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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category

Flying in the Face of Science

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , on August 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

/with apologies to the Lepidoptera experts among us…

Ok, so here’s the thing:

— I like moths and butterflies but there’s a lot about the evolution of the family Lepidoptera that I don’t know;

— the idea that moths evolved from butterflies is, as far as I can tell, bunk;

— also, moths come out during the day, too;

— but sometimes a thought / idea / feeling flutters my way and sticks around long enough to inspire, even when I regretfully inform said idea that it is probably flying in the face of science.

And so, that’s how this most certainly unscientific poem about moths dreaming about sunshine came to be.

Some days you just go with it.

Do moths love the moon

because they remember

being butterflies?

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A Hummingbird Moth. Photo by cecile mousist on Unsplash

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The River of Time

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , on August 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever wanted to see history ebb and flow like a river of time? Me too!

This 5-Foot-Long Chart Lays Out Over 4,000 Years of World History

In 1931, John B. Sparks created the Histomap, condensing more than 4,000 years of world history into a vibrant infographic…

“Clear, vivid, and shorn of elaboration, [the] Histomap holds you enthralled as you follow the curves of power down time’s endless course,” the map’s front cover reads. “Here is the actual picture of the march of civilization, from the mud huts of the ancients through the monarchistic glamor of the middle ages to the living panorama of life in present day America.”

(Conflating “monarchist glamor” and the Middle Ages is a bit much, but such information provides yet another view of history, and how it changes.)

Time waits for no one but this map stops at the beginning of the 20th century. Even so, it’s a fascinating visualization of the rise and fall of civilizations, both common and lesser known.

The link above will take you to the article and smaller image of the map. For a more detailed, digital version of the Histomap, head over to Yale University Library and enjoy!

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Photo by Lycheeart on Unsplash

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To the Explorers

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on August 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Astronaut James Lovell, Apollo 13 commander, dies at 97

“James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97.”

(If you’re curious, here’s a quick refresher on the Apollo program.)

And because so many of us know of Lovell from the excellent movie version of his most famous mission, here’s Tom Hanks’ appreciation:

Tom Hanks pays tribute to Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell

“There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy.” 

Here’s to the brave, to the can-do, to the explorers among us. Humanity is the better for you.

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Photo by Ken Cheung on Unsplash

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Andromeda Revealed!

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on August 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes a picture is worth much more than a thousand words:

Andromeda Galaxy Panorama Features Over 200 Million Stars

Stitching together more than 600 overlapping snapshots, the panorama serves as the largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. Across its 2.5 billion pixels are a vast and vibrant assortment of 200 million stars, a mere fraction of Andromeda’s entire population. Taken in its entirety, the panorama is not only a technological or photographic achievement, it’s also a critical glimpse into the Andromeda galaxy itself.

And here’s the video version. 

Andromeda revealed!

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Photo by Kyle Goetsch on Unsplash

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Real Life Dune

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I have a folder of interesting articles, quotes, and ideas. When the cicadas are buzzing and the temperature is too hot to think of anything particularly timely, I search that folder for stories that might interest you.

Today, this treasure trove of ideas wants you to know about a critical space station issue: water.

Water recycling is paramount for space stations and long-duration missions − an environmental engineer explains how the ISS does it

When you’re on a camping trip, you might have to pack your own food and maybe something to filter or treat water that you find. But imagine your campsite is in space, where there’s no water, and packing jugs of water would take up room when every inch of cargo space counts. That’s a key challenge engineers faced when designing the International Space Station.

Real life Dune! Ok, not really, but kind of! And this is exactly the sort of technology that can benefit the Earth-bound among us too.

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Photo by Jônatas Tinoco on Unsplash

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Magical Things

Posted in Entertainment, Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , , on August 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I enjoy the fact that there is always something new to learn. Some things are big, like the latest on asteroid deflection from NASA’s DART program, and some are small, like the fact that Dan Aykroyd had a cameo in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (Did you know that? I didn’t, until last night when I did a double take and said, “Wait, the guy with the mustache and the British accent. Was that Dan Aykroyd?” It was!)

Of global importance or not, these facts are all interesting reminders that there is always something new around the corner, if you keep looking.

And that, I think, is magic.

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Photo by Matthias Müllner on Unsplash

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To the Stars? To the Stars!

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on August 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a fun and productive use of the internet that answers a very important question: How close are we to living in the Star Trek universe?

Check it out and see!

Are We Trek Yet?

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive look at the tech that Star Trek suggested to drive humanity forward ad astra per aspera. The emphasis is on innovations that don’t violate physics according to present consensus understanding. Go ahead and explore boldly… Just don’t waste too much time on idle speculation: there’s a whole lot to do if we’re going to get to Trek, and it’s going to take all of us.

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Photo by Marc Sendra Martorell on Unsplash

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Poison Garden

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A random guide that may or may not be related to the last scene I wrote: A Naturalist’s Guide to the World’s Most Lethal Plants

Not every threat in nature has fangs. Some sit quietly, rooted in soil, dressed in flowers, laced with poison.

And since we’re on the topic, what about the (mostly but not entirely historical) trend of poison gardens, and how are they related to the history of medicine?

Welcome To The Poison Garden: Medicine’s Medieval Roots

Visitors to the Poison Garden are allowed to look but not touch, says head gardener Trevor Jones. “They’re not allowed to stand too close to the plants. They’re not allowed to smell them or touch them or taste any of them, because they do all have the ability to kill you.”

In this as in so many other cases, knowledge is power!

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Photo by Bobby on Unsplash

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Don’t Wait

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , on July 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Perseids meteor shower may be a bust; skywatchers’ best bet is this week – NPR

A ritual of summer is gazing up at the night sky in the hopes of seeing meteors, also known as shooting stars, flash across the night sky. While the annual Perseid meteor shower usually gets the most attention, a better bet might be a couple of less-famous meteor showers that will peak on Tuesday night.

It’s summer and that means it’s shooting star time, but what should we do when the astronomical calendar aligns in ways that make it harder to see what is usually one of the best meteor showers of the year?

Don’t give up. Instead, get outside early. Days early.

Peak Perseid will happen August 12th, right around the full moon. All that light will make it hard to see the meteors. 

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing else going on overhead, though. If you can, head out tomorrow night and look up. 

…the moon will be only about 25% full this week, when two meteor showers known as the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids reach their peak on the night of July 29 going into July 30.

And mark your calendars for next year’s Perseids, which should be excellent.

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Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

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From the Surface of the Sea

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , on July 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

If you’ve ever wondered what’s down in the ocean deeps, the funnest version of the answer is that we mostly don’t know!

Here’s an interesting article featuring graphic illustrations by Angela Hsieh, showing what we know about the ocean, its depths, the differences between the Sunlit, Midnight, and other zones, and the many (many) things we have yet to discover about the oceans that surround us.

Why researchers are racing to study the world’s ocean – NPR

Did you know that the ocean produces approximately half of the world’s oxygen? Or that key medicines have come from ocean discoveries, like a painkiller found in a sea snail?

It’s all true! And so is this fact: Scientists know more about space than Earth’s ocean. Seriously, humans haven’t seen 99.999% of the deep sea floor.

So cool!

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Photo by Kees Streefkerk on Unsplash

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