Tag: Earth
-
The evolution of the Spacesuit: History, Layers, Functionality
As spacesuit design continues to become thinner, more intricate, and more dynamic — there are touchscreen-sensitive gloves, an attached helmet, and built-in ventilation in the latest uniform — it’s worth looking at how both US and Russian spacesuits have evolved over time. Start by looking at the original suit (the Marshmallow Moon-Suit) designed for the moon mission…
-
Sunset from Mars: Why the Mars sunset is blue
NASA’s Curiosity Rover photographed this view of the sun setting from its 956th Martian day on Mars. Notice that the sunset from Mars appears blue. The above image actually consists of a sequence of four images captured over a span of 6 minutes, 51 seconds. Check out the full GIF below. Said Mark Lemmon of…
-
Meet the Eye of Earth, Croatia’s Cetina Cave Spring
The Eye of Earth is a karst spring located in Croatia’s Mount Dinara Nature Park. The lake has a unique blend of blue and emerald-green colors. Its elliptical shape makes it look like a dragon’s eye from above. The small body of water is the primary source of the Cetina River, which flows from the…
-
Turkmenistan’s Darvaza gas crater, the ‘door to hell’
The Darvaza gas crater, commonly known as the Gates of Hell or Door to Hell, is an extraordinary geological formation. Located in Turkmenistan, this natural gas field collapsed into an underground cavern due to a drilling mishap. Soviet engineers set the 230-foot hole on fire while exploring for gas in 1971. The ground beneath the…
-
The edge of the Earth: Australia’s Nullarbor Cliffs
What looks like the end of the Earth is really just the end of Australia: what’s known as Nullarbor Cliffs. The Bunda Cliffs, as the Nullarbor Cliffs are also called, are located in Southern Australia on the Nullarbor Plain. The terrain of the Nullarbor Plain is so flat that the Trans Australian Railway spans a…
-
Rare Rainbow Waterfall at Yosemite National Park
Said the “Father of the National Parks“ of America’s national parks John Muir, “Most people are on the world, not in it.” His advocacy helped protect the Yosemite Valley and ultimately led to the establishment of Yosemite National Park. The video of the rainbow waterfall by landscape photographer Greg Harlow at Yosemite (see below) is just one of the many…
-
NASA and ESA capture closest images of the sun ever taken
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have snapped the closest pictures ever taken of the sun. The images, taken nearly 48 million miles away from the sun’s surface by the Solar Orbiter probe (launched February 9), reveal countless tiny flares which scientists have called “campfires.” Scientists hope that these never-before seen exterior shots will…
-
Views of the Super Pink Moon from around the world
Miss the ‘Super Pink Moon’ rise on Wednesday? We’ve got you covered. The pink moon is the largest full moon of the year and occurs when the moon gets in close proximity to Earth, making it appear 7% larger and 15% brighter than the average full moon. The Super Pink Moon isn’t really pink The…
-
What the northern lights look like from a U-2 spy plane at 70,000ft.
U-2 pilot and instructor and avid photographer Ross Franquemont took these snaps of the spectacular aurora borealis — or, northern lights, while flying the legendary U-2 spycraft. “I had no idea how fast the aurora moved and changed. It danced around, changing shape several times a second. That made it a challenge for the photographer…