olympic evolution

getting excited about the summer olympics in london, set to kick off july 27th, 2012?  i certainly am, despite the fact that the logo and mascots are horribly designed and downright creepy. 

a nice visualization of all countries participating in the olympic games since 1896 comes from alicia korn:

the inner ring shows the flags of the 14 countries who competed in the first of the modern olympic games.  the outer ring shows all of the almost 200 countries that will participate this year!

When I heard the learn'd astronomer

When I heard the learn'd astronomer

by Walt Whitman

 

When I heard the learn'd astronomer, 

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, 

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, 

     and measure them, 

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with 

     much applause in the lecture-room, 

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, 

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself, 

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, 

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

A Zodiacal Skyscape: Jack Fusco

the photo above shows venus (the brightest), jupiter, the pleiades star cluster, and the glow of zodiacal light from february this year. 

jervis bay supermoon

i went camping over the weekend at jervis bay (pronounced "jar-vis"), about a three hour drive south of sydney.  i'm sure these beaches are much more crowded in the summer months, but they were wonderfully isolated for us!

after a day of bush walking, rock climbing along the shoreline, sea creature searching, bird watching, and eating, we sat on the white sands by the sea, listening to the waves, watching the day slip away.

  the sun set to our left.

 

the full ("super") moon rose to our right.  yes, it looked amazingly bright in the empty landscape, but its not really that much brighter than normal even though it was a perigee and therefore at the closest point to earth in it's not-quite-circular orbit.
 

an incredibly bright venus sank in the sky over the water.

lunar light reflected off the waves.   pools of moon.  

and all around our campsite were my favourite birds - kookaburras!! 

 

bright venus over the beach

i'm spending the weekend camping at jervis bay with some friends, a big moon at perigee and an impressively bright venus!

lectures by feynman

i never get tired of listening to physicist richard feynman talk about... pretty much anything.   here is part 1 of a seven part lecture series he gave at cornell.

enjoy and then watch all seven lectures!
 

hopscotch

because some days i feel so excited that i just want to keep hopping...!

via fresh photons

dirty space news: strange ring galaxy

today i'd like to add another entry to the infamous dirty space news series! 

last year, astronomers serendipitously discovered a strange ring galaxy that they called Auriga's Wheel.  these are the discovery images taken by the suburu telescope in hawaii: 

photo link

you can read all about the system in a post by one of the astronomers behind this work at the cosmic horizons blog, but in short, they believe this structure is the result of two galaxies experiencing a head on collision!  

below is the colorful image of the system (left) and the sketch of what the authors think is happening in this intense galaxy collision.

photo link

just this year, the authors have published a paper where they have attempted to model the coupling of the system. the image below reveals that we are lucky to be able to see the current structure, as it only achieves this particular position during a relatively short time of peak performance.

photo link

luckily, the authors have produced a video of their stimulating simulation:




finally, hear astronomer richard lane talk all about this research and much more in his recent interview on the astropodcast!

rocket science vs. brain surgery

just saw this video from the comedic genius of mitchell and webb.





i must admit, i have pulled out the old "it's not exactly rocket science" line before, but i usually reserve it for other astronomers or when someone is being a bit of a jerk...

a farewell to the shuttles

many people have been touched by the sight of NASA's last remaining shuttles being carried to their final resting places.  here is a shot of the enterprise shuttle on april 27th, 2012, on its way to its new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in new york city. 

Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institute / Mark Avino and NASA

(see a photo of the cast of Star Trek and NASA's Enterprise in 1976: HERE!)

in case anyone wants to read a bit more about astronomy or give some books to others, i thought i would take this opportunity to share some i've come across recently.  long ago i shared an adult list of accessible science reading that includes carl sagan, richard feynman, and mike brown's recent book about pluto. 

here i suggest a couple books aimed at kids.

(1) "Starry Messenger" by Peter Sis has some lovely illustrations and is a nice story about galileo.

