Good space week

[andygates]

It's a week for teh awesome in space.  First the Boston Globe's Big Picture - the series that brought us those awesome shots of the LHC - does the same deal on the Sun.  There are some really jaw-dropping images in there, full-on boiling atomic awe. 

Then we get some sexy probing, with Cassini taking a close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus (not Enchilada).  How close?  25 kilometres close.  The main aim of the flyby was to scoop up some of the water-ice plumes - which they did - but while they were at it they got some very nice photos of Enceladus's icy surface.  That's a ball with liquid water inside, with a water-ice crust.  Well, we've got to find somewhere to put the polar bears, right?

Space bears!  That would be so cool. 

But even without the space bears, liquid water and a liminal zone just reeks of the potential for life as we know it.  I don't think Cassini can sniff for biomarkers but if it finds anything sexy, more probes will doubtless be forthcoming.

Finally, the folks at SpaceX took their successful Falcon 1 flight and put it to some Crystal Method.  It's beautifully done, and feels like watching some new Rez release or maybe Spaceflight Hero.  Dont tell me you haven't wanted to blast off in time with music!

If I was a dotcom bazillionaire, this is how I'd spend my money, on blue-sky super-cool space stuff.  Elon Musk, you have the best toys.  Well, you and Branson.

Comments

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Well, we don't have any native bears - the closest we've got are badgers - so I guess we have to import a bear and the polar bear is cool.

Plus Fox's Glacier Mints. That sort of thing just sets an archetype.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Mmm, rum and drop bears, two great tastes that go great together.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Is that post or pre-Pratchett's "Last Continent"?

[skean.livejournal.com]

Ah, but 'drop bears' are a particular feature of one of his novels you see.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

He's riffing on an old Australian tall tale. So are the Bundy rum advertisers...

...is that rum and coke, or do those cans actually contain fizzy neat rum? :o

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

I just got me a new desktop wallpaper.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Thought you might like some of those.