Tuesday, April 26, 2011
ways to stay creative
for the most part, this list is great (see number 1), but personally, i dont do number 7 (does this surprise you as much as it does me? i dont know, i just never think to do it).
from life on michigan avenue
Monday, April 25, 2011
Pythagoras’ Trousers radio show
while visiting cardiff a couple weeks ago, i participated in a radio interview for a show called pythagoras' trousers. the show examines current issues "from the worlds of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, bringing these fields to a wider audience and promoting these subject areas to school pupils." excellent stuff!
the episode is called:
Bank Holiday Astronomy Special: Herschel Space Mission
and will be aired tonight, monday 25th april, from 8-8:30pm (GMT, which is 3-3:30pm EDT). you can listen to the show at radio cardiff (locally at 98.7FM) or streaming online, or anytime after the air date as a podcast at pythagorus' trousers.
i havent heard the episode yet, but during the interview, i talked about what knowledge we gain by using long-wavelength herschel space telescope observations to complement optical data of distant galaxies in the universe, and also what these combined observations teach us about our own milky way galaxy.
the image above shows the andromeda galaxy (M31) through herschel's big eye.
to learn more about the herschel space observatory, please check out the very nice website produced by the outreach group at cardiff university: click here!
the episode is called:
Bank Holiday Astronomy Special: Herschel Space Mission
and will be aired tonight, monday 25th april, from 8-8:30pm (GMT, which is 3-3:30pm EDT). you can listen to the show at radio cardiff (locally at 98.7FM) or streaming online, or anytime after the air date as a podcast at pythagorus' trousers.
i havent heard the episode yet, but during the interview, i talked about what knowledge we gain by using long-wavelength herschel space telescope observations to complement optical data of distant galaxies in the universe, and also what these combined observations teach us about our own milky way galaxy.
the image above shows the andromeda galaxy (M31) through herschel's big eye.
to learn more about the herschel space observatory, please check out the very nice website produced by the outreach group at cardiff university: click here!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
ride the slide
i'm currently in garching, germany (near munich) visiting the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the offices of the european southern observatory (ESO). across the road from these intricately-designed buildings is the local university's school of Mathematik, Physik und Informatik.
inside of this building lives a wonderful set of slides, which provide an excellent escape from the office and bit of adrenaline-inducing fun when i feel sleepy in the afternoon!
you can pick up quite a bit of speed sliding down these slick tubes, and they provide a convenient measurement system beyond the end of the slide to tell you just how far you go! the best part is that the markings along the white line say 1, then the square root of 2, then 2, etc... nerdilicious.
every building should have a slide. weeeee!
inside of this building lives a wonderful set of slides, which provide an excellent escape from the office and bit of adrenaline-inducing fun when i feel sleepy in the afternoon!
you can pick up quite a bit of speed sliding down these slick tubes, and they provide a convenient measurement system beyond the end of the slide to tell you just how far you go! the best part is that the markings along the white line say 1, then the square root of 2, then 2, etc... nerdilicious.
every building should have a slide. weeeee!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
everyone is a genius
(lefty jenkins)
it's a good reminder for myself that i should seek the help of others to accomplish certain goals, instead of stubbornly trying to do too many things on my own. no need to reinvent the wheel, as they say. we each have our own unique strengths and abilities and we should recognize and acknowledge those qualities in each other in order to achieve more together.
Monday, April 18, 2011
ohioans flee earth
link: luminous red nova
actually, twenty-four astronauts are from ohio, including neil armstrong (from wapakoneta) and john glenn
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
timelapse: the mountain
these timelapse films of various everyday natural phenomena... sunsets, clouds passing, the milky way crawling across the sky... make me sit back, relax, and smile in awe. enjoy. (full screen view recommended)
these scenes were all filmed in El Teide in spain. it's worth a click to read Terje Sorgjerd's full account of his adventure filming these amazing scenes.
hat tip to tom at timescapes.
