#thursday throwback

This #TBT (because @bobak shared these almost half an Earth orbit ago...) is our first Tartan Thursday!

These tartans were designed & registered about two years ago by Geoffrey (Tailor) Highland Crafts on behalf of Prof. Charles Cockell of Edinburgh University.

Mars exploration:

This tartan is intended to be worn during Mars science, exploration and outreach activities. Colours: the red background depicts the surface of Mars, the Red Planet; blue depicts the water-rich past of Mars and the presence of water, mainly as ice, on the planet today; the four green lines represent Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, the presence of habitable conditions on the planet and the possible future presence of life in the form of human settlement; the thick white line represents the Martian poles, visible from the Earth, a conspicuous and important feature of the planet and its long-term climatic cycles.

Ocean Worlds & Icy Moons Exploration:

It is intended to be worn during science, exploration and outreach activities associated with icy worlds and planetary bodies with interior water bodies or oceans, such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Ceres and others. Colours: the ice blue depicts the water bodies and oceans of icy moons and ocean worlds; the white (peroxide) bars depict the crusts of icy worlds; the green lines depict the search for habitability and life in distant ocean worlds; the red line depicts hydrothermal activity and the possibility of core-ocean interactions and the influence of the cores on ocean chemistry and habitability. 

What a wonderful way to combine scientific exploration and outreach with traditional design, production, and dress!

Throwback Thursday !    

Found this little picture in my Florida folder.  I snapped it through a store window on a stroll round Key West 2 years ago  . . . nice hat !  It’s such a pity that the weather up here is not conducive to wearing nice hats.  Especially not today.   The wind is picking up and a bank of white clouds is creeping across the horizon.  The cherry blossoms are late this year.