This made the rounds last week, but what better way to celebrate the holidays than to ponder the beauty of our planet.
How to decorate your Christmas tree to reflect the history of the Universe (I'm totally doing this next year).
Astronomers observe supernova just 11 HOURS after it explodes!
Archive of letters sent to the Hayden Planetarium in 1950 to reserve seats for the first trip to space.
How big is Saturn really? Try this on for scale.
"Where are they now?" for historical aircraft.
You've heard of Ecotourism? Now there is EVOtourism where you can see evolution in action.
Bees communicate effectively by headbutting each other.
How would you like to get up close and personal with a family of gorillas? How about THIS close?
Footage from the world's only sloth orphanage in Costa Rica. Strangely adorable.
We aren't the only ones who like to play in the snow. Check out this fabulous photo gallery of animals frolicking in the white stuff.
Happy Holidays!
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Oh, my God. I'm sorry, but Attenborough narrating this Armstrong masterpiece is simply atrocious. So wrong. I'm experiencing flashes of Shattner...
Otherwise, it's a beautiful segment - thank you so much for sharing. Just...better watched on mute! :)
Happy Holidays! xoxo
Odd, but I was thinking the very same thing only more better bad atrocious. I was thinking of a duet.
The Mathematics of Santa entry is fascinating too, and from it I learned something I really and truly did not know and I bet few do (except the people who live there). The Jewish Autonomous Region in the Russian Far-East has a Rainbow Flag. Not like the one we commonly see but it terms of a pleasing graphic better, I think.
Very Cool.
It must be generational but I very much appreciate David Attenborough's narration. But then I remember the amazing work he did for so many years bringing the natural world to us.
One more thing: there is no way that the supernova was seen "11 hours after it exploded". It should have said that the explosion of the supernova was seen 11 hours after the earth received the light that had travelled 21 million light years.
We arent going to be seeing any supernovae 11 hours after it explodes. this one was like 21 million years and 11 hours (11 hours after it was visible would be accurate). your show should get a science adviser. The other day you talked about winter/summer and said in summer it "cozy's up" which is wrong, the seasons have very little to do with the distance from the sun. Our orbit varies by like 5mil kilometers I think. Its more about how much sunlight hits us due to the angle
The Daily Mail article that's linked to also botches the numbers.
Yes, they detected that a supernova was happening, merely 11 hours after the first evidence arrived here on Earth, said evidence having spent 21 million years or so getting here.
So if a real science geek were editing this, they'd amend the post, above.
The animals frolicking in the snow reminds me of the time I helped a friend to move to Cedar Crest, NM. I was in charge of transporting her dogs one of which was a Siberian Husky named Sasha. When we arrived at my friend's new home there was several feet of newly fallen snow surrounding the house.
Sasha had never ever seen snow before. But when he saw he it knew that's where he belonged. So as soon as I opened the door to let the dogs out Sasha bounded to the nearest snow bank. He leaped into the snow bounding in and out of the snow. Sasha leaped up then disappeared in to the snow bank again and again. I had never seen a happier dog.
Thanks, Summer! So much better than a baby in a manger.
Oh baby sloths! So cute! So...laid back!
This weeks "Week in Geek" is a wonderful Christmas gift from TRMS to all us blog addicts, thanks folks.
I love the sloths. I've got a sloth doll sitting atop my computer like a wild one in the rain forest would sit in the tree top. We slow dance to Tom Jones' "She's a Lady" after watching the Twilight Zone Marathon for New Year's and the crime thriller classic "Bound."