Vacation this Week? What to Do!

We figure a good number of you have this week off along with your children. You may want some cool things to do with them during the week and engage them in learning. There are plenty of things you can do if you know where to look. We at Almost Rocket Science thought we would try and put together a list of some ideas for you to do with your children.

Wave at the International Space Station

A neat activity to do with your family is wave at the ISS as it passes over. The ISS completes an orbit of the Earth every 90 minutes so quite often it is visible in your location. The first step towards this activity is to check to see if and when the ISS will be visible where you live. To do that you will need to go to the following website and input your location: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ The next step is to figure out where you will need to look in relation to your view of the sky. You may need a compass or you can use Google Maps or an equivalent. Take all the information you possess and head out at the proper time. Look for a bright star-like object moving at a consistent speed across the sky. It will not be blinking. Wave at the 6 inhabitants aboard the ISS if you like. You can also post your viewing location on ISS Wave website
More facts about the ISS: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html 

Note: NASA also offers some great iOS Apps which can help you learn more about what they are doing and even explore the ISS.

View the Night Sky: Planets Abound

A great activity to do with the family is to get out and view the night sky. This month features plenty of planets to spot. This can be done with a good set of binoculars or even a small telescope. (Note: We caution you before you run and buy expensive gear to consider going to a star party or local observatory and get plenty of advice and information. A lot of gear can be frustrating to use if you have little experience.) Here is what you can see this week/month.

• Mercury will be in the eastern sky at sunrise all month, but will be very low for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Southerners will fare better: this will be their best morning apparition of the year.
• Jupiter continues its stay in Taurus. It is high in the western sky in the early evening and sets in the northwest around midnight.
  
• Saturn is in opposition in Libra on April 28. It is visible all night.
• Neptune is in Aquarius all month, now visible in the morning sky.
  

The moon is also set to be full later this month and even though that makes it harder to spot objects in the night sky, the moon itself is worth observing intently. Here is a list of the Lunar 100 or 100 features you can search for on the moon. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/3308811.html

Get Outside and Take a Hike!

One great way to enjoy the warming temperatures and flowers blooming, trees budding and wildlife returning is to take a hike with the family. Not only will you benefit from the physical activity, you can teach your children about the different types of plants and trees in your area. You will likely see more birds and wildlife, especially in the north as spring is returning. You can also inspire some rockhounds and look at the geology of the area. In fact the possibilities to connect to learning are endless. Check to see if your local or State Parks/Forests are offering classes or guided tours.

Visit a Local Museum

There are plenty of Science and Technology or even History museums around the country, which can provide a day of fun and learning. Many of them offer discounts or great programs during the week off. Check with each museum for more details about what they offer this week.

Try This At Home: Experiments

I remember my father getting my brother and I a chemistry set when we were younger. We would do an experiment or two every weekend. It was non-stop fun. Here are some fun experiments you can do at home with basic materials. There are plenty of other ideas/sites out there so search away. http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/

Whatever you are doing with your family this week be sure to enjoy it. Take breaks from all the entertainment to connect with them and if possible teach them something new each day. My father always said, "if you don't learn something new each day, you've wasted the day." Be safe and enjoy!

Warning: Exploding Ice!

At first glance the title may seem like an April Fool's Day joke, but it is not. Today's STEM fact brings up an amazing fact about ice, actually icebergs.

When you hear the word iceberg your mind no doubt goes to the Titanic disaster of 1912. Icebergs are basically massive pieces of ice floating around the world's oceans. Icebergs are formed when pieces break off or calve from a glacier. You might have thought icebergs are made of saltwater, but they are in fact made of freshwater. The ice which makes up an iceberg is typically thousands of years old! It also appears blue not white because most of the air has been squeezed out of it over time. Once the iceberg starts floating in the ocean it lasts anywhere from 3 to 6 years; however some last as much as 50 years in Arctic waters. Icebergs range in size from a small car, known as growlers, and as large as the size of Connecticut (where we live)! Icebergs are truly amazing things!

