Clipmarks | Aribeth's 'space' clips

Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:52:29 GMT

clipped by: venushugstress
clipper's remarks: These are so awesome, I wish I could have been there to take the pictures myself!

Clip Source: treebeard31.wordpress.com

Hubble telescope’s top ten greatest space photographs

The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth

The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles

In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face

face surrounded by a furry hood.

At four is the Cat’s Eye Nebula

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away

In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in

years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon)

The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away

Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting.

The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207

The Trifid Nebula. A ’stellar nursery’, 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.

Tags: fascinating, art

Life on the edge

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 07:27:37 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: That throws up a tricky problem for engineers sending space craft to explore these alien worlds. What if the craft were to carry its own cargo of Earth microbes which set up home there?One major problem for any accidental interplanetary microbe would be how to survive the punishing radiation bombardment in space. Most would be rapidly frazzled en route. Most, but not all.

Deinococcus radiodurans, nicknamed "Conan the Bacterium", is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "world's toughest bacterium". By rapidly replacing its DNA, it can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, acid and a hefty radiation dose. Its Latin name means "terrifying berry that withstands radiation".

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Life on the edge

Even in the world's harshest environments there are creatures that cling to life equipped with extraordinary survival capabilities.

Welcome to the bizarre and uncomfortable (for us) world of the extremophiles - hardy organisms that thrive under the most punishing conditions.

Apart from cold-loving species there are organisms adapted to extreme heat, dryness, saltiness and even high radioactivity.

The most impressive hyperthermophile is the recently discovered Strain 121. It is able to keep dividing even at water temperatures of 121C (hence its name). At this depth, due to the extreme pressure, water does not boil.

halophiles or salt-lovers, have adapted to thrive in salt concentrations 10 times those in sea water, or even higher - for example in Utah's Great Salt Lake

With so many super-hardy creatures on our doorstep here on Earth, the possibility that simple life-forms exist somewhere in the solar system or beyond looks much more likely.

Tags: science, biology

The man who invented Mars

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:02:29 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: It is Lowell's vision of Mars that has enthralled and inspired earthlings ever since.In 1895, Lowell published a book about what he believed he saw.He became famous and immensely popular.Lowell was born at 131 Tremont Street in Boston on March 13,1855,into a family at the pinnacle of what passed for American aristocracy.

The appearance of Lowell's book about Mars in 1895 came at a time of canal-building on earth. The Suez had recently been constructed; the Panama was in the works. For both Lowell and his adoring public, the prospect of canals on a neighboring planet was too captivating to dismiss.

He published his second book about the Red Planet, Mars and Its Canals, in 1906.In 1908, he published his third and final book on the planet, Mars as the Abode of Life.

Back at his observatory on Mars Hill, Lowell renewed his attention to another matter: the possibility of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, which he called "Planet X."

Clip Source: www.boston.com

The Man Who Invented Mars

Long before the space race and space shuttle, a brilliant, wealthy, charming Boston Brahmin named Percival Lowell popularized the idea that we are not alone in the universe.

At left, a colorized version of a 1905 drawing of Mars by Lowell; at right, an artist’s concept of the Phoenix Mars lander.

AT 7:36 P.M. ON May 25, if all goes well, a stranger from Earth will land near the north pole of Mars. It is called Phoenix.

Somewhere, a 19th century Boston Brahmin named Percival Lowell will be smiling.

Long before NASA was established in 1958

Percival Lowell devoted much of his career and considerable fortune to trying to prove that Mars hosted intelligent life. Viewed through his telescopes, the ancient, baleful Red Planet was about the size of a dime.

Lowell believed he was seeing a network of canals on its surface. Therefore, he declared, Mars holds intelligent life. It is not necessarily like human life, he emphasized, but it is intelligent enough to build canals.

Tags: science, space, astronomy

Ouroboros: the serpent eats its tail

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:08:59 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.dragon.org

The Serpent biting its own tail is first seen as early as 1600 years BC in Egypt. From there it moved to the Phonecians and then to the Greeks, who called it the Ouroboros, which means devouring its tail.

Clip Source: teek.artspots.com

Clip Source: altreligion.about.com

Clip Source: z.about.com

Clip Source: www.wilsonsalmanac.com

Clip Source: www.wisdomportal.com

V838 Monocerotis: Hubble Space Telescope/NASA
(February 8, 2004)

Clip Source: users.ucom.net

Clip Source: www.xzentradi.com

Clip Source: www.groundzeromedia.org

The serpent locked on its tail represents immobility and yet coils around the earth demonstrating perpetual movement. It represents the confusing message of your end being your beginning, your disintegration becoming reintegration. It is death before the spark of creation. It is believed to be the representation of the grand eternal cycle.

Tags: ouroboros

Urban Gardener Thinks Higher: A Rooftop Garden for Room to Grow

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:53:35 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Why should you consider a rooftop garden?

