Saturday, March 21, 2009
happy vernal equinox!
its nice to live again where the change of seasons somewhat coincide with the astronomical definitions! flowers are beginning to poke out of the ground and bloom! yeah springtime! and i hope all you southern hemispherians are ready for the summer heat to subside!
today is the vernal equinox. the hours of daylight and darkness are very nearly equal. why? the earth spins around once a day on an axis that is not perpendicular to the plane in which the earth revolves around the sun. if it were perpendicular, we would not have the seasons we feel. right now, the earth's spin axis is not facing towards or away from the sun.... it's exactly in the middle of those two extremes!
and no, it is NOT true that you can only stand an egg on its end during the vernal equinox!!! why does that idea even make sense to some people?
bienvenida la primavera!
today is the vernal equinox. the hours of daylight and darkness are very nearly equal. why? the earth spins around once a day on an axis that is not perpendicular to the plane in which the earth revolves around the sun. if it were perpendicular, we would not have the seasons we feel. right now, the earth's spin axis is not facing towards or away from the sun.... it's exactly in the middle of those two extremes!
and no, it is NOT true that you can only stand an egg on its end during the vernal equinox!!! why does that idea even make sense to some people?
bienvenida la primavera!
Friday, March 20, 2009
pizza topping sudoku
some people love sudoku, some are bored by it, some can't be bothered enough to learn how solve it. i like to play an occasional round when i'm on an airplane or visiting my dad.
but one thing is definitely true - i am enamored by this sudoku method of spreading pizza toppings so that they are evenly dispersed on each piece! brilliant!
haha! i hate when all the toppings get concentrated into one section. i've only ever made round pizzas at home though (and never have the topping dispersion problem), but i might have to try a square crust just to play this game!
my nine toppings? spinach, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatos, red bell peppers, onions, basil, mushrooms, garlic, and something else....
but one thing is definitely true - i am enamored by this sudoku method of spreading pizza toppings so that they are evenly dispersed on each piece! brilliant!
haha! i hate when all the toppings get concentrated into one section. i've only ever made round pizzas at home though (and never have the topping dispersion problem), but i might have to try a square crust just to play this game!
my nine toppings? spinach, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatos, red bell peppers, onions, basil, mushrooms, garlic, and something else....
Thursday, March 19, 2009
galaxy zoo - 15 million galaxy morphologies!
the galaxy zoo project, where the public can help classify galaxies for scientific purposes, is continuing to produce fantastic results! one month after the launch of zoo 2, zooites have classified over 15 million galaxies!!!! that is astounding!
read about the history of the galaxy zoo here.
follow the galaxy zoo blog here.
best of all, participate here!
read about the history of the galaxy zoo here.
follow the galaxy zoo blog here.
best of all, participate here!
what is a burrito - to you?
based on my dining experience this evening, and the great responses i've received on twitter so far, i ask you....
what is a burrito?
i'm interested in the idea of what a "burrito" is from people all over the world... go!
what is a burrito?
i'm interested in the idea of what a "burrito" is from people all over the world... go!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
discovery reaches the international space station!
sunday's successful launch of discovery sent the shuttle sailing towards the international space station (ISS). discovery had to get into orbit with the ISS and catch up to it in order to dock. during the approach, the two flew together thru the night sky very quickly and very closely! just before the docking on tuesday, marco langbroek captured this image as the two objects passed over the netherlands:
the brighter streak on top is the ISS and the fainter one below is discovery. they move quickly across the sky as you can see in this few second exposure.
once the discovery crew assembles the final solar panel on the space station, the ISS will become the second brightest object in the night sky, surpassing venus for the honor! my favorite time to spot the ISS is if it happens to be passing overhead at sunset or sunrise, because it is super bright!
you can figure out when the ISS (or many other orbiting satellits) will pass over your part of the earth at heavens above, or using google earth as described by orbiting frog.
enjoy!
the brighter streak on top is the ISS and the fainter one below is discovery. they move quickly across the sky as you can see in this few second exposure.
