Tesla Loves a Pigeon

Aiguille verte by Gimpz | Flickr

Happy 135th Birthday, Albert Einstein! (also, Pi Day!)

Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm Germany.  He entered the United States in June of 1935 and filed this declaration of intent to become a citizen in January of 1936. He would become a U.S. citizen in 1940.  

In 1939 he collaborated with fellow physicist Leo Szilard on a letter regarding advances in nuclear research to President Franklin Roosevelt, which would ultimately lead to the development of the Manhattan Project. During World War II, he also worked as a part-time Federal employee developing underwater weapons for the U.S. Navy. Some of his correspondence from this work is available in our online catalog.

In 1948 he appeared in this instructional film “Atomic Physics," explaining how the work of other scientists featured in the film illustrated his theory of equivalence of mass and energy. 

Excerpts from: "Atomic Physics," 1948

Fluorescence image of a neuronal culture created by stitching. Honorable Mention, 2011 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition. Author: Jan Schmoranzer and the 2011 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition.

Illustrated studies of the planet Venus in transit from the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, 1832.

Move across Helix Nebula

A counterclockwise zoom and rotation sequence of the Helix Nebula. The Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys image of the Helix Nebula reveals thousands of comet-like filaments embedded along the inner rim of the nebula that point back towards the central star.

The pairs of people above have to be twins, right? Wrong. In this huge world of ours, there could be someone who looks exactly like you. 

Canadian photographer Francois Brunelle travels the globe finding real life doppelgangers. 

Strangers That Look Completely Alike

The Most Extreme Weather In the Solar System

“Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars…” 

Spoiler alert: the weather Earth is far nicer than on any other planet in our solar system. Sure, you might have to carry an umbrella sometimes and the bottoms of your pants get all wet, and the wind kicks around pollen which can cause pesky allergies. But then you don’t have to worry about sulfuric acid falling out of the sky, which is nice.

Our Solar System is home to some fairly extreme weather. Here’s our picks.