Bird’s Eye: But for most of us, it’s not obscure festivals in remote landscapes inhabited by isolated cultures. It’s just life, and it’s still photogenic.
* Daily life: April 2012 – The Big Picture
* Images of Earth From Above – In Focus
* Visions of Earth National Geographic Magazine
* A Collection of Kisses – In Focus
… A woman kisses a fish after catching it during an ice fishing competition at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival in South Korea….
1. Followups
Bird’s Eye: An extraordinary piece by Israel’s greatest writer, David Grossman, starts the followups from two weeks ago. Then a fascinating two minute slide show explains what Earth can expect over the next seven billion years, should current apocalyptic predictions prove wrong. Finally, Foreign Policy’s Stephen Walt looks at the ten most important aspects of the Iran War debate that the media are not giving us. There are three shown, but the other seven are equally insightful.
* David Grossman: Why? Who died? Haaretz, via epalestine
Last Friday Haaretz did something unusual: it placed an opinion piece on top of its front page. But it wasn’t just an ordinary opinion piece, it was written by one of the country foremost novelists, David Grossman. The article, like Emile Zola’s J’accuse, to which it has been compared, was a moral critique. Many who read it were very moved. But the moral missive never appeared in English… And of course translating Grossman is not easy, he is a master of the language and the art of writing.I have no idea whether I have done justice to this work. But it needed to be translated. The message is too important.
* Our World. Putting Things In Perspective. 2 minute animated gif via Reddit
A hugely fascinating series of slides showing what will happen on earth and elsewhere over the next 7+ billion years
* Top Ten Media Failures In The Iran War Debate Stephen M. Walt
#2: Loose talk about Iran’s “nuclear [weapons] program.” A recurring feature of Iran war coverage has been tendency to refer to Iran’s “nuclear weapons program” as if its existence were an established fact. U.S. intelligence services still believe that Iran does not have an active program, and the IAEA has also declined to render that judgment either. Interestingly, both theTimes’ public editor Arthur Brisbane and Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton have recently chided their own organizations for muddying this issue….
#3: Obsessing about Ahmadinejad. A typical insertion into discussions of Iran is to make various references to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, usually including an obligatory reference to his penchant for Holocaust denial and his famously mis-translated statement about Israel “vanishing from the page of time.” This feature is often linked to the issue of whether Iran’s leaders are rational or not. But the obsession with Ahmadinejad is misleading in several ways: he has little or no influence over Iran’s national security policy, his power has been declining sharply in recent months, and Supreme Leader Ali Khameini — who does make the key decisions — has repeatedly said that nuclear weapons are contrary to Islam….
#7: Exaggerating Israel’s capabilities. In a very real sense, this whole war scare has been driven by the possibility that Israel might feel so endangered that they would launch a preventive war on their own, even if U.S. leaders warned them not to. But the IDF doesn’t have the capacity to take out Iran’s new facility at Fordow, because they don’t have any aircraft that can carry a bomb big enough to penetrate the layers of rock that protect the facilities. And if they can’t take out Fordow, then they can’t do much to delay Iran’s program at all and the only reason they might strike is to try to get the United States dragged in. In short, the recent war scare-whose taproot is the belief that Israel might strike on its own-may be based on a mirage.
Bird’s Eye: Some fun links, inspired by Douglas Adams “Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.”
Use scroll bar to zoom in and out (or left/right cursor keys). Click on any object to learn more
* Comet Lovejoy’s Death-Defying Escape Yahoo! News (Thanks, Oriah)
A small comet survived what astronomers figured would be a sure death when it danced uncomfortably close to the broiling sun Thursday night. Comet Lovejoy, which was only discovered a couple of weeks ago, was supposed to melt as it came so close to the sun that the temperatures around it would hit several million degrees.
Bird’s Eye: There are a lot of – not to be overly kind about it – lunatic websites bemoaning the end of the world in 2012 (here’s one that starts with “Buying asteroid-proof bunkers, killing their pets and planning mass suicide, the families convinced this ancient calendar predicts the world will end in 2012” and moves quickly to “Deep inside a secret room buried for eons within an ancient stone temple in Mexico, something dark and terrible has finally stirred.”) We look at 25 theories, from Campling to entropy, from the Messiah to the Rapture, and who claims each. National Geographic debunks a half dozen, and a four millennia old Assyrian tablet gives you some perspective. (Here’s this section’s mandatory soundtrack.)
* Top 25 Theories On How The World Will End Infographic: Nostradamus Predictions
* 2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked National Geographic Magazine
At least one aspect of the 2012, end-of-the-world hype is, for some people, all too real: the fear. NASA’s Ask an Astrobiologist Web site, for example, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions—some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
“A lot of [the submitters] are people who are genuinely frightened,” Morrison said. “I’ve had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn’t want to be around when the world ends,” he said. “Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn’t have to suffer through the end of the world.”
