[ad_1] Altair tried to find the best observation spots by tapping the Light Pollution Map created by Jurij Stare, with data sourced from NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and the NOAA’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). That led him to wonder where a lot of stray light pollution was coming from in spots […]
Category: thebigpicture
Nefertiti’s bust joins the digital age
[ad_1] The story behind the the digital file started like an intellectual property heist film. A pair of artists claimed to have somehow sneaked into the museum with a 3D scanning rig and captured a surprisingly detailed digital replica of the bust, according to a story in the New York Times. A number of experts […]
A star died violently and left behind this ‘fluffy’ ball
[ad_1] Recently, NASA took another look at SN 1572 using the 20-year-old, still functioning Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists were keen to figure out what caused the lumpy knots and threads that make it look like a giant dust bunny. SN 1572 exploded in what’s called a Type 1a supernova that happens when a dense white […]
Soyuz 61 leaves a ghostly trail as it tracks toward the ISS
[ad_1] What it looks like from @Space_Station when your best friend achieves her lifelong dream to go to space. Caught the second stage in progress! We can’t wait to welcome you onboard, crew of Soyuz 61! pic.twitter.com/Ws7tInY58P — Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) September 25, 2019 The photo shows the curling smoke plumes from the first […]
Neil Armstrong’s Buzz Aldrin photo is unparalleled in art
[ad_1] When the first manned missions started, NASA had more to worry about than photography. In fact, the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, picked up a $40 Minolta Ansco Autoset 35mm camera himself from a Florida camera shop. The third man in space, Walter Schirra, did the same thing, but went […]
Israel’s Moon probe snaps a final photo before crashing
[ad_1] SpaceIL was one of the finalists for Google’s Lunar Xprize, which ended without a winner. Had the probe landed, it would have carried several scientific experiences. That includes measuring the local magnetic field using a magnetometer and carrying a NASA-made laser retroreflector array to measure the precise distance between the Earth and the Moon. […]
Why Garfield phones have littered French beaches for 35 years
[ad_1] Creator Jim Davis made no bones that he created Garfield with merchandising in mind, saying the strip was “a conscious effort to come up with a good, marketable character.” The phones were one of many, many items commercialized during the fat cat’s heyday, and are still considered a collector’s item. The gimmick is that […]
‘Cannonball’ pulsar points to the supernova that formed it
[ad_1] Pulsars are superdense neutron stars that form out of massive supernovae. They can only be found when their electromagnetic beams points directly to Earth like a nuclear-powered lighthouse. Pulsars have been found to rotate as fast as 1.6 milliseconds, or 38,500 rpm. They pick up the angular momentum of the massive stars that formed […]
Textiles become circuits in ‘The Embroidered Computer’
[ad_1] The Embroidered Computer has flippable relays like those used in mainframes before semiconductors came along. While they’re not nearly as fast, you have to admit that they look a lot cooler in operation (above). The dominant material is gold, used for its highly conductive properties, arranged in patterns to form the logic of a […]
NASA unveils stunning images of merging supersonic shockwaves
[ad_1] The jets shown in the images are T-38s flying at 28,000 feet or so. They were captured by a B200 King Air flying a pattern just 2,000 feet above them, equipped with 1,400 fps cameras mounted on a special arm. They show the shockwaves, or rapid pressure changes that result when an aircraft flies […]