Watch the video below and marvel about how everything we know is a small part of the larger universe. For more info, check out the animation studio ORDER and read Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.
An Animated Tribute To Our Planet
Happy Birthday Carl Sagan!
Carl Sagan is a major reason why this blog exists. I've been into science as a kid, but I always envisioned it as a niche, nerdy thing. Carl Sagan showed me that science can be mainstream and cool because it affects everything around is, every day! He directly inspires my #ScienceLooksGood hashtag.
Check out this amazing video from Sagan's audiobook for Pale Blue Dot. Sagan describes how humbling it is that the earth is nothing more than a pale blue dot in the vast openness of a much larger universe that we have yet to understand. If you can't see the video embed below, click here.
Happy birthday, Carl.
Presidential Science - Vote!
Today is Election Day in the US. No matter what your political affiliation is, make sure that you exercise your right to vote! Among the many things that the president can influence in four years is science and technology.
Several presidents were science geeks. Truman signed the bill to create the National Science Foundation, Carter helped fund the Hubble Space Telescope, and Kennedy helped launch space exploration by promising to put a man on the moon before anyone really knew how to. Also, President Garfield proved that #ScienceLooksGood by submitting a proof for the Pythagorean theorem, which I'm sure you learned in high school and can recite on command.
T.C Scottek has a lengthy article on The Verge detailing the stances of the four main presidential candidates on various science and tech issues such as the Internet, cyber security, war, and space.. Read up, and vote, vote, vote!!!!
Oh yeah, and vote!
The Space Age: Shuttles and Stations
When the average American thinks about space, both the space shuttle and the space station usually come to mind. Two milestones related to both of these achievements are being celebrated this week!
I was lucky enough to see Atlantis take off last year, and now it is taking on its final journey - a 10 mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building (where shuttles hang out) to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) visitor center. This will definitely be the easiest of the shuttle retirement trips, but it is still a task that requires intense expertise and planning. C
The International Space Station also celebrates a milestone - 12 years ago, the first crew began living on the station! Check out the crew of Expedition 1 below, consisting of USA Commander Bill Shepherd and Russian Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko. The ISS has served as a beacon of international cooperation, especially between the former Cold War adversaries. They've worked together to provide wonderful images like this one provided by my Google+ buddy Erica Joy,
Hurricane Sandy from Space
Hurricane Sandy is approaching landfall on the east coast of the US, between Delaware and Connecticut. People are buying supplies, weather reporters are freaking out with delight, and I made the wonderful decision to visit my mom in northern NJ and friends in NYC right before the entire public transportation system shut down.
Be safe everyone! Check out the rest of NASA's coverage on their Flickr page.
