rickeyainsworth

Black holes do funky things. A new simulator by Thomas Müller and Daniel Weiskopf allows users to discover how a nearby black hole’s immense gravity would bend the light of surrounding stars, like a giant crazy fisheye lens in the sky.

Alexander Girard, International Heart, 1967. Via Herman Miller.

Spacecraft Cassini photographs one of Saturn’s moons (the “lil’ squirter” Enceladus) passing in front of another (the alleged “moon with a ring” Rhea).

Via NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, via CICLOPS, via Bad Astronomy.

The newest and best glimpse of Pluto we’ll likely see until the New Horizons probe arrives in 2015.

“This is the most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003… [A] mysterious bright spot… is unusually rich in carbon monoxide frost. Pluto is so small and distant that the task of resolving the surface is as challenging as trying to see the markings on a soccer ball 40 miles away” (New Hubble Maps of Pluto Show Surface Changes, NASA, 2 Feb 2010).

Video credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Buie/Southwest Research Institute.

Chesley Bonestell’s illustration of the space bombing of New York, for the October 3rd, 1948 Collier’s article Rocket Blitz From the Moon.

Now, with the pending cancellation of NASA’s Constellation program, it’s only a matter of time before the Soviets finish their Atomic Anti-Freedom Moon Base. The future is here! Duck and cover!

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For such trifles I yearn, I yearn. The Onion.

It’s a planetarium… It’s a bar… It’s a…?

I’ve posted about this place before, but I really wish I could find some higher-res images of Tokyo’s aptly-named Planetarium Bar.

For $20 more, I’ll show up at your house and deliver a guest lecture through your bathroom door. Homestar Aqua: Planetarium for Bath.

I’ve got a new attitude. Via: kiyo, via: Berkley Illustration.

IPS Statement on the Ancient Age of the Earth and Universe

Via the National Center for Science Education:

The International Planetarium Society recently issued a statement on the ancient age of the earth and universe, noting that “Many independent lines of scientific evidence show that the Earth and Universe are billions of years old. Current measurements yield an age of about 4.6 billion years for the Earth and about 14 billion years for the Universe.” The statement adds, “These measurements of age are accepted by nearly all astronomers, including both research astronomers and planetarium educators. These astronomers come from nations and cultures around the world and from a very wide spectrum of religious beliefs.”

The statement also explained the need for the society to take a stand: “Planetariums are based on science and education and as such reflect the ideals and principles of these disciplines. Planetarium educators seek to present both scientific results and an understanding of how these discoveries are made.” The International Planetarium Society describes itself as “the global association of planetarium professionals. Its nearly 700 members come from 35 countries around the world. They represent schools, colleges and universities, museums, and public facilities of all sizes including both fixed and portable planetariums.” Its primary goal is “to encourage the sharing of ideas among its members through conferences, publications, and networking.”