George Mason University scientists and students observing an iceberg. Source: George Mason University

Wait, we haven't addressed the concept of exploding ice yet. A scientific expedition actually observed the cataclysmic end of an iceberg. This occurred during the peak of the nightly freeze cycle, when the destabilized structure could no longer support the massive weight of the structure. Check out the description by one of the scientists:  

“The enormous iceberg …heaved upwards, one end pausing high in the air like the bow of a foundering ship, then crashed down, creating waves that swept through all of Hallett Bay and rocked our boat…[it] rose one last time and seemed to explode into millions of pieces like shards of crystal, covering two square miles of ocean. Later, we circled the debris field of shattered ice.”

— Dr. Gregory Stone

Who knew ice could explode? Pretty cool. See you tomorrow!

The Sky is Falling!

Today's #STEM fact is the first student authored fact for our site. We are trying to get more students involved, so if you have a student who would like to help out we do plan on sending out some little thank you swag-bags. Let us know using the contact us page.

Today's fact is very timely with the recent two fireballs reported widely by the news agencies around the world.

Some people say that being struck by lightning is the most unlikely way to die, or being sucked up by a sinkhole. But recently scientists have discovered that the least likely, but still possible way to die, is being hit by a falling meteorite. In fact, the risk for a human to be hit by a meteorite is one occurrence every 9,321 years. The first extraterrestrial rock to ever hurt anyone in the US was the Sylacauga, or “Hodges meteorite”, named after a town where it fell, and it hit Ann Hodges respectively. She was badly bruised but sustained no permanent injury.She was not the only person hit by a meteorite, a manuscript in Italy that dates to 1677 tells of a Milanese friar that was killed by a falling meteorite.

A slice of the Hodges meteorite or as it is properly identified the Sylacauga meteorite. Source: meteorite-times.com

By Dan O. (soon-to-be regular contributor)

How in the World?

Today's STEM fact actually involves a mysterious phenomenon. Scientists have not been able to determine just what causes this act to take place. While theories abound, no individual has ever seen it happen when it happens. 

The phenomenon occurs in a remote section of Death Valley (California) known as Racetrack Playa. This region is a dry lake bed most of the year, except when the occasional spring storms and melting snow bring rain, wind and even ice to this perfectly flat surface. This flatness is only interrupted by scattered rocks ranging in size from a few centimeters (about an inch) in diameter to half a meter (1.5 feet). Now this all seems normal but some of these rocks have deep tracks, some hundreds of meters (~700 feet), trailing them.

Sailing stone at night. Credit: nicksmacro (Flickr)

How in the world do these rocks move? It is a mystery to the geologists and other scientists studying the phenomenon. Some of these rocks weigh well over 100 pounds! The best scientists can hypothesize at this point is the rocks are pushed by the very strong winds present during the spring months. Basically the theory is spring rains and melting snow cause the rocks to become partly submerged in shallow pools of water. The temperature drops low enough at night to create an icy ring around the base of the rock. This ring reduces the friction between the rock and the lake bed allowing the nearly 90 mph winds to push the rock a long way leaving the trail. These rocks have never been seen moving, but it is estimated they move these distances in a matter of minutes and not very frequently. 

Sometimes the simplest things can and will remain a mystery for quite some time. Let us know what your theory is in the comments.

Strange Delivery...

First, Happy Pi Day! Hopefully you're doing something awesome to celebrate it. (Let us know what in the comments. I am thinking a pizza and maybe some dessert pie to follow.)

Today's STEM fact is not only related to science, but also pop culture. Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany. It goes without saying he would become one of the greatest scientists in all of human history. There are all sorts of interesting facts out there about him. From the fact he failed his college entrance exam to the fact he was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, the list could go on and on.

