Campfire Sun

Photo

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:23:48 +0100

sciencesoup: What does space smell like? It’s strange to think...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:31:23 +0100

What does space smell like?

It’s strange to think that the near-vacuum of space could have a smell, and stranger still that humans—atmospheric creatures—can actually experience it. Astronauts have consistently reported the same strange odour after lengthy space walks, bringing it back in on their suits, helmets, gloves and tools. It’s bitter, smoky, metallic smell—like seared steak, hot metal and arc welding smoke all rolled into one. NASA have asked a chemist, Steve Pearce, to reproduce the smell to use during acclimatization training, mapping out the likely chemistry using natural materials to mimic the odor for accuracy. It’s believed that the smell is caused by high-energy vibrations in particles that mix with the air when brought inside. In the future, we might even recreate the smell of the moon, Mars, Mercury or any place in the universe, provided we have the right chemical information. In fact, we can even recreate the smell of the heart of the galaxy—astronomers searching for animo acids in Sagittarius B2, a vast dust cloud in the middle of the Milky Way, have reported that due to a substance called ethyl formate, it smells and tastes of raspberries and rum—much more pleasant than seared steak and metal.

Read an interview with Steve Pearce

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Wed, 30 May 2012 07:13:13 +0100

moderation: Opportunity Gets a View From The Edge — The rover...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:37:00 +0100

moderation:

Opportunity Gets a View From The Edge

—

The rover Opportunity captured a view into Endeavour crater as a low Sun cast a long shadow in this image, acquired back on March 9.

Endeavour is a large crater — 14 miles (22 km) wide, it’s about the same area as the city of Seattle. Opportunity arrived at its edge in August of 2011 after several years of driving across the Meridiani Plains.

Opportunity is currently the only operational manmade object on the surface of Mars… or any other planet besides Earth, for that matter. Its a distinction it will hold until the arrival of Mars Science Laboratory at Gale Crater this August.

From the NASA news release by JPL’s Guy Webster:

The scene is presented in false color to emphasize differences in materials such as dark dunes on the crater floor. This gives portions of the image an aqua tint.

Opportunity took most of the component images on March 9, 2012, while the solar-powered rover was spending several weeks at one location to preserve energy during the Martian winter. It has since resumed driving and is currently investigating a patch of windblown Martian dust near its winter haven.

Opportunity and its rover twin, Spirit, completed their three-month prime missions on Mars in April 2004. Both rovers continued for years of bonus, extended missions. Both have made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for supporting microbial life. Spirit stopped communicating in 2010. Since landing in the Meridiani region of Mars in January 2004, Opportunity has driven 21.4 miles (34.4 kilometers).

(via universetoday)

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Wed, 16 May 2012 09:10:58 +0100

Photo

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:17:04 +0000

brain-food: Beyond Your Imagination by Jack.Less

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:52:09 +0000

brain-food:

Beyond Your Imagination by Jack.Less

itsfullofstars: The Mars Design Reference Architecture: NASA’s...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:33:57 +0000

itsfullofstars:

The Mars Design Reference Architecture:

NASA’s Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0 (pdf) is the guiding operational strategy behind the 2025 Mars Direct mission.

rmsk8r05: Void Dweller by ~clayrodery

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:06:59 +0000

rmsk8r05:

Void Dweller by ~clayrodery

propagandery: The Space Shuttle

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:20:31 +0000

propagandery:

The Space Shuttle

n-a-s-a: Steep Cliffs on Mars Credit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:23:10 +0000

n-a-s-a:

Steep Cliffs on Mars

Credit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA

Big Man’s footprints.

ikenbot: Moonrise at Temple of Poseidon by Chris Kotsiopoulos A...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:40:30 +0000

ikenbot:

Moonrise at Temple of Poseidon

by Chris Kotsiopoulos

A last quarter moonrise as seen from the temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Greece.

ikenbot: Most Detailed View of a Solar Eclipse Corona Credit...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:03:21 +0000

ikenbot:

Most Detailed View of a Solar Eclipse Corona

Credit & Copyright: Miloslav Druckmüller (Brno University of Technology), Martin Dietzel, Peter Aniol, Vojtech Rušin

Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is the light of the solar corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, is an alluring sight.

But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona’s brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured above, however, using multiple images and digital processing, is a detailed image of the Sun’s corona taken during the 2008 August total solar eclipse from Mongolia.

itsfullofstars: The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared Credit: R....

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:23:14 +0000

itsfullofstars:

The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared

Credit: R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al., SSC, JPL, Caltech, NASA

This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The above image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in optical light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation Virgo.

jtotheizzoe: crookedindifference: The Most Astounding Fact by...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:44:32 +0000

jtotheizzoe:

crookedindifference:

The Most Astounding Fact by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This is his answer.

When you take something great, like the musings of the mind of Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, and combine it with something else great, like stunning images of life and wonder on and off of Earth … you get this.

It’s the sort of video that makes you prop your chin up in your hand, with your head tilted just so (yeah, like that), as you stare at your computer screen mumbling things like “Ahhh“ and “Wooahh” and other unintelligible noises that mean “I approve of this, and it makes me feel good.”

Watch it once, then twice, then with a friend.

tinyphalanges: dduane: Manhole cover, Rome, Italy ROME WILL...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 06:33:27 +0000

tinyphalanges:

dduane:

Manhole cover, Rome, Italy

ROME WILL NEVER DIE, MY FRIENDS.

An appropriate and mature response to all of life’s...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:32:47 +0000

An appropriate and mature response to all of life’s problems.

ikenbot: Blue Saturn Serene blue hues highlight this view of...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:56:30 +0000

ikenbot:

Blue Saturn

Serene blue hues highlight this view of Saturn’s northern hemisphere from the Cassini spacecraft.

Science, Fuck Yeah

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:51:35 +0000

Science, Fuck Yeah

deadlydelmundo: IronMan by Design Deco Works by...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:52:01 +0000

deadlydelmundo:

IronMan by Design Deco Works by *Deadlydelmundo