M.A. Kropp: Writer, Blogger, GeekGirl. My Life. My Words. My Way.
4 of 5 stars Narrated by LeVar Burton, with foreword by Ann Druyan and introduction by Neil DeGrasse Tyson Like just about everyone I know, I watched the public television series of Cosmos when it aired in 1980. I enjoyed it, but I don't remember actually reading the book. So, when the audiobook came up as … Continue reading Friday Review: Cosmos by Carl Sagan (Audiobook)
I suppose we all know that Monday was the full solar eclipse for some of the US. Up here in the northeast, we got a partial eclipse, at about 63%. Still, it was cool to check it out over the hour or so that the moon passed by the sun. We didn't have glasses, so … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Lunacy
Many animals rely on camouflage to escape predators. It seems some birds choose their hiding places based on their individual coloration and markings: Camouflage Birds Would you slip and slide down this hill after a wheel of cheese? These folks do it every year: Cheese Rolling These photos of rescue rats are irresistibly adorable: Rat … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Bird Camouflage, Chasing Cheese, Adorable Rat Photos, and Water on Venus a Possibility
First, apologies for no Monday post. Long weekend, and I needed a recovery day. It was a good weekend, just tiring. More on that next week, with pictures! Earlier this year, a joint effort by NASA and ESA landed a probe on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Here's what it found: Titan Landing This study, although … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Landing on Titan, Why Dogs Are So Friendly, and Animal Brothers from Other Mothers
An iceberg broke off the Antarctic ice shelf last week, and while this particular iceberg is not a huge threat, it is giving scientists a good look at what the potential for future breaks with more impact might mean: Larsen C With all the brouhaha over the new Doctor being a woman, it might be … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctica, All the Times Doctor Who was Ruined Forever, Knee Surgery, and Space Sings
We all know what wolves are, right? Dog-like wild animals that live in the wild and prey on deer and such. Well, not these wolves. They live near the ocean, are excellent swimmers, and prey on fish: Sea Wolves This is Bei Bei. Bei Bei is a panda. Pandas climb trees. In fact, pandas are … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Sea Wolves, Falling Panda, New Galaxies from Hubble, and Delivery Ice Cream
This company is designing and testing a system that will allow satellites to decommission and remove themselves from orbit to combat the problem of space debris: D-Sat These photos reveal the amazing and often beautiful world of oceanic plankton: Plankton I have no idea how much exercise you get or how much actual yoga practice … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Satellites That Take Themselves Out of Orbit, Plankton Photos, Goat Yoga, And Cat Foils Burglar
We have all heard that biting into a wintergreen Lifesaver makes lightning, right? Well, here's a slo-motion video of that effect- called triboluminescence- that is quite cool: Lifesaver Lightning Here's some looped video of an actual spacewalk by ISS astronauts. "Planet Earth is blue..": Spacewalk Some really gorgeous photos of whales of all types: Whales … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Lifesaver Lightning, Spacewalk, Whale Photos, and Oldest Photos of New York City
This Berkeley Lab study maps the space dust in the Milky Way. It's important for a lot of research, but it's also just cool to look at: Space Dust And in another space related link, this 3D flyover of Mars took three months to put together. And it was done by hand: Mars Flyover Here's … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Space Dust, Mars Flyover, Cardboard Robot Arm, and Things to Cheer You Up
A trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been released: Last Jedi Trailer If this little dumbo octopus doesn't make you smile, there may be no hope for you: Dumbo Octopus This stone dwelling is the oldest house yet discovered in the UK and is surprisingly intact, including stone furniture: Ancient Stone Dwelling These … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Last Jedi Trailer, Shy Octopus, Oldest Dwelling in UK, and Scale Model Solar System
And So On... 