Today the planet Mars is directly opposite the Sun, as Earth lines up exactly between both objects. Mars is currently retrograding in apparent sky motion relative to background stars, as Earth catches up with the slower orbiting planet. Our closest proximity is reached May 30. By then, Mars is vivid, appearing about as bright as Jupiter for the first time in a decade. With its rusty color, views of the “red” planet shouldn’t be missed.
Electron microscope video of a needle on a vinyl record.
Two incredible things:
1. This was much harder to make than it looks! To achieve this resolution with an electron microscope, it took 10 seconds to capture each frame of this “video.” The traditional 30 frames per second video was impossible. Instead, this is stop motion - like those Wallace and Gromit cartoons. Ben Krasnow of the youtube channel Applied Science took a picture, moved the record slightly, then took another image and on and on. Because electron microscopes can’t image electrical insulators, he had to coat the whole thing with a thin, thin layer of silver. You can watch the whole process in this video.
2. This gif not only shows us what a record looks like up close - it’s a visualization of the vibrations that make a song! If you took those wavy shapes into a digital player, you could actually hear the song being played.
Went to NY Hall of Science yesterday for Open House NY to see a preview of Ennead Architecture’s restoration of the Great Hall - reopening April 2015. Originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair.
