Cosmic Coolness

We would be remiss if we failed to mention Nathan Bergey’s incredible visualization of location data harvested from the International Space Station photographs of Earth. Analyzing the data from 1.13 million images, Bergey plotted a map that is as entrancing as it is enlightening.

It really is that cool. Science is only boring if one cares none about the answers.

Or the questions. There are no answers. The adventure is its own reward.

Okay, so science is occasionally boring. But as Bergey’s plot and, say, Chris Hadfield’s photographs remind, it all pays off in the end.

Skip the aphorisms, proverbs, and witless witticisms. Just follow the science.

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Will the Universe Give Up Its Dark Secrets?

“We’ve waited 18 years to write this paper, and we’re now making the final check.“

—Sam Ting

It’s always fun getting our hopes up. One might do well to wonder what is the anthropological value of ritual anticlimax. Or, as Jonathan Amos explains for BBC:

The scientist leading one of the most expensive experiments ever put into space says the project is ready to come forward with its first results.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was put on the International Space Station to survey the skies for high-energy particles, or cosmic rays.

Nobel Laureate Sam Ting said the scholarly paper to be published in a few weeks would concern dark matter.