Our Earth ‘Michael Jackson’
via The Film Artist

My wonderful niece asked me to make this version of my last Earthlapse film to appeal to her generation a litle more. Compiled from 20k+ photographs, I have added a few more timelapses and re-edited it to make this full screen version. Michael Jackson was truly an enlightened and good soul, enjoy! :) Please join our new Nasa Timelapse Club

Chris Hadfield and Don Pettit are instrumental in saving the space programme…

(Source: asonlynasacan, via for-all-mankind)

Moon Shares Water Source With Earth

The Moon and the Earth share a common water source — primitive meteorites — according to research findings from Brown University.

The predominant theory on how the Moon was formed is that it was the result of a giant object hitting the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. A chunk of the debris from the impact then became the Moon.

However, researchers assumed that the heat generated by that process would have removed all the water from the Moon leaving it completely dry. Analysis of water found on and beneath the Moon’s surface shows that it has the same source as that found on Earth meaning the process behind the Moon’s formation is not as simple as was previously thought.

“The simplest explanation for what we found is that there was water on the proto-Earth at the time of the giant impact,” said lead author, Alberto Saal, associate professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University. “Some of that water survived the impact, and that’s what we see in the Moon.”

Previous research established that volcanic glass found in samples taken during the Apollo missions contained water. Saal’s paper was looking to work out the water’s origins by analysing the isotopic composition of hydrogen, particularly looking at the amount of deuterium present.

The scientists found that the water’s chemical profile matched that of meteorites from the asteroid belt near Jupiter. The fact that Earth’s own water largely comes from these kinds of meteorites implies that the two share a common water source.

“The impact somehow didn’t cause all the water to be lost,” said Saal. “But we don’t know what that process would be.”

Astronauts, Space Walks and The ‘Overview Effect’

Nearly everyone is familiar with EVA’s (Extra-Vehicular Activities) or “Space Walks” - activities/tasks performed outside of a space craft by astronauts. However, since watching The Overview Effect when it first premiered, I haven’t come across a segment of interviews such as this.

This is a great tribute to the men and women who have actually stepped out into space and seen the Earth with their own eyes, only a thin sheet of protective material between their organic lenses and the natural beauty of our planet and universe.

Expect more of this. As humans progress above our atmosphere and further out into space, the psychological/neurological effects will become more widespread and unique to each individual, united by awe and humility. I encourage all of you to watch this 20-minute documentary, The Overview Effect, which truly exposes the cosmic perspective for what it is, which is solitary and distinctive to the human species. No one else in history has been able to grasp and articulate this perspective from the height of over 250 miles up from our planet’s surface.

We’ve speculated and verbally interpreted this viewpoint philosophically, psychologically, spiritually, historically and scientifically, but we now are able to share and partake in this human journey - via our ever-advancing technology - with other humans across the globe through multiple media forms; granting others such an experience, which, even for a moment, consumes our consciousness and peels back the layers of our biological, chemical, atomically-interwoven connectivity with all life on this planet and most probably, others.

Also, if you’re unfamiliar with entrepreneur/video game developer Richard Garriott, he is lesser-known as being the son of an astronaut. His father, Owen Garriott, lived on NASA’s Skylab/Spacelab-1 LEO facilities in the 70’s and 80’s. Richard Garriott’s lifelong dream was to follow in his father’s “bootsteps” and journey to space. Garriott underwent astronaut training in Star City where, with his Russian counterparts, he learned Russian (required as he flew abord the Soyuz craft) and via Space Adventures, became the first private citizen to venture into space and perform science experiments on board the International Space Station.

Since then, Richard Garriott has become the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Space Adventures and trustee of the X-Prize Foundation, which we are all familiar with. The film not only excites with gorgeous photography/cinematography, but also educates, revealing the cultural significance and processes by which Russian astro/cosmonauts partake and endure along their journey to space.

