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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category
Today My Happy Place Is Mars
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, inspiration, Thoughts, xkcd on October 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Roughy Respect
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fun facts, inspiration, learning@lunch, ocean, Thoughts on October 19, 2021| 1 Comment »
I found this visualization of ocean denizens and depth fascinating. It looks simple but keep scrolling down (and scrolling, and scrolling) to see what lives where and how.
Elephant seals can dive to 2400 meters deep? That may be why the Headless Chicken Fish (real name) goes 500 meters deeper. Then there’s the Cookiecutter Shark, Flabby Whalefish, Dumbo Octopus, Sea Pig, Faceless Fish (who comes up with these names, they’re awesome) and not-really-related to jellyfish Comb Jelly.
And did you know that Orange Roughy can live up to 200 years? Or that the Patagonian Toothfish is found down to 3900 meters and has antifreeze in its tissue? I didn’t.
Next time there’s a choice of fish for dinner I think I’ll head over to Seafood Watch to find the most sustainable options. And skip the Orange Roughy.
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Let’s Go To The Moon!
Posted in Entertainment, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, genre fiction, inspiration, learning@lunch, NASA, space exploration on October 12, 2021| 1 Comment »
What am I reading with lunch? How about a graphic novel about a woman, space, and a spunky little robot? App and interactivity are optional (but could be fun).
NASA – First Woman (read online, download PDF)
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Look, Up In The Sky
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, family, meteor shower, NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day on September 28, 2021| 1 Comment »
Today’s Astronomy Photo of the Day is a video, two and a half minutes of the Perseid meteor shower as seen from the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, India.
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Watching this takes me back. We would wake up at three in the morning and head to the back yard to watch meteors burn through the atmosphere. I’d anchor myself on Orion, my first and still favorite constellation, then watch the sky for the next magical streak of green.
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Let’s Play Ball
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, space, Thoughts on July 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
How long would it take for a ball to drop on Venus or Jupiter or Mars? This cool visualization knows!
Summer Magic
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, family, home, Lampyridae, memories, Thoughts on July 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I took a brief break to check on my butterfly weed (blooming happily!) and noticed an interesting beetle by the door.
“Ooh,” I asked myself, “could that be a firefly?”
It could. It was.
Last night, between brightly-colored expressions of Canadian joy (aka celebratory fireworks), we spotted brightly-colored expressions of firefly joy above the cedar hedge. The lone Lampyridae had a hard time competing, but he gave it his best shot.
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I have great memories of family nights outside in the garden when I was a kid, watching hundreds of fireflies looking for love. It was magic.
We don’t have hundreds now, but I’m working to make our yard as firefly-friendly as I can, particularly around mating season (aka now). Here’s how:
Some of the things you can do:
- turn off outdoor lights (who can get any action when that giant porch light is acting like the worst wingman ever?)
- leave logs and leaves on the ground (I’ve totally got this covered)
- add water (we have birdbaths, so check)
- say no thanks to pesticides (no problemo, that stuff’s nasty)
- let your lawn grow (skip mowing this weekend? yes please!)
- add trees (I’ll see what I can do to keep the ones we have happy)
Time to recapture a bit of that summer magic.
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Do My Ancestors Proud
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, astronomy, creativity, inspiration, NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, stars on June 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »
How are stars made? You know, those celestial bodies illuminating the sky, happily burning until they get tired of that and become star dust, the components of which we are made.
“The cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff.”
— Carl Sagan
Check out this simulation of a star forge.
How do stars form? Most form in giant molecular clouds located in the central disk of a galaxy. The process is started, influenced, and limited by the stellar winds, jets, high energy starlight, and supernova explosions of previously existing stars. The featured video shows these complex interactions as computed by the STARFORGE simulation of a gas cloud 20,000 times the mass of our Sun.
— APOD: 2021 June 23 – STARFORGE
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I’m also making today, although nothing as dramatic as stars. More like yogurt, a project that required the sewing machine, and a hack for our leaky dishwasher (yes, another appliance is on the road to obsolescence; they really don’t make them like they used to).
I’m also heading into the workshop to make things out of wood. Well, to remember how to make things. And find my tools. And my respirator. And my wood turning clothes. It’s been a while (thanks, Covid)!
My projects won’t be as dynamic or lovely as a star (or Chopin’s music, for that matter).
I’ll still try.
After all, I want to do my ancestors proud.
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One Down!
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Covid-19, public health, Sunday, vaccines on June 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today in vaccine news: We’re just back from shot #1. It was great to see the parking lot full as other Ontarians came in to do their part, for themselves and the community.
I will now dedicate the rest of my Sunday afternoon to bolstering my immune system. In the back yard. With a frosty and refreshing beverage.
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Stargate, Beta Edition
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, inspiration, technology, yay on June 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »
This is one of the coolest projects I’ve seen in some time:
The cities of Vilnius, Lithuania and Lublin, Poland—which are 376 miles (606 kilometers) away from each other—unveiled their futuristic portals this week… allowing a real-time feed of whoever is in front of the portal to be transmitted between the two cities via the internet.
— Vilnius and Lublin Unveil a Futuristic “Bridge” Between Cities
It’s not quite Stargate, but “it’s a bridge that unifies and an invitation to rise above prejudices and disagreements that belong to the past.” (Benediktas Gylys)
So cool. Here’s the project home: PORTAL
A Trip Downstream
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, environment, fun, geography, interactive, maps, quotes, USGS on May 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Oh, this is fun. If you have a little map, environment and/or geography geek streak, check out this interactive:
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“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”
― Wendell Berry
When a raindrop falls, where does it go? If it falls on my hometown, it flows 390km to the Atlantic Ocean.
If it falls on the Denver Broncos’ Mile High 50-yard line, just east of the Continental Divide, the path to the Gulf of Mexico is 3862km!
Click a starting point and the site will calculate a route and then do a visual fly-over. I wish it covered places outside the US but it’s still a fun and impressive window into data from the always excellent USGS.*
* Ah, the USGS, font of so much maptitude! Wait, is that a volcano webcam? Stop browsing, woman, you have work to do! But remind me to tell you my volcano story someday:)
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