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APRIL 25, 1990: Hubble Telescope Launched into Space
Twenty-two years ago, the space shuttle Discovery placed the Hubble Telescope into a low orbit around Earth.
In 2009, the Hubble telescope was in need of repairs; ones never intended to be performed in orbit. That year, NOVA presented “Hubble’s Amazing Rescue,” the unlikely story about how the world’s most beloved telescope was saved.
Many people have gazed in awe at the Hubble Space Telescope’s photographs. But few laypeople realize just how much effort goes into preparing such images. To see how much effort goes into preparing such images, head on over to PBS.org for a NOVA scienceNow interactive feature, “How Hubble Sees.”Image: NASA and STScI
thescienceofreality:project-argus:
Carl Sagan on astrology in newspapers. From his interview with Ted Turner.
Also, photosets are fun.
I will never stop reblogging this set.
Famous Physicists as Children
From left to right:
Stephen Hawking (b. 1942) - Most well known for Hawking radiation and theorems involving gravitational singularities. He suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease - and is one of the most well known scientists of our time.
Neil deGrasse Tyson (b. 1958) - Currently the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, Tyson is one of the leading science advocates in the world - and was one of the men who supported the demotion of Pluto.
Carl Sagan (1934-1996) - One of the most successful science popularizers of all time, Sagan was also the bestselling author of Cosmos, one of the most popular science books of all time. He was the first to propose that Jupiter’s moons Titan and Europa may hold liquid components of water on them.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - The most well known genius in history, Albert Einstein was a boss. During his career, he revolutionized almost every area of Physics, including quantum mechanics and he effectively founded the study of Cosmology. His theory of general relativity has been wildly successful, despite ‘attacks’ by neutrinos.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) - His most important contributions came via his path integral formulation of quantum mechanics and development of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Plus, he was a total badass.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson was a little cutie.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Makes Sure ‘Titanic’ Is Accurate
James Cameron’s epic 1997 movie “Titanic” is about to be re-released and re-packaged in a 3D presentation to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ocean liner on April 15, 1912. Although few changes have been made to the movie itself, there is one tweak that will impress astronomers.
Spurred on by a “snarky” message from astrophysicist and outspoken science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cameron has addressed Tyson’s criticism that the incorrect star field was used during one of the film’s most famous scenes.
“Neil deGrasse Tyson sent me quite a snarky email saying that, at that time of year, in that position in the Atlantic in 1912, when Rose (Kate Winslet) is lying on the piece of driftwood and staring up at the stars, that is not the star field she would have seen,” said Cameron.
“And with my reputation as a perfectionist, I should have known that and I should have put the right star field in. So I said ‘All right, send me the right stars for that exact time and I’ll put it in the movie.’”
Tyson did just that and the correct star field has been included in the re-release.
Image: Neil deGrasse Tyson (left) and James Cameron. Credit: CORBIS
What a great dude. Making sure our star fields are accurate for us.
Love him
Scientists believe that this is the animal from which everything else evolved. The first multicellular being that spawned every living being in this world through billions of mutations, from fish to amphibians to reptiles to birds to mammals to you. It’s an amazing discovery. Its name is Otavia antiqua, and it is the oldest animal ever discovered: 760 million years old. Scientists claim that it used to chill out in calm, nice, shallow waters, chewing on algae and bacteria through its pores and into its little tube body.
Read: You Come From This Thing: The Oldest Animal Ever Discovered - Gizmodo
I mean it’s definitely a theory and not fact, but still, so cool.
Antarctica’s Frozen Lake Vostok, Isolated for 20 Million Years, Breached By Russian Drills
The Russian scientists drilling into ancient buried Antarctic Lake Vostok have reached their destination, the Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported today. The team is apparently alive and well despite a week of suspicious radio silence, but more details are to come about what they’ve found buried under two miles of ice.
“Yesterday, our scientists stopped drilling at the depth of 3,768 meters and reached the surface of the sub-glacial lake,” the source reportedly said in a story posted Monday, Feb. 6.
» via Popular Science
A brutal place, known for the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, harboring a lake miles below the surface of ancient ice.
The lake itself is a completely closed system, perhaps only recycled through Antarctic ice every 10,000 years. It’s completely dark but contains oxygen and nutrients that could theoretically support extreme life. Now the search begins for anything that might be living down there, in perhaps the coldest spot on our planet. As long as they don’t contaminate it with something from up above, that is. Here’s a diagram of the expedition:
What will they find?
The International Space Station is seen as a small object in the upper left of this photo of the Moon, in the skies over the Houston area. (Photo: Lauren Harnett / NASA via the Telegraph)
New Study Says Large Regions of Mars Could Sustain Life
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The question of whether present-day Mars could be habitable, and to what extent, has been the focus of long-running and intense debates. The surface, comparable to the dry valleys of Antarctica and the Atacama desert on Earth, is harsh, with well-below freezing temperatures most of the time (at an average of minus 63 degrees Celsius or minus 81 Fahrenheit), extreme dryness and a very thin atmosphere offering little protection from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Most scientists would agree that the best place that any organisms could hope to survive and flourish would be underground. Now, a new study says that scenario is not only correct, but that large regions of Mars’ subsurface could be even more sustainable for life than previously thought.
Scientists from the Australian National University modeled conditions on Mars on a global scale and found that large regions could be capable of sustaining life – three percent of the planet actually, albeit mostly underground. By comparison, just one percent of Earth’s volume, from the central core to the upper atmosphere, is inhabited by some kind of life. They compared pressure and temperature conditions on Earth to those of Mars to come up with the surprising results.
The paper is currently available for free here.
(via universetoday)
Japanese biologists have turned a crab’s shell transparent in groundbreaking research that may hold the future of flat panel displays, solar cells and bendy screens.
The future is really starting to freak us out.
