Scientific to the point of suspicion

Act like Megalochelys atlas and smile, because it’s Fossil Friday! One of the largest known land turtles, scientists think this massive reptile could reach heights of 5.9 ft (1.8 m)—tall enough to look a grown human in the eye. This specimen’s shell measures some 7.4 ft (2.3 m) long and in life, it may have weighed more than 2,000 lbs (907 kg). Megalochelys lived during the Late Pliocene about 2 million years ago. The fossil on display in the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins was found in 1922 in Chandigarh, India.   You can spot this giant, and more, at the Museum! Plan your visit.

Photo: © AMNH 

North American X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft attached to the wing pylon of a NASA Boeing B-52 Stratofortress mothership. 

Vehicle Identification: North American X-15. 

Mothership Identification: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. 

Speed Record: Holds the official world record for the highest speed ever reached by a manned aircraft, reaching Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph). 

Altitude Record: Set an altitude record of 354,330 feet (over 67 miles high), crossing the edge of outer space. 

Purpose: Operated by the U.S. Air Force and NASA to collect data on flight conditions at the edge of the atmosphere for the space program. 

Diving with Nanaimoteuthis, the Cretaceous Kraken

Chris Moore

Worlds At War

An Illustrated Study of Interplanetary by Steven Caldwell

Andrew Liptak at Transfer Orbit interviewed me about my upcoming art book!

Your first book was Worlds Beyond Time: what will this new book do that you couldn't do with that one?

There’s a great Leo Steinberg quote: “All art is infested by other art.” My first book took a really close look at one slice of science fiction illustration (mostly book covers, mostly 1960s-’80s), so this new one is pulling back to look at the web of influences that went into that era and emerged from it.

I’m covering such a broad area that it’s going to be impossible to include everything, so I’m approaching it more like an art smorgasbord that jumps around between centuries and mediums.