Breathtaking, Bewildering Beauty

The cosmos; a place full of mystery which man has appreciated and integrated into our world since the beginning of time. Here are some incredible pictures sourced from the web gallery of NASA. 

This image shows an incredibly rare occurance. It may look like a collision of cosmos; however it is simply a chance alignment between galaxies from our perspective here on Earth; although the galaxies appear to be colliding, they are actually tens of millions of light years apart.

The Veil Nebula is one of the largest and most mesmerising remnants of a Supernova in the sky. A Supernova is an explosion; a spectacular death of a star. 

This image depicts the Great Globular cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest star clusters in the Northern Sky. 

JOUR1111 Review

I found this course very informative, and actually quite fun. I learned a lot of essential background information regarding journalism and journalism practices, and I have enjoyed producing media and texts of my own. I feel I have gained invaluable experience from this course, and learned skills which will assist me throughout the rest of my career.

I must admit, my first impressions of my course (Bachelor of Journalism and Communications) were not all that flashy. I felt like in order to be a successful journalist, I was going to have to learn how to handle a lot of rejection, and learn how to be persistent like I've never had to before. I wasn't sure if I had what it takes. And to be honest, I'm still not sure. But I know that I want to try - journalism has been an important part of society since the beginning of time - technically, we document the workings and events of the world in our time - information that will be carried on throughout the ages. I could think of nothing I'd rather do with my life than take part in this process, in the most meaningful way I can.

I feel this course will help me to grow and learn how to uphold the integrity and quality of journalism in the future with the work that I do. I might even have the chance to help a few people, maybe even change a few lives in the process. I know it's going to be the hardest thing I'll ever do, but becoming successful in a journalism career in the future, is something I won't give up on working to achieve. 

Why Haven't We Been Back to the Moon?

Why haven't we been back to the moon? Is it time for another manned exploration of this wonderous place? I think so. 

Man has not stepped foot on the moon since 1972, despite initial dreams of moon bases and lunar colonies. The development of such things would be a costly and timely endeavour, but some researchers belive it would be a fruitful one. A paper was recently submitted to the journal of Planetary and Space Science by researchers from the UK, Germany and The Netherlands, outlining the scientific importance and possible benefits of future lunar surface missions. The Moon is an important element of our planet, and there is much still to be investigated about the relationship between the Moon and Earth. Moon exploration would also give us new information about the possible workings of other rocky planets in our solar system. 

So why haven't we been back after all this time? Perhaps there is something scientists aren't telling us about the things they found on the moon..

Conspiracy theories are always fun.

What do you think?

Ancient Astronomical Computer

Above: The Antikythera mechanism.

This mysterious magical mechanism was salvaged in 1900 from a shipwreck found in the Mediterranean Sea, near the island of Antikythera. It is thought to have been built around 150 - 100BC. The bronze device containing 30 gears, the main front dial of which was once embellished with engravings of the 365 day Egyptian calendar year, as well as the Greek signs of the Zodiac. Researchers theorise that it's developers may have drawn upon theories from ancient Greek astronomers, leading them to believe it was some sort of astronomical computer. But whom it was built for, or exactly why, will remain forever a mystery. However, it is another fascinating example of the incredible intelligence of the people who roamed the Earth well before us.

Click here to read more. 

Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb

I have always had a keen interest in the fascinatingly peculiar ways of the ancient Egyptians. So when I heard this exhibition was coming to town, I could not wait to go. Featured at the Queensland Museum in Southbank, the Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition has been running since April, and will finish it's time in Brisbane on August 19. And believe me, it is a phenomena not to be missed, especially if the mysteries of ancient Egypt have ever appealed to you.

Originating from the British Museum in London, this exhibition features over 100 ancient artifacts and showcases a spectacular 3D film revealing the life of an Egyptian priest, Nesperennub, who lived around 3000 years ago. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the 3D - it has definitely improved since the days of the old red and blue glasses. 

As for the objects on exhibition themselves, I could have reveled in their wonder for hours. There were four human mummies, and various animal mummies - which led me to question the mentality of the Egyptians underpinning the view that some animals were more sacred than some humans; I don't believe it is right, but I don't believe it is wrong either - it simply bewilders me. The whole idea of mummification seems entirely strange these days, but to them it was a way of life. It was what they honestly believed would help them achieve peace after death (a concept that every culture and religion strives to define), and I find this weird and wonderful all at the same time.
There were also intricately designed amulets, precisely constructed statues and figurines and even some pages from the Book of the Dead (an ancient text that contains many magic spells focused on assisting a dead person's journey through the afterlife), among many things. 

Timed ticketed entry is required for all sessions, and I would recommend pre-booking as it has proved to be quite popular, and even still most sessions will be sold out before they are due. 

You could even make a night of it - The Mummy: After Dark sessions are a fresh fusion of music, movie fun and food & drink delights. 

I believe the intelligence and power of the ancient Egyptians goes far beyond out current understanding, however, this exhibition offers a tantalising taste of some of the things we do know about their civilisation - I suggest you don't miss out. 

Asteroid to pass by Earth today

An asteroid discovered by Rob McNaught and his colleagues earlier this week (June 11/12) is due to pass Earth today - about 11.10pm UTC. 

The asteroid, 2012 LZI, is about 500m wide, and will sneak past Earth at a distance of 5.3 billion kilometers. Unfortunately, in Australian time the asteroid isn't due to pass until about 10am tomorrow, so we will all miss out on the show. Oh well, maybe next time!

Above: Asteroid 2012 LZI floating through space on June 13. 

Universal discovery

Gravity; the one thing in this universe that everyone could once upon a time agree, was a constant. 

Not anymore. 

Because you see, if our understanding of gravity were correct, the rate of expansion of the universe following the big bang should be slowing down as time goes on. But it is not slowing down. It is accelerating, increasingly. 

This has recently been proved by three American astronomers, warranting them winners of last year's Nobel-Prize in physics. Their observations of the phenomena of supernovae (exploding stars) indicated that the rate of universe expansion is indeed continually accelerating. 

Above: Adam G. Riess, Saul Perlmutter and Brian P Schmidt - 2011 Physics Nobel Prize winners.

And the culprit causing this strange universal acceleration? Physicists suspect it is the mysterious force appropriately named dark energy.

So, what might be the long term effects of this discovery mean for the human race? 

These questions are ones that American scientists have longed to be able to answer for some time now - an answer which could lie with a further understanding of the complex concept of dark energy. However it appears the American's have been too late in launching their investigations into dark energy - the Europeans are already on it. They plan to launch a spacecraft known as Euclid on a mission to investigate dark energy in 2019.
Euclid means overall positive things for the global science/astrophysics community, however, many American researchers are upset about having to take the backseat on a project where the initial discovery was theirs. While I understand their anguish, given that the implications of this discovery are literally universal, it might be time for the American's to swallow their pride, and just be glad that progress is being made. 

Further investigations into the implications of dark energy will give our race a greater understanding of the nature of the universe, and will help us to further understand the possibilities of multiple universes existing alongside ours.

The frontier science around dark energy is rapidly evolving, and holds incredibly exciting prospects for the human race in the near future. 

Click here to read the full NY Times article.