Yuri’s Planet
ISS Expedition 30, NASA
One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station exposed this 400 millimeter night image of the greater New York City metropolitan area on March 23, 2013.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.
The planet Venus is seen in transit across the Sun during sunrise in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 6, 2012 by Nikolay Doychinov
Invitation to a Scientist’s Ball?
Replying to an Invitation to a Scientist’s Ball,
- Pierre and Marie Curie were radiating enthusiasm.
- Einstein thought it would be relatively easy to attend.
- Volta was electrified and Archimedes, buoyant at the thought.
- Ampere was worried he wasn’t up to current research.
- Ohm resisted the idea at first.
- Boyle said he was under too much pressure.
- Edison thought it would be an illuminating experience.
- Watt reckoned it would be a good way to let off steam.
- Stephenson thought the whole idea was loco.
- Wilbur Wright accepted, provided he and Orville could get a flight.
- Dr Jekyll declined — he hadn’t been feeling himself lately.
- Morse’s reply: “I’ll be there on the dot. Can’t stop now must dash.”
- Heisenberg was uncertain if he could make it.
- Hertz said in the future he planned to attend with greater frequency.
- Henry begged off due to a low capacity for alcohol.
- Audobon said he’d have to wing it.
- Hawking said he’d try to string enough time together to make a space in his schedule.
- Darwin said he’d have to see what evolved.
- Schrodinger had to take his cat to the vet, or did he?
- Mendel said he’d put some things together and see what came out.
- Descartes said he’d think about it.
- Newton was moved to attend.
- Pavlov was drooling at the thought.
- Gauss was asked to attend because of his magnetic personality.
- JP Clark & Siegfried the Deerslayer Wanna-Be
We Originated in the Belly of a Star
Consider that you can see less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1% of the acoustic spectrum. As you read this, you are traveling at 220 km/sec across the galaxy. 90% of the cells in your body carry their own microbial DNA and are not “you.” The atoms in your body are 99.9999999999999999% empty space and none of them are the ones you were born with, but they all originated in the belly of a star. Human beings have 46 chromosomes, 2 less than the common potato. The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes; to animals without cones, the rainbow does not exist. So you don’t just look at a rainbow, you create it. This is pretty amazing, especially considering that all the beautiful colors you see represent less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum.
(photo by Paul Nicklen)
The planet Saturn, 5-26-12 by rednblueobservatory