An iconic photo of Einstein taken in 1951. © Bettmann/CORBIS

One of the most bizarre Einstein facts is about his brain and its whereabouts after Albert had died. The brain was removed without the family's permission by Dr. Harvey, the pathologist. It was sliced into approximately 170 pieces and slices of each were made into slides for scientific study. After 40 years writer Michael Paterniti tracked down Dr. Harvey and the brain. Then in a strange sequence of events Paterniti and Harvey drive across country, stopping to meet with others in the scientific community whom Harvey had sent pieces of the brain for study. Eventually, the pair and the brain (in a tupperware container) arrived in California where the brain was returned to Evelyn Einstein, the physicist's granddaughter. The whole story is encapsulated in a book by Paterniti entitled "Driving Mr. Albert." It is actually an interesting read with more than just stories from the road. Until tomorrow.

Where Did You Say You Live Again?

Today's STEM fact is about a creature with one of the strangest addresses on the planet. In fact, this creature lives in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. Care to take a guess?

If you said, the hydrothermal vents deep under the Pacific Ocean you would at least have the address. These vents are located approximately one mile below the ocean's surface where fissures in the ocean floor have been formed by tectonic movement. The ocean water seeps down into these fissures where it becomes superheated, sometime reaching temperatures as high as 340ºC (700ºF). It also becomes enriched with metals and other minerals before it is spewed out of the fissure much like a geyser.

Now for the amazing creature, which is found thriving at these vents: the giant tube worm. The giant tube worm is a marine invertebrate, with a soft colorless body; a tough tube made of chitin protects the soft body and organs. A large red plume crowns the top of the tube; it is red from the hemoglobin contained within. The plume collects nutrients from the surrounding water. The most astonishing fact about the giant tube worm is how fast it can grow. It has been observed to grow from larval stage to over 5 feet in length in just two years! What an amazing creature.

Giant tube worms thriving near a hydrothermal vent. Credit: American Museum of Natural History

Who knows what other utterly unique and fascinating creatures are yet to be discovered, but one thing is for sure. Our fragile oasis is home to unbelievable variety and beauty. See you tomorrow!

Nice Suit!

The other day I popped into one of the coffeeshops and encountered this trivia question: "Neil Armstrong was the 1st man on the moon, who was the last?" A very simple question for a spacetweep or space enthusiast. (See if you know the answer.) I started to wonder what other cool facts were there about the Apollo astronauts when I stumbled on these interesting facts.

Today's STEM fact is some really interesting facts about the spacesuits astronauts wear. So here is a little list for you to use to start some interesting conversations today.

• Spacesuits protect astronauts from the extreme environment of space. Lack of breathable air is only one factor. The temperatures in Earth orbit can be anywhere between -250ºF (shade) and 250ºF (sunlight).
• NASA's first spacesuits were for the Mercury astronauts. These suits were designed to be worn only in the capsule.
• Apollo spacesuits featured boots designed for the rocky terrain and included a life support system. Astronauts could truly explore since they weren't connected by a hose to their spacecraft like previous EVAs.
• The first EVA or spacewalk was conducted by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov on 18 March 1965.
• The Apollo spacesuit was basically one piece, which astronauts entered through the back . Each suit was custom made or tailored for the individual astronauts.
• Each Apollo mission required 15 suits to support the mission. For the prime crew, each member had three suits: one for flight, one for training, and one flight backup. The backup crew had two suits each: one for flight and one for training. (The backup crew was usually scheduled for a future mission so their suits were not wasted.)
• Today's spacesuits are made of interchangeable parts so each suit can be customized and reused.

Neil Armstrong wearing Gemini spacesuit. (NASA)

Ed White conducts first US EVA, Gemini program. (NASA)

Buzz Aldrin wearing the Apollo spacesuit on the moon. (NASA)

Space Shuttle ejection suit used only on early flights. (NASA)

Space Shuttle Launch and Entry Suit. (NASA)

STS-134 astronaut performs an EVA on the ISS. (NASA)

There are plenty more spacesuit facts, but that should get the brain churning for the day. See you tomorrow with another great STEM fact.

