It's Okay To Be Smart

Explore the Map of Life! MappingLife.org is live, and incredibly...

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:46:10 -0500

Explore the Map of Life!

MappingLife.org is live, and incredibly informative. It has collected biodiversity survey data for tens of thousands of terrestrial and aquatic species around Earth. And it’s all there for you to search and draw maps with.

The data comes from field observations as well as other sources like museum specimens. You can toggle several different types of data for each species that you choose, and overlay them on customized Google-based maps.

The map above is one I made just now, showing the known habitats of a few bluefin tuna species (genus Thunnus, because they are critically threatened), African elephants (Loxodonta africana, also fighting with humans to retain their habitat) and sea otters (Enhydra lutris, because I love otters). Here’s a tutorial video.

It’s a tool that’s as much educational as it is fun, and a way for anyone to take part in biodiversity research. It’s all of our planet. They’re all of our species.

Go. Play. Learn. Conserve.

myampgoesto11: Astronaut Illustrations By Justin Mezzell/ On...

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:44:17 -0500

myampgoesto11:

Astronaut Illustrations By Justin Mezzell/ On Tumblr

“There are no roads that lead home, only new dawns waiting to be seen.”

Try to have one, every day.

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:39:47 -0500

Try to have one, every day.

Happy Birthday, Electron (Theory) 120 years ago this month,...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:47:00 -0500

Happy Birthday, Electron (Theory)

120 years ago this month, Hendrik Lorentz published his landmark paper that laid out the basis for “electron theory”. This was not proof of the electron as a particle, as that didn’t happen until 1897, thanks to J.J. Thomson.

Lorentz took the collected equations of James Clerk Maxwell and distilled their mess into simple rules of charge and motion. It laid the groundwork for Einstein’s special relativity, and allowed fields like materials and electronics to exist.

It was elegant work, a melding of a half century’s worth of varied influences and observations, distilled into simple equations that spawned entirely new fields of physics. A true collaboration of curiosity.

Einstein himself said of Lorentz: “For me personally he meant more than all the others I have met on my life’s journey.”

(via Scientific American. Of course, Lorentz would know that electrons look nothing like what I drew above.)

How Weather Sentiment Online Compares To Real Weather Data Dutch...

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:55:17 -0500

How Weather Sentiment Online Compares To Real Weather Data

Dutch design firm CLEVER˚FRANKE puts together a weather visualization annually. This year, they looked at how people’s feelings about the weather on social networks compared to the weather itself.

The result is this amazingly intricate weather wheel (full PDF report here, with more data). Dutch people are mostly negative about their weather, and sunshine correlates with positive feelings, unsurprisingly.

(via Co.Design)

Shadow Puppets! Ok, one last eclipse photo before returning to...

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:33:00 -0500

Shadow Puppets!

Ok, one last eclipse photo before returning to our usual programming.

This was the view from the geostationary MTSAT satellite as yesterday’s annular eclipse moved across the Pacific. You can see the shadow of the Moon like a burn mark east of Japan as it moved toward North America!

And this time-lapse by Cory Poole using a filter to highlight the chromosphere … well, it’s simply brilliant:

(↬ Universe Today and Bad Astronomy)

uselaine: Solar eclipse projected through the ‘pinholes’, made...

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:03:20 -0500

uselaine:

Solar eclipse projected through the ‘pinholes’, made by oak leaves, on my shed door.

The tiny gaps between each leaf act as individual pinhole cameras, morphing the shadows of the tree with projections of the obscured sun. Next eclipse, you can witness this yourself, or even replicate it by crossing your fingers over on another in a waffle patter.

Ok. Maybe this one is my favorite.

kqedscience: We had a little fun this afternoon in Berkeley, CA...

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:49:35 -0500

kqedscience:

We had a little fun this afternoon in Berkeley, CA and created this pinhole camera word art piece during this afternoon’s annular solar eclipse!

Well if that’s not the best eclipse picture I’ve seen yet, dunno what is!

You guys watching this? The SLOOH Space Camera is broadcasting...

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:15:05 -0500

You guys watching this? The SLOOH Space Camera is broadcasting the annular eclipse LIVE and DIRECT and TOTALLY AWESOMELY right now. You can even choose one of several viewing locations.

Astronomy is so easy. You don’t even have to leave home!

As these things tend to go, it’s progressing raaaaaather slooooooowly.

A Vision For Tomorrow - To Boldly Go What if we could build a...

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:20:44 -0500

A Vision For Tomorrow - To Boldly Go

What if we could build a ship that could take hundreds of people to the moon in just three days? How about Mars in 90 days? What if we had a telescope more powerful than the Hubble, that could be moved wherever we wanted? How about being able to deliver probes, science equipment and landers to the entire near solar system within a few years?

