#Extant E1, E2: Float On

On the first two episodes of CBS's Extant, astronauts float inside of the show's space station. How is this possible?

Floating happens because the space station is traveling extremely fast (about 5 miles a second) while constantly falling towards the Earth due to gravity.  The only force on the station is gravity towards the Earth, but its "sideways" speed of 5 miles a second is just enough so that it balances out the Earth's pull and the station remains in orbit around the planet. Since the station feels the full effect of a force (gravity), anything inside of station is free of that force. Thus, weightlessness! 

As scary as it is to imagine, if you were in a falling elevator, you would also experience weightlessness! All of the force is on the elevator and you are inside of it, free of that force.  Now imagine that elevator falling in space, but also being pushed at 5 miles a second and ... bingo! Space station!

For more info, please check out Universe Today.

For the live tweet of episode 2 of Extant, check out the Storify below.

Antares Spacecraft Delivers and Gets Trashed

Private companies are once again helping NASA achieve its missions. SpaceX has grabbed most of the news, but Orbital Sciences is another company on the move. Orbital's Antares rocket launched this past weekend with the its Cygnus spacecraft on board, filled with 3,300 lbs of valuable supplies for our astronauts in the ISS.  Supplies on the Cygnus spacecraft include:

• Nanosatellites designed to take images of Earth. The more pics, the better!
• TechEdSat-4, which will help small samples to be returned to Earth from the space station.Being able to send small samples back to the planet, instead of needing to launch a retrievable spacecraft to collect it, will result in much quicker experiment turnaround.  
• Satellites (SPHERES) to enable 3-D mapping and robotic navigation inside the space station.

After the supplies are moved from the Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS, Cygnus gets trashed.  No, Cygnus doesn't stop by a local bar - the astronauts literally fill the spacecraft with trash and send it back down to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Gotta go out with a bang!

 Check out an amazing pic by one of NASA's incredible photographers:

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Does Tech Upgrade Art?

Art has had an interesting relationship with technology over the years.  Technological advances such as paintbrushes, the printing press, and computers have opened up new ways for artists to express themselves.  However, I want to emphasize that "new" does not always mean "better". There's a reason that people still gather in ancient museums to see artwork that has stood the test of time. 

A great example of the relationship between art and tech is Digital Revolution, an art show at London's Barbican Centre. Check out the following two pieces for examples of how art is upgraded or downgraded by technology.

Upgrade

Matthew G Lloyd / Getty Images.

Remember making shadow puppets with your hands?  This piece by Chris Milk, The Treachery of Sanctuary, uses 3D camera technology to take shadow manipulation to the next level. If you've ever wanted wings, your shadow can have them applied in this exhibit. It's the next best thing!

Downgrade

Matthew G Lloyd / Getty Images.

This image is striking, but does it really need the random assortment of piano pieces and other machinery within the pyramids?  The piece would have been even more striking without it. Instead, the tech distracts from the image. Also, the piece features a hologram of rapper-i-used-to-like-but-love-to-hate will.I.am, who actually stated "This is Mona Lisa times a million". 

Yeah.

Below are some other videos from the exhibit.  For more media, check out the Barbican's visual section as well as The Verge's coverage.

Cassini Liked It So He Put A Ring On It

Saturn in natural color, photographed by Cassini, 2004

If you've seen a recent photo of Saturn (such as the one above), it's likely from the Cassini spacecraft. The 10th anniversary of the Cassini spacecraft reaching the Saturn system (the planet and its moons) occurred on June 30th.  The spacecraft is named after Giovanni Cassini, an accomplished scientist who, among other things, noted a gap between the rings of Saturn now known as the Cassini Division. This is the dark area within the rings of the above photo.

Ten years later, and our understanding of our system has been greatly enhanced by the discoveries of the Cassini spacecraft. Check out an infographic followed by the top 10 accomplishments of the program:

Below are the top accomplishments from the Cassini spacecraft in the past 10 years:

-- The Huygens probe makes first landing on a moon in the outer solar system (Titan)

-- Discovery of active, icy plumes on the Saturnian moon Enceladus

-- Saturn’s rings revealed as active and dynamic -- a laboratory for how planets form

-- Titan revealed as an Earth-like world with rain, rivers, lakes and seas

-- Studies of Saturn's great northern storm of 2010-2011

-- Studies reveal radio-wave patterns are not tied to Saturn’s interior rotation, as previously thought

-- Vertical structures in the rings imaged for the first time

-- Study of prebiotic chemistry on Titan

-- Mystery of the dual, bright-dark surface of the moon Iapetus solved

-- First complete view of the north polar hexagon and discovery of giant hurricanes at both of Saturn's poles

Check out the infograph below for a nice summary:

Check out the top Saturn images selected by the Cassini team!

Action Items from Blogging While Brown 2014

If you have a question at a conference, ask it!  I'm asking about how churches handle technology and social media in the modern age

The Blogging While Brown conference, now in its 7th year, is a great place for bloggers of color to convene, learn, and have fun.  I attended for the second time, and while it was fun to return home to the New York area, I wanted to leave with some action items to implement.  I'm going to make the list public so that I can be held accountable - feel free to call me out!

1. Develop a writing schedule
   • Currently aim for weekly content, but I'd to do something more concrete.  I'm going to start writing 30 min on Mon, Wed, and Fri  - even if that means only one blog post goes out a week. The end goal is to have 2-3 posts a week.
2. Investigate STEM freelancing opportunities
   • Begin pitching article ideas to publications that I'm already reading.  Even if I'm rejected several times, I'll still gain valuable pitch writing skills.
3. Provide STEM services for local businesses
   • Starting with the local Chamber of Commerce, I'm going to create a list of small businesses that may benefit from someone with a STEM background.  Eventually I'm going to increase the range from Milwaukee to Chicago
4. Increase Science / Math tutoring opportunities
   • Get list of existing tutoring opportunities in libraries, churches, community centers, etc that fit the hours of 6-8 on weekdays or anytime on the weekends.
   • Consider starting my own tutoring service
5. Speak at a conference
   • Create a speaker link on the site, which will borrow content from the Press section. The section will include a list of topics I can speak on, and video / photography of me speaking.
   • After the section is created, I can refer to it when apply to science related conferences for speaking.