The last man to walk on the moon was Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17. Here are some of his parting words from the lunar surface. "And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."

Gene Cernan on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission. Note the Earth in the distance. (NASA)

Space Origami?

First off, sorry for the lapse in daily STEM facts. We've been super busy with lots of projects, including our day jobs, which got neglected during the Earth 360 preps, launch and processing. We should be back on a regular schedule here. We are also looking for some students to help us with this section, maybe earning credit from their teachers and  valuable experience. If you have any interest or think your students would like to get involved contact us.

You, like us, have been astonished by the beautiful images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. After serving for over 20 years, the HST is scheduled to be replaced by a larger more powerful telescope in 2018. This telescope is named after NASA's Apollo era administrator, James Webb. 

NASA's scaled model of the James Webb Space Telescope on display at the famous Austin SXSW.

The James Webb Space Telescope or JWST is a very large infrared telescope, which will unlock secrets of the universe in even greater detail than Hubble. Here are some interesting facts about this new science instrument.

• It has 21 mirrors to capture space in great detail. The main mirror spread is comprised of 18 hexagon-shaped mirrors and measures 6.5 meters. This is nearly 3 times as large as Hubble's mirror.
• The mirrors are made of beryllium, and then coated with an extremely thin layer of gold. It has been estimated each mirror has as much gold as 8 wedding rings.
• It has a sunshield the size of a tennis court.
• Being an infrared telescope means JWST will be able to look through dust clouds, thus allowing more distant galaxies to be seen with great detail.
• It will be placed in an orbit approximately 1 million miles (1.5 million km) away from Earth.
• It is the size of Boeing 737 aircraft, which means it is too large to be launched as is aboard a rocket. Scientists and engineers have devised a plan to "unfold" the mirrors and sunshield once the telescope reaches orbit.

One of the best parts of the JWST is you can actually watch it being built. NASA has installed cameras overlooking the clean room where JWST is being constructed and assembled. This means you can live stream it right to your computer or classroom. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below. See you tomorrow with some more spacey facts!

James Webb Space Telescope Live Cam Feed

Silky Smooth?

Sorry we have not been posting a regular STEM fact, but life has been way too busy. We are back at it and hopefully we won't have as many interruptions.

Today's STEM fact is about the predators of the seas, sharks. Sharks appear to have very smooth skin, but in fact their skin is made of tiny, flat v-shaped scales. These scales are called dermal denticles. The shape of the dermal denticle actually is an amazing feat of fluid dynamics. Similar to the dimples on a golf ball, the denticles break up the wake and allow the shark to move faster with less energy and even less noise. This allows the shark to be the stealthy hunter it is. 

Credit: © Trevor Sewell/Electron Microscope Unit, University of Cape Town

Olympian swimsuit designers are very interested in the shark's skin design. Why? Creating a fabric which mimics the exact proportions of the shark's dermal denticles, hugely improves a swimmer's speed through the water. Biomimicry or biometrics is the "examination of nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements to emulate or take inspiration from in order to solve human problems.*" 

*Taken from Reading University - What is Biometrics?

STEM Fact Future...

Sorry to have been remiss with the STEM fact of the day, but we've been busy with our other projects. We still want to provide this cool feature, but we've been tossing around ideas to make it more viable.

Fill out my online form.

Too Close for Comfort?

We've been neglecting the STEM fact of the day lately so we are very happy to get back at it!

How far is the Earth from the Sun? Most of us would answer 93 million miles and we'd be right if we were talking on average. However, today the Earth is at perihelion, or in other words at the point in its orbit where it is the closest to the Sun. This distance happens to be 91,402,560 miles (147,098,161 kilometers). What does that mean for us? It actually has very little effect on the Earth or our view of the Sun. In fact, we are unable to notice any difference. This also has no impact on the seasons, since that is due to the Earth's tilt on axis.