once the discovery crew assembles the final solar panel on the space station, the ISS will become the second brightest object in the night sky, surpassing venus for the honor! my favorite time to spot the ISS is if it happens to be passing overhead at sunset or sunrise, because it is super bright!
you can figure out when the ISS (or many other orbiting satellits) will pass over your part of the earth at heavens above, or using google earth as described by orbiting frog.
enjoy!
balloon model astronomy!
here are a few photos from the conference i attended last week in london. i'm working on writing some reflections, but for now, some pictures will have to do!
at lunch, a balloon artist, Bubblz Ainslie, asked maggie philbin to challenge her. she responded: make a radio telescope!
very impressive! near the end of the conference, we all electronically voted on what other astronomical tool we wanted to see as a balloon model, and the international space station won!
shenanigans ensued.
here she is, the artist hard at work, trying to create a balloon spiral galaxy... bubblz the math clown!
this one isnt astronomically related, but too cute not to highlight!
at lunch, a balloon artist, Bubblz Ainslie, asked maggie philbin to challenge her. she responded: make a radio telescope!
very impressive! near the end of the conference, we all electronically voted on what other astronomical tool we wanted to see as a balloon model, and the international space station won!
shenanigans ensued.
here she is, the artist hard at work, trying to create a balloon spiral galaxy... bubblz the math clown!
this one isnt astronomically related, but too cute not to highlight!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
GLOBE at night - observe orion!
the 94th carnival of space led me to an article by the space writer asking: are your skies dark? i feel like i can see fewer and fewer stars with my eyes in the night sky, and that's not *just* because my eyes are aging or because i recently moved to the cloudy UK! most people on earth live in cities and most cities are completely lit up at night, as you can see in the image below of the earth at night!
a few years ago, i asked a class of 200 university students how many had seen the milky way across the night sky. not even half of them raised their hands! i admit that i didnt see the milky way in the sky until i was 19 and camping in the mountains of california. the sighting coincided with the year i switched my undergraduate major to physics.
in an effort to promote getting out and observing the night skies, the GLOBE at night project begins this week! the main activity is for people all over the world (you!) to go outside and look at the constellation orion between 16-28 March 2009. orion is one of the fun constellations that is visible from both hemispheres, but looks upside down when you visit the other hemisphere!
the GLOBE at night website provides nice explanations as to how to find orion from anywhere in the world, but it's definitely one the most recognizable constellations in the sky.
after you identify orion, you can continue participating in the project by comparing the nighttime sky you see with the GLOBE's magnitude charts, to see how dark your night sky is! you can then record your observations on their website until april 7th, 2009 and compare how dark your skies are to the rest of the world!
orion is up early right now, about 7-10pm local time. happy observing!
... and let us know if you find any exciting or unexpected results!
a few years ago, i asked a class of 200 university students how many had seen the milky way across the night sky. not even half of them raised their hands! i admit that i didnt see the milky way in the sky until i was 19 and camping in the mountains of california. the sighting coincided with the year i switched my undergraduate major to physics.
in an effort to promote getting out and observing the night skies, the GLOBE at night project begins this week! the main activity is for people all over the world (you!) to go outside and look at the constellation orion between 16-28 March 2009. orion is one of the fun constellations that is visible from both hemispheres, but looks upside down when you visit the other hemisphere!
the GLOBE at night website provides nice explanations as to how to find orion from anywhere in the world, but it's definitely one the most recognizable constellations in the sky.
after you identify orion, you can continue participating in the project by comparing the nighttime sky you see with the GLOBE's magnitude charts, to see how dark your night sky is! you can then record your observations on their website until april 7th, 2009 and compare how dark your skies are to the rest of the world!
orion is up early right now, about 7-10pm local time. happy observing!
... and let us know if you find any exciting or unexpected results!
owl sweater
well this is just about the cutest sweater ever!
if anyone has the skills and wants to make one for me, i'll figure out something to create and trade! let me know...
if anyone has the skills and wants to make one for me, i'll figure out something to create and trade! let me know...
