Interstellar Crashes could throw out Habitable Planets
Our solar system, where planets have a range of sizes and move in near-circular paths, may be rather unusual, according to a German-British team led by Professor Pavel Kroupa of the University of Bonn. The astronomers, who publish their model in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, find that forming planetary systems may be knocked around by crashes with nearby clumps of material, leading to systems where planets have highly inclined orbits and where the smaller (and potentially habitable) worlds are thrown out completely.
BASE jumping in Norway
This composite image shows a member of the UK ProBASE team jumping from Kjerag, Exit 6, in Norway. Photographer Darren Birkin
Hurricane Irene: one of 10 costliest catastrophe
The hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm before landing in NYC, left at least 28 dead in its path this weekend, and damages could reach $7 billion, making it one of America’s 10 costliest catastrophes. Most of the losses are likely to come from damage in New York and New Jersey, two states with some of the most valuable beach front property along the Atlantic.
Anthropocene Mapping
This video is based on the map experiments I have done to illustrate the Anthropocene. It shows several features of our global civilization: cities, built environment, transmission lines, pipelines, main paved and unpaved roads and railways.
Good morning from orbit
On Sat., Aug. 27, 2011, International Space Station Astronaut Ron Garan pointed an HD camera out a window of the Cupola to film one of the sixteen sunrises astronauts see each day. This sunrise image shows the rising sun as the International Space Station flew along a path between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Image Credit: NASA
UrbanTiles uses sun power for light
Designer Meidad Marzan has come up with such a product, which can help buildings flaunt their green style using the power of the sun. The designer’s creation, dubbed UrbanTiles, is included with photovoltaic panels that harvest energy during daytime to light up OLEDs after dark.
Hyundai Concept Motorcycle
This concept motorbike was made by Min Seong Kim. The whole body is made up of materials that stretch and contract just like your muscles do and enables steering without any kind of assistive apparatus.
Couples in bed spend more time with laptop
Couples are spending more time looking at their laptops in the bedroom than they do looking at each other. According to the Ikea-funded study people have become much too attached to their laptops, to the point that they’ve started taking them to bed when they should be cuddling.
Bloom in the Barents Sea
Brilliant shades of blue and green explode across the Barents Sea in this natural-color image taken on August 14, 2011, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. The color was created by a massive bloom of phytoplankton that are common in the area each August.
Thor’s Hammer in sunrise
The photo above features Thor’s Hammer as observed in the morning light at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. Watching the sunrise over the Bryce Canyon formations is an indescribable experience. Photographer: John Stetson
