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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category

Drrp

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , on December 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I prepped a post for yesterday and assumed I was all set, but didn’t actually get it scheduled into the correct slot. Drrp. So I’m posting an extra one today, and linking to a fascinating graphic on cognitive bias and the many (many) types of assumptions humans are prone to making.

Every Single Cognitive Bias in One Infographic

Science has shown that we tend to make all sorts of mental mistakes, called “cognitive biases”, that can affect both our thinking and actions. These biases can lead to us extrapolating information from the wrong sources, seeking to confirm existing beliefs, or failing to remember events the way they actually happened!

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Photo by visuals on Unsplash

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Life Skills

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , on December 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I spent a lot of time as a kid learning skills that were technically unnecessary for me, but would have been essential to my ancestors. Skills like weaving, making cough syrup or dyeing wool using local herbs, flint knapping, bow making, that sort of thing (yes, my parents were very tolerant!). One of the skills I never did manage (and I bet the local fire department was grateful) was making a fire using only friction.

If you’ve seen Tom Hanks try this in Castaway, you’ll know that it isn’t as easy as it looks. 

If this is the sort of thing that catches your attention, as it does mine, this article might interest you.

Lighting a fire using friction requires an understanding of some physics principles − but there are ways to make the process easier

Fire by friction is a testament to human ingenuity, contributing to the development of early technology and a later understanding of physics, chemistry and heat transfer.

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Photo by Benjamin DeYoung on Unsplash

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Purr-fect

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , on December 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Oh look, NASA just sent the first Ultra-HD video through deep space using a laser communications system.

NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser

Me: Cool cool cool. It’s a test, right? 

Other Me: That’s right. 

Me: So this experiment marks the progress humanity has made in reaching out to the stars. I wonder which video NASA used?

Other Me: This one. I think it perfectly encapsulates the usefulness of laser technology in general, and where we are as a species right now in particular.

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Photo by Kyrylo Zahorodniy

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Today, Meet Tomorrow

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ken Liu is one of our modern masters of speculative fiction. The first story of his that I read was “The Paper Menagerie,” “the first piece of fiction to win three genre literary awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award.”

So he’s pretty good.

He’s also been thinking about art, AI and the evolving relationship between them. Here’s his new story:

Future Science Fiction Digest – Good Stories

Clara’s favorite part of the workday is the very beginning.

She likes flipping the switches on the wall right inside the office entrance, all sixteen of them, different colors and laid out in two neat columns, like the console from an old NASA space capsule that she got to sit inside once on a school trip to DC. As she takes a sip of her latte, her right hand running up the wall, click-click-click, flipping one switch after another, she imagines herself turning on rocket engines, initiating a docking maneuver, venting some dangerous alien spores out the airlock.

The story is one of the many interesting pieces in The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI, edited by Alex Shvartsman with an impressive roster of authors.

Today’s software can only imitate art, but what about tomorrow?

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Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

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Of Notes and Meteors

Posted in Science!, tagged , , on December 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Did this post start out life as a path to a map of sci-fi story locations in space? It did, and then I realized that in my haste, I’d picked a draft I’d already posted before.

It happens, especially on days when one is juggling not one not two not three but four big projects, and one has absolute reams of notes in the “blog post ideas” folder.

So now I’m here with an update, still space-related but also experiential. It has to do with the Geminid meteor shower.

Bundle up and look to the sky: It’s time for one of the best meteor showers of the year

The shower will be at its peak on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, though you’ll likely see some meteors in the nights before and after…

“The meteors will seem to shoot out of the constellation Gemini (hence the name) but could streak across pretty much any part of the sky,” Wiegert said. “So if you can find a dark place, with a good view of the sky in any direction, you could get a good view of the Geminids.”

Happy hunting!

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Photo by Ricardo Rocha on Unsplash

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Rare Event

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on December 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Want to see a rare astronomical event tonight? (And really, why wouldn’t you?)

The extremely rare Betelgeuse occultation by asteroid (319) Leona

For a very short time, we will see the legendary Orion constellation without its famous, orange shoulder, as it will be in the distant future, once Betelgeuse will have exploded as a supernova and faded to black.

Hey, I like Orion! What’s this all about?

Watch an asteroid eclipse the puzzling red giant star Betelgeuse tonight live online

At at 8:17 p.m. EST Monday (Dec. 11) (0117 GMT, Dec. 12), an asteroid will pass in front of the curious red star Betelgeuse, eclipsing it from our vantage point here on Earth and blocking it from view for up to 15 seconds in an event known as an occultation. The asteroid is known as 319 Leona, a main belt object that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Shaped roughly like an egg, 319 Leona measures some 50 by 34 miles (80 x 55 kilometers) in size.

Here’s a link to live coverage of the event.

So Orion’s loss is temporary, and will also help scientists better understand both the asteroid’s shape and the star’s characteristics. No Tim Burton movie required!

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via Microsoft Image Creator: graphic illustration stamp of a star over mountains in winter, with a passing asteroid

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Worlds That Never Were

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on December 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.

— Carl Sagan

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Photo by Michal Vrba on Unsplash

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Sound in Space, Alien and Otherwise

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on December 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Why isn’t there any sound in space? An astronomer explains why in space no one can hear you scream

In space, no one can hear you scream.

You may have heard this saying. It’s the tagline from the famous 1979 science fiction movie “Alien.” It’s a scary thought, but is it true? The simple answer is yes, no one can hear you scream in space because there is no sound or echo in space.

I’m a professor of astronomy, which means I study space and how it works. Space is silent – for the most part.

University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Chris Impey explains the science behind the Alien tagline, showcases slinkies as sound waves, and discusses why humans can’t speak across space but phenomena like galaxies and black holes can.

Also, a fun fact I did not know: “The word vacuum comes from the Latin word for empty.”

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Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash

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Methane, Man

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , on December 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

What’s the fastest way to slow global warming? Bill Nye has the answer. | Environmental Defense Fund

We asked Bill Nye The Science Guy to create a quick, easy-to-understand lesson on the fastest way to slow global warming: cutting methane emissions. 

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Photo by Jake Hawkes on Unsplash

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Nights on Earth

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , on December 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

What’s happening in the night skies this month? I have no idea, actually, but this calendar does!

Astronomy Calendar for December, 2023 for Ottawa, Canada

Welcome to NightsOnEarth.com, a customizable, free astro-calendar to help you plan your stargazing, created by photographer Phil Mosby.

Click on any day and then on Settings to specify your location.

What’s this? The Pheonicid Meteor Shower will be visible starting tomorrow night and showcases meteors seemingly coming from the Phoenix constellation?

Cool cool cool. And what’s the Phoenix constellation? (Clicks on “learn more” and voila: Pheonicid meteor shower 2023).

Although that particular arrangement of stars isn’t saying phoenix to me so much as… curling stone.

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Photo by Sebastian Knoll on Unsplash

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