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Evolving an eye
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on May 07, 2008
The folks at the NSCE and Expelled Exposed have done it again: made a great instructional video about evolution. This one is how an eye can evolve, and is so easy to understand that it should be shown to every single school student in the country, and indeed the world.
Shared by: Keenan, cephyn, William Gordon, Carl,
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Volcano erupts in Chile
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on May 09, 2008
A lot of you may have already seen this, but a 1200 meter volcano called Chaiten in Chile erupted the other day, blowing smoke and ash kilometers into the sky. It also sparked massive lightning, and the images are incredible:There are quite a few amazing pictures of the event on Flickr. There is also this astonishing video on YouTube:Other videos abound as well.This is the first eruption of...
Shared by: Keenan, ETKoreman, Justin Yost, ManiacD,
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The Universe is 13.73 +/- .12 billion years old!
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on March 06, 2008
Happy birthday, Universe! Kinda. It’s not really the Universe’s birthday, but now we do know to high accuracy just how old it is. How?NASA’s WMAP is the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (which is a mouthful, and why we just call it WMAP). It was designed to map the Universe with exquisite precision, detecting microwaves coming from the most distant source there is: the cooling fireball...
Shared by: ETKoreman, Brett Lanier, Hezy,
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Real-time solar flare detection now online
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on February 13, 2008
I am loving this. Scientists and engineers have collaborated on a system which can give real-time information on incoming solar flares, blasts of radiation that can harm astronauts and even incur damage on Earth.The Sun has a magnetic field which is tied in, connected, with the material making up the Sun’s surface. The magnetic field can shape the material, which in turn can coil up and tangle...
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SpySat stuff
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on February 21, 2008
As expected, the blogosphere is exploding (haha) with news about the SpySat getting hit by a Navy missile last night.First, here is video of the satellite getting hit:So what happened? At 10:26 p.m. Eastern time last night, the USS Lake Erie, an Aegis warship, shot a Standard Missile 3 (SM3) at the satellite, and a direct hit was recorded 247 kilometers (150 miles) above the Pacific ocean. It’s...
Shared by: BJ, Jason R. Hunter,
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BREAKING: Martian avalanche caught in the act!
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on March 03, 2008
This is TOTALLY HAWESOME: an avalanche on Mars was caught in the act by the HiRISE camera.This picture shows the billowing dust cloud from an avalanche of ice and dust along scarps — sheer cliffs — near the north pole of Mars. To give you a sense of scale, the cloud is about 180 meters across, and about the same distance from the base of the cliff.Holy cow.You can see the cliff in the middle...
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Far-right religion eats its own
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on March 07, 2008
What hath God wrought?For years, the conservative movement in this country has increasingly used religion as a weapon, sometimes with extreme Machiavellian motives. Now, of course, it’s impossible for anyone to get elected to any position of authority — Repub or Dem — without declaring themselves not just as religious, but as a certain type of religion. If you’re not Judeo-Christian, you...
Shared by: cephyn, kevinDwhite,
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Mythbustin’ the Moon Hoax… Part I
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on March 11, 2008
I’m starting to receive a trickle of email informing me that the Mythbusters are tackling the Moon Hoax myth.Yes, well, I need to divulge a secret: I know about it. I served as an informal advisor on the show. Second, no, before you ask: I have no idea how the testing went. They didn’t tell me anything about the results! Grrrrr.Third, this looks like it’ll be an awesome episode. The build...
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How do astronauts react to launch?
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on March 21, 2008
My friend Dan Durda sent me a link to this very cool footage: it’s from a dashboard-mounted camera inside the Orbiter Endeavour during the launch last week, taking footage starting a few minutes before launch. You can see three astronauts in their suits preparing for the mission, and it’s really remarkable how they act. They’re clearly excited, but mostly all business. During the actual...
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My Excellent CERN Adventure: the video
via Bad Astronomy Blog by The Bad Astronomer on April 28, 2008
It’s difficult to express just how fracking impressive the Large Hadron Collider is. You really have to be there to understand how overwhelming and ginormous it is. Still and all, maybe the video I took of the tour will help get the idea across (if you go to that YouTube page, there is a link right under the video that allows you to watch it in higher quality. I recommend doing that). ATLAS and...
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