#Perseverence

[longreads]

“We pretend at certainty all of the time, even in the stumbling that life almost always is.”

In our latest feature, longtime Longreads author Devin Kelly returns with a new essay that explores overcoming shame and inertia to discover the beauty of learning something new. 

Read Stumbling Can Be Lovely at Longreads. 

[whirligig-girl]

Ayo has NASA ever shown any pics of Mars moons in it's sky? I NEED TO KNOW

a couple asks ago i showed an example of this. here’s a few more:

annular solar eclipse/transit of Phobos across the Sun from Curiosity.

transit of Deimos across the Sun from Curiosity.

Occultation of Deimos by Phobos as seen by Curiosity.

The telephoto cameras used for navigation on Mars are also capable of being used as weak telescopes. (I do not know how they safely get photos of the Sun, though. Even at Mars distance that would still fry the sensors--so i assume they must have put a solar filter on the instrument specifically for this use case.)

While looking for images I came across this really cool one from Spirit:

The bright moon-like glow is Phobos. The dimmer dot is Deimos. Towards the bottom of the image is the Hyades cluster, and the bright star Aldeberan. In the lower left is the Pleiades cluster. This is an approximately naked eye-like view (well, maybe 2x or 3x magnification), except that with the naked eye Phobos would not look overexposed.This is really striking to me because this actually feels like a view of the night sky on Earth, yet with alien moons. Really cool.

Here’s a labelled, overexposed version:

I don’t think there’s been any color pictures of this done because Mars rovers are not astronomical observatories and because there’s not much color detail actually visible in the moons. And I assume aside from the solar eclipse pictures these images were all taken at night, with pitch-black skies and nearly black horizons.

This evening or afternoon image depicting Phobos as seen by Curiosity is a composite image--Phobos is probably much brighter here than it would really look during the day on Mars.

Deimos is visible in this poorly white-balanced shot of Mars from Perseverence. The sky is green here but Mars’ sky is really more of a yellow or brown color.

Here is almost the reverse--seen from an orbiting satellite, here is Phobos against the limb (edge of the visible disk; horizon) of Mars. I believe terrain looks weirdly flattened and a little distorted here due to lensing from Mars’ atmosphere--you can see how the effect gets worse closer to the limb. A similar effect, but more significant, can happen when looking at the limb of the Earth from space. Space probes use multiple color filters to take color photos, but when it comes to fast moving targets it’s not possible to switch colors in time, which is why this image is in grayscale. Notice also how dark Phobos is--it’s almost black. It only appears bright against the even blacker space. This is also true of the Moon, incidentally, but the effect is even more pronounced with Phobos.

[bobapril]

Thanks to the wonders of free streaming channels, I'm finally watching Babylon 5 for the first time. But every time they mention the first four stations, all I can think of is this scene...

[one-in-boots]

Seeing aquatic fauna out of water is so cool every time, especially if I'm the guy responsible. Like God never meant for you to be out here. You contrast so heavily with the dry world. Your camouflage does the opposite of what it's supposed to in this place.

Being the one who got you here feels like I have defied the will of the universe. I have conquered nature. Millions of years of evolution in YOUR environment, and I still win, even as an outsider. I can't even fucking breath down there. I had to equalize to even make eye contact with you, bitch. Most of what you do is reflex, and I still have faster reflexes than you.

It might say something about me, getting an ego boost from proving I'm better than a fish, but I AM BETTER, and nothing you say can stop that from feeling good.

[changed-lore-au]

Narrator,do you have anything to say?

[poligraf]

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.

— Seneca the Younger

[thefiresontheheight]

God, I typed that post without thought, but the more I think about it the more it hits me. Let’s say you’re a rock on Mars (I know I am anthropomorphizing but whatever). You’ve been there since the Hesperian period, or earlier. You sat and watched the late heavy bombardment end, the great volcanoes, Olympus Mons, and Tharsis form. And then not much happened. The slow cooling, and dry of Mars, desiccation, the loss of whatever atmosphere may have been there. For three billion years. Enough for violent stars to be born and die, and you just sat there, orbiting the sun, seeing dust storms, rusting, perhaps now and then seeing a dust devil, or a rockslide. And then one day a robot the size of a small car roles up. Sent by being from another world who are so, so desperately interested in you, who care about you so, so much. And it takes your picture. Like? Idk what that makes me feel but it sure as hell makes me feel something.

