Earth’s Cousins Orbiting a Distant Star
The CoRoT space mission has recently confirmed two Super Earth Planets. Much smaller than the usual exoplanets which are gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, these planets likely have rocky surfaces with large bodies of water. Environmental Graffiti gives the lowdown on these incredible new cosmic discoveries. Could life exist elsewhere in the galaxy?
Continue reading...First Images Seen Through Hubble’s New Lens
Monday, September 14, 2009
As reported on Environmental Graffiti in May, 2009, NASA's Service Mission 4 to the Hubble Space Telescope was a huge success. The first photographs are back from the latest edition of the Wide Field Camera (3) and they are simply stunning! Settle back to be blown away once again by the beauty in our universe...
Continue reading...Take Your Brahman Bull to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Did you ever wonder how to get your Brahman bull from Kansas to Tulsa, Oklahoma? We decided to examine the lineage of the Brahman bull in America, uncovering the ancient religious significance of this often under appreciated animal.
Continue reading...The North Pacific Gyre: 100 Million Tons of Garbage and Growing
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
From tiny nurdles to objects weighing several pounds, plastic pollution in the North Pacific Gyre is at least 100 million tons and continues to grow at an alarming rate. Nonetheless, there are effective personal and political actions that can impact this crisis. This far-reaching post tells the sobering story of the Great Pacific Garbage Dump that is already at least twice the size of Texas.
Continue reading...Rare Photo of 1840s American Steam Locomotive
Friday, August 14, 2009
Photographs of American steam locomotives taken before 1860 are rare. An early design for a passenger locomotive in the United States was the 4-2-0 wheel arrangement shown in this photograph and known as the 'Jervis'. This snapshot of the 1840s Jervis locomotive at a waterfront railroad station offers a fascinating glimpse of the past.
Continue reading...The Largest Temple Complex in Polynesia
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The largest temple complex in Hawaii and Polynesia is a huge, stone, multi-terraced structure that was built on a cliff summit at the ocean's edge on Maui. Begun in the 13th century, expansion of this complex on a huge scale was done in the 16th Century by King Pi'ilani who unified all of Maui and then established his royal court on the east end of the island.
Continue reading...The British Man of War
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
An exceptionally scarce, detailed print of an 18th Century First Rate Ship of Line affords the opportunity to ruminate on these immense battleships of the past. Carrying over 90 cannons and roughly 800 men, such behemoths of the high seas stand for a time when the colonial tendrils of the British Empire gripped the world, largely through the military might of the British Navy.
Continue reading...The Four Train Collision of 1891
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Shortly after dawn on the foggy morning of December 4, 1891, East Thompson, Connecticut witnessed the only four-train train wreck in the history of the United States. Within a matter of minutes, two freight trains collided head on, and then a third passenger train smashed into the debris of that wreck. Unbelievably, a fourth passenger train soon arrived and slammed into debris of the three previous train collisions. Incredible! Here is the story.
Continue reading...Stonehenge As Seen in 1867
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Photographs of Stonehenge were published in 1867 by England's Ordnance Survey under the auspices of Colonel Sir Henry James. He was a strong believer that photography should be a major tool for mapping and survey work. The shots shown here provide a glimpse of the photographic capabilities of the 19th Century while offering an opportunity to reflect on the chronology of a truly iconic landmark.
Continue reading...When Death Finds You at 30,000 Feet…
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
If jet aircraft engines fail at high altitude and everyone is staring at Death, there is a last resort power backup that often can save the aircraft and everyone on board. The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) can provide enough emergency power to the aircraft so that it can glide to a safe landing many miles away. Fasten your seatbelts as we take off on a journey that will tell you everything you needed to know about the RAT – and more.
Continue reading...
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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