Category: Science
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Taking Ozone Measurements at the South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory
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Today, Atmospheric Scientist Kelliann Bliss shows us how she takes ozone readings at the South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO). A bit more on ARO, from NOAA: The Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO) at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a National Science Foundation facility used in support of scientific research related to atmospheric phenomena. ARO…
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Playing With Liquid Helium At The South Pole Cryogenics Lab
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To support the various telescopes and experiments here at the south pole, a ton of resources are necessary – power, heating, environmental protection, and somewhat counterintuitively, cooling. Some of the telescopes here are so sensitive, and looking at such distant signals, that in order to work properly they need to be cryogenically cooled down to…
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Exploring the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory
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One of the amazing benefits of living here at the South Pole is that I get access to some of the world’s leading scientists, and the experiments they’re working on. In fact, the luxury of having meals and chatting with scientists, and then being able to go out to their experiments is by far one…
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Learning About Space Suit Design With Astronaut Joseph Tanner
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This past week, my brother Jason and I were fortunate enough to be allowed to sit in on a guest lecture at the University of Colorado Engineering Center by NASA Astronaut Joe Tanner. Joe spoke to us about the ins and outs of spacesuit design, and shared a bunch of his personal stories. A pic…
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Polar Infographic: Who Owns Antarctica?
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Great Antarctic infographic for today – who owns that giant continent, anyway? Courtesy of GOOD
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Go To The Moon With The Apollo Astronauts in Documentary “For All Mankind”
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For All Mankind is a simply stunning documentary covering the Apollo missions to the Moon. Stunning on all fronts. Scored by Brian Eno. Enough said. This movie documents the Apollo missions perhaps the most definitively of any movie under two hours. Al Reinert watched all the footage shot during the missions–over 6,000,000 feet of it,…
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Are We Living Inside A Computer Simulation?
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Great article from Vice today exploring the probability that we may be living our lives in a computer simulation inside a computer simulation inside a computer simulation. A few excerpts: According to Moore’s Law, which states that computing power doubles roughly every two years, all of this will be theoretically possible in the future. Sooner…
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MARS Curiosity Rover first Color 360 Panorama – Round the world with panoramas.dk
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Super cool interactive 360 Panorama from the Mars Curiosity Rover – looks like you could just step out onto the surface.. Interactive Panorama: JPL Image: From JPL:Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS This color panorama shows a 360-degree view of the landing site of NASA’s Curiosity rover, including the highest part of Mount Sharp visible to the rover.…
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RIP Neil Armstrong
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Neil Armstrong, an American hero died today. He will be missed. From the NY Times: Neil Armstrong, a quiet, self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when he made “one giant leap for mankind” with a small step on to the moon, died Saturday. He was 82.Multimedia Mr. Armstrong died after complications from cardiovascular…
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Curiosity Rover Successfully Lands On Mars!!
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Congratulations to the NASA/JPL-Caltech crew for successfully landing the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity Rover on Mars! Here are the first images taken by Curiosity on the red planet.. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s statement: NASA is back on Mars – and getting ready for the next mission to the Red Planet! After an astounding 154 million…
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Photos: Curiosity Just Days Away From Mars
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Certainly my top photo set of the week – a complete photo album of the assembly and launch of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Very cool. Good luck on touchdown on Mars in a few days! Curiosity Just Days Away From Mars – In Focus – The Atlantic.
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All 135 Space Shuttle Launches At Once Video
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Following up on my post about the Space Shuttle Launch explainer video “Ascent: Commemorating Shuttle“, here’s another one of all 135 Space Shuttle launches. Cool! Also notable: Launching Apollo 11 at 500fps
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Eugene Cernan on the Moon – Apollo 17
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This picture of Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan, covered in lunar dust after walking on the moon is great. Chilling in a capsule parked on the moon, covered in regolith. Simply awesome. Found via Universe Today Here’s the pic of Cernan on the lunar surface, as posted on Astronomy Picture of the Day 2002-12-12, with…
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Attending US Space Camp in 1992
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Here’s another gem found in the course of my family VHS file digitization project. In grade school, I went to US Space Camp along with a bunch of my classmates. The triumphant beginning of my lifelong love for everything space and science. My parents paid for not only Space Camp, but also to have this…
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Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven Minutes of Terror
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From NASA JPL, a great video overview of the Mars Curiosity Rover’s descent to the martian surface: Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiositys Seven Minutes of Terror – YouTube.
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First Look – Flight of the Orion
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NASA: Flight of the Orion… from Full {Circle} Werks on Vimeo. This short animated film depicts the flight and orbit of the NASA's new spacecraft that will take humans far beyond low-Earth orbit. We used some original Apollo audio samples and created some bespoke effects, music and atmos to create a complex audio collage from…
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Space Shuttle in Extreme Detail: Exclusive New Pictures
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In honor of the Space Shuttle Enterprise arriving in NYC, here’s an interactive superzoom of the inside of Space Shuttle Discovery… Space Shuttle in Extreme Detail: Exclusive New Pictures.
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Statistics: How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did
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Great article about the power of shopper data and statistics for creepily optimizing shopping experiences. This is by I always use the universal club card number (local area code) 867-5309. Try it – there’s almost always a frequent shopper card registered with that number, so you can still get discounts without letting them track your…
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Conferencing in San Francisco
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For the next few weeks I’ll be living and working in San Francisco. Already, here are a few new things I’ve been introduced to: iOS App “Highlight” – Location based social app. Uses background location to correlate who else you’re physically near at a given moment, and provides a very basic interface with which to…
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Richard Cook Speaks About The Mars Curiosity Rover: “From A to Z: Getting Curiosity to the Launch Pad”
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Looking for something to watch to disconnect from the family for a while? Here’s MSL Deputy Project Manager Richard Cook’s excellent lecture “From A to Z: Getting Curiosity to the Launch Pad“, in which he covers the entire process of designing and deploying the Mars Curiosity Rover, now on its way to Mars. Out of…
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Video: Installing the ISS Cupola
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Amazing animation video of the procedure to install the Cupola viewing window pod on the International Space Station. Note the use of the robotic arm, as well as the heavy sheilding each window has. Quite a view! Cupola from Master Image Programmes on Vimeo. How Did They Install the Most Amazing Window Ever Created By…
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UI Considerations for Effective Indoor Navigation
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In OReilly Radar this week, author Nick Farina has a great piece outlining the unique requirements for designing an effective indoor navigation interface. Indoor navigation is different than outdoor navigation, and approaching the design of an interface for it needs to be done differently than for outdoor navigation. “an effective mobile UI should be more…
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The Elegant Universe: Waves and Particles
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Randall Munroe, thanks for this great cartoon, which I now understand after finishing Brian Greene’s book “The Elegant Universe“. After sitting in Greene’s class last semester at Columbia University, I have a new appreciation for his voice, passion, and writing style when it comes to quantum physics.
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Visualizing Magnetic Fields 2: Ferrofluid and Bubbles
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Hot on the heels of the Magnetic Movie, here’s an interesting clip from photographer Kim Pimmel which visualizes magnetic fields using ferrofluids and bubbles. I combined everyday soap bubbles with exotic ferrofluid liquid to create an eerie tale, using macro lenses and time lapse techniques. Black ferrofluid and dye race through bubble structures, drawn through…