[atsoukalidis]

“Voltaire’s life is a proof that if you can persevere through adversity and use it to fuel your creativity, you can achieve greatness. Life is a struggle and it is up to each individual to make the most of it. The choices we make determine who and what we are becoming. A good life involves making the right choices and living with integrity. Poor decisions and dishonesty characterize a lousy life. To live a good life, you must be aware of the consequences of your actions. You must take responsibility for your choices and accept the consequences of your actions. You must live honestly, treating others with fairness and respect. You must work hard and strive to achieve your dreams. By being aware of the consequences of your actions, you can live a good life.”

Thomas Oopon

[jade-mythriil]

He’s here! He’s real!

[frisiunia]

Scarf

A little hurtful for the eyes, huh? I wanted his scarf to have colors of Sofia and Natalie souls, perseverence and justice. But having their original colors is a pain. I think I'll change these colors for the sake of beauty!

[triskelion-soda]

Motivational Pokemon #5 - Jirachi 🎋

Thank you for being here today.

this series is inspired by @/thelatestkate / ID in image description

[mymidwestheart]

[nataywrites]

Hello, reader. Sometimes I wish I were a bird. That hasn't changed much from when I was little, I know. If I were a bird, I could take off into the sky and leave behind my woes and anxieties. Yes, there are anxieties that a bird keeps that a human does not. The peril of windows and the injuries such a delicate creature could sustain when it flies into one. Hawks swoop down to snatch fellow unsuspecting avians. Let's not even mention the sheer danger a cat poses. Such beautiful mammals, which possess sharp claws and teeth that they can employ with preternatural grace and silence. Four-legged experts in clandestine avian assassinations.

When I consider all the dangers in the life of an animal, I am faced with the fact that my life, however difficult it may be for me, is still comfortable in comparison to other humans, let alone birds. How can I dare to complain about it? Yet, that is where we fall into a fallacy. The comparison of woes.

My woes are financial, as well as health-related. There are political worries and concerns for my children and whether or not I can teach them to be good human beings. I do my best, but is it enough? Is it ever enough? The answer to those questions is: it has to be enough.

I can only do my best every day. The 'best' might look different depending on the day. Today I was a 15, but tomorrow I might be an 80. Whatever tomorrow will be, I cannot allow myself to decide before the day dawns what kind of day it will be. Every day brings new adventures and lessons, even if they are lost on me in the moment.

I hope you will find it within yourself to grant yourself grace, dear reader. Life is too short to dwell on the negatives and forget to strive for the positives.

Love,

Natay

[ici-bee]

Day 5

And last day of my fast, i did it, i held out for 5 days 🥳🥳

I will be breaking my fast either tonight afternoonish or tomorrow morning depending on how am feeling

The scale today reads 301.8 lb

Yesterday 303.4 lb

Thats another -1.6 lb magically gone overnight 😊

I cant wait to see a 2 on that scale, its been about over a year since i was in the 2s, hopefully next week 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Making the 5 day fast a total of -7.6 lb gone 🥳🥳🥳🥳 i think this week was a success

[etawardana]

A Daydreamer

I may be a daydreamer. But if I am, it’s in the best way. It’s in the way that lets me imagine better things than what’s placed in front of me. It’s in the way that makes me go after those things, no matter what or who stands in my way.

The Radical Element, 1952: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – The Belle of the Ball (p. 209)

[thefiresontheheight]

What's your favorite mars robot?

She is!! It’s Ginny! Thank you so much for asking!!

Ingenuity is the first powered flying machine to successfully operate on another planet (much like on Earth unpowered came first with a deployment of a weather balloon on Venus by the Soviets in the eighties.) She is used to scout ahead of Perseverance and had a piece of the original Wright Brother’s Kitty Hawk attached to her! She was designed to operate for only thirty days, and is currently nearing two years of operation, exceeding height, range and speed expectations, despite having to spin her rotors incredibly fast to operate in Mars atmosphere, which is about a hundred times thinner than ours!