Category Archives: Science

Astronaut meets Cartoonist

The Guardian: Chris Hadfield meets Randall Munroe: ‘Are we alone in the universe?’
“Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut and internet sensation
Randall Munroe, the US cartoonist and former Nasa physicist

“The Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield spent five months in 2012 and 2013 twirling around the Earth in command of the International Space Station. Hadfield guesses he made several thousand orbits of the planet during that time […]
The American artist Randall Munroe knows something, too, about capturing an audience in the age of the fast and fickle online share. Munroe’s webcomics, produced under the banner of xkcd and promising “romance, sarcasm, math and language“ , have for years been a part of the social media fabric.”

Great interview. I recently read An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth and enjoyed it immensely. Also, Munroe’s explanation of orbital speed with the Proclaimer’s hit I’m gonna be (500 Miles) is great!

Link via MetaFilter:“When you looked down at Earth, did you always know where you were?”

It’s all relative

Washington Post: This high school student just won $250,000 for his film explaining Einstein’s theory of relativity.

“Ohio high school senior Ryan Chester became the inaugural winner of a new college scholarship on Sunday night, winning $250,000 for his 7-minute film that uses simple props and hand-drawn graphics to explain Einstein’s special theory of relativity.

Besides winning that money for himself, Chester also won $100,000 for a new science lab at his school in the Cleveland suburbs, North Royalton High, and $50,000 for his physics teacher, Richard Nestoff. […]

The scholarship is the newest award in the family of Breakthrough Prizes, which are meant to celebrate the importance of science and recognize brilliance in the fields of math, biology and physics. Founded three years ago by Silicon Valley giants […] the Breakthrough Prize offers awards ranging from $100,000 for promising early-career achievements to $3 million for scientists who have made fundamental discoveries about the world.”

IFL Science: Teenager Wins $400,000 For His Video Explaining Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Here’s the video on YouTube: Breakthrough Junior Challenge: Some Cool Ways of Looking at the Special Theory of Relativity, by Ryan Chester.

Hole-Punch Cloud

Fallstreak Holes

“A fallstreak hole, also known as a hole punch cloud, punch hole cloud, skypunch, canal cloud or cloud hole, is a large circular or elliptical gap that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds. Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below freezing but the water has not frozen yet due to the lack of ice nucleation (see supercooled water). When ice crystals do form it will set off a domino effect, due to the Bergeron process, causing the water droplets around the crystals to evaporate: this leaves a large, often circular, hole in the cloud.”

Deutsch: Hole-Punch Cloud.

I first stumbled upon this hole punch cloud, which was photographed in Korumburra, Australia, a few days ago. It has a sort of “rainbow” inside, which is explained in this National Geographic article from last year: Explaining Rare ‘Hole Punch’ Cloud With Rainbow in the Middle.

Here’s another great example, a sundog inside a hole-punch cloud (bigger version of the photo).

A Google image search finds lots of other great photos.

Sein Traum, Astronaut zu werden, wurde wahr

Spiegel online: 166 Tage im Weltall: Mit Alexander Gerst auf der ISS.
In der 43 Minuten lange Dokumentation berichtet Gerst über seine Mission, angefangen vom der Vorbereitung über den Start und die Zeit an Bord der ISS, über seinen Space Walk und schließlich den Rückflug und die Landung auf der Erde.

Alexander Gerst war an der Blue Dot Mission auf der ISS beteiligt, die vom 28.05.2014 bis zum 10.11.2014 dauerte. Er landete also vor einem Jahr und 3 Tagen wieder auf der Erde. Von unterwegs veröffentlichte er hunderte von beeindruckenden Fotos auf Flickr.

In English: Alexander Gerst was the third German astronaut aboard the ISS and participated in Expedition 40/41

ESA: Gerst-Biographie der ESA, Gerst’s personal ESA page and his Blue Dot Blog, and the Blue Dot Mission

He posted hundreds of amazing photos on his Flickr account during his mission.

ESA Blue Dot mission / Alexander Gerst playlist on YouTube