Surfline gives a science lesson – The Anatomy of a Swell

Welcome to the first episode of “Anatomy of a Swell“, Surfline’s new series that dissects the science of swell events and brings the very best footage and photos to your computer, smart phone, or tablet. Our team of forecasters and scientists will break down all you could possibly want to know about a swell, including …

Happy Birthday, Richard Feynman – the best mind since Einstein

Richard Feynman — Nobel-winning physics icon, curiosity champion, graphic novel hero, bongo drummer, wager-maker, no ordinary genius — would have been 94 today (May 11). To celebrate, here is one of Feynman’s most beloved classics, a 1964 lecture in which he distills with equal parts wit and wisdom the essence of the scientific method: keep …

Biggest full moon of the year – this Saturday night!

The largest full moon of 2012 happens this Saturday, but it’s OK if you don’t really notice. The moon doesn’t really get bigger, it just gets closer to Earth. At 8:40 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, according to the Griffith Observatory Sky Report, the moon will be at its closest point in its orbit to the …

UNESCO World Heritage Map

This large format full-color map features the World Heritage sites and brief explanations of the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage conservation programmes, as well as superb photos of World Heritages sites with explanatory captions. Download the PDF version – English, French, Spanish, & Korean. Order a wall map for $15 – 31×20 inches   …

144 places to educate yourself online for free

The most extensive listing of free online education I have ever seen. Bookmarking for later. 12 dozen places to education yourself online for free All education is self-education.  Period.  It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in a college classroom or a coffee shop.  We don’t learn anything we don’t want to learn. Broken down by …

Enroll in free online in courses from top institutions – Princeton, Stanford, Michigan

Online educational marketplaces are on the rise, with tools like Udemy and Khan Academy allowing people of all ages to become an expert in any topic. New company Coursera is targeting higher education by offering university-level courses from top institutions to students all over the world, all for free. The company launched with $16 million in Series A funding and is announcing …

Do galaxies form like snowflakes? Winner of Space Lab competition to find out

The Space Lab competition from YouTube invited young scientists to submit an experiment for the chance to have it performed by NASA aboard the International Space Station. From among thousands of entrants, six regional winners have been chosen. In North America, Emerald Bresnahan of Plainville, Massachusetts, was chosen for her Snowflakes in Space experiment. Emerald …

How close does an object have to be to earth to be pulled by gravity?

Pulled from Quora, here is one of the best, and most popular, answers to a question. Written by Mark Eichenlaub, a graduate student in physics. How close does an object have to be to earth to be pulled by gravity? This question doesn’t have a direct answer because, for lack of a less-direct way of …

For delivery only – photos/video of Space Shuttle being attached to Boeing 747

At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, initial mating of space shuttle Discovery and the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is complete in the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back …