Monday, March 16, 2009
rube goldberg machine!
rube goldberg won the 1948 pulitzer prize for his political cartooning, but i know him for his cartoons of machines that perform very simple tasks thru round-about paths and unpredictable means.
if you ever played the game, mouse trap, then you know what i mean!
for some reason, rube goldberg machines seem to be featured quite often in opening sequences of films!! my favorite rube goldberg moments in film are pee wee herman's breakfast machine in pee wee's big adventure, the opening scene from back to the future with all the clocks and the machine feeding einstein - the dog, the gate-opening scene near the beginning of goonies, and the opening sequence of wallace and gromit film, the curse of the were-rabbit.
here's one of the better at-home rube goldberg machines i've seen - designed to smash a creme egg.
video found at domino-yes-maybe.
if you ever played the game, mouse trap, then you know what i mean!
for some reason, rube goldberg machines seem to be featured quite often in opening sequences of films!! my favorite rube goldberg moments in film are pee wee herman's breakfast machine in pee wee's big adventure, the opening scene from back to the future with all the clocks and the machine feeding einstein - the dog, the gate-opening scene near the beginning of goonies, and the opening sequence of wallace and gromit film, the curse of the were-rabbit.
here's one of the better at-home rube goldberg machines i've seen - designed to smash a creme egg.
video found at domino-yes-maybe.
what are you?
as i write this post, the poll on the right asking about gender is almost exactly even!? i find this really interesting and will hold further comment until the poll is closed. if you havent yet, take 2 seconds to vote! thanks!
human 3D model image from 3dscience.com
human 3D model image from 3dscience.com
shuttle discovery ready to launch - again
wednesday's scheduled launch of the shuttle discovery was delayed due to a fuel leak. the STS-119 launch has been rescheduled for tonight at 7:43 pm EDT. preparations for launch are fully underway and NASA reports that "more than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen have been transferred to their respective containers inside the 154-foot tall orange tank" and no leaks are evident!
good luck to the discovery STS-119 crew!
poster credit to space flight awareness at nasa.
good luck to the discovery STS-119 crew!
poster credit to space flight awareness at nasa.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
the tides of london
i was surprised this weekend to discover how severely the river thames in london rises and falls with the tides... 5-7 meters!!
high tide:
low tide:
the tides occur because of the gravitational interactions between the earth, the moon, and the sun. the side of the earth facing the moon (closest to the moon) feels a slightly stronger force than the side of the earth farthest from the moon. the combined effect is to stretch the earth in the direction of the moon so that it is elongated slightly.
water feels the effect more than rock since it is more flexible. the earth rotates fully each day, so the bulged water parts that face towards and away from the moon, are changing as the earth rotates, and we witness the rise and fall of the earth's oceans (among other things). there are two tides each day as each part of the earth's surface rotates thru each bulged part.
the sun also plays this tidal game with the earth. the sun causes similar tides on earth, but they are half as strong as lunar tides since the moon is much much much closer! when the sun, earth, and moon are aligned, the effects of the tides from the sun and the moon add together and cause higher high tides and lower low tides. we call these spring tides and they occur twice a month (at the full moon and new moon phases).
the weakest tides occur when the moon is at a right angle from the sun, relative to the earth. in this case, the solar and lunar tides act in opposite directions and slightly cancel each other out. these are called neap tides and occur at the 1st and 3rd quarter phases of the moon. i dont know where the word "neap" came from.
i've seen tidal effects on oceans, but i dont remember previously witnessing such strong tides in a river! cool!
the shots of the tides i showed above were taken from the millenium bridge...
... which connects the tate modern museum (seen here on the other side of ruth)...
