brx0 - Tumblr blog

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Ok, so this little space Tumblr sort of went dormant in January 2019, on account of *gestures wildly at everything*. But NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars tomorrow, with 23(!) cameras and two microphones on board, so I figured this would be a good time to dust it off for a while, at least. The video above is the traditional NASA media event they do before most major launches and landings. I usually skip the media questions part of these; doing that cuts the runtime to around 33 minutes instead of an hour, in case you're in a hurry or whatever.

If the video isn't detailed enough, here's a little light reading to tide everyone over until tomorrow:

A paper about the rover's many engineering cameras. The TL;DR there is that 1) landing videos will be from several angles this time: Looking down from the rover, looking up at the parachutes, looking down at the rover from the skycrane stage, etc. Assuming the landing goes well, obviously. And 2) navigation cameras are color this time, for the practical reason that you can't tell how dusty your rover is with greyscale photos.

The rover's eoPortal entry ended up being so detailed they split a couple of sub-pages off of it.

A paper on how you go about choosing a place to land on Mars. Which is not trivial when your project team includes hundreds of scientists across the globe, most of whom have important, strongly-held professional opinions about exactly where and where not to go. Along with hundreds of engineers trying to explain why various things the science folks want are either risky or impossible. TL;DR: There were meetings. Many, many, many meetings. (doc is 87 pages.)

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Sometimes an artist just finds a niche and runs with it.

Take Eduard von Grützner, for example. German painter back in the early 1900s. He tried a whole bunch of stuff over the course of his career, but eventually he settled into doing paintings of fat, sassy monks drinking booze.

Just tubby old priests getting plastered.

He did dozens of these things.

Today it’s literally all he’s known for.

You do your thing, Eddie. You do your thing.

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A baby elephant’s first time on the beach!

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People with the best jobs ever.

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"Operation Firefly" is GamerGate’s latest attempt at sustaining and proliferating their hate campaign. Described on 8chan with typical self-aggrandizing, pseudomilitary bluster ("We’re going into Normandy and we need your help"),...

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Hi [Insert “The Truth Is Somewhere In The Middle” Advocate’s Name Here],

I am writing this letter in good faith and hoping that you can see it as such. Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone with this stance, but I want to let you know why people like me, who you deem “anti-gg”, may not be so...

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October is American Archives Month. To celebrate, we are highlighting our staff around the country and their favorite records from the holdings in the National Archives.  Today’s staff member is Alan Walker, archivist in Research Services at the National Archives at College Park. His favorite record is this aerial photo from the records of aerial photography pioneer Albert W. Stevens (series 18-AWS, in Stills). So why does he like this photo? “Why do I like this? Well, it’s just awesome! Not only the flare effects, but look at the altitude. Stevens was waaaay up there. I’ve looked at a lot of photographs while working here, but this one has always mesmerized me.” Image: Flare Effects from the Sun. National Archives Identifier: 7419807.http://research.archives.gov/description/7419807.

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Headshot d’un chat dans “La meilleure boulangerie de France” (M6) (by LeZ)

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The mystery behind the A113 in Pixar movies.

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Fashions of the Future as Imagined in 1893

Illustrations from “Future Dictates of Fashion” by W. Cade Gall that was published in the January 1893 issue of The Strand magazine.

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Protecting the Burmese Roof Turtle

Exciting field report from Myanmar where one of the world’s most critically endangered turtles is making a remarkable recovery!

Nesting season is in full swing for the Burmese roof turtle (Batagur trivittata). This species was feared extinct until it was “rediscovered” in 2002 when three individuals were found in a temple pond. Until then, scientists hadn’t seen the Burmese roof turtle since the 1930s.

Now, thanks to the collaborative field efforts of TSA and Wildlife Conservation Society there are 700 turtles thriving under the watchful eye of conservationists in the region. Due to a comprehensive program which includes nest protection, head-starting young turtles for future release and breeding in protected settings, this delicate species has been brought back from the brink.

And this season is turning out to be a bumper crop for nesting. To date, as many as 150 eggs from eight clutches have been recorded! A huge thanks to SOS - Save Our Species for their continued support of our work with this incredible species. Stay tuned for more reports from the field!

(via: Turtle Survival Alliance)

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Kaiju

via modern_fred

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Kaiju

via modern_fred

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REVELL: 1959 Dr. Seuss Zoo TINGO Noodle Topped Stroodle Model Kit

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