The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
these scenes were all filmed in El Teide in spain. it's worth a click to read Terje Sorgjerd's full account of his adventure filming these amazing scenes.
hat tip to tom at timescapes.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
mangle with a clear conscience!
i'm currenty in cardiff, wales to give a talk at cardiff university. while exploring the city, guess what we found inside this cool building...
did you guess?
a penny smasher!!!
but not to worry... we can all mangle with a clear conscience :)
cardiff is a city where the buildings have hats.
and face boats. (?)
and it's by the sea! look, i think that's england!
did you guess?
a penny smasher!!!
but not to worry... we can all mangle with a clear conscience :)
cardiff is a city where the buildings have hats.
and face boats. (?)
and it's by the sea! look, i think that's england!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
fires near mcdonald observatory
i studied for my PhD in austin, texas and spent several months at the mcdonald observatory in west texas. i saw many beautiful thunderstorms and even some smoke plumes during my observing stints, but never did a full-fledged wildfire threaten the safety of people nearby.
that all changed several days ago when a devastating wildfire blasted through the nearby town of ft. davis. the observatory shared this incredible photo:
shown is the 107-inch telescope, the one i've used for a cumulative 4 months or so, as viewed from the catwalk of the 82-inch telescope that was built in the 1930s!
as of now, the observatory is safe, but here is a link for info on the current texas wildfire situation. best wishes to all!
UPDATE:
the NY Times posted an article with the images below included:
that all changed several days ago when a devastating wildfire blasted through the nearby town of ft. davis. the observatory shared this incredible photo:
shown is the 107-inch telescope, the one i've used for a cumulative 4 months or so, as viewed from the catwalk of the 82-inch telescope that was built in the 1930s!
as of now, the observatory is safe, but here is a link for info on the current texas wildfire situation. best wishes to all!
UPDATE:
the NY Times posted an article with the images below included:
Sunday, April 10, 2011
storm, by tim minchin
i'm impressed by the story told by tim minchin's in this beat poem and also the art of STORM the movie.
enjoy!
enjoy!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
more from dotAstronomy3
here is an exciting summary of some of the scenes of dotAstronomy3 this week:
and a short video explaining why we managed to wipe out the WiFi network. also, ABBA!
.astronomy3 Trailer from Markus Poessel on Vimeo.
and a short video explaining why we managed to wipe out the WiFi network. also, ABBA!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
pluto, the previous planet: a song
a couple years ago i was walking to the bus stop with the song "rudolph the red nosed reindeer" stuck in my head, much to my frustration! in order to maintain my sanity, i started singing alternative lyrics based on the phrase that popped into my head: pluto the previous planet! i've been wanting to record this song and post it for the public ever since, but had never really been inspired.
so yesterday during the hack day portion of dotAstronomy meeting, i gathered a few fellow conference participants: astronomers, a great pianist, and an enthusiastic director.... and off we went!
so without futher ado... pluto, the previous planet!!
as much as i like the song as it is, the last verse might lead one to believe that i would like to reinstate pluto as a planet. i want to state for the record that this is NOT the case! i'm pleased that astronomers have decided on a definition of a planet that is based on some actual physics! the song is just fun and i hope people enjoy it.
with all this in mind, we also developed an accompanying website with a special message from pluto:
"First of all, thank you everyone for your concern, but really, I’m happy in my new role as the original dwarf planet! And there’s no need to worry, nothing physically happened to me to cause my reclassification. In fact, Charon’s been jealous for years that I was considered a planet, while we’ve been dancing around each other in our joint orbit around the sun. And don’t forget about our other two small satellites: Nix and Hydra! They may be small, but they’re important to me. And your Earth only has one Moon, so I feel special..."
here's the website: http://youpiter.org/pluto/
hope you enjoy!
so yesterday during the hack day portion of dotAstronomy meeting, i gathered a few fellow conference participants: astronomers, a great pianist, and an enthusiastic director.... and off we went!
so without futher ado... pluto, the previous planet!!