... and st. pauls cathedral (seen here from inside the tate modern!).
high tide:
low tide:
the tides occur because of the gravitational interactions between the earth, the moon, and the sun. the side of the earth facing the moon (closest to the moon) feels a slightly stronger force than the side of the earth farthest from the moon. the combined effect is to stretch the earth in the direction of the moon so that it is elongated slightly.
water feels the effect more than rock since it is more flexible. the earth rotates fully each day, so the bulged water parts that face towards and away from the moon, are changing as the earth rotates, and we witness the rise and fall of the earth's oceans (among other things). there are two tides each day as each part of the earth's surface rotates thru each bulged part. the sun also plays this tidal game with the earth. the sun causes similar tides on earth, but they are half as strong as lunar tides since the moon is much much much closer! when the sun, earth, and moon are aligned, the effects of the tides from the sun and the moon add together and cause higher high tides and lower low tides. we call these spring tides and they occur twice a month (at the full moon and new moon phases).
the weakest tides occur when the moon is at a right angle from the sun, relative to the earth. in this case, the solar and lunar tides act in opposite directions and slightly cancel each other out. these are called neap tides and occur at the 1st and 3rd quarter phases of the moon. i dont know where the word "neap" came from.
i've seen tidal effects on oceans, but i dont remember previously witnessing such strong tides in a river! cool!
the shots of the tides i showed above were taken from the millenium bridge...
... which connects the tate modern museum (seen here on the other side of ruth)...
... and st. pauls cathedral (seen here from inside the tate modern!).
it only hurts when i exist.
i think the statement is interesting on its own, but the accompanying cartoon adds a whole new dimension of humor!
from kliban cartoons
from kliban cartoons
Saturday, March 14, 2009
pi day
it might not be obvious to those who do not write the date as month/day/year, but today's date is 3.14 for those of us that do! pi day.
while reading the rest of this post, feel free to listen to this slightly mesmerizing little pi song.
pi is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter, which is also equal to the ratio between a circle's area (pi*r^2) and its radius (in flat, euclidean space).
some people will celebrate today by eating pies.
link
today is also considered by many to be talk like a physicist day. what do you get when you cross talk like a pirate day with talk like a physicist day?? the punch line from a comic by brightly wound:
if you (d/dt) something then you are taking the derivative with respect to time. you are asking how the thing changes with time, which you call its rate. so (d/dt) of pi, or d*pi/dt, is finding the rate of pi, or pi-rate! hardy-harrrrrrrrr. ok, i'll stop now.
while reading the rest of this post, feel free to listen to this slightly mesmerizing little pi song.
pi is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter, which is also equal to the ratio between a circle's area (pi*r^2) and its radius (in flat, euclidean space).
some people will celebrate today by eating pies.
linktoday is also considered by many to be talk like a physicist day. what do you get when you cross talk like a pirate day with talk like a physicist day?? the punch line from a comic by brightly wound:
if you (d/dt) something then you are taking the derivative with respect to time. you are asking how the thing changes with time, which you call its rate. so (d/dt) of pi, or d*pi/dt, is finding the rate of pi, or pi-rate! hardy-harrrrrrrrr. ok, i'll stop now.
Friday, March 13, 2009
space debris danger for ISS
the crew of the international space station (ISS) is moving into the Soyuz due to danger of possible space debris impact. follow universe today for regular updates. estimated time of impact is 16:39 GMT - about 30 minutes!
you can follow the NASA live stream
you can follow the NASA live stream
mother of invention
i've added the third poll because the question was posed at the conference and i found it interesting. feel free to discuss the issue here and i'll expand more when i have some time....
Thursday, March 12, 2009
women in science, engineering, technology.
what things are you interested in hearing from this conference?
STEM = science, technology, engineering, mathematics
follow along on twitter
- numbers increasing in percentage of women in STEM educational paths, and they are performing well! but not getting jobs in private sector, tech, eng. why??
- we are often taught about the few women throughout history who have contributed to astronomy. who are modern-day science heroines? Vera Rubin. Sandy Faber. Jocelyn Bell..... any young ones? sara seager? meg urry?
- we all think of einstein, newton, and darwin... the geniuses. who are the current science heros?
