Picture of the Day: Earth Inside Saturn’s Rings

Visual by John Brady @ Astronomy Central

John Brady of Astronomy Central published an interesting post that compares objects in space with Earth and even land masses on our planet.

In the visualization above, Brady replaced the planet of Saturn with Earth to show how much larger it is, along with how massive Saturn’s rings are as well. As Brady explains:

“Saturn’s icy rings are composed of billions of particles from tiny grains right up to mountain sized chunks. The ring’s thickness is 1 kilometre, and they span around 175,000 miles (282,000 km), that’s about three quarters the distance from the Earth to the Moon.”

You can see this and several more fascinating visualizations on the original post at Astronomy Central. And if you think Saturn is big, check out this post that really puts the size of our solar system into perspective.

via John Brady @ Astronomy Central

The Largest Creatures in the Ocean [Chart]

A team of scientists led by Craig McClain have just published, “Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna“, a research paper dedicated to the review and analysis of 25 ocean giants ranging across the animal kingdom. The paper explains:

The largest living representatives of most taxa occur in the oceans… Today, these formidable species, such as blue whales and giant squids, continue to attract considerable attention from scientists, media, and the public alike. However, misconceptions about the sizes these species obtain are just as rampant in the scientific literature as the popular media… Quantitative knowledge of body size is vital as it is a significant determinant of an organism’s biological role; and size is the key underlying parameter of many allometric equations that predict a variety of physiological, anatomical, ecological, and life history parameters.

Species were chosen that frequently occur in the mainstream media and where sizes were often misreported. Additional taxa were added when data were accessible. A thorough search of the available literature was conducted to find size measurements for the species covered here.

Matthew Maxwell and Pablo Alvarez Vinagre of StudioAM used the information in the research paper to create the chart/infographic above. See here to read the full paper. To learn what inspired McClain, check out this feature by National Geographic.

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If the World Were 100 People [Infographic]

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If the World Were 100 People [Infographic]

London-based designer Jack Hagley has created an infographic based on the simple premise of: what the world would like if it were represented by 100 people. The statistics cover a broad range, including: gender, age, race and religion. You can find the original source of the data used here.

Hagley specializes in infographics. To see more be sure to check out his website for more interestingness. Prints of the above infographic are also available here.

[via Washington Post]

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Putting Our Solar System Into Perspective

This amazing graphic was created by Roberto Ziche and shows our solar system to scale. Roberto explains:

“At the Chabot Space and Science Center there were some old, poor quality images, probably downloaded from internet and printed on office paper, showing the Sun and the planets to scale. I found the images content to be extremely interesting, but the design and quality was definitely something that could have been improved. I decided to give it a try, and create a brand new, more artistic view of our solar system, poster size (36″ x 36″), and donate it to the Center to replace those old prints.

The 3D geometry was not too complex, but there was a lot of lighting experimentation to get the scene illuminated only by the Sun itself, and some time consuming multi-layer composition in Photoshop.”

Ziche has generously provided the illustration as a high-resolution download. You can find a 27.1 mb PNG version here.

The amount of ‘space’ between objects can also boggle the mind. For example, did you know you can fit all of the planets in our solar system in the space between Earth and our moon?

Lastly, check out the video below to see a comparison of our Sun compared to other large stars we have discovered.

The Largest Star Ever Discovered,
Compared To Our Sun

Two Tanks Filled with the Same Water but One has Oysters In It

Photograph by MARYLAND SEAFOOD
Website | Facebook | Twitter

In this striking visualization we see two tanks filled with water from the Honga River, an estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. The tank on the right also contains oysters. Over the course of 2 hours those oysters filtered all of the algae out of the water. The demonstration shows how effective oysters are at naturally filtering water which Maryland Seafood says benefits the entire ecosystem:

“With clearer water comes more sunlight penetration, more sea grasses, and more places for fish/crabs to hide from predators.”

Typically a single oyster can filter up to 2 gallons (7.57 litres) of water an hour. Check out the two videos below for a timelapse demonstration:

Maryland Seafood on Facebook via NoSpicyFood on reddit

In Sweden You’ll Find the World’s Largest Scale Model of the Solar System

Did you know the Sweden Solar System is the largest permanent scale model of the Solar System in the world? The Sun, represented by the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, is the largest hemispherical building in the world. The inner planets can also be found in Stockholm but the outer planets are situated northward in other cities along the Baltic Sea. The system was started by Nils Brenning and Gösta Gahm and is on the scale of 1:20 million.

Let’s start our journey at our Sun and work our way outwards.

The Sun – Globen, Stockholm
Diameter: 71 m (solar disk) + the corona

Photograph by Tage Olsin

The Globe Arena in Stockholm is the largest spherical building in the world, and it represents the Sun in the SSS. This picture shows the Globe lit by an animation, which included a sequence showing flares on the solar surface, during the inauguration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. [source]

Mercury – Stockholm’s Stadsmuseum, Slussen
Diameter: 25 cm | Distance from Globen: 2.9 km

Photograph by Joongi Kim

The model of Mercury is heated to symbolize its closeness to the Sun. Craters are depicted, and on the support structure various symbols are seen, like for the orbital drift in accordance with Einstein’s theory of relativity. [source]

Venus
Diameter: 62 cm | Distance from Globen: 5.5 km

Photograph by Joongi Kim

Seen above was the original model of Venus located at Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm. Unfortunately the model was stolen in 2011. A new model of Venus, replacing the one stolen, is temporarily placed at the Institution for Space and Plasma Physics at the Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm. [source]

Earth/Moon
Cosmonova, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm
Diameter: 65 cm /18 cm | Distance from Globen: 7.6 km

Photograph by Joongi Kim

The models of our planet Earth and the Moon are located outside the entrance of the space theatre Cosmonova at the Natural History Museum (in the ticket hall). [source]