* World End Approaching Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BC
“The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.”
Bird’s Eye: It’s holiday time, and everyone’s come home: from the other side of the country, from prison, from college, from that place whose name one dares not speak. And now you have to amuse them. For hours! Let’s face it, you need a major distraction. Fortunately, Tikkunista is at the ready. Here are three large time-fillers.
* Panoramic Images: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Tilt, swivel, and zoom into the following galleries: Rotunda, Fossils: Dinosaurs 1, Fossils: Dinosaurs 2, Fossils: Dinosaurs 3, Fossils: Dinosaurs 4, Ancient Seas 1, Ancient Seas 2, Fossil Lab, Early Life, Fossils: Plants 1, Fossils: Plants 2, Fossils: Mammals 1, Fossils: Mammals 2, Ice Age 1, Ice Age 2, African Cultures, Discovery Room, Sant Ocean Hall: Shores & Shallows, Sant Ocean Hall: Coral Reef, Sant Ocean Hall: Open Ocean, Sant Ocean Hall: Whale, Sant Ocean Hall: Journey Through Time 1, Sant Ocean Hall: Journey Through Time 2, Sant Ocean Hall: Diversity, Mammal Hall: Entrance, Mammal Hall: Africa 1, Mammal Hall: Africa 2, Mammal Hall: South America & Australia, Mammal Hall: North America, Orchids 1, Orchids 2, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Hope Diamond, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Precious Gems, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 1, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 2, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 3, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Mining, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Rocks, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Earth, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Space, Western Cultures 1, Western Cultures 2, Bones: Mammals, Bones: Reptiles, Bones: Fish, Insect Zoo, Butterfly Pavillion,
* Isaac Asimov – The Foundation Trilogy: Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive 8 hrBBC Radio
The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1966.
* Star Trek TNG Ambient Engine Noise (Idling for 24 hrs) YouTube
One of my favorite things about the Star Trek franchise are all the great ambient sounds that represent the engine noise on the various ships. My favorite ambient noise from the whole series is the engine idling noise in TNG. I have cleaned up a sample from the show and then looped it for 24 hours. Great for ambiance and imagining that you’re in deep space (Download link available)
Bird’s Eye: Seriously bird’s eye views in here, whether it’s the stunning 60 second film of the planet turning, or the indo-Pak border, which is now illuminated from space. National Geographic picks their winners, and the Guardian’s Eyewitness does better. You may not be able to navigate by these star shots, but you’ll enjoy them.
* See the world from outer space … in 60 seconds (Thanks, Don)
* India-Pakistan Border From Space WSJ
* Best Astronomy Photos of 2011 National Geographic
* Lunar eclipse Eyewitness
* Twinkle, Twinkle, Milky Way Eyewitness
Bird’s Eye: Large groups crammed together, without hope and with inadequate food, will riot. Primate studies suggest this, though the Romans knew centuries ago that you keep the masses pacified by “bread and circuses”. Our culture is excellent on circuses…but when we get stingy on the bread, riots will break out. But there are bigger problems ahead, though probably not in our lifetimes. Over the next five billion years, the continents will recombine (less oceanfront property!) and the sun will go through some unpleasant changes. Forewarned is forearmed… and the images are fascinating.
* Looking At Primates Provides Some Interesting Clues To Rioters’ Behaviour Scientific American
What is to blame for such cases of collective violence–nature, or the unnatural conditions of modern life? While there may well be evolved responses that promote collective violence, research in captive primates suggest that these behaviors are heavily influenced by environmental stress. During the past year environmental conditions were just right for the triggering of social discord in our own society and, in the contagion that followed, violence quickly spread among a population predisposed to a shared identity.
For London and the cities throughout North Africa and the Middle East, it appears there was a free choice to riot after all. But the choice didn’t come from the rioters alone, it rose from leaders and policymakers and the larger society as a whole. Riots reveal a colony in discord. Many of us have acknowledged the widening inequality and economic decline of our most impoverished citizens–but we chose to ignore it.
* The U.K. Riots And The Coming Global Class War Forbes
The riots that hit London and other English cities last week have the potential to spread beyond the British Isles. Class rage isn’t unique to England; in fact, it represents part of a growing global class chasm that threatens to undermine capitalism itself.
The hardening of class divisions has been building for a generation, first in the West but increasingly in fast-developing countries such as China. The growing chasm between the classes has its roots in globalization, which has taken jobs from blue-collar and now even white-collar employees; technology, which has allowed the fleetest and richest companies and individuals to shift operations at rapid speed to any locale; and the secularization of society, which has undermined the traditional values about work and family that have underpinned grassroots capitalism from its very origins.
All these factors can be seen in the British riots. Race and police relations played a role, but the rioters included far more than minorities or gangsters. As British historian James Heartfield has suggested, the rioters reflected a broader breakdown in “the British social system,” particularly in “the system of work and reward.”