- at current rates of change, it will take 200 years for UK parliament to have equal number of women as men!
STEM = science, technology, engineering, mathematics
follow along on twitter
- numbers increasing in percentage of women in STEM educational paths, and they are performing well! but not getting jobs in private sector, tech, eng. why??
- we are often taught about the few women throughout history who have contributed to astronomy. who are modern-day science heroines? Vera Rubin. Sandy Faber. Jocelyn Bell..... any young ones? sara seager? meg urry?
- we all think of einstein, newton, and darwin... the geniuses. who are the current science heros?
- at current rates of change, it will take 200 years for UK parliament to have equal number of women as men!
who are you?
i've set up two quick polls on the right sidebar. if you wouldnt mind taking a few seconds to fill those out, it would be much appreciated! i'm curious as to the types of people who read this blog (aside from the spammers that have hit in the last week). this is a highly unscientific poll, but in light of today's fesitivities at the conference in london, i'm curious as to who i'm reaching with my writing in this format.
thanks everyone!
thanks everyone!
shuttle discovery ready to launch
NASA's STS-119 mission is ready to go! shuttle discovery sits in wait on the launch pad with the currently full moon shining overhead.
the 10 year old international space station (ISS) will benefit from this mission as the crew will install the final truss segment needed for the solar array! the full set of solar arrays will stretch out to 100 meters (the size of a football field) and will increase the energy available to the space station so that starting this year, six people will be able to live on the ISS instead of just three.
launch is set for tonight, 11 march, 2009 at 9:20 pm EDT.
the 10 year old international space station (ISS) will benefit from this mission as the crew will install the final truss segment needed for the solar array! the full set of solar arrays will stretch out to 100 meters (the size of a football field) and will increase the energy available to the space station so that starting this year, six people will be able to live on the ISS instead of just three.
launch is set for tonight, 11 march, 2009 at 9:20 pm EDT.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
multiply an astronaut by a ninja....
presenting the official creebobby comics archetype times table:
brought to you by jacob borshard's art and music.
my only complaint is that it's a 10x10 table - while normal times tables go to 12! although i'm not really sure why they go to 12. anyone know? do all kids everywhere in the world have to memorize to 12 x 12? why not stop at 10, or go to 13?
i always thought numbers times 11 were fun because the answers all have symmetry: 55, 88, 121... but numbers times 12 were harder to memorize because it took me longer to find a recognizable pattern!!
and anything times three is great, although i didnt know it (and it wouldnt have helped) when i was trying to memorize my times tables. you can tell if big numbers are divisible by three, by simply adding up the value of the digits. if the digits add up to a number that is divisible by three, then the whole number is divisible by 3! 8125 is not divisible by three, but 1905 and 9501 are!
its a neat little math trick, even if you don't get to use it very often!
brought to you by jacob borshard's art and music.
my only complaint is that it's a 10x10 table - while normal times tables go to 12! although i'm not really sure why they go to 12. anyone know? do all kids everywhere in the world have to memorize to 12 x 12? why not stop at 10, or go to 13?
i always thought numbers times 11 were fun because the answers all have symmetry: 55, 88, 121... but numbers times 12 were harder to memorize because it took me longer to find a recognizable pattern!!
and anything times three is great, although i didnt know it (and it wouldnt have helped) when i was trying to memorize my times tables. you can tell if big numbers are divisible by three, by simply adding up the value of the digits. if the digits add up to a number that is divisible by three, then the whole number is divisible by 3! 8125 is not divisible by three, but 1905 and 9501 are!
its a neat little math trick, even if you don't get to use it very often!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
the great debate
it's silly, and yet completely annoying when i've lived with people and shared bathrooms with people of the opposite persuasion.
clearly, B is the best solution ;)
clearly, B is the best solution ;)
Monday, March 9, 2009
she is an astronomer
happy international womens day all!
in somewhat related news, i'm heading to london later this week to attend the one-day conference: Tomorrow’s Women, Tomorrow’s World: The science, engineering and technology workforce and workplace in 2030.
