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Club Meeting

We will be having a meeting this Monday, March 23, after school in Mr Lanigan's room (335). We will be discussing social activism & atheism, the upcoming Flying Spaghetti Monster Feast, as well as holding general discussions. All are, of course, welcome to join us!

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Hello all! We will be having our first meeting for the Beverly Alliance of Secular Humanists (the BASH), this Monday, March 16th, after school in Mr. Lanigan's room, number 335. Join us for discussions on science, religion, current events, and athiesm. And if that doesn't lure you in, we will also have cookies.

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Intimate Portraits of Bees and other insects from the USGS bee inventory and monitoring lab.

Photography by Sam Droege via National Geographic. These pictures were taken using technology developed for the US Army, so that soldiers could identify insects and determine if they were disease-carrying. 

Droege will dry and prepare a dead bee specimen, which can be smaller than a half a grain of rice, for photographing. A macro lens is equipped with a slider to take several pictures in a row with different focuses. Then, the images are combined to one image in which all parts are in-focus, and dust and the stand are photoshopped out. The detail is enhanced but the colors are not—that color is real.

See more at Droege’s flickr.

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Welcome to Beverly High's Secular Student Alliance, the BASH

Hello and welcome! We are Beverly High School's chapter of the Secular Student Alliance, known as the Beverly Alliance of Secular Humanists (or BASH). While we are not yet a club, we are well on our way to becoming one. Visit our "about" page for more details. 

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Banff National Park, Alberta. Canada. Bun Lee.

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"Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses - learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else."

-Leonardo da Vinci (via tessladapanda)

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The Helix Nebula captured by La Silla observatory in Chiles Atacama desert.

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Happy birthday to Buzz Aldrin, born as Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. on January 20, 1930. Seen here in a selection of photos from his days in both the Gemini and Apollo programs.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

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Comic dust in NGC 1316

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Comet Lovejoy: Gerald Rhemann took this picture on Dec. 21st

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The hard truth seems to be this: We live in a vast and awesome universe in which, daily, suns are made and worlds destroyed, where humanity clings to an obscure clod of rock. The significance of our lives and our fragile realm derives from our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life’s meaning. We would prefer it to be otherwise, of course, but there is no compelling evidence for a cosmic Parent who will care for us and save us from ourselves. It is up to us.

Carl Sagan (via divineirony)

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"NGC 7000 in narrowband"

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To the dumb question ‘Why me?’ the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not?

Christopher Hitchens (via blackestdespondency)

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What better way to celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin than by checking out some must-read books about the life and theories of this revered scientist?

On the Origin of Species, Revised Edition. By Charles Darwin; edited by Gillian Beer

Evolutionary Writings: Including the Autobiographies. By Charles Darwin, edited by James A. Secord

Darwin: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Howard

Evolution: A Very Short Introduction by Brian Charlesworth

Darwin and His Children: His Other Legacy by Tim M. Berra

Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters from the Malay Archipelago by John van Wyhe and Kees Rookmaaker

Darwin the Writer by George Levine

Darwin in the Archives: Papers on Erasmus Darwin and Charles Darwin from the Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History and Archives of Natural History by E. Charles Nelson and Duncan Porter

Darwin’s Camera: Art and Photography in the Theory of Evolution by Phillip Prodger

Living with Darwin: Evolution, Design, and the Future of Faith by Philip Kitcher

In Darwin’s Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History by Michael Shermer

Erasmus Darwin: Sex, Science, and Serendipity by Patricia Fara

Happy reading! But most importantly—happy birthday, Darwin!

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"We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars."

-Carl Sagan (via tessladapanda)