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Tag Archives: space
The Shape of the Universe (part 1): the Hypersphere
I will begin with the only hard fact I have on this topic: Nobody knows the structure or form of the universe. It’s debatable whether or not we will ever be able to know with any certainty. Still, the scientific process marches on. We observe the available evidence, and make intelligent guesses. One fundamental question [...]
FACT: The universe laughs at your concept of sitting still
Please put your desk chairs in the full upright and locked position. We’re not expecting any turbulence, but as we sit we are moving at an astronomical speed… literally. You and I are little blobs of stuff (and no, I’m not calling you fat) stuck like bubble gum to the side of earth. It feels [...]
FACT: the days of the week are named after planets and gods
It’s Tuesday! But we came very close to calling this “Marsday” instead of Tuesday. Originally, in the ancient civilizations of Babylon, Greece, and Rome, each day of the week was named for the planets. At the time there were seven planets visible to the naked eye; Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon and the [...]
FACT: all the gold on earth came from outer space
The golden rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules… which means we should prepare to bow down to our alien overlords with da’ bling. Gold does not naturally occur anywhere here on earth. It arrived here as the planet was formed from a cloud of space dust. The gold itself having been forged [...]
FACT: Half a million bits of space junk zip around earth at 25,000 km/h
NASA keeps track of space junk, “orbital debris” in fancy-talk, which is basically the litter that floats around the earth. The first ever bit of junk sent up there was Sputnik, which served it’s purpose the exact second it entered orbit. (mission: to scare the bejeebus out of the Americans) Other junk includes more inactive [...]
FACT: Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” was actually a 3.5 foot drop
When Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins (AKA: The guy who stayed on the ship and is pretty much always forgotten in the history books… except for maybe Irish history… but then that’s a different Michael Collins) set out for the moon, they were on a mission. A mission to create a ton of [...]
The Shape of the Universe (part 2): Infinity and Beyond