"Women form less than 25% of the workforce in most areas of science, engineering, and technology and are concentrated in the lower income levels. Can such a loss of talent and potential be allowed to continue?"
hopefully this conference will be interesting! i was the only female in my physics undergraduate program, but had many more female colleagues when i entered graduate school. i'd like to reach out to young people as much as possible to let them know that they can do anything they want, regardless of the typical populations of people who have done that thing in the past! hopefully, this conference will give some ideas as to how to communicate these ideas with the next generation of visionary thinkers!
i will be live-twittering the event, so you can follow along in real time here: thursday, 12 march 2009.
this conference also marks the opening of the she is an astronomer cornerstone project of the international year of astronomy 2009 festivities!
"The aim of the project is to provide neutral, informative and accessible information to female professional and amateur astronomers, students, and those who are interested in the gender equality problem in science. We believe that providing this information will help increase the interest of young females to study and pursue a career in astronomy."
i will try to write a bit more about these issues over the next couple days, and reflect on the conference after its over. in the meantime, here is a resource guide and a list of some of the women in astronomy.
in somewhat related news, i'm heading to london later this week to attend the one-day conference: Tomorrow’s Women, Tomorrow’s World: The science, engineering and technology workforce and workplace in 2030.
"Women form less than 25% of the workforce in most areas of science, engineering, and technology and are concentrated in the lower income levels. Can such a loss of talent and potential be allowed to continue?"
hopefully this conference will be interesting! i was the only female in my physics undergraduate program, but had many more female colleagues when i entered graduate school. i'd like to reach out to young people as much as possible to let them know that they can do anything they want, regardless of the typical populations of people who have done that thing in the past! hopefully, this conference will give some ideas as to how to communicate these ideas with the next generation of visionary thinkers!
i will be live-twittering the event, so you can follow along in real time here: thursday, 12 march 2009.
this conference also marks the opening of the she is an astronomer cornerstone project of the international year of astronomy 2009 festivities!
"The aim of the project is to provide neutral, informative and accessible information to female professional and amateur astronomers, students, and those who are interested in the gender equality problem in science. We believe that providing this information will help increase the interest of young females to study and pursue a career in astronomy."
i will try to write a bit more about these issues over the next couple days, and reflect on the conference after its over. in the meantime, here is a resource guide and a list of some of the women in astronomy.
dark digital art with irony
i was just introduced to the haunting art of david ho which is described on his site as "dark digital art with irony." great description and worth a browse.
via dark roasted blend
via dark roasted blend
night sky - march 2009
the moon continues to fill up with light over the next few nights as it passes by the constellation, leo. look to the east in the early evening to watch the moon slowly approach saturn. tonight, 8 march, 2009, saturn is at opposition - it sits opposite the sun in our sky, so it's up all night! if you have access to a small telescope (local astronomy clubs, friends, etc...) or binoculars, take a look! saturn's rings are edge-on right now from our perspective on earth, but its a nice treat to see saturn and the moon only 8 degrees apart in the sky... as they will be tuesday night, 10 march, 2009, when the moon is full!!
it makes sense that the full moon appears near saturn in our sky when saturn is at opposition. the moon shines because it reflects sunlight. when the moon is full, sun shine covers the entire surface of the moon that is visible to us. this happens when the earth sits between the sun and the moon so that the sun shining from behind us illuminates the moon.
tuesday night, both saturn and the moon sit exactly opposite of the sun in earths sky!
this image of saturn was taken by the cassini space craft.
it makes sense that the full moon appears near saturn in our sky when saturn is at opposition. the moon shines because it reflects sunlight. when the moon is full, sun shine covers the entire surface of the moon that is visible to us. this happens when the earth sits between the sun and the moon so that the sun shining from behind us illuminates the moon.
tuesday night, both saturn and the moon sit exactly opposite of the sun in earths sky!
this image of saturn was taken by the cassini space craft.
carnival of space - 93!