The Earth will be at aphelion, or its furthest later this year. Earth has a nearly circular orbit and therefore the difference between the perihelion and aphelion is not to large.

This composite neatly compares two pictures of the Sun taken with the same telescope and camera on the dates of Perihelion (closest approach) and Aphelion in 2008. The distances are for this year though.
Credit: NASA APOD 

Too bad it doesn't mean we are any warmer on a day here at ARS where it is only in the 20s. Brr. See you tomorrow.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...

Have you ever wondered why stars in the night sky seem to twinkle? And why is it that some stars seem not to twinkle? Today's STEM fact will answer these questions for you.

A photograph of the night sky here at ARS. Credit: Rhett Youngberg

If you have ever peered up into the sky, you have no doubt observed some stars which appear to twinkle or change brightness. Most stars produce a steady light. For example, think about our Sun and how only clouds or other objects on Earth block or diffuse its light. Otherwise, the Sun's light is a steady brightness. Stars in the night sky twinkle because of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. As the atmosphere churns, light from the star is refracted in all different directions. This causes the star's appearance to change slightly in intensity and position, or twinkle. You may have noticed that stars closer to horizon tend to twinkle more and this is because the light from these stars travels through more of the atmosphere.

Planets in our solar system don't twinkle like stars. This is because they are much closer to Earth  unlike stars which are basically points of light, they have some measurable or finite size (even if not noticeable to the naked eye). This size tends to cancel out the atmospheric turbulence and therefore appears stable. In other words, no twinkle. You will also notice the planets tend to change position from night to night. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible to the naked eye on a clear night.

Want to get a great view of the night sky? Find an astronomy club or observatory nearby and check the schedule to see when they have a viewing or star party. You will be astounded at just how much you can see through a telescope. We definitely recommend it. Even a good set of binoculars will see so much more of the night sky including the features on the moon.

Name that Asteroid!

NASA is asking students from around the world to help them name the target of an upcoming sample return mission. What is the target? The target is an asteroid called "1999 RQ36." That is quite a mouthful and why NASA scientists and astronomers want your help.

The mission, which will see a spacecraft launched atop a rocket towards "1999 RQ36," is called OSIRIS-REX (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer) and will take place in 2016. The project is exciting because it will bring back a sample just over 2 ounces from the near-earth asteroid for scientists to study. The sample will help scientists better understand how the solar system was formed. 

Want to help? Good. Click the link below for more information and the online entry form. But hurry as the contest ends on Sunday, 2 December 2012 3:59 p.m. PST.

"What's in it for me?" you ask. There are some neat prizes, but you will have the ultimate bragging rights, being able to say: "I named an asteroid. What have you done?" You also get to hangout virtually with Bill Nye the Science Guy! So put your thinking caps on and get working!

Official Contest Webpage

Joined at the Hip...

Welcome back to a "normal" week of STEM facts here at Almost Rocket Science. What makes a diamond so hard? What makes pencil graphite relatively soft? They are both comprised only of carbon atoms, yet are very different in their physical characteristics. The answer is simple; it lies in chemical bonds and the chemical structures they create. Let's explore a few facts about chemical bonds!

The Periodic Table of Elements arranges the known elements, which total 118. You can find everything from hydrogen, the flammable yet most lightweight, to uranium, radioactive and one the most heavy elements, and anything in between. Atoms of the elements can be combined to create an astonishing number of substances, more than 56 million* (56,000,000)!

How are these elements combined? It's the sharing or swapping of electrons between atoms that makes these bonds possible. One or more negatively charged electrons are attracted to two nuclei at the same time. What are the two main types of chemical bonds? Chemist Gilbert Newton Lewis and peers developed the concepts of ionic and covalent bonds. In ionic bonds, one atom gives up one or more electrons to another atom. Whereas, in covalent bonds, atoms theoretically share electrons. There may be some flaws around these concepts, but overall they are still useful.

