Some of Darwin’s fossil samples have been rediscovered, hidden in plain sight at the British Geological Survey.
Some of Darwin’s fossil samples have been rediscovered, hidden in plain sight at the British Geological Survey.
Tag: history
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has renamed the thirty-one year old Very Large Array (VLA) after Karl Jansky, the man who invented radio astronomy.
A fitting honor: The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has renamed the recently upgraded thirty-one year old Very Large Array (VLA) after Karl Jansky, the man who invented radio astronomy.
Karl Guthe Jansky joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey in 1928, immediately after receiving his undergraduate degree in physics. He was assigned the task of studying radio waves that interfered with the recently-opened transatlantic radiotelephone service. After designing and building advanced, specialized equipment, he made observations over the entire year of 1932 that allowed him to identify thunderstorms as major sources of radio interference, along with a much weaker, unidentified radio source. Careful study of this “strange hiss-type static” led to the conclusion that the radio waves originated from beyond our Solar System, and indeed came from the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
His discovery was reported on the front page of the New York Times on May 5, 1933, and published in professional journals. Jansky thus opened an entirely new “window” on the Universe. Astronomers previously had been confined to observing those wavelengths of light that our eyes can see. “This discovery was like suddenly being able to see green light for the first time when we could only see blue before,” said Lo.
The six weirdest cities people actually live in
NASA administrator Bolden met with former Apollo astronauts today to smooth over his agency’s attempt to prevent their ability to sell artifacts from their missions.
NASA administrator Bolden met with former Apollo astronauts today to smooth over his agency’s attempt to prevent their ability to sell artifacts from their missions.
An Antiques Roadshow memento has provided new evidence behind the loss of the plane during World War II that carried band leader Glenn Miller.
A memento brought to an Antiques Roadshow event has provided new evidence behind the loss of the plane during World War II that carried band leader Glenn Miller.
A NASA inquiry into the ownership of a variety of space artifacts, including Jim Lovell’s Apollo 13 checklist, has halted their sale at auction.
Power grab: A NASA inquiry into the ownership of a variety of space artifacts, including Jim Lovell’s Apollo 13 checklist, has halted their sale at auction.
In other words, it appears that NASA management has decided that everything ever built by NASA belongs to NASA, forever, even if NASA would have thrown it away at some point.
Space exploration and the unexpected consequences of government decisions
On Thursday, December 15, 2011, NASA management announced what seemed at first glance to be a very boring managerial decision. Future contracts with any aerospace company to launch astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) will follow the same contractual arrangements used by NASA and SpaceX and Orbital Sciences for supplying cargo to the space station.
As boring that sounds, this is probably the most important decision NASA managers have made since the 1960s. Not only will this contractual approach lower the cost and accelerate the speed of developing a new generation of manned spaceships, it will transfer control of space exploration from NASA — an overweight and bloated government agency — to the free and competitive open market.
To me, however, the decision illustrates a number of unexpected consequences, none of which have been noted by anyone in the discussions that followed NASA’s announcement back in mid-December.
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Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals
Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals.
Newfound treasures at an archeological dig in Panama have provided scientists with the best clues yet about an unnamed tribal culture that had trived in the centuries just prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.
Newfound treasures at an archeological dig in Panama have provided scientists with the best clues yet about an unnamed tribal culture that had thrived in the centuries just prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.
The most recent dig, in early 2011, uncovered a similarly adorned chief in a multilevel burial pit once sheltered by a wooden roof. Surrounding this golden chief are at least 25 carefully arranged bodies, making the assemblage the largest of the six El CanΜo burials revealed to date. … Among the corpses golden attire for a child, possibly the chief’s son: tiny gold plates, bracelets, earrings, and a necklace of semiprecious stones. At the bottom of the pit, the chief himself was supported by a sort of platform created from the tight arrangement of 15 bodies. Mayo believes those individuals could be war captives or slaves who were sacrificed or committed suicide.
Why the establishment fears Newt Gingrich
Why the establishment fears Newt Gingrich.
When Newt became speaker, he was focused, disciplined and tough. He insisted on moving the Contract With America intact. He abolished committees and denied βold bullsβ chairmanships. He insisted on using the majority to win conservative victories such as balancing budgets, achieving welfare reform and producing 11 million new jobs with tax cuts that spurred economic growth. He made some people unhappy when he pursued legislation that could win instead of pet bills that would have divided Republicans rather than uniting them. And he negotiated with a Democratic president to get the conservative legislation being passed signed into law. Some Republicans were left unhappy in the wake of all of that activity β some of them are still complaining today.
The Leaning Towers from around the world
The leaning towers from around the world. With pictures.
And the Tower of Pisa is not number one in tilt!
The story of the men and women who built Hexagon
The story of the men and women who built of the spy satellites dubbed Hexagon, and never told a soul.
It was dubbed “Big Bird” and it was considered the most successful space spy satellite program of the Cold War era. From 1971 to 1986 a total of 20 satellites were launched, each containing 60 miles of film and sophisticated cameras that orbited the earth snapping vast, panoramic photographs of the Soviet Union, China and other potential foes. The film was shot back through the earth’s atmosphere in buckets that parachuted over the Pacific Ocean, where C-130 Air Force planes snagged them with grappling hooks. The scale, ambition and sheer ingenuity of Hexagon KH-9 was breathtaking. The fact that 19 out of 20 launches were successful (the final mission blew up because the booster rockets failed) is astonishing.
So too is the human tale of the 45-year-old secret that many took to their graves.