* Increase access to private outdoor green space within the urban environment
* Support urban food production
* Promote individual, community, and cultural diversity
* Improve air quality and reduce CO2 missions
* Delay stormwater runoff
* Increase habitat for birds
* Insulate buildings
* Increase the value of buildings for owners and tenants alike
* Create job opportunities in the field of research, design, construction, Iandscaping, gardening, health, and food production

Clip Source: www.thegrowspot.com

Clip Source: usahomeandgarden.com

Clip Source: adaptivereuse.net

Clip Source: www.greenroofs.com

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Clip Source: www.marigreen.cz

Clip Source: www.margueritegardens.com

Clip Source: environmentkrishna.blogspot.com

Tags: roof, green, environment, heat island, farm, community garden

Dream Room Wants yr Mind To ...

Sat, 03 May 2008 15:25:11 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: that's what i always searched for: "transforms the walls of a room into a living canvas" .... -))

Clip Source: rawartint.wordpress.com

Dream Room Wants Your Mind To Wander And Dream

Concepts are always great, good looking, and inviting as designers can think what they want to, without the worries of all the mundane things involved. Same is the case with the Dream Room, a concept designed by Fuse Project for Dwell magazine. If the concept ever meets realism, it’s without doubt going to be a wallet-straining one and uber-rich geeks are going to love it for sure. The Dream Room transforms the walls of a room into a living canvas. Using LCD displays as digital wallpapers, images are changed on command or by random settings, allowing one’s mind to wander and dream. The concept explores the boundaries of space, technology, landscape and wallpaper. Now, who wouldn’t like to dream that way?

Clip Source: rawartint.files.wordpress.com

Tags: transformation, go, out, of, the "room"

Crew Earth Observations 'Top Ten' Photos

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:09:10 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth

Clip Source: www.nasa.gov

Crew Earth Observations 'Top Ten' Photos

From the International Space Station Astronaut Photography Collection

Eruption of Cleveland Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

acquired shortly after the beginning of the eruption, captures the ash plume moving west-southwest from the summit vent

this image shows the limb of the Earth at the bottom transitioning into the orange-colored troposphere, the lowest and most dense portion of the Earth's atmosphere

nighttime view of Los Angeles, California

Aurora Borealis and lights in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Latvia

is a glimpse of the barren moon through the Earth’s limb

Mt. Everest and Makalu

green aurora dancing over the night side of the Earth just after sunset on February 16, 2003

Bernese Alps, Switzerland

Nukuoro Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia

Harrat Khaybar, Saudi Arabia

The western half of the Arabian peninsula contains

extensive lava fields known as haraat

One such field is the 14,000-square kilometer Harrat Khaybar

Tags: images, science, space

You go girl!

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:08:53 GMT

clipped by: thewifecat

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A giant leap is about to be made for womankind.

When space shuttle Discovery blasts off Tuesday, a woman will be sitting in the commander's seat. And up at the international space station, a female skipper will be waiting to greet her.

It will be the first time in the 50-year history of spaceflight that two women are in charge of two spacecraft at the same time.

Tags: interesting

Smithsonian's "Ocean Hall"

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:41:36 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.mnh.si.edu

How to Build an Ocean Hall

When the Ocean Hall exhibit opens in 2008, it will be the National Museum of Natural History’s largest exhibit. With 23,000 square feet of exhibit space, it will provide visitors with a unique and breathtaking introduction to the majesty of the ocean. To provide this experience, the Hall will have taken more than five years of planning, coordination, and construction. Want to learn how it all comes together? Welcome to How to Build an Ocean Hall!

Tags: museums, ocean hall, smithsonian

Earth could seed Titan with life

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:24:29 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: Dr Gladman's team calculated that up to 20 terrestrial rocks from a large impact on Earth would reach Titan. These would strike Titan's upper atmosphere at 10-15 km/s. At this velocity, the cruise down to the surface might be comfortable enough for microbes to survive the journey.But the news was more bleak for Europa. By contrast with the handful that hit Titan, about 100 terrestrial meteoroids hit the icy moon.

"It's frustrating if you're a microbe that's been wandering the Universe for a million years to then die striking the surface of Europa," Dr Gladman mused.Asked after his presentation by one scientist whether he thought microbes would be able to survive Titan's freezing temperatures, Dr Gladman answered: "That's for you people to decide, I'm just the pizza delivery boy."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Terrestrial rocks blown into space by asteroid impacts on Earth could have taken life to Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have announced.

Earth microbes in these meteorites could have seeded the organic-rich world with life, researchers believe.

the impact on Earth that killed off the dinosaurs could have ejected enough material for some to reach far-off moons such as Titan

The theory of panspermia holds that life on planets like Earth and Mars was seeded from space, perhaps hitching a ride on meteorites and comets.

To get terrestrial, life-bearing rocks to escape the Earth's atmosphere and reach space requires an impact by an asteroid or comet between 10 and 50km across.

