NASA has released sounds of saturn recorded by the cassini-huygens mission. the radio emissions from saturn are closely related to the auroras near the poles of the planet so they are related to the planet's magnetic fields.
scientists did some messing around with the radio emissions recorded from saturn so that they are actually audible to the human ear. listen here
richard feynman's precocious existence kept his colleagues and enthusiasts of physics intrigued for many decades! he was well-known as one of the best lectures ever recorded.
i read his auto-biography, surely you're joking, mr. feynman! it's quite entertaining, but i wouldnt call it a "page-turner." as an undergrad physics major, i was much more mesmerized by his 3-volume series called lectures on physics.
below is an inspiring video of an interview with feynman that shares intuitive view on his life and how he came to be a physics nobel laureate. this is rather long video at 50 minutes, but it's completely absorbing from the very start. at least watch the first 2 minutes about the beauty of a flower! he then discusses lessons he learned from his father as a child, his involvement with creating the atomic bomb in the 1940's, winning the nobel prize and how much he doesnt care about honors, his understanding of quantum mechanics, why he's actively irresponsible, his (lack of) theory of teaching.... and i really enjoy the last couple minutes...
you can also listen to, and watch extended physics lectures about quantum mechanics, here.... they're quite good as well! he creates wonderful analogies that make very difficult mathematical results feel attainable!
a feynman quote i've always enjoyed.... "physics is like sex. sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it."
he's worked his way into popular culture....
feynman also truly understood that regardless of what you work hard to accomplish in your life... you need to have fun... and have orange juice!
this is a video i made last fall after my visit to switzerland. i stayed in the small town of gimmelwald, hiked to the alpen peak of schilthorn, and also some glacial ice caves along the valley. if you ever pass thru, i recommend the mountain hostel!
i admit that it hasnt been a great year for me to finish books. living in new locations causes me to explore as much as possible instead of snuggling up with a good book.
i'm reading a good novel right now, but i have nothing on deck and no ideas either.... can anyone suggest something for me to read? i'm not picky about genre or author or topic or anything. what are your favorite books and what should i absolutely, positively read without hesitation?!? thanks!
image: Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura Rio De Janeiro, Brasil via: curious expeditions
mars has doubled its brightness over the last month, and will continue to get brighter as earth and mars move close together in their orbits. mars will continue to get brighter until december 18th when earth and mars are at their closest distance... 55 million miles! to take advantage of this closeness, NASA launched the Phoenix Lander this past august, which will finally reach mars in may 2008.
you can spot the moon in the constellation, gemini, rising in the east in the early evening. monday night, nov 26, look for mars and our moon to be very close together in the sky! enjoy!
i refuse to go to malls because i have no patience for them and they put me in a bad mood. and i strongly dislike commercial consumerism, in general, but i do enjoy giving gifts to my family and friends to remind them that i love them. i think that gifts created by your very own hands are always the most cherished! but for the busiest among us.... i've compiled a quick list of good places to shop that benefit real life human artisans from all over the world:
wow!!! has anyone else seen comet holmes look the way Peter von Bagh saw it in this photo? i'm not sure how long he exposed this image for, but he didnt use a telescope....
APOD also has a nice picture today taken with the big 3.6-meter canada-france-hawaii telescope on mauna kea in hawaii. it's neat how you can see far away stars thru the envelop of dust and gas that has formed and expanded around the nucleus of the comet. this envelop is called a "coma."
speaking of expanding gas... astronomers in hawaii have shown that the volume puffy gas ball that is now comet holmes, is bigger than the sun!!! they report that since the initial explosion seen from comet holmes on october 24 (for reasons we still don't fully understand), the gas has continued to expand and push outwards at a steady pace of 0.5 km/sec (1100 mph)! that's some quick moving gas! now the gas extends in space with a diameter of 1.4 million kilometers (0.9 million miles) as of november 9, 2007, making it the single largest object in our solar system. holy crap!!! that was unexpected! you can see and image of saturn next to the sun for some scale, and also consider that you can fit 100 earths next to each other across the image of the sun!