His mission, from beginning to end, was documented and produced into a film, aptly entitled, “Man On A Mission.” Free up some time to watch this and share it with others. The more humans that venture into space, the more humans we will have returning to Earth (or not) sharing their experience and the importance of spaceflight upon our civilization and our psyche.

Ad Astra Per Aspera.

Gifs from Chris Hadfield’s Space Oddity [X]

Respect and love to this man. One of the finest commanders the ISS has seen and which we’ve all shared in his journey. Thank you, Sir Chris Hadfield, for your amazing photography and continual public outreach for the scientific community. Humanity (and Canada) salute you.

(Source: avengetheangels, via applepiesfromscratch)

The Sun Blasts Out Two X-Class Flares, Strongest of the Year

The Sun gets active! On May 12, 2013, the Sun emitted what NASA called a “significant” solar flare, classified as an X1.7, making it the first X-class flare of 2013. Then earlier today, May 13, 2013, the Sun let loose with an even stronger flare, an X2.8-class. Both flares took place just beyond the limb of the Sun, and were also associated with another solar phenomenon, a coronal mass ejection (CME) which sent solar material out into space.

Neither CME was not Earth-directed, and according to SpaceWeather.com, no planets were in the line of fire. However, the CMEs appear to be on course to hit NASA’s Epoxi, STEREO-B and Spitzer spacecraft on May 15-16. NASA said their mission operators have been notified, and if warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments. Experimental NASA research models show that the CMEs were traveling at about 1,930 km/second (1,200 miles per second) when they left the Sun.

The sunspot associated with these flares is just coming into view, and the next 24 to 48 hours should reveal much about the sunspot, including its size, magnetic complexity, and potential for future flares.

Watch! Both the X1.7 and the X2.8-class solar flare, plus a prominence eruption, all in one video.

image 1: A close-up of an an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013 as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. credit: NASA/SDO/AIA.

image 2: SDO image of an X2.8-class flare on May 13, 2013. Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this X1 flare (largest of the year so far) in extreme UV light

Chris Hadfield’s Mission Reflections.

I’m going to make a real effort to have a beer/30 minute convo with this man by the end of 2014. Committed!  

(Source: climateadaptation, via climateadaptation)

A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS ON CHRIS HADFIELD’S GIFT TO EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION & ACCESSIBILITY

You know my love for Chris Hadfield. You can see my first post about him here, “Reasons for Chris Hadfield”.

In my opinion, he is the embodiment of the modern scientist. Someone who is not only a researcher, but at tentpole around which we can build science accessibility and education.

He went up an scientist, but he’s seemingly returned to Earth an icon of education and communication, of which the world has rarely seen.

I honestly don’t even know how I can even go to bed now without a “Tonight’s Finale” photo from Chris of the world.

And with that I want to thank Chris deeply for all that he’s given to us.

I want to also send two special shout outs

• To his son, Evan, for coordinating all these efforts, and making it possible for us to talk to an astronaut. Up in space. Forever far away, but seemingly closer than most scientists I’ve ever met. Thank you for making this a possibility.
• To the Canadian Space Agency, who I could not appreciate more. Exploration of space is not just about discovering the the final fronter, but about realizing what we as humans are fully capable of. Thank you for helping us all experience this.

MEDIA

• Above is Chris’ “Space Oddity” cover video which is INSTANTLY the greatest video ever made.
• Below is Chris talking about Social Media, something we all know and love.

• And HERE is a great article from the CBC on Chris, Evan and the Canadian Space Agency exploration of Social Media in space, and their plans for the future.

 

(via romkids)

Physics in the Gravity Trailer | by RHETT ALLAIN (Wired)

Let’s take a look at this trailer for the upcoming movie Gravity. I don’t know much, but it seems like it is about two astronauts dealing with some problems on the International Space Station. After watching this, my physics alert system went off. It might be a false alarm, so I will take a closer look.

Orbit Altitude

If you look at the Wikipedia page on the ISS, it lists the orbit altitude at 250 to 263 miles above the Earth. Here is a shot from the trailer.

