trampstampandtheflyingvaginas:
The Sun and Inner Planets Moving Through Space
In space, no one can hear you sneeze.
Though astronauts have been flying above the Earth for more than half a century, researchers are still working to understand the medical toll that space takes on travelers’ bodies and minds. Astronauts must deal with a highly stressful environment, as well as weakening bones and muscles and the ever-present dangers of radiation. If people are ever to venture far from our home planet, such obstacles will need to be overcome.
Humans are adapted to living with the constant pull of the Earth’s gravity. Astronauts may seem carefree while floating around in the weightless environment aboard rockets and space stations. But like teenagers, their bodies experience all sorts of awkward changes. Some of the long-term problems, such as bone loss and radiation exposure, seem to put the kibosh on plans for regular interplanetary travel, at least for now. But medical researchers at places like the National Space Biomedical Research Institute are looking for ways to counteract and cure these ailments.
In this gallery, Wired takes a look at some of the curious, bizarre, and potentially dangerous ways that space affects the human body and mind.
Voyager 1: The Little Spacecraft That Could
Voyager 1, the spacecraft that launched on a tour of the solar on Sept. 5, 1977, is getting ready to enter interplanetary space.
The spacecraft’s journey started in 1966 when Gary Flandro, then a graduate student working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discovered that the planets were about to align. Not just for him, but for the whole solar system.
Image: Artist’s rendering of Voyager 2 in the outer regions of the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble around the solar system generated by the solar wind. Credit: NASA
Ready for the Last Venus Transit Until 2117?
Astronomer Mark Thompson gives some quick advice on how and where you can see next week’s historic Venus transit.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8OiXKwdWMk?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&wmode=opaque&w=250&h=187]
Crude Spanner – In Space No One Can Hear You Say Good Morning
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Enterprise over the Hudson, NYC. Taken by our very own Multimedia Producer Andrew Maclean.
Happy birthday, you beautiful little machine
To celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope this month, episode 54 of the Hubblecast gives a slideshow of some of the best images from over two decades in orbit, set to specially commissioned music.
“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.” – Edwin Hubble
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSv5383Dpvs?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&wmode=opaque&w=250&h=187]
Apollo 11 – Launch
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