Cozy Dark

thenewenlightenmentage: Charted: Extraterrestrial Driving...

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:58:37 -0700

Charted: Extraterrestrial Driving Records

NASA has just released this cute chart depicting the various distances traveled by wheeled machines on other worlds (click to enlarge).

The comparison was put out in honor of the agency’s Opportunity rover, which has been on Mars since 2004, beating NASA’s previous distance record-holder, the Apollo 17 moon buggy. During its nine years of operations, Opportunity has roved 35.760 kilometers, edging out the Apollo astronaut’s 35.744-kilometer drive.

The champion for driving on another surface still goes to the Soviet Lunokhod 2 rover, which traveled 37 kilometers across the moon in 1973. Of course, Opportunity still has the *ahem* opportunity to overtake the international record holder since it’s continuing to rove around the rim of Endeavour crater on Mars. The little robot has been exploring that area since 2011 and has uncovered some of the most unambiguous evidence for water on ancient Mars. Though NASA’s celebrated Curiosity rover has only gone less than one kilometer since landing in August, it has nuclear batteries that could last 14 years at minimum — ample time to beat all competitors.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

sagansense: The winners and notable photos of the 4th...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:03:44 -0700

sagansense:

The winners and notable photos of the 4th International Earth and Sky Photo Contest, a program by The World at Night (TWAN) in collaboration with the Global Astronomy Month and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The contest theme is Dark Skies Importance. Similar to TWAN itself, the contest also aims to reclaim the natural beauty of starry sky and to help preserving the dark skies which are not yet dominated by artificial lights.

The images in this video are copyrighted by the photographers. Feel free to share the video (embedding or sharing the link) to promote the contest in non-commercial way. Permission is needed from TWAN (info@twanight.org) for any other use. The music is by sound artist Thomas Nordwest (thomasnordwest.com). Winner photos and more information on the contest page: twanight.org/contest

via Babak Tafreshi and Astronomers Without Borders

ucresearch: Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s a great photo of...

Sun, 12 May 2013 19:44:10 -0700

ucresearch:

Happy Mother’s Day!

Here’s a great photo of UCLA’s Anna Fisher: the first mother in space.

Happy Mother’s Day! (If you forgot to get her something, you can buy her a chance to go to SPACE for $10 here: www.idreamofspace.com ) #truestory

thenewenlightenmentage: Mystery of Moon’s Magnetic Field...

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:43:54 -0700

thenewenlightenmentage:

Mystery of Moon’s Magnetic Field Deepens

The moon generated a surprisingly intense magnetic field until at least 3.56 billion years ago, 160 million years longer than previously thought, a new study reports.

These findings could shed light not just on the magnetic field of the moon, which is now extremely weak, but on that of asteroids and other distant worlds, investigators added.

Continue Reading

Photo

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:00:18 -0700

How the Hubble Space Telescope Works Launched from space shuttle...

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:57:11 -0700

How the Hubble Space Telescope Works

Launched from space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope orbits at an altitude of about 350 miles (560 kilometers). The telescope is 43.5 feet (13.2 meters) long, weighs 24,500 pounds (11,110 kilograms) and cost $2.5 billion.

Hubble’s six cameras and sensors see visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. At the heart of Hubble is its 8-foot-diameter (2.4 meters) primary mirror. The Hubble telescope is named after the famed late astronomer Edwin Hubble, who has been lauded as the father of modern cosmology and determined the rate of the expansion of the universe….

propagandery: Stardust (by PostPanic) From Dutch designer and...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:52:09 -0700

propagandery:

Stardust (by PostPanic)

From Dutch designer and director Mischa Rozema comes Stardust — a breathtaking short film based on a combination of real NASA footage and science fiction imagery, celebrating the legacy of the Voyager 1 and inspired by Dutch graphic designer Arjan Groot, who passed away from cancer at the age of 39.

[Brainpickings]

Photo

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:10:00 -0700

What happens if you wring out a wet towel while floating in...

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:24 -0700

What happens if you wring out a wet towel while floating in space? The water shouldn’t fall toward the floor because while orbiting the Earth, free falling objects will appear to float. But will the water fly out from the towel, or what? The answer may surprise you.

The want to leave our planet inspires everyone! Including David...

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:26 -0700

The want to leave our planet inspires everyone! Including David Windestål, who sent an RC plane to the edge of space and back - filming the flight!

Our solar system’s miasma of incandescent plasma, the Sun...

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:12 -0700

Our solar system’s miasma of incandescent plasma, the Sun may look a little scary here. The picture is a composite of 25 images recorded in extreme ultraviolet light by the orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory between April 16, 2012 and April 15, 2013.

Steve Vogt, Professor Astronomy and Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz,...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:03:35 -0700

Steve Vogt, Professor Astronomy and Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz, describes how to discover a habitable planet. For more visit ucresearch.tumblr.com

ucresearch: Some beautiful night shots on our visit to Hastings...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:15:13 -0700

ucresearch:

Some beautiful night shots on our visit to Hastings Natural Reserve. While we only got to see this one night, seasonal researchers who live on the reserve get to see these views for several months of the year!

ucresearch: “The vast majority of the mass in the universe is...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:47:47 -0700

ucresearch:

“The vast majority of the mass in the universe is completely invisible. It’s not made of atoms — in fact it’s not even made of the things that atoms are made of: protons, neutrons, and electrons. It’s something completely different.”

— Joel Primack, Distinguished Professor of Physics, UC Santa Cruz

[Calvin and Hobbes was created by the wonderful Bill Waterson]

Astronomers have used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:05:20 -0700

Astronomers have used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory’s launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990.

NASA Mars Science Laboratory team geologist Dawn Sumner gives us...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:04:19 -0700

NASA Mars Science Laboratory team geologist Dawn Sumner gives us a tour of the Curiosity rover and the instruments the probe carried to the red planet. An array of cameras, lasers and drills will conduct experiments to determine the composition of the planet’s rocks. For more visit ucresearch.tumblr.com

ucresearch: Then & Now: Photographing the Moon Top Image: a...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:32:12 -0700

A stereo card from the late 1800s taken by Joseph L. Bates.

An image taken by elementary school students using a camera attached to NASA's GRAIL satellites (part of the MoonKAM project, led by Sally Ride Science and UCSD).

ucresearch:

Then & Now: Photographing the Moon

Top Image: a stereo card from the late 1800s taken by Joseph L. Bates.

Bottom Image: an image taken by elementary school students using a a camera attached to NASA’s GRAIL satellites (part of the MoonKAM project, led by Sally Ride Science and UCSD).

death of stars

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:00:21 -0700

death of stars

Photo

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:00:30 -0700

In the direction of the constellation Canis Major, two spiral...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:00:22 -0700

In the direction of the constellation Canis Major, two spiral galaxies pass by each other like majestic ships in the night. The near-collision has been caught in images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and its Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.