space? Astronauts share moving memories in new film

In the documentary The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station, astronauts’ candid testimonials about going to space shed light on their humanity.

Millions of Americans stared in horror on Sept. 11, 2001, as their TVs flashed with images of hijacked airplanes crashing into New York’s Twin Towers. Former NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson watched from the International Space Station.

He recounts the despair he felt in orbit while looking down on Earth. The ISS’s cameras deftly located a seemingly peaceful, cloudless sky above North America and caught sight of the thick shrouds of smoke ascending from lower Manhattan. His distance from the planet made him conscious of his safety from the chaos, a safety that almost felt unfair to him. Later, Culbertson learned one of the American pilots on the attack’s painfully long list of victims was his friend.

Like the entire nation, Culbertson was abruptly reminded of what it means to feel human.

Culbertson’s story is just one of many intimate anecdotes told by international astronauts in the new documentary The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station. It’s already out in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and will be available for digital download on Sept. 17 from services including Amazon Prime Video, iTunes and Google Play.

Director Clare Lewins, known for her 2014 documentary I Am Ali, about boxer Muhammad Ali, focuses her film on the quiet emotions and experiences that accompany space travel. She does this by drawing attention away from the cosmos and putting its explorers at the forefront.

The Wonderful isn’t really a movie about space; it’s a story about the people who upended their lives to go there.

The film is strung together with music ranging from Claire de Lune to rock ‘n’ roll, sometimes a bit of an odd choice, and cinematic sequences of cruising over Earth that are occasionally a bit longer than needed. However, the movie’s carried by minimalistic scenes of astronauts simply narrating their memories of journeying to and making the ISS their home.

Some are remarkable accounts of the grandeur of the station’s solar panels or the car-crash-like descent back to Earth. Others are charmingly banal recollections, such as listening to Coldplay in a space capsule.

Docking on the ISS elicited an «Oh my!» from European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforreti and Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, actually felt like one when she first saw her reflection during a spacewalk.

Scott Kelly viscerally describes the Earth’s atmosphere as a contact lens placed on the planet, and recalls his surprise when he finally was invited to interview at NASA. Like anyone vying for a new job, he worries about which suit to wear.

You can’t help but notice that many of the astronauts share unifying pasts of peering up at the sky, believing they’d one day float among the stars. Admittedly somewhat cliche, their wide-eyed childhood dreams reminded me of how lovely it is that humans have repeated the desire to shoot for the moon frequently enough for it to become a hallmark of our culture.

Interviews are also interspersed with touching details about what it’s like for families to suddenly be separated by the clouds.

In a powerful statement, former astronaut Cady Coleman’s husband, Josh Simpson, discusses how he felt when his wife’s rocket climbed into the night sky until it became a speck of light in the darkness. «It’s amazing to think that someone that you love is that pinpoint of light,» he says.

Astronauts themselves are asked how it feels to leave behind fathers, wives, brothers, children and friends — unsure if it would be their last goodbye — as the iconic 10…9…8 countdown is chanted during their rocket’s launch.

But the pain of leaving behind one family is soon alleviated by their entrance into another. Cristoforreti calls the experience of finally setting foot in the ISS a «new birth.»

Particularly, because the film’s testimonials represent global institutions including NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos, the movie successfully underlines the ISS’s role in providing an apolitical oasis for adventurers of the world to embark on the same mission.

Despite any minor shortcomings, it’s nearly impossible to watch this movie and not feel inspired. It’s a grounded version of the classic, epic space documentary that illustrates how incredible things can be achieved by humans — who eat the same food as the rest of us, listen to the same music and love their families the same way.

Coleman’s son summarizes The Wonderful best when he chuckles and describes his reaction when his friends ask him what it’s like to have an astronaut mother: «Well, it’s just mom.»

Technologies

iPhone 16E vs. Pixel 9A: I Tested the Cameras and Was Surprised by the Results

Here’s how Apple and Google’s most affordable phones compare against each other in terms of photography.

Most phones these days take decent photos for posting to Instagram or sharing with friends and family on a message thread. But the best cameras are found on smartphones that typically cost $1,000 or more. Fortunately, Google has proved with the Pixel 9A that you can still take good-looking snaps and pay less than $500. Images from the phone look terrific and capture a lot of detail and texture. And Google’s algorithm secret sauce for capturing beautiful and natural complexions in portraits is on full display here.

But something curious happened this year. Apple replaced its cheapest phone with the iPhone 16E. In doing so, it tried to pull some of the affordable photographic attention away from the Pixel. The iPhone 16E takes lovely photos, even with one fewer camera than the Pixel. Apple is well-known for pushing the limits of phone photography with the iPhone, but that is usually tied to its iPhone Pro line, which starts at a grand. And while $599 is the lowest price that Apple sells a new phone for, the iPhone 16E misses that $500 sweet spot of the Pixel 9A.

So that raises the question: Does a pricier phone take better photos?

