Some Astronomical Stuff

Hi all,

Trying out this posting thing with some astronomical stuff I've found on the net, to expand on some of the things Julie showed us.

First up, NASA publishes an astronomical picture of the day, found here:

NASA

They're usually pretty cool, and they get astronomers to write out comments on each. In particular, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field is a pretty amazing example of just how big the universe is.

Finally, the real gem in mind-blowing scale is this animation:

Planetary and Stellar size comparisons

Not only is the Sun unremarkable as stars go, it's also really small compared to some of 'em! For reference, Betelgeuse (one of the stars in that comparison), a red supergiant, were in the place of our own star, the edges of it would stretch past the orbit of Mars - engulfing the Earth.

More fun with gravity

Check out this ping pong match
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dcmDscwEcI

zero gravity in theatre

While doing research before I meet with Jonathan today, I was wondering how one could vinsually emulate a person in zero gravity, maybe using strings and harnesses. I searched online and found this great use of puppetry for faking zero-g objects done by this Hong Kong theatre called Trinity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ABMge_hnNY&NR=1