Space, It's a Gas, Gas, Gas

Moons Aplenty

4 of Saturn's moons in one Hubble image.

The Saturn moons, from far left to right, are the white icy moons Enceladus and Dione, the large orange moon Titan, and icy Mimas. Due to the angle of the Sun, they are each preceded by their own shadow. (Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

Collision

400-million light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus.

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope offers a rare view of an imminent collision between the cores of two merging galaxies, each powered by a black hole with millions of times the mass of the sun.

Made It

Shuttle docks with space station. (NASA-live video.)

What a world. I watched the docking from NASA, with my computer, on HDTV, and used image capture to post a picture, here on my blog, seen around the planet.

What a world.

"You're a fine looking woman, Major Yurovic."

I have been writing and recording songs for the Space Station 1 Suite. I am pretty close to the way I want the love song to go, so I put a version up on myspace. When one posts a song, they ask for a picture, so I drew this little cartoon. If you want to hear this song and a few others in the Global Music Project, you can click, HERE.


Scrabble Gets 3 New Words

A trio of words -- one that's slang for pizza, another defined as a body's vital life force and a third referring to a snoring sound -- have conspired to change the game of Scrabble.
"Za," "qi" and "zzz" were added recently to the game's official word list for its original English-language edition.

Nano Muscles

Lighter than air material made of Nano Tubes.

Called, "aerogel", nanotubes are used to make a lighter than air substance that expands and contracts when an electric charge is applied. FULL STORY.

The new carbon nanotube aerogel is so light that one piece, spread over an entire acre, would weigh one ounce.

Despite its extreme lightness, it's no featherweight. Pushed in one direction, the nanotube part of the muscle becomes stronger than stainless steel. When pulled at a right angle, however, the aerogel in the muscle becomes more elastic than rubber.

Spread Your Wings

Unfolding the final solar panels.

The Space Station can now operate at full power after the last set of solar panels were unfurled. The panels had been tightly folded and stored in a box for years awaiting a trip to space to be deployed. They were a little stiff to unfold, but with patience and physical encouragement, they are fully stretched and operational.

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
(And Video)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Thanks to my neighbor, Jo Anna, for sending me this entertaining and instructive video.

Be Amazed