To find out, I took the iPhone 16E and Pixel 9A around San Francisco and put them through a camera test. Several hundred photos later, I was surprised by the results, but I ended up with one being my favorite.

iPhone 16E and Pixel 9A camera specs

Camera	Resolution	Apeture	Notes
Pixel 9A wide	48MP	f/1.7	OIS
Pixel 9A ultrawide	13MP	f/2.2	Takes 12MP photos
Pixel 9A selfie	13MP	f/2.2	Fixed focus
iPhone 16E wide	48MP	f/1.6	OIS
iPhone 16E selfie	12MP	f/1.9	Autofocus

Right off the bat, this isn’t exactly a level playing field. The Pixel 9A has three cameras: a wide, ultrawide and selfie. The iPhone 16E only has two: a wide and selfie. Each phone’s main camera has a 48-megapixel sensor and groups four pixels together to create a «super» pixel that captures more light. That also means photos exhibit less image noise and therefore need less noise reduction, which can otherwise leave your pictures looking like a blurry, soft mess.

Both phones lack a dedicated telephoto camera and use sensor cropping to achieve a 2x magnification that in my testing looks pretty good.

The Pixel 9A has a «macro mode» and can focus on subjects that are close up. Interestingly, it doesn’t use its ultrawide camera for macro shots like many other phones do. Sadly, the iPhone 16E lacks a macro mode unlike the rest of its iPhone 16 brothers and sisters. However, I noticed that the main camera can take close up shots with the subject in-focus (maybe not as dramatically close as a dedicated macro mode allows for).

iPhone 16E vs. Pixel 9A: Photos

Take a look at some of my favorite photos from both phones.

iPhone 16E vs. Pixel 9A: Photo comparisons

In general, I found that the Pixel 9A really pushes the dynamic range in its images. The phone captures more details in the shadows but really aggressively brightens them too, like in the photos below of Maisie the cat. The iPhone 16E’s image of Maisie doesn’t have as much detail and texture in her fur. Somewhere in between the Pixel’s photo and the iPhone’s image is how the cat actually looked in real life.

I also find that the Pixel takes images with a cooler color temperature, while the iPhone’s photos have more contrast, especially outdoors. Take a look at the photos below of a brick building here in the Mission in San Francisco. Notice the bricks in each photo.

In terms of Portrait mode, neither the Pixel nor iPhone have a dedicated telephoto lens. And remember, the iPhone 16E has only a single rear camera, so it relies solely on AI and machine learning to determine the depth of a scene and create that artistic out-of-focus background.

The first thing I notice with the portrait mode photos below of CNET’s Faith Chihil is how differently the iPhone and Pixel handled the textures in the yellow sweater and green chair. The «cutout» (from in focus to out of focus) looks natural, except for the green chair in the iPhone’s photo. And Faith’s complexion looks most true to life in the Pixel 9A image. The iPhone 16E’s photo makes her skin look muddy and muted.

Something else I noticed is that the iPhone 16E’s portrait mode only works on humans; on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, animals are automatically recognized as portrait subjects. So, if you want dramatic-looking snaps with artistically blurred backgrounds of Fido or Mr. Cupcakes, then the Pixel is the way to go. Sorry for yet another cat photo, but check out the portrait mode snap below of Maise the cat.

Both phones take night mode images (Google calls them Night Sight photos). In the photos below of a space shuttle Lego set taken in a very dim room, neither of the images are great. The iPhone 16E’s photo has the least image noise, but the contrast is heavy. I prefer the Pixel 9A’s photo.

I also snapped images of a residential block at dusk where the street lights really make the iPhone’s night mode photo look orange. The iPhone’s image is brighter. But notice the details in the telephone wires across the top of the images below. The iPhone captures them as continuous lines, whereas the Pixel 9A’s image has them made up of tiny jagged line segments.

iPhone 16E vs. Pixel 9A: Which would I choose?

Overall, both phones have their shortcomings when it comes to photography. I don’t think most people would choose an affordable phone solely based on the camera’s performance. Be assured that if you get either phone, you’ll be able to take decent snaps with some images bordering on looking great.

The iPhone 16E costs more, lacks an ultrawide lens and, while the pictures it takes are decent, I think that the Pixel 9A’s cameras are great for a $500 phone, and would likely opt for it.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, April 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 28.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough. I knew the 1990 Madonna hit (5-Across), but had no idea on the very next question involving tennis (6-Across). You win some, you lose some. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Chef’s creation
Answer: DISH

5A clue: Iconic Madonna hit of 1990
Answer: VOGUE

6A clue: Section of a tennis court used when playing doubles
Answer: ALLEY

7A clue: State of mind
Answer: MOOD

8A clue: Not amateur
Answer: PRO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Rarely-used word meaning «sadness»
Answer: DOLOR

2D clue: Snow place like home?
Answer: IGLOO

3D clue: Went after in court
Answer: SUED

4D clue: «Yo»
Answer: HEY

5D clue: Fill time on stage
Answer: VAMP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 28, #217

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 217, for April 28.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition must be incredibly difficult to assemble. I’ve noticed numerous categories where the puzzle maker falls back in picking a certain athlete, and then listing that person’s past teams, often including college and national or Olympic teams. Hint: There’s one like that today. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: I want this one.

Green group hint: Win a medal here.

Blue group hint: Hoopster’s history.

Purple group hint: It’s also a hat.