Pluto, the previous planet from carolune on Vimeo.
as much as i like the song as it is, the last verse might lead one to believe that i would like to reinstate pluto as a planet. i want to state for the record that this is NOT the case! i'm pleased that astronomers have decided on a definition of a planet that is based on some actual physics! the song is just fun and i hope people enjoy it.
with all this in mind, we also developed an accompanying website with a special message from pluto:
"First of all, thank you everyone for your concern, but really, I’m happy in my new role as the original dwarf planet! And there’s no need to worry, nothing physically happened to me to cause my reclassification. In fact, Charon’s been jealous for years that I was considered a planet, while we’ve been dancing around each other in our joint orbit around the sun. And don’t forget about our other two small satellites: Nix and Hydra! They may be small, but they’re important to me. And your Earth only has one Moon, so I feel special..."
here's the website: http://youpiter.org/pluto/
hope you enjoy!
dotAstronomy - Oxford, UK
the third dotAstronomy conference is well underway in oxford's new college! i'll have exciting results to reveal tomorrow from this year's hack day, but for now, here are a few photos of the harry-potter-like venue!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
ant in drop of water
this photo of an ant stuck in a water droplet was captured accidentally by photographer adam gormley.
(link)
"Trapped in a tiny perfect sphere of water, this unlucky ant is unable to escape. A sudden downpour gave it no time to take cover, and photographer Adam Gormley was there to snap the image. Adam, from Noosaville, Queensland, Australia, had been photographing spiders in his neighbour's garden when the rain came down. He had no idea there was an ant in one of the three millimetre droplets until he viewed the images later. He said: "I thought it was some dirt inside the drop, and it was not my main focus, I liked the way the drop was sitting on the aloe-vera leaf, with the tiny hairs. When I uploaded the shot to my PC, I viewed it large, and I think I shouted out loud in excitement when I realised what I'd captured by accident!" "
"Trapped in a tiny perfect sphere of water, this unlucky ant is unable to escape. A sudden downpour gave it no time to take cover, and photographer Adam Gormley was there to snap the image. Adam, from Noosaville, Queensland, Australia, had been photographing spiders in his neighbour's garden when the rain came down. He had no idea there was an ant in one of the three millimetre droplets until he viewed the images later. He said: "I thought it was some dirt inside the drop, and it was not my main focus, I liked the way the drop was sitting on the aloe-vera leaf, with the tiny hairs. When I uploaded the shot to my PC, I viewed it large, and I think I shouted out loud in excitement when I realised what I'd captured by accident!" "
Sunday, March 27, 2011
european odyssey
today i begin a very large stretch of travel. first i fly to the UK, stop in my old haunt of nottingham to hopefully finish a couple projects with astronomers i continue to collaborate with there. then i'm off to oxford for the third installment of the exciting dotAstronomy conference series. you can read some of my previous posts about it if you dont remember the fun!
then its a whirlwind tour of universities and institutions to present talks about my recent research results, including: the university of cardiff, the max planck institutes in heidelberg and munich, and then the royal observatory in edinburgh (where maybe i'll get to see some cool first edition books by the likes of copernicus, galileo, and newton), and finally, a bit of holiday.
i think this will be an intense trip filled with lots of fun and lots of science. it will be good to see old friends, visit new places, share my research, and get both positive and negative (i'm sure) feedback about what i've been up to.
i havent had much time to actually get excited about this trip because i've been working really hard to get several projects to a point of relative completeness.... but i'm finally feeling relief and really looking forward be sitting on the plane, except for the fact that i woke up this morning feeling a little ill. boo.
anyway, get ready europe, here i come!
then its a whirlwind tour of universities and institutions to present talks about my recent research results, including: the university of cardiff, the max planck institutes in heidelberg and munich, and then the royal observatory in edinburgh (where maybe i'll get to see some cool first edition books by the likes of copernicus, galileo, and newton), and finally, a bit of holiday.
i think this will be an intense trip filled with lots of fun and lots of science. it will be good to see old friends, visit new places, share my research, and get both positive and negative (i'm sure) feedback about what i've been up to.
i havent had much time to actually get excited about this trip because i've been working really hard to get several projects to a point of relative completeness.... but i'm finally feeling relief and really looking forward be sitting on the plane, except for the fact that i woke up this morning feeling a little ill. boo.
anyway, get ready europe, here i come!
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