Reblogged from kidskidskids September 13th, 2009 at 2:45 pm 84 notes #photography #mathematics #reflections(via kidskidskids)
:O
The $150 Space Camera: MIT Students Beat NASA On Beer-Money Budget
The two students (from MIT, of course) put together a low-budget rig to fly a camera high enough to photograph the curvature of the Earth. Instead of rockets, boosters and expensive control systems, they filled a weather balloon with helium and hung a styrofoam beer cooler underneath to carry a cheap Canon A470 compact camera. Instant hand warmers kept things from freezing up and made sure the batteries stayed warm enough to work.
Of course, all this would be pointless if the guys couldn’t find the rig when it landed, so they dropped a prepaid GPS-equipped cellphone inside the box for tracking. Total cost, including duct tape? $148.
Reblogged from Wired September 15th, 2009 at 8:25 pm 44 notes #space #amateur #photography #DIY
cause everyone likes a little bit of lens flair.Reblogged from hannahisdead September 19th, 2009 at 4:11 pm 5 notes #photography
Stunning Views of Glaciers From Space
To a geologist, glaciers are among the most exciting features on Earth. Though they seem to creep along at impossibly slow speeds, in geologic time glaciers are relatively fast, powerful landscape artists that can carve out valleys and fjords in just a few thousand years.
Glaciers also provide an environmental record by trapping air bubbles in ice that reveal atmospheric conditions in the past. And because they are very sensitive to climate, growing and advancing when its cold and shrinking and retreating when its warm, they can be used as proxies for regional temperatures.
Over geologic time, they have ebbed and flowed with natural climate cycles. Today, the world’s glaciers are in retreat, sped up by relatively rapid warming of the globe. In our own Glacier National Park in Montana, only 26 named glaciers remain out of the 150 known in 1850. They are predicted to be completely gone by 2030 if current warming continues at the same rate.
Click here for larger photos and the full gallery
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm Notes #glaciers #space #photography
Often inspiring, or offering a moment for contemplation, a sunset is probably the most commonly photographed celestial event. But this uncommonly beautiful sunset picture was taken on a special day, the Equinox on September 22. Marking the astronomical change of seasons, on that day Earth dwellers experienced nearly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness (an equal night). Reflected in the calm waters of Lake Balaton with a motionless sailboat in silhouette, the Sun is setting due west and heading south across the celestial equator. In the background lies the Benedictine Archabbey of Tihany, Hungary.
Reblogged from antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov September 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am 4 notes #sun #photography #apod
Frozen Lake Baikal, Siberia, by Matthieu Paley (via outside)Reblogged from kateoplis October 5th, 2009 at 11:04 pm 65 notes #ice #photography
The graceful curves of the bean-like Cloud Gate in Millennium Park, Chicago produce weirdly distorted reflections. Photo by Joel Haack, University of Northern Iowa.
I love “the bean.”
Reblogged from proofmathisbeautiful October 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pm 15 notes #chicago #photography
Autumn scenes - The Big Picture
The foliage was starting to turn near Presque Isle, Maine on Friday, September 25, 2009. Scientists say this will be a banner year for foliage in New England - the wet weather earlier in the summer along with the last weeks of warm days and cool nights should result in dramatic color.
October 10th, 2009 at 6:03 pm 0 notes #autumn #photography