Tuesday 29 September 2015

Liquid Water on Mars

Interesting discoveries, which will lead to interesting new inventions.  It's amazing how inspiring a dark streak on Mars could be:  The possibility of alien life, new robots which have greater precision and accuracy... humans visiting our red neighbour... and from there?
Maybe some dark streaks have kickstarted the possibility of our interstellar civilisation! :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34395569

Thursday 24 September 2015

Renewable Energy

I can hear the wind turbines thumping.  Thrum.  Thrum.  Thrum.  Day and night they turn.  Sometimes I imagine what they look like, picturing them just on the other side of my wall; the blades sweeping past just centimetres from my ear.  Sometimes I think they’re far away; barely seen ghosts, hazy through the clouds which cling to a distant hilltop.
The thumping rhythm has driven more than one person mad.  I hear them screaming for the turbines to stop; pleading to be taken away.  But not me; for me they are the only thing keeping me sane.
My world is rust-streaked concrete, congealed cold porridge and a single buzzing light which flickers but refuses to ever go out.  The wind turbines are the only thing that I know exists beyond these walls.  If ever they stopped, would I even believe that there is an outside?

I’ll see them one day.  I’ll count the pillars, feel the air brushing past my skin.  But for now all I can do is close my eyes and listen to them turn.

Friday 18 September 2015

The solar system

"Space is big.  Really big.  You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.  I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's  just peanuts to space." - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This is a beautiful video showing just how big our solar system is.  Well worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR3Igc3Rhfg&feature=youtu.be