This guy thinks it can be done. More specifically, not only can it be done, it should be done. BuildTheEnterprise.org (an extremely deeply detailed website, btw) is a 20 year plan to build a $1 trillion space cruiser. It could have ion drives, a rotating gravity disk, crew quarters for hundreds of scientists and tourists. It would probably have one of those machines where you could call order any food you wanted and it would materialize in front of you. And it would look exactly like the Enterprise from Star Trek.

Of course, it doesn’t have to look like the ship from the sci-fi series. Why not make it look like something else? Maybe something more … traditional? Think about this: if that world and those adventures have been able to capture the imaginations of the world, young and old, for decades … what better inspiration could we ask for? The schematics and build schedules call for $50 billion a year over 20 years, which is a drop in the bucket of our national budget. It would transform economies and unite the world’s innovators to create this ship - the pinnacle of human achievement.

But most of all, it would serve as a bridge between our dreams and reality, and a seed for the scientific dreamers of tomorrow.

It’s part thought experiment, part pipe dream, part social statement and part why don’t we just give this a shot already??? The project has a funding plan, complete conceptual designs, and ship specs. More than you can say for a lot of Kickstarter projects.

It’s nice to dream a dream like this, based in a vision of the future that’s not as far off as your first glance makes it seem.

Bonus: The time that they almost built a life-sizeEnterprise in Las Vegas. Morons. YOU SHOULD HAVE.

(via BuildTheEnterprise; This artwork was done by me, and is proof that I shouldn’t be given access to Illustrator and booze after dark)

Oh hi, aliens, I didn’t know you were coming over. I would...

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:07:03 -0500

Oh hi, aliens, I didn’t know you were coming over. I would have cleaned up.

SMBC takes a look at a future Earth, where we’re all a bunch of bachelors and an alien race is coming over to our pad to visit.

We’ve got some cleaning up to do. Hint: It doesn’t go as planned. But it ends with hope. Check out the full saga.

“Perhaps it was good that we believed aliens were coming. Perhaps we should always live as if we’re about to invite an otherworldly mate over to dinner. Perhaps… perhaps… for a moment, we all inhaled the chamomile odor of perhaps.”

(via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)

Apparently this is how xkcd creator Randall Munroe pays his...

Sun, 20 May 2012 01:25:00 -0500

Apparently this is how xkcd creator Randall Munroe pays his Verizon bill.

That’s one way to stick it to the man. It’s also awesome.

(Edit 5/20: The original version of this included a caption saying the math worked out to $536.49. But there’s a typo in the caption. It’s iπ, not 2π. Now that I am awake enough to do the math, it works out to equal 0.002, and is a reference to this facepalmingly dumb experience with Verizon’s billing department. Original here.)

Explore An Interactive Human Microbiome Who’s in you?...

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:20:14 -0500

Explore An Interactive Human Microbiome

Who’s in you? SciAm introduces you to the microbes that not only outnumber the cells in your body, but make you human (click through for interactive version).

(via Scientific American)

The Fire Rainbow I’ve never been lucky enough to see one...

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:06:02 -0500

The Fire Rainbow

I’ve never been lucky enough to see one of these, have you? Make no mistake, though, they’re real. The technical term for the fire rainbow is a circumhorizontal arc.

High in the atmosphere, cirrus clouds form as wispy layers of ice that can stretch on for hundreds of miles. As light from the sun hits it, it refracts as if it was being shone through a prism.

This refraction happens because when light goes from one medium to another, like from air to water or air to ice, it can be bent. Different wavelengths are bent to different extents, separating white light into its component colors.

Want to know more? Check out this Khan Academy lesson on refraction.

(via Kuriositas)

Eureka! When a Blow to the Head Creates a Sudden Genius

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:37:45 -0500

Eureka! When a Blow to the Head Creates a Sudden Genius :

Could a brain injury unlock an unknown talent? A look at the phenomenon of the “acquired savant”:

It sounds like science fiction. But the reality may be even more outlandish. Now that scientists understand how savant syndrome occurs, new research is turning to the underlying origins of the special abilities themselves. Most of it remains a mystery — a loose collection of questions more than anything resembling answers. For example, how is it that somebody like Derek Amato, who’d never demonstrated any musical talent before hitting his head at the bottom of a pool, could suddenly handle jazz and classical pieces of astounding complexity without training? How is it that someone can suffer a stroke and wake up later only to discover that their English is tinged with a foreign accent?

Hello, Joe! Speaking of the upcoming eclipse, I've been wondering: All my life, I've been warned not to look directly at an eclipse. I'm perfectly happy to obey this, but I'm wondering now about how bad the damage is compared to looking at the sun when it is unobstructed. Are you not supposed to look at the eclipse because there's still enough of the sun showing to cause its usual amount of damage (and people just stare longer)? Or is the sunlight somehow more damaging during an eclipse?

Sat, 19 May 2012 13:04:16 -0500

There’s nothing more dangerous about viewing the eclipse with your naked eye than looking at the whole sun. Because they are both INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. Your eye has a lens that focuses light on your retina. To replicate this, take a piece of paper and a magnifying glass outside. Just don’t look directly at the sun, ever. Even with shades like mine.

dellpafalla asked you: Hey! I’m right in the path of the...

