WFCAM Science Archive UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey (GPS) Mosaic - DR7 The main window below displays a 6 billion pixel (1 arcsec pixels) mosaic of the GPS (centre: l=52, b=0 (109 > l > 0 ,360 > l > 355 and -2.5 < b < +2.5). Use the controls in the main window or the mouse (click&drag ) to move around the image and zoom in and out. Click on the small images on the left to move to that point in the mosaic. Other versions: dr6 release dr4 release dr3 release dr2 release Details on the mosaic and its constructionWSA home Credits: The underlying blocks used to construct the mosaic were made using TERAPIX software, namely SWarp and STIFF (Emmanuel BERTIN). The Story of Stuff The 13 Most Important Numbers in the Universe - James D. Stein's Cosmic Numbers In the 17th century, scientists understood three phases of matter—solids, liquids and gases (the discovery of plasma, the fourth phase of matter, lay centuries in the future). Back then, solids and liquids were much harder to work with than gases because changes in solids and liquids were difficult to measure with the equipment of the time. So many experimentalists played around with gases to try to deduce fundamental physical laws. Robert Boyle was perhaps the first great experimentalist, and was responsible for what we now consider to be the essence of experimentation: vary one or more parameter, and see how other parameters change in response. It may seem obvious in retrospect, but hindsight, as the physicist Leo Szilard once remarked, is notably more accurate than foresight.
Solar System Scope Asteroid Watch Recent News February 5, 2015NASA's Dawn spacecraft, on approach to dwarf planet Ceres, has acquired its latest and closest-yet snapshot of this mysterious world. › Read more January 27, 2015NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the sharpest images ever seen of the dwarf planet Ceres. › Read more January 22, 2015There has been a significant increase in the amount of water "pouring" out of the Rosetta mission's comet. › Read more › More news Next Five Close Approaches Average distance between Earth and the moon is about 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers). The Asteroid Watch Widget tracks asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to Earth. The Widget displays the next five Earth approaches to within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers or 19.5 times the distance to the moon); an object larger than about 150 meters that can approach the Earth to within this distance is termed a potentially hazardous object.
This Will Mindfuck You: The Double-Slit Experiment The video below shows scientific proof that there is something NOT quite logical or scientific about this universe. The mere act of observation can completely change the outcome of an event! Before I get too ahead of myself, you need to watch the video below to understand: (Forgive the corny cartoon character explaining the concept — at least he knows his stuff) Recap: When a camera observed the electrons, they acted as particles. So what’s the reason for this? Want even further proof? Then in 2002, a group of researchers set up the experiment in a way that the electron could not possibly receive information about the existence of an observing instrument. Here’s the kicker: The insertion of the interferometer took only 40 nanoseconds (ns) while it would take 160 ns for the information about the configuration to travel from the interferometer to reach the photon before it entered the slits. The Results: The photons acted like particles 93% of the time that they were observed. 1. 2. 3.
Sizes of the Universe Poster Share this infographic on your site! <a href=" src=" alt="Sizes of the Universe" width="500" border="0" /></a><br />Source: <a href=" Sleuth</a> Embed this infographic on your site! Have you ever wondered how big the universe is? Interact: Magnifying the Universe Interactive Infographic
Stars & Planets Scale Comparison A Humbling Perspective"Things are not what they seem, nor are they otherwise." This scale comparison shows "the true place" of Earth and our Sun among the various giants of the universe. It is simultaneously sobering and mind-boggling experience.First series of images opens with the Death Star compared to Mimas, one of Saturn's moons. Note the similarities between the two :) Earth is small enough to be swallowed by an average sunspot:(picture credt) Second series of images (from this site) shows the similar progression, now in 3-D: "The Universe is a big place populated by stars and thoroughly confused humans." -- Avi Abrams "We simply do not understand our place in the universe and have not the courage to admit it" -- Barry Lopez (American writer, b.1945) "The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. "The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of a single being even to God, this is love." -- Victor Hugo (source Ochevidec)Permanent Link...
ROSAT Re-entry ROSAT (short for Röntgensatellit, in German X-rays are called Röntgenstrahlen, in honour of Wilhelm Röntgen) is a defunct German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by Germany, the UK and the US. It was launched on 1 June 1990, on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, on what was initially designed as an 18 month mission, with provision for up to 5 years of operation. ROSAT actually operated for over 8 years, finally shutting down on 12 February 1999. ROSAT is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere between October 21 and 23 2011. (from Wikipedia) Links "Live" Stats These sites do on demand calculations of satellite position based on an observer's location and recent satellite elements (via NORAD). Guide to viewing ROSAT in Orbit Before re-entry, as with other satellites, ROSAT will be visible from occasionally depending on your location, satellite position and time of day. Re-Entry Predictions Who does this? Current Estimation FAA issues NOTAM:! Twitter
Liquid Wood: 100% Organic Replacement For Everything Plastic - Green Diary German inventors have developed a new material which holds the promise of replacing everything plastic with something as natural as wood. The material in question is called the Arboform. It is produced after combining lignin, a discarded element of regular wood with natural resins, flax and fiber. Arboform can be molded into any object form which is normally made using non-biodegradable petroleum products. Via: Dornob Visualization Explorer for the iPad - Home The NASA Visualization Explorer features visualizations, animations and images of our sun and the universe. Story topics include findings from NASA spacecraft exploring Earth, the planets and beyond. World premiere content delivered right to your fingertips produced exclusively for the NASA Visualization Explorer app.
Prepare for Data Tsunami, Warns Google CEO - PCWorld August 05, 2010, 12:21 PM — Google CEO Eric Schmidt had some scary things to say about privacy yesterday. In a nutshell, he said there's an almost incomprehensible amount of data out there about all of us -- much of which we've generated ourselves via social networks, blogs, and so on -- and we are totally unprepared to deal with the implications of that fact. Schmidt was speaking at the Techonomy confab, currently underway at California's Lake Tahoe, where large-brained people gather to talk about how technology and the economy intersect. [ See also: Whom do you fear: Apple, Google, Microsoft, or God? "There was 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003," Schmidt said, "but that much information is now created every 2 days, and the pace is increasing...People aren't ready for the technology revolution that's going to happen to them...." Are visions of 2001's HAL 9000 or maybe The Terminator's SkyNet dancing in your head yet?