Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
This time-lapse video shows the Earth from the perspective of the International Space Station. European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst took a large number of photos during his six-month Blue Dot mission on the station.
Check out the video of our home.
For more on the the video, head over to Salon.
Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Erik Wernquist, a digital artist and animator from Sweden, has created a stunning video showing the future of space exploration called Wanderers. The video depicts real places in our Solar System, using digital effects to create what they might look like.
Take the tour, using narration from the late Carl Sagan, to see what future generations might get to see for real.
The Carl Sagan narration is taking from the astronomer’s reading of his book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
What do you think of Wanderers? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
The European Space Agency released a short science fiction film, Ambition, to promote its upcoming real Rosetta probe. The ESA hopes the unusual tactic will help explain to the general public the purpose of the mission, which is a study of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In November, they will put a small robot on to the surface of the ice comet to analyze it.
The film, which runs less than seven minutes, stars Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Aisling Franciosi. Check out Ambition and learn more about the Rosetta probe.
Ambition was filmed in Iceland, and it initially screened in London on October, 24 2014 during the British Film Institute’s sci-fi program, Days of Fear and Wonder. For more on the making of the film, check out this video.
Did the ESA come up with a good way to teach science? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Voyager 1, launched from earth in 1977 and powered by plutonium, has now left the solar system. Or as NASA puts it, “Voyager goes interstellar.” NASA believes that the spacecraft escaped the solar system and the sun’s gravitational pull more than a year ago, actually, but only now does it have the evidence to confirm that belief. The probe began its travels studying our neighbors and now it will continue radioing back information to earth about its new discoveries. If you want the full explanation, check out the video below.
I remember the hoopla when Voyager 1 began its journey. Carl Sagan appeared on TV shows talking about the probe and a golden record on board. A committee chaired by Sagan created a record disc to go with the ship. The record included images, diagrams, voices, and music for the event that alien beings might one day discover this distant traveler far way from its home. I owned and read Sagan’s book about the record, Murmurs of Earth, although long ago I lost track of what happened to the book.
The contents of the record caused some debate. The committee believed it was important to illustrate human reproduction for any aliens, but NASA objected to using nude photos. So, instead, the record featured human silhouettes illustrating a fetus in the woman’s womb.
The other controversial aspect of the record was the inclusion of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” Carl Sagan originally did not like the idea but he eventually was happy they included the song. Reportedly, folk music collector Alan Lomax objected to the inclusion of Berry’s song because rock music had not been around that long and was thus “adolescent.” Sagan responded with the defense, “There are a lot of adolescents on the planet,’”
The probe itself worked its way into popular culture as it was referenced in TV and movies. A few years after the launch, I recall recognizing Voyager when it played a key role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Although the movie actually used a fictional “Voyager 6,” this “Vger” still looked like the Voyager I remembered.
Go Voyager go.
Photo: via NASA (Public Domain). NASA Video from
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology.
What music would you put on a record for aliens? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
In an upcoming short film, Continuum, Planetery Collective interviews former astronauts who reflect on their unique experiences traveling to space and returning to earth. Check out this overview of the film.
What do you think of the video? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)