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:22:38 -0500

dellpafalla asked you:

Hey! I’m right in the path of the annular solar eclipse on sunday, and I was wondering if you had any tips for the amateur photographer! I’d really like to be able to take pictures of it, and I was wondering if there were any solar filters that you’d be able to recommend, or even some diy sort of things to do/use for viewing in general. It’s something I’d like to try to experience by myself instead of relying on the experts, and mass media coverage and whatnot, haha. I love your blog! Thanks! :D

Witnessing a solar eclipse is a truly remarkable experience. It’s powerful. Powerful enough that our ancestors thought it meant that perhaps the great fiery sun god was putting his hand over his face, ashamed of his subjects, and most likely damning the crops should they not provide a human sacrifice.

Want to know where and when you can see the eclipse? Check out this map from Eclipse Maps.

Here’s some tips on viewing the annular solar eclipse. This is called a “ring of fire” eclipse, because unlike during the “Supermoon” a couple weeks ago, the moon is now at its furthest point from Earth (apogee) in its elliptical orbit. This makes it appear slightly smaller, not quite blocking out the sun, and leading to images like this:

Sorry, I mean like this:

First of all, DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN with the naked eye, or through an unfiltered telescope or binoculars. Your eyes will essentially act like little magnifying glasses, but instead of an ant catching on fire it will be your retina. Only view an eclipse through a certified solar filter or via a secondary viewing technique.

Photographing an eclipse is much harder than simply observing it. You need a special filter for your camera like this, and lots of practice. I would recommend finding some local experienced solar and astronomy photographers to make sure you do it safely.

But t you can also construct some pretty simple DIY viewing setups. Here’s some based on a pinhole camera design. Here’s another, involving a couple of boxes.

Lastly, if you don’t live in the narrow window of Earth that will be able to see it directly, don’t despair! You can watch it online via the SLOOH Space Camera!!

Let me know if you see something cool, and tweet me or message me with pictures, everyone! And, don’t forget your sacrifice.

decaturjim: Fringe Science This listing is for the entire...

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:27:44 -0500

decaturjim:

Fringe Science

This listing is for the entire series of Fringe science experiment inspired iconography art prints. “Warning: An Experiment of Great Importance in Progress.” Collect all your favorite Fringe science posters and show your friends and family that you believe in the future.

I may just need to build another wall in my house or lab or mad scientist den so I can hang all these up.

Support cool science art and click on the Etsy link!

Space Program: Mars Mars on the Upper East Side? Tom Sachs is a...

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:50 -0500

Space Program: Mars

Mars on the Upper East Side?

Tom Sachs is a sculptor and artist, perhaps best known for his playful takes on cultural icons like the Hermès Hand Grenade and the Tiffany Glock. From May 16 - June 17, he’ll be simulating a Mars mission at the Park Avenue Armory.

Of course, this won’t be like any other Mars sim you’ve ever seen. These young, attractive astronauts will be surrounded by an environment created by Sachs, from vehicles to space suits to exercise facilities. The fourteen astronauts will man the display full time, regularly playing out launch, landing and other scenarios.

I think it’s a very cool exploration of how our culture has turned space missions into pop icons, blurring the distinctions between their intent (scientific missions) and their legacy (real-life science fiction). In our minds, decades after they occurred, the Apollo missions might be closer to 2001 than they are to reality.

If you can’t make it to the show, don’t miss his other videos, like this Al Green-influenced lunar mission. Also, I want those NASA hi-tops. Now.

(via Tom Sachs - Space Program: Mars)

wired: Craig Venter has been on a tear of invention and...

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:15:00 -0500

wired:

Craig Venter has been on a tear of invention and exploration. In 2004 he sailed around the world, discovering thousands of new species and sequencing millions of new genes. In 2007 he unveiled his own genome, unexpurgated (it revealed a predisposition for risk-taking, among other things). And in 2010 he announced the first successful synthesis of life—a unique critter borne from two distinct organisms, thus proving for the first time that it is indeed possible to create new organisms for specific purposes and functions. He is, in every respect, the epitome of an icon—a figure who has pushed science forward, sometimes by sheer force of will.

More @ Wired Science

Photo: Joe Pugliese

Everyone’s favorite genome cowboy, profiled at Wired Science.

To get your appetite going, here’s some of his words about how the human genome project panned out, and where we’re going from here (emphasis mine):

“… what most people think about when it comes to genetics is personalized medicine. If we sequence your genome or my genome, what can we interpret, what can we predict for the future, what can we change? That’s in its absolute infancy. We’re at the point where we don’t need one genome or just a few genomes to interpret your genome. We need tens of thousands of genomes as a starting point, coupled with everything we can know about their physiology. It’s only when we do that giant computer search, putting all that DNA together, that we will be able to make sense in a meaningful statistical manner of what your DNA is telling you. We’re just at the start of trying to do that.”