Mars – Mörby centrum
Diameter: 35 cm | Distance from Globen: 11.6 km

Photograph by Vincnetas

Mars is connected to a plate in steel symbolizing the Earth. Chemical symbols for common compounds on Mars can be found on the sphere. [source]

Jupiter – Arlanda airport
Diameter: 7.3 m | Distance from Globen: 40 km

Photograph via astro.su.se

Jupiter was previously represented by an arrangement of flowers outside Sky City at Arlanda Airport. Plans for a new 3D model at another location are advancing. [source]

Saturn – Uppsala
Diameter: 6.1 m | Distance from Globen: 73 km

Photograph by Bengt Oberger

The planet Saturn will eventually crown a school planetarium in Uppsala. However, a first step was taken in 2010 when an artistic model of the moon Titan was inaugurated in central Uppsala at the Celsius House, where the 18th century astronomer Anders Celsius worked. In addition, several Saturn moons have been given form by pupils in school classes in the area. [source]

Uranus – Lövstabruk
Diameter: 2.6 m | Distance from Globen: 146 km

Photograph by melvinandjohan.wordpress.com

A symbolic and playful outdoor model of Uranus was inaugurated in Oct 2012 in Lövstabruk south of Gävle. The model was built in steel by Forsmark Mechanical Workshop at the Forsmark nuclear plant located close to Lövstabruk, and where the element Uranium plays an important role. The unusual tilt of Uranus’ axis is marked. [source]

Neptune – Söderhamn
Diameter: 2.5 m | Distance from Globen: 229 km

Photograph by Annika64

A sculpture of an asteroid discovered by A. Brandeker in 2000 with a telescope at the Stockholm Observatory, now ”Kunskapsskolan”, was unveiled in 2010. The object was named “Saltis”, after the nickname of Saltsjöbaden. [source]

Pluto – Delsbo
Diameter: 12 cm – Distance from Globen: 300 km

Photograph by Paul Schlyter

Pluto and Charon are supported by two tomb-like pillars reminding of the mythological meaning of Pluto (Hades), the god of the underworld. One can also be reminded of the meteorite impact that took place here 90 million years ago, when all life became extinct over a large area, and from which the Dellen lake system formed. Pluto is not classified as a planet anymore. It is a dwarf planet. [source]

Asteroid Saltis – Kunskapsskolan, Saltsjöbaden
Diameter: less than 1 mm | Distance from Globen: 17 km

Photograph by Bengt Oberger

A sculpture of an asteroid discovered by A. Brandeker in 2000 with a telescope at the Stockholm Observatory, now ”Kunskapsskolan”, was unveiled in 2010. The object was named “Saltis”, after the nickname of Saltsjöbaden. [source]

Halley’s comet – Balthazar, Skövde
Diameter: several depictions | Distance from Globen: 260 km

Photograph by Jeanette Sandh

Comet Halley was inaugurated at the science centre Balthazar in Skövde on December 2009. Halley is represented by three outdoor models inspired by drawings made by school children. [source]

Ixion – Technichus, Härnösand
Diameter: 6.5 cm | Distance from Globen: 360 km

Photograph by Anders Sandberg

Ixion is one of the largest minor planets discovered by a team including Swedish scientists. The model is shown in the science centre Technicus in Söderhamn. [source]

Sedna – Teknikens hus, Luleå
Distance from Globen: 912 km

Photograph by Dag Lindgren

The model of the dwarf planet Sedna, created by Arto Koskitalo, was inaugurated in 2005 at the science centre ”Teknikens Hus” located in Luleå in northern Sweden, not far from the arctic circle. In arctic mythology, Sedna represented the ”goddess of the frozen sees” from where she supplied the Eskimos with seals and whales. Sedna is comparable to Pluto in size, and belongs to a distant swarm of minor planets called the Kuiper Belt. [source]

The termination shock – Institutet för rymdfysik, Kiruna
Diameter: N/A | Distance from Globen: 950 km

Photograph by Dag Lindgren

The distant interface between the solar wind and the surrounding galactic gas, the terminal shock, has been manifested in Kiruna. A future sculpture is envisioned to express this phenomenon reminiscent of aurorae frequently seen in northern Sweden. [source]

The Sweden Solar System

Photograph by Einarspetz

This is What Sound Looks Like

Adam Cole is the science fanatic behind NPR’s popular science blog Skunk Bear. In a recent post, Cole wondered if he could use a technique known as Schlieren Flow Visualization to see sound.

The answer was a resounding YES! And the video below shows the fascinating results. Also included: a diagram of how Schlieren Flow Visualization works and animated gifs (from the video) that show what different sounds look like.

[via Skunk Bear]

How the Schlieren Flow Visualization Works

Diagram by Adam Cole @ Skunk Bear

Seeing Sound with Animated Gifs

Clapping Hands

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

A Firecracker

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

A Falling Book

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

Whipping a Frayed Towel

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

A Speaker (10Hz tone over 100 decibels)

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

A Gunshot (bullet faster than speed of sound!)

Schlieren images by Mike Hargather

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What 200 Calories of Various Foods Looks Like

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This is What 200 Calories of Various Everyday Foods Looks Like

The fine folks at wiseGEEK put together a fascinating list of 71 food items and how much of each equals 200 calories. All foods were shot using the same dinner plate, which measures 10.25 inches (26 cm) in diameter; and the same bowl (if necessary), with a diameter of 6.25 inches (16cm).

This list should not be viewed as guide for what to eat to reach your recommended daily caloric intake as other nutritional values like fat, sodium, cholesterol, protein and carbohydrates are all important considerations when determining your diet.

It’s more of an interesting visual exercise than anything. Be sure to check out the entire list at wiseGEEK for more.