Ok. I don’t know for certain this is the ISS in the trailer. I assume it is, but it could be some new space station. However, at “372 miles above the Earth” the ISS is much higher than it normally operates. I guess that’s ok – I mean this is a fictional story. I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be this high. I just don’t see why they would significantly change the altitude. Maybe there is some plot element regarding the altitude – but if not, this is just sad. Really, it isn’t difficult to look up the orbital characteristics of the ISS.

Well, there is one big difference with an increased altitude. The orbital period would be longer. Maybe that is important in the plot. Maybe.

Air Resistance in Orbit

This is a short trailer with short clips of things. This means that it’s not quite clear what’s going on in each scene. Let’s look at a few.

This shows part of the ISS exploding for some reason. I think this short clip is ok in that it has the debris expanding in all directions.

In this scene, there is stuff that is clearly getting pushed back by air. At a 372 mile altitude, there is still air – but very little. Even at the ISS’s current orbit, there is air resistance – and this is why the space station occasionally needs a reboost. But at that height, the air resistance wouldn’t do anything like this. The next scene shows material leaving trails, so perhaps the space station got much closer to the Earth.

Here is an astronaut hanging on to the ISS.

If you are just flying past the space station and you grab on to stop yourself, that would be it. You would stop. You wouldn’t keep getting pulled back. If the space station was low in the orbit with significant air resistance, then that could happen. However, I have a feeling that you would have to be pretty low to get some serious forces as depicted in this scene.

Homework

Clearly, I don’t have any definite answers here. So, instead I will give homework questions. That’s what I do.

Estimate the drag force on the ISS at its current orbit altitude. Here is a hint. If you increased the altitude to 327 miles, how would the air drag force change?

What would the density of air have to be for an astronaut to experience an air drag force of about half the astronaut’s weight on the surface of the Earth?

Suppose re-entry starts at an altitude of 200 miles (I just guessed). What is the change in energy (both kinetic and gravitational potential) for an ISS going from an altitude of 372 miles to 200 miles? (sorry for using miles – but that’s what it lists in the video).

Let me point out one more thing. Why did I even start this post in the first place? After my first pass of the trailer, I was afraid that there was a very wrong misconception. The common idea is that when you knock something off of a fast moving object, that knocked off thing will slow down. This is indeed what happens to a fast moving air plane. The debris falls back due to an interaction with the air. However, in high orbits the air drag is quite small. This means that if you knock something off the ISS, it will basically just stay there.

After examining the trailer again, I’m not sure this problem is in the short clip. It seems that all of the objects moving past the ISS are due to some type of re-entry. I guess I will have to wait for the movie or another trailer to really find out what is going on.

Study: Climate change will cut habitats by 2080: Climate change leaves many plants and animals only a few decades to adjust. A study warns that losses of living space will afflict plants and animals worldwide, raising extinction worries @ USA Today

(Source: saveplanetearth, via saveplanetearth)

Solar Flares: A User’s Guide 

(Source: astronemma, via astronemma)

Are you suffering a long Monday? Click the image to put the concept of time in context and relieve this pain by yourself.

More: exploringtime.org

This is awesome.

(Source: scienceisbeauty, via invaderxan)

Carl Sagan (via inspirement)

Time-Lapse GIFs Show Earth Transform Over 25 Years

“Starting in the 1980s, Alaska’s Columbia Glacier began retreating, shrinking from 41 miles long (its originally documented length in 1794) to 36 miles long in 1995. This is what that change actually looks like from space.

The images are part of the Timelapse project from Google and TIME, what Google calls “the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public.”

Learn more from Popular Science.

(Source: kqedscience, via kqedscience)

The sun rising over the South Pacific as seen from the International Space Station. Thanks NASA!

Stay Curious | Watch Brian Cox present one of the most beautiful and important Wonders of the Solar System as he travels 18km above the surface of the Earth beyond the atmosphere to The Thin Blue Line.

(Source: govtoversight, via govtoversight)