David Almandsmith Recently your SciSchmooze has come all too often with ‘cosmic’ images: Sunday’s lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse by Phobos, low temperatures of the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s image of Earendel, etc., etc. This week i was planning on an image of something closer to home, but along came the image of the supermassive black hole that … Read more
Hello again, dear reader, Of all the unexpected phenomena in our unfathomable universe, ambergris shat by sperm whales rates pretty high. A lump the size of a Costco muffin could sell for thousands of dollars – if it had floated in the ocean for a long time. Bafflingly, the stinky excrement is used in high-end perfumes. A surprising situation 70 … Read more
It was in Lesotho, Africa in 1968 when Ashton-Martin Moejane and i reached Maletsunyane Falls on horseback. There wasn’t much water in the stream that plunged 630 feet to a rocky pool below. We dismounted our horses, and tied their reins to a stubby bushes. Ashton walked right up to the precipice edge with no … Read more
Although dawn was merely a suggestion in early morning darkness, i woke to sounds of cheery banter and laughter as men and women greeted each other in my end of Hamahlong village. Thatched roofs aren’t sound proof. I turned over – a challenge in a tub-shaped torture device masquerading as a bed – and put … Read more
Submitted by David Almandsmith Mon, 04-04-2022 : 04:51 Dear friend of science and reality, Thank you for putting up with my bent on reality. Today i’m starting out on the topic of ‘Space’ since the above photo is so amazing, but don’t miss the section on ‘Optimism’. SPACE The mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope are currently … Read more
Hello again, faithful follower of science, It’s been a stressful week for the world. I made a small donation to UNICEF. I trust you are also doing what’s right. Now for science: CLIMATE CHANGE The United Nations report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,” was released last week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change … Read more
Hello again, dear commendably curious person, NASA just announced that the ISS will be ‘deorbited’ in January 2030 using three Russian rockets, and that future space stations will be built and operated by private industry. NASA just released this somewhat premature In Memoriam. Where are the burning pieces of the ISS going to land? At Point Nemo, … Read more
Hello again dear science aficionados, Whew! The James Webb Space Telescope, JWST, folded open and made it to its destination orbit with no glitches. During the next few months, its 18 primary mirrors – each 1.3m across – will be wiggled and warped to become a single ‘perfect’ telescope mirror using wavefront sensing and control algorithms – … Read more
Greetings dear science-aware reader, I’ve always liked illustrations of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. They look so lithe and strong, evoking visions of pelagic ballerinas with the lethality of a T Rex. The fossilized head above came from Cymbospondylus youngorum, an especially large (15-meter-long) ichthyosaur. I wonder whether, unlike Great White Sharks, they would have found humans palatable. ¿And what … Read more
5 Dec 2021 Welcome Dear Reader, I’m sitting in the comfort of an RV with near-freezing temperatures outside (elevation 2,100 m) as i write this SciSchmooze missive. The RV park has WiFi so it’s much like working from home. Here are a few observations you may find interesting. ONE: Renewable energy generation is obvious out in … Read more