Million-year journey

One of them is the asteroid strike 65 million years ago, which punched a crater between 160 and 240km wide in what is today the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

targets

Titan and Europa

Titan is rich in organic compounds

potential energy source for primitive life forms

Europa

thought to harbour a liquid water ocean

Tags: science, space

Planet Of Life

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:21:42 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: On April 12th, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin became the first human in space. His remotely controlled Vostok 1 spacecraft lofted him to an altitude of 200 miles and carried him once around planet Earth. Commenting on the first view from space he reported, "The sky is very dark; the Earth is bluish. Everything is seen very clearly". Alan Shepard, the first US astronaut, would not be launched until almost a month later and then on a comparatively short suborbital flight. Born on March 9, 1934, Gagarin was a military pilot before being chosen for the first group of cosmonauts in 1960. As a result of his historic flight he became an international hero and legend. Killed when his MIG jet crashed during a training flight on March 27, 1968, Gagarin was given a hero's funeral, his ashes interred in the Kremlin Wall. On yet another April 12th, in 1981, NASA launched the first space shuttle.

Tags: space, yuri's planet, earth, planet of life

Space debris: evolution in pictures

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:45:41 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii
clipper's remarks: Between the launch of Sputnik on 4 October 1957 and 1 January 2008, approximately 4600 launches have placed some 6000 satellites into orbit, of which about 400 are travelling beyond geostationary orbit or on interplanetary trajectories.

Today, it is estimated that only 800 satellites are operational - roughly 45 percent of these are both in LEO and GEO. Space debris comprise the ever-increasing amount of inactive space hardware in orbit around the Earth as well as fragments of spacecraft that have broken up, exploded or otherwise become abandoned. About 50 percent of all trackable objects are due to in-orbit explosion events (about 200) or collision events (less than 10).

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

Trackable objects in orbit around Earth

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

Debris objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO)

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

Debris objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO)

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

Objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) - view over the North Pole

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

The geostationary ring

Clip Source: esamultimedia.esa.int

Clip Source: www.esa.int

Objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) - view over the equator

Tags: science

Artists Using the Full Spectrum

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:39:10 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: "I’m excited by artists who are finding ways to adapt the rainbow spectrum in their work.The color field (or chromatic abstractionist) artists of the 50’s often painted with bold swaths of color but rarely used as many together as the featured artists of this article. In the 60’s, psychedelic art used colors and patterns together too. The modern artists I’ll cover in this post use color in an undiluted, anything but soft array of graphic lines and shapes resulting in work that is both vivid and alluring. Their work circumvents the boundaries their predecessors put in place to arrive at a new and bold take on prior styles."

Clip Source: www.colourlovers.com

Modern Color Field: Artists Using the Full Spectrum

Color is so powerful and can be so striking.

Jim Lambie

uses glossy tape in varying colors to build installations

The vinyl tape, an everyday material applied in continuous lines, transforms the dynamics of space, changing a white box gallery space into an energetic/emotional space of sensory pleasure.

Maya Hayuk

Mark Grotjahn

is an artist I found by picking out a beautiful book in a used bookstore

The cover was all rainbow colors, it’s called “Entertainment and art are not isolated. Entertainment is in art like color in pictures”.

Architecture too: The MUSAC Contemporary Art Museum of Castilla y León by Mansilla + Tuñón

I love the way color is integral to the look of the building. I don’t know that much about architecture but color does not seem to be one of the main focal points when buildings are discussed. It’s unavoidable on this one with it’s translucent colored glass. In fact so striking it trumps all other elements of design.

Adventures in Stacking

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:12:47 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: bldgblog.blogspot.com

Adventures in Stacking

New Scientist published an awesome little article this week about nothing more complex than stacking blocks of wood

Computer scientists Mike Paterson and Uri Zwick have calculated new shapes and arrangements for the so-called "overhang problem," by which one attempts to stack blocks outward from the edge of a table so that the blocks "overhang" as far as possible

In two papers, available as PDFs (here and here), Paterson and Zwick write about balancing "harmonic stacks," then stabilizing them, through "minute displacements" of space and weight within the stack structure.

They talk about parabolic stacks and spinal stacks ("A stack is spinal if its support set has just a single block at each level"), and about the spatial structure of brick walls, describing "well-behaved collections of forces that stabilize symmetric and asymmetric brick-wall stacks."

Image: London's P&O Building gets demolished in reverse

Tags: architecture, science, math, mathematics, stacking, overhang

Love this building

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:25:19 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.ntu.edu.sg

5-Storey Teaching Facility at Nanyang Drive for School of Art, Design and Media

Located at the junction of Nanyang Ave and Nanyang Drive, the new iconic School of Art, Design and Media is situated in a wooded valley right in the heart of the campus

The design was conceived as 3 intertwining blocks that are apparent natural extensions of the ground. These blocks interweave to enclose a picturesque plaza and landscape. Major spaces such as the Auditorium, Media Studios, library and art galleries surround this outdoor activity node

The highlight of the building is the verdant turfed roof which blends with the ground contour. Apart from its visual impact, the turfed roofscape is a functional space which is easily accessible via sidesteps along the roof edge, thereby allowing the rooftop to be a scenic outdoor communal space. Environmentally, it helps to lower the roof temperature and surrounding areas

The facade design is a glass curtain wall in neutral grey colour