Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon made him famous, but his “one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind” immortalized him. Today GeekMom, NASA, America, and the entire world, lost a great man. Neil Armstrong passed away today, at the age of 82, of cardio-vascular complications after undergoing heart-bypass surgery. Armstrong lived in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Carol.
Continue ReadingIn my previous Photography Snapshot, I discussed the importance of light and how it bounces to create images. In this Snapshot we will discuss the difference between reflection and refraction, how a lens focuses light and how a lense’s focal length will impact an image.
Continue ReadingOver the next few weeks, I’m going to share a number of lessons dealing with the essentials of photography, some of the science behind the images, and products that are likely to make your pictures easier or better. This first lesson will deal with the basic properties of light and the most basic ways to capture that light. Future lessons will talk about the exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Continue ReadingMars Curiosity is scheduled to land tonight at 10:31 p.m. PDT, Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6).
Continue ReadingIf you have never been to a burlesque show, maybe now is the time to go. Still not convinced? How about if it incorporated a Ghostbusters parody, a Star Wars vs. Star Trek battle, steampunk, or maybe a zombie hunt?
Continue ReadingFriday August 3rd marked a significant milestone for three companies vying for commercial rights to manned space flight. After a year-long review of the current status of commercial manned spaceflight technology readiness, NASA awarded three grants totaling $1.1 billion to Boeing, Space X and Sierra Nevada Corp., to be paid over the next 21 months. These three companies are vigorously working to provide safe and cost-effective vehicles that can transport NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station within the next five years. The awards are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
Continue ReadingAmelia Earhart would have been 115 today had she lived through her ill-fated attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937. Earhart was the epitome of female inspiration in the face of seemingly impossible odds. While her disappearance remains a mystery, her iconic status still inspires women everywhere to break gender boundaries in pursuit of their dreams. Google has chosen to celebrate Earhart’s birthday with a Doodle befitting this impressive woman.
Continue ReadingI was nine years old when I first wanted to be an astronaut, and my first hero was Sally Ride. I looked up to her as a woman, a scientist, and an astronaut. Sally Ride’s integrity never faltered, even as a woman in a male-dominated profession for much of her career.
Continue ReadingHave you ever wondered what one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time sounds like? Wonder no longer! After the announcement of the Higgs boson discoveries last week, researcher Domenico Vicinanza immediately went to work sonifiying the data. Now that the general populous can finally hear what the Higgs boson evidence sounds like, hopefully all of us can understand the data leading to this momentous discovery. Could the mysteries of the universe be holding a waltz beat? How about a jazz rhythm? R&B? Pop? Country? Turns out the score has a distinctly latin flair, similar to a habanera beat.
Continue ReadingWhile Pluto may have been demoted to dwarf planet status, it seems that the little celestial body has plenty more secrets to share. A fifth moon was found during a July 7th infrared observation, using the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3.
Continue ReadingWelcome to the Geek Mom puzzle of the week!
Each Sunday, a new quiz will be posted and you will have until 5PM EST the following Friday to submit your answer. The kind folks over at ThinkGeek will be providing a $50 gift certificate for each week’s winner.
Continue ReadingGeekMom Puzzle of the Week: Solution and Winner!
Continue ReadingThere has been a rise in speculation from the international physics community about the contents of a press conference that has been called by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to be held at 9am Geneva time (3am EST) on July 4, 2012. Physicists expect that the announcement will be positive proof of the Higgs boson particle and a successful mission for the team. The anticipation reached a frenzied state yesterday when scientists from the Tevatron at Fermilab in Illinois announced that they had found significant supporting evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson.
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