Tag Archives: Saturn
I’ve been in a state of anticipation over the state of Georgia. I wondered if I might possibly wake up to a Democratic Senate this morning. As of last night, the Blues were trailing slightly behind. This morning I find they’ve called for Raphael Warnock (“Ding Dong, the witch is dead”), and it’s looking good for Jon Ossoff.
Today is also the day Congress meets, presided over by the VP, to officially count the electoral votes. It’s the last hurdle in an election badly polluted by bald lies and Constitutional sedition. The corruption and filth of the GOP is far beyond the pale.
Hell of a Wednesday. We could probably use a distraction…
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16 Comments | tags: Ames room, Ames window, optical illusion, Saturn, Stephen Wolfram, Uranus, Veritasium | posted in Wednesday Wow
It has been doubly depressingly cloudy for a while now. “Doubly” because I like sunshine and because I’ve been wanting to see the Great Conjunction.
Tuesday evening it was finally clear enough that I could. (I missed the date of closest approach, Monday (12/21), by only one day, so I was very happy.)
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10 Comments | tags: astronomy, conjunction, Great Conjunction, Jupiter, Redshift app, Saturn | posted in Life
If you keep an eye on the night sky you may have noticed two bright “stars” to the south just around midnight. (To be precise: Jupiter is dead south at 11:02 pm; Saturn is dead south at 11:37 pm. By midnight they’ve moved slightly to the west.)
If you’re the type to keep an eye on the night sky, you likely already know those “stars” are Saturn (on the left) and Jupiter (on the right). What you may not know — and certainly can’t see — is that almost right smack dab between them is the former planet Pluto. All three just happen to be lined up nicely right now.
The New Horizons spacecraft is also out there, well beyond Pluto.
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4 Comments | tags: astronomy, Jupiter, NASA, New Horizons, planet, Pluto, Pluto is amazing!, Saturn, solar system, space, space exploration | posted in Science
On the one hand, global climate change is likely to make things very — strictly in the curse sense — “interesting” for the human race as this millennium progresses. The effects already are obvious, visual, striking, and — one would think — undeniable.
Randall Munroe, of xkcd, has created another of his brilliant graphics, this one showing the history of climate change. It’s well-worth checking out (do it now). It makes the point in a visually striking, and — one would think — undeniable way.
On the other hand, it’s very — in the usual sense — “interesting” that we’re here at all.
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3 Comments | tags: carbon, climate change, Cowboys & Aliens, elements, global warming, gold, Jupiter, mitochondria, moon, Saturn, Saturn's Rings, solar eclipse, Sun, uranium, xkcd | posted in Physics
Today I’m starting a brand new ancient tradition: Sci-Fi Saturday! It won’t mean a science fiction post every Saturday, but when I do post SF topics, it’ll be on Saturday. This new protocol has many precedents. Last August I posted four articles for Star Trek Saturday. The August before that, I posted two key Star Trek articles (one of them my favorite diatribe about the holodeck).
Turns out it was a Saturday I posted those videos with Captain Kirk and Princess Leia giving each other crap about which was better, Star Trek or Star Wars (duh, it’s Doctor Who). And there are other science fiction posts that fell on Saturday (I was surprised at how many — it seems the new tradition is foreordained). Plus, Saturday is named after Saturn, which is an extremely science fiction-y planet!
So welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday!
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14 Comments | tags: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Doctor Who, Final Fantasy, Game of Thrones, Saturn, science fiction, SF, Star Trek, Star Wars | posted in Movies, Sci-Fi Saturday
Time to lighten the mood!
This edition of Wednesday Wow features a Japanese island that looks like the perfect setting for retirement or for the secret base of a James Bond villain! It also features a nifty way to grow food and art at the same time.
After we visit Japan, we’ll zip out to Saturn for one of my very favorite space photos. It’s one of my more frequent desktop wallpapers. Then, back on Earth, we’ll zoom in close for a microscopic look at a couple of common items and finally end on the real star of today’s Wowishnessosity: a piece of video that’s a ton of fun.
Ready? Let’s go!
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4 Comments | tags: Aogashima, Cassini, rice field art, Saturn, silk, stop motion, tequila, Wilshire Blvd | posted in Wednesday Wow
Logos con carne 