-
Tech NewsHistory of the Universe in under six minutes
Clean animation + accurate cosmology + English accent = win, even if they did gloss over the whole, mistook the cosmic microwave background radiation as birdshit so stationed a student by the telescope with a shotgun, part of the story “by accident.” Kurzgesagt bills themselves as “nerdfighters who want to make science look beautiful. Because … Continued
-
Tech NewsVote on the best satellite photos from 2013
It’s that time of year — the Earth Observatory is pitting gorgeous photo against gorgeous photo in a tournament to pick the best of 2013. Set up a betting bracket, then vote the best photos in each of 4 categories. Need more enticement to spend your Monday afternoon eyeballing the Earth? Here’s a few of … Continued
-
Tech News
Engineer Identifies Spot In Dam Before Utter Catastrophe
Today an engineer in Washington can be proud of doing a very good job. After noticing a crack and bowing in the structure, the engineer ordered the dam inspected and caught a problem before it catastrophically failed. Dear Engineer, Thank you for looking at that dam and thinking, “…that shouldn’t be bulging…” then taking the … Continued
-
Tech News
#RealGravity: NASA photos of living and working in space
To celebrate awards night, NASA is posting photos from living and working in space that look like they’re pulled straight out of the Oscar-nominated Gravity. Dear NASA, I love that you’re running #RealGravity of actual photographs from working and living in space on Oscars night. For those who don’t obsessively stalk space agency social media … Continued
-
Tech News
Tiny tunnels in meteorite whisper about the history of Mars
Peeking inside an ancient Martian meteorite explores the history of the red planet. Analysis of trapped gas bubbles confirm its origin, while tunnel-structures within the clay are similar to the textures we see created by bacteria wriggling around in Earth-rocks. While the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers continue to explore Mars as robotic geologists, taking photographs, … Continued
-
Tech News
Things that Amuse Me: Eavesdropping on astrophysicists
Poking around in the code of astrophysics papers provides a behind-the-scenes peek at the process of science. Practical, hilarious, and cringe-worthy, this is how new science is discovered. Astrophysics research papers are regularly deposited in the open-access arXiv electronic archive and distribution server. The papers can be in various states: sometimes they’re papers awaiting peer … Continued
Mika McKinnon
Mika McKinnon's posts