for your weekly dose of space-related reading, head over to the planetary society blog and enjoy the wide selection of articles in the 93rd carnival of space!
while not a part of this week's carnival of space, i'd like to highlight an excellent and thorough article by ian o'neil at universe today describing why the world will NOT end in 2012! i'm not looking forward to continuously responding to people over the next few years who unreasonably fear these silly doomsday predictions.
enjoy the reading!
while not a part of this week's carnival of space, i'd like to highlight an excellent and thorough article by ian o'neil at universe today describing why the world will NOT end in 2012! i'm not looking forward to continuously responding to people over the next few years who unreasonably fear these silly doomsday predictions.
enjoy the reading!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
architecture in liverpool
i've recently read about two interesting design structures in downtown liverpool!
turning the place over is a daring piece of public art by richard wilson that literally turns part of a building inside out! he cut out an 8-meter diameter piece of the facade of a building, and attached it to a giant rotating device that slowly spins the structure around every couple of minutes!
then there is the creation from la machine called la princesse - a 30 ft mechanical spider that lived briefly in liverpool as part of the capital of culture celebrations last year.
here is a haunting shot by dune_UK at flickr, showing the spider as it walks thru the city. notice all the people sitting on it to operate it!
some pictures from the guardian:
"not so eensey weensey, is she?"
turning the place over is a daring piece of public art by richard wilson that literally turns part of a building inside out! he cut out an 8-meter diameter piece of the facade of a building, and attached it to a giant rotating device that slowly spins the structure around every couple of minutes!
then there is the creation from la machine called la princesse - a 30 ft mechanical spider that lived briefly in liverpool as part of the capital of culture celebrations last year.
here is a haunting shot by dune_UK at flickr, showing the spider as it walks thru the city. notice all the people sitting on it to operate it!
some pictures from the guardian:
"not so eensey weensey, is she?"
kepler launch video
this video by NASA, of last night's launch of the kepler spacecraft and its delta II rocket from the kennedy space center in cape canaveral, florida, is not the most visually exciting launch i've seen. but i think it's neat to hear updates on fuel usage and the distance the rocket travels in such short amounts of time!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
kepler launched successfully!
kepler successfully launched from the kennedy space center in florida last night at 10:49 pm EST! after lighting up the night skies, kepler separated from its booster an hour later as it sailed thru space to its earth-trailing orbital location.
i found some nice images of the launch from flickr:
a tag on kepler says "search for earth-size planets," by jonf
from jking89
by astro guy
by daniel cormier
thanks for sharing your photos!
now kepler - go find us some earth-size planets!!
i found some nice images of the launch from flickr:
a tag on kepler says "search for earth-size planets," by jonf
from jking89
by astro guy
by daniel cormier
thanks for sharing your photos!
now kepler - go find us some earth-size planets!!
you cant keep the sky from falling, anyway
a couple days ago, i watched ane brun's beautiful recording of lullaby for grown ups in her black cab session. now i'm obsessed. i cant stop listening.
while the (embeddable) video recording i share below is lovely, its not quite as emotionally mesmerizing as the black cab session version. anyway... enjoy, but dont say i didnt warn you!!
Ane Brun performs Lullaby for Grown-Ups in Reykjavik from lofi.tv on Vimeo.
and this video of hers is too cute not to share...
NINA KINERT & ANE BRUN from Diaspro on Vimeo.
while the (embeddable) video recording i share below is lovely, its not quite as emotionally mesmerizing as the black cab session version. anyway... enjoy, but dont say i didnt warn you!!
Ane Brun performs Lullaby for Grown-Ups in Reykjavik from lofi.tv on Vimeo.
and this video of hers is too cute not to share...
NINA KINERT & ANE BRUN from Diaspro on Vimeo.
flattered...
... about being a blog of note!
thanks, y'all!
this image was taken after climbing to the peak of schilthorn in switzerland in 2006.
thanks, y'all!
this image was taken after climbing to the peak of schilthorn in switzerland in 2006.
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