I’ve been blogging recently, mostly writing about papers I published before because I realised I’ve not really blogged about them. But also funders seem to like blogs and websites as a way to disseminate research.
In any case, here’s my website and blog: https://manabusakamoto.uk/ #blogging#science#Palaeontology
Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
On 13 May 1897, Marconi sent the first ever wireless communication over open sea – a message was transmitted over the Bristol Channel from Flat Holm Island to Lavernock Point near Cardiff, a distance of 6 kilometres. The message read "Are you ready".
1/4 "All those protoplanetary discs will be lost, like tears in a rain of ultraviolet photons."
Ok, it doesn't sound as cool as the actual quote, but still 😉
This tear-shaped object is a protoplanetary disc –the birthplace of planets around another star– observed with ESO's Very Large Telescope. Material from the disc is being stripped away by a bright star beyond the upper-right corner, outside of the field of view, hence this cometary shape.
Groundwater is heating up, threatening life below and above the surface.
Under your feet lies the world’s biggest reservoir. Groundwater makes up a whopping 97% of all usable freshwater. Where is it? In the voids between grains and cracks within rocks. We see it when it rises to the surface in springs, in caves, or when we pump it up for use. #ClimateChange#Science
Le rover Curiosity a brisé une roche en roulant dessus, dévoilant des cristaux clairs et laiteux. La zone étant riche en sulfates, il est très probable que ce soit des cristaux de gypse, parmi les plus beaux que je vois depuis le début de la mission ! 1/3
Social media allow you to find thousands of friends, many more than evolution has equipped us for. What are the consequences of being in touch with more people than you can hope to meet? It’s “Post Social Media” on Big Picture Science.
Plate Tectonics Has a Surprise Silver Lining - Without this restless geologic process, which triggers destructive earthquakes, Earth would not be habitable, by Robin George Andrews May 29, 2024
"...on geologic timescales, plate tectonics ensures that Earth won’t grow so catastrophically hot that its surface becomes unlivable. Without plate tectonics, Earth would turn into Venus. And no planet aspires to be more like Venus.
...And, had it not been for—among other things—our world’s endlessly shifting tectonic plates, Earth could have shared the same grim fate as Venus.
Yes, those tectonic plates buckle and stretch, slip and slide, creating faults that jolt and snap, which generate earthquakes—sometimes devastatingly so. But these tremors are the vital sign of a planet with a beating geologic heart, an orb with a transmogrifying face..."
[I immediately thought of Calvin and Hobbes here, lol.]
INCREDIBLE images from China's Chang’e 6 lander, which landed on the far side of the moon late on June 1 and lifted off in an ascent vehicle with the first lunar samples from the far side of the moon yesterday.
Opus caementicium, also known as Roman concrete, was an ultradurable building material used in the construction of countless monumental buildings that survived extremely harsh conditions for thousands of years. What was the Romans' secret? Heritage Daily has more: https://flip.it/ay8Q9N #Science#Construction#Concrete#RomanEmpire
#PPOD: This scene is a mosaic of two Right Mastcam-Z camera images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on 27 May 2024 at a local time of 3:15 pm. The color approximates natural human vision. Most boulders are largely basaltic, with evidence of being rounded by wind. We can't wait to learn the composition of the lighter-toned one in the middle of the scene, though, as it appears to be something different. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Paul Byrne
This week's Featured Links post has links to articles about how an update to the Drake equation suggests we may be alone in the galaxy, how Hispanics in South Florida are fighting disinformation, will Musk's Starlink satellites lead to Kessler syndrome, and more.
My partner pointed out that I have a case of schrodinger’s good/bad dog. I have an English Cocker Spaniel named Miles. He loves walks in the forest. Loves chasing things (rabbits, birds) off into the undergrowth and also loves rolling in dead birds.
Now if he rolls in a dead bird while in the undergrowth and I don't see him is he a good dog or a bad dog? We don't know unless I go into the undergrowth to find out.
I write at the intersection of #space, #science, #tech, and pop culture (#scifi). I’m the host/writer of PBS’s YouTube show Far Out. I’ve got a book on stargazing coming out in 2023 and co-edited the Arthurian anthology SWORD STONE TABLE.
I have a Wired column where talk about #gaming as a parent. I contribute to #StarTrek dot com and co-host of the podcast Desi Geek Girls.