* Major Issues Over the Next Seven Billion Years (animated gif)
Bird’s Eye: The good news is that if we make Earth uninhabitable, we’re much more likely to know where there are other planets we could live on. (The bad news is that we have no way of getting there, but.) Exo-planetary studies has moved from a science without a field, no one of the most rapidly expanding areas of knowledge. If nothing else, you have to look at the image in the first link, which shows the number of planets believed to have been found thus far.
An image of the number of planetary candidates found so far. For a full description of how they have been found, read here.
* Astronomers Discover 10 More Free-Floating Planets In The Milky Way The Guardian
Astronomers have found a clutch of planets that wander alone through interstellar space. The discovery of the objects, which do not orbit any star, will help scientists better understand how planetary systems form and evolve.
The 10 free-floating planets are thousands of light years in the direction of the central bulge of the Milky Way, towards the constellation of Sagittarius. Their masses and compositions are thought to be equivalent to Jupiter and Saturn – mainly hydrogen and helium with trace amounts of heavier elements. “We expect that they were formed around stars and then, during the later stages of planet formation, they get ejected, primarily due to interactions with other planets,” said Daniel Bennett, an astronomer at the University of Notre Dame.
Unfriended, in other words
* Habitable exoplanet confirmed? Warm and wet, scientists say DVICE
French scientists have confirmed with computer models that Gliese 581d, a planet orbiting a red dwarf star about 20 light years from here, has a stable atmosphere, comfortable temperatures, and a surface covered in liquid water. It’s the first planet orbiting another star that could definitely support life, and it’s basically next door.
Bird’s Eye: Nothing like a look at the size and scope of the universe to help put local problems into some kind of perspective. We start with a lovely zoom, with the sun at the top of your screen, and all sorts of interesting dwarves and discarded rockets clustering around your feet. (missile-toe?) Then a huge zoom that lets you look at some of the amazing objects out there up, relatively, close. And we end with a very fine look at what’s new in our understanding of it all.
* The scale of our solar system – The Planetary Society Blog
Space.com has taken advantage of the infinitely scrollable nature of Web pages to produce a really cool infographic on the scales of orbital distances in the solar system. The only thing I’d add to it is Sedna, whose current position at about 90 AU would reside on the diagram, near Voyager 2’s current distance from the Sun. But oddball Sedna has a bizarre orbit that takes it 960 astronomical units away at aphelion; the diagram would have to be 8.5 times longer than it is to encompass Sedna’s entire orbit. Even plotting it at its semi-major axis of 520 AU (which is how I think they’ve handled the distances of other Kuiper belt objects, most of which have noticeably elliptical orbits) would require making the diagram 4.6 times taller than it already is!
This also seems like a good place to share Bruce “@RandomSpaceFact” Betts’ favourite scale model of the solar system: If the Sun were at the top of your head and Pluto at your feet, then all the inner planets would be in your head. Jupiter would be at your chin, Saturn at mid-chest, Neptune just below your knee. And Uranus? It’d be right where you’d expect it to be. Really.
* Sky Zoom (Via The Presurfer)
The Photopic Sky Survey is a 5,000 megapixel photograph of the entire night sky stitched together from 37,440 exposures. Large in size and scope, it portrays a world far beyond the one beneath our feet and reveals our familiar Milky Way with unfamiliar clarity.
* The 10 Most Amazing Discoveries of Modern Astronomy WildAmmo.com
Astronomy has come a long way in the past 100 years, with revelations from Einstein, Bohr, Hubble and other great astronomers, physicists, and scientists. While certainly some of the greatest discoveries in astronomy of all time include the discovery of the other planets of the solar system, the true relation of the Earth to the Sun, and the mathematical calculations for planetary orbits by Kepler and universal gravitation by Newton, more shocking discoveries have been made in modern astronomy than in times past, and shows us just how cool our universe actually is.
Bird’s Eye: Scanning the horizon, the bird tries to identify the unusual lights. Did he guess at two sets of aurorae, one slo-motion shot of lightning, the largest photo of the moon ever assembled, and a solar eclipse? He did, for a perfect score. Smart bird.
* Time Lapse Auroras Over Norway
* Auroral Substorm over Yellowknife
* A Half-Gigabyte View of the Moon
* Solar Eclipse Photos Big Picture
Bird’s Eye: The birds are migrating, and so they get to see all sorts of wonderful places. Enjoy!
* Pakistan: Daily Life The Big Picture
* Slideshow: Human Planet BBC
* Nyiragongo Crater: Journey to the Center of the World The Big Picture
In June 2010, a team of scientists and intrepid explorers stepped onto the shore of the lava lake boiling in the depths of Nyiragongo Crater, in the heart of the Great Lakes region of Africa.
* The Holy Sepulchre Virtual Tour - Jerusalem www.360tr.com
* A Monster Solar Prominence [ NASA video]
