A flashlight fish, one of the many denizens of the deep.
Top DTC reporter Sam alerted me this morning to a press release by the Census of Marine Life with some new photos of deep sea critters. Go to their site and have a look! The organization has lots of photos of amazing creatures, and video too!
The sun. It's big, hot, and apparently, occasionally subject to some serious turbulence.
Scientists at NASA have confirmed earlier observations of wavelike events on the solar surface as being truly stellar tsunamis. NASA is good at putting out really great press releases, and they know a heck of a lot more about this than I do, so I’m just going to point you to their site. Make sure you check out the videos!
The sun is awesome. “Some matter in a ball,” indeed.
Look, Beaker, the good-decision-o-meter is reading off the scale!
I shrieked with childlike joy when I learned today that the Obama administration will be pushing extracurricular math and science education in an initiative called Educate to Innovate. Better programming on television, science geared video games, and episodes of Sesame Street discussing the scientific method are all on the agenda. Below the fold is the New York Times article by reporter Kenneth Chang in full: Read the rest of this entry »
I recall reading a discussion on science and poetry. I recall the author (I can’t remember who it was) asking, where are the poets inspired by science? Given the indescribable beauty and majesty of this universe we live in, and are part of, why is it that we find so few poets or artists inspired by scientific discoveries? I don’t know the answer to the question, but I have a bit of evidence that contradicts the assumption that science fails to inspire art!
Hot off the presses, here’s another stirring melody from John Boswell of Symphony of Science. You will remember him from the two other pieces he has composed, also posted on this site.
Without further delay, here’s “Our Place in the Cosmos,” by John Boswell, and featuring the words of Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku and Robert Jastrow.
Beautiful!
What are your thoughts on our place in the cosmos as revealed by science? Do you find it frightening to confront our smallness? Does the enormity of time, stretching so far in either direction, make your life seem vain? Do you struggle with the idea that you and all your wonders stem from a body made of matter? Or does our smallness inspire you to consider with what luck we exist at all? Does the enormity of time force an emphasis on this very moment? And does all of human complexity stemming from common matter elevate that matter, rather than degrading the human? What do you think?
Thousands of you are coming here for information on the shower, but I don’t have a post up about today’s event! So here it is!
The Leonid Meteor shower occurs every year when Earth passes through the cloud of debris left behind by the passage of the comet Temple-Tuttle. Specks of dust are rapidly heated upon contact with our atmosphere and glow spectacularly for a brief moment. If you want to catch a glimpse of our brush with this cometary dust cloud, tonight is a good night. Last night was technically the peak, but since the cloud of dust is fairly large, Leonid meteors should be visible tonight and tomorrow as well. Some folks have reported some brilliant displays, so if you’re awake you may as well take a look. In any case if you decide to check out the event, just find a nice spot with a good view of as much of the sky as possible. Make sure it’s dark and free from light pollution. Then relax on your back and enjoy the show! Oh – some additional viewing tips from someone who knows his stuff:
It’s more important to orient looking away from sources of light pollution – especially the moon if it’s up. If possible, orient so these light sources are blocked from your visual field by objects in your surroundings. This will encourage your pupils to open a bit wider, and allow seeing fainter meteors. Orient toward the holes in the clouds, if any. Orient so that the place where you are lying is comfortable. Aaahhh!
And another layer of the cosmic onion is peeled back! Scientists from NASA’s LCROSS project have confirmed their previously hesitant assertion that water exists on our moon in the permanent shade of its impact craters. I’m going to defer to the public relations folks at NASA on this one and just send you to their press release, which contains nice charts and pictures to help bring the issue into focus.
I’m hardly qualified to speak on the full implications of the discovery of water on the moon, but I suppose I could outline at least one provocative point. The existence of water on the moon makes human settlement there far more simple. With accessible frozen water (and ample sunlight for hydrolysis), we have a source of oxygen (for breathing) and hydrogen (for fuel). We also of course have the water itself that can be melted and used for drinking or for any of the other myriad purposes water can fulfill. The moon is of course still relatively inhospitable, and I would not expect resorts to start springing up there any time soon, but the presence of frozen water does make the prospect of limited colonization or the establishment of permanent bases a bit more likely.
Until next time, Earthlings!
-Neil
P.S. The lovely photo of the moon was taken by Luc Viatour.