(2) "The Way the Universe Works" Dorling Kindersley authors: Robin Kerrod and Giles Sparrow is jam packed with lots of good info across most of astronomy. it's more encyclopedia-like and less story-like, but would be fun for kids of all ages to look through and read more as interest arises.

(3) "George's Secret Key to the Universe" by Stephen and (his daughter) Lucy Hawking.  did you know stephen hawking and his daughter write a kids adventure book?   i didnt until recently.  it is aimed at the 7-8+ age group, i think.  i have not read it, but i've heard it has pretty good ideas about the vastness of the universe as explored through the tale of a little kid.


hope those help anyone who knows curious kids who have been inspired by NASA's latest hurrah.  i'd be interested in hearing your suggestions for other adult or kids astronomy books in the comments!  

s'mores!

s'mores are an american campfire classic consisting of a roasted marshmallow placed between two graham crackers along with a large chunk of hershey chocolate.

photo link

there is a definite technique to the process of making a s'more, but no real wrong method.  

finding a roasting stick of proper thickness and length on which to place your marshmallow is the first challenge.  you must be able to hold the marshmallow into the fire while standing at enough distance to not burn yourself!  bonus points for sticks that allow for multiple marshmallows roasting simultaneously. 

then you have to get good fire coverage of the marshmallow so that it doesnt burn too much on the outside before it melts through to the center, ensuring that the marshmallow doesnt slide right off the stick if it accidentally melts too much!

the final step involves sliding the perfectly roasted marshmallow between the chocolate-laden graham crackers without getting your fingers too sticky. then you have to wait just long enough that the chocolate melts from the heat of the marshmallow, but not too much!

finally, a wonderful few mouthfuls of yumminess await.

why am i mentioning all this?   because of a hilariously posh little indoor s'mores tray that i just saw on the internets.  if this was on the menu, i would order it immediately!

link

rocket shadow

link

the neck of bruny island

when one beach at a time just isnt enough...

tasmanian calm

i'm spending a few days on a remote island off of the island of tasmania. let the relaxation begin....

rottnest island

i was in perth, western australia last week for a GAMA group meeting. i stayed for some of the weekend to do a bit of exploring as well. during my last visit, i went north to see the pinnacles. this time, i went west to explore rottnest island.

the oddly-named island is just another ridiculously gorgeous coastal part of australia - this time with ship wrecks, a massive osprey nest, and quokkas, in addition to 63 beaches!

cars are not allowed on the 11 km wide island, so we rented some bikes and rode all around. that's a lighthouse in the background, although it almost looks like a shuttle launch pad from this distance!

we rode a lap around the island and then came back to this spot to swim. to the left in the photo below is a rusted old ship wreck. before jumping in, we watched two dolphins jump around in the water along the coast!

there have been an unusually high number of shark attacks off the coast of western australia over the last year, but there were still surfers out in the waters.

we also spotted a huge osprey nest on top of this tiny rock island!

luckily, the air was calm during our visit, but the wind can get VERY strong, as demonstrated by these permanently bent and stripped trees!

this sign somehow summarizes australia for me.

what are quokkas, you ask?

Photo Credit: Quokkagirl

they're funky little rat/kangaroo marsupial creatures that are the size of big cats (or small dogs) and live almost exclusively on rottnest island.

slaves to the arrow of time

Art.
The expression of consciousness, emotion, desire.
Experimenting with materials, sounds, words.
Mastering techniques, developing anew.
Tangible proof of love,
Left vulnerable to interpretation.
Powerful product of our souls,
This Art.

Science.
The figuring out of how it all works.
Testing ideas, boundaries, possibilities.
Creating new knowledge, building on the past.
Maleable proof of existence,
Susceptible to new evidence.
Language of the Universe,
This Science.

Life.
The ultimate wonder.
Unstoppable evolution marinating in infinity.
Frighteningly fragile, each single specimen,
Yet astonishingly adamant as a whole.
Teasing and shunning, mysterious and bold.
Embracing the challenge of change,
This Life.