Blue Sky Times: Lost Portrait, NASA’s Ingenuity and Chicago’s Greatness

A new semester is here and for some of us here at The Phoenix, it’s our last one as college students. Though the anxieties of graduation and the sadness of the end of another school year may be lingering over our heads like a dark rain cloud, the Blue Sky Times is here to be a reminder of some of the bluest skies that are still all around us. Here are this week’s good news stories. 

Gustav Klimt Portrait Found

A portrait done by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, which was believed to have been lost for 100 years, was found in Vienna, BBC news reported.

The portrait is of Fraulein Lieser and belonged to the Liesers, a wealthy family in Austria. It was last seen in public in 1925. 

What happened to the painting after it was last seen is unclear. The family of the current owners of the painting have had it since the 1960s. 

The painting is estimated at $54 million by the im Kinsky auction house. Before it’s auctioned, the painting will be shown at various international locations such as in England, Switzerland and Hong Kong. 

The Little Helicopter That Could

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity finally retired last week after over three years of service, 75 flights logged and two total hours of flight time, the Associated Press reported.

“That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release announcing the retirement.

The drone was initially meant as a short-term test of the capability of powered aircraft over Mars but ended up traveling over 14 times farther than expected. Throughout its mission, Ingenuity reached peak heights of 79 feet and peak speeds of over 22 miles-per-hour, AP reported.

Ingenuity first arrived on the Red Planet in 2021 after hitchhiking alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover, which the copter acted as a scout for, according to AP. Because of Ingenuity’s success, two mini helicopters were added to a future mission to Mars in 2022.

Best Cities in the World 

The city of Chicago was ranked the 14th best city in the world in Time Out Magazine’s 2024 list of the 50 best cities in the world. 

The annual ranking surveys residents on nightlife, food, quality, affordability and culture in order to rank the cities, according to their website. The ranking decision also considers the way the city makes residents feel, how beautiful the city is and how easy it is to make social connections in the city.

Chicago received high scores for nightlife and delicious food, and an 83% for entertainment options according to the ranking. 

“Whether you want to spend a night listening to blues until 4am or a day marvelling at awe-inspiring architecture, Chicago has you covered,” the ranking says. “The unofficial capital of the Midwest offers all the expected amenities of a world-class city — a vibrant nightlife and heaps of culture, to start — plus a whole lot more.”

Of the 50 U.S. cities that made it onto the list, New York City came in first and was the only U.S. city to beat Chicago. Chicago beat multiple other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Austin and Boston.

Have a great week everyone and remember, as The Beatles once sang “For tomorrow may rain so / I’ll follow the sun.”