Chemical substances make up the world around us, whether the clothes you are wearing to those which make up and sustain our bodies. While they are made from only a few elements, remember it's how they are joined or bonded, which determines what their properties.

Test yourself by taking the PBS NOVA Chemical Bonds Quiz!

*According to the American Chemical Society's registry of chemical substances.

A New Frontier...

It seems rather fitting to mention the International Space Station for today's STEM fact. It was on this day in 1998 the dream of humans living in space took a giant leap forward. Space stations had existed before (Salyut, Skylab, Mir), but never one on the international scale. 

The Zarya Module on its own in space. (ISS) Credit: NASA

A Russian Proton rocket roared to life on the pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Perched atop this fire breathing machine was the first module of the International Space Station, Zarya. Its estimated cost was $240 million, but it was the beginning of construction after 16 years of planning and design. This module still provides battery power, fuel storage and rendezvous and docking capability for Soyuz and Progress space vehicles. Two weeks later, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off with the Unity Node and would later mate the two modules creating a young ISS. 

Today the ISS has been constantly inhabited by humans for over 10 years, while conducting vital scientific studies. It is much larger than its humble beginnings, now as large as a football field. To learn more cool facts about the ISS check out Episode 2 of the STEM podcast with guest Jen Scheer. Prior to her amazing experience we discuss some of the awesomeness that is the ISS.

Episode 2 - Jen Scheer

Fast Facts!

I decided to get the short week off to a start with some astonishing facts and figures. Our friends in Bristol, England are up to some amazing engineering and we wanted to shine some light on this little project.

Our friends across the pond are designing and constructing a Land Speed Record Vehicle. The team of Richard Noble, Andy Green and a small group of intrepid engineers is seeking to smash the current world record, which they coincidentally possess. This project is much larger than just another record for the books; it is a project to inspire the next generation of mathematicians, scientists and engineers. It is our humble opinion the team will do nothing short of that goal. The project is called Bloodhound SSC and it seeks to break the 1000 mph mark in the South African desert next year.

Bloodhound SSC facts:

• 64,000 L/sec - The EJ 200 jet engine could suck all of the air out of an average-sized house in 3 seconds;
• 135,000 HP* - Bloodhound SSC has 25,000 more hp than the QE2. You shouldn't measure the outputs of jets and rockets in horsepower;
• 4.1 Lactating Cows - The equivalent carbon footprint of the Bloodhound Project;
• 20 Tons - The drag on the car at 1000 mph;
• 25,000 ft - The altitude of Bloodhound would reach if it were fired straight into the air;
• 180 Decibels - The hybrid rocket could be louder than a 747 at takeoff;
• 50,000 G - The force at the rim of the wheel at 10,200 rpm. A sugar cube would weigh more than two men;
• 3,000 ºC - The temperature in the rocket is twice as hot as the inside of a volcano;
• 55 Seconds - The time it will take Bloodhound SSC to go from 0-1000 mph! it will accelerate from 500-1000 mph in 17 seconds;
• 3.6 Seconds - The time it will take to do the flying (measured) mile.

Do you find those facts inspiring? If you need a bit more convincing or just a break check out this video.

Underwater?

Welcome back to another week of interesting STEM facts. We've dug up another engineering milestone for today's fact. What was the world's first mechanically ventilated underwater vehicular tunnel? Where is it located? When was it constructed? Take a guess then read on.

The answers may surprise you some as it was quite some time ago that this engineering feat was completed. The Hudson River Vehicular Tunnel was commissioned in 1920 by both New York and New Jersey state transportation agencies. The chief engineer, Clifford M. Holland, and his team had to design solutions for a number of challenges. Holland died during the construction and subsequent engineers took the lead, but the tunnel still bears his name in honor of his contributions. It was opened on this day in 1927 connecting 12th and 14th streets in Jersey City (NJ) with Canal Street in Manhattan. 

A historic photo of the Holland Tunnel. Credit: NY/NJ Port Authority

The greatest challenge facing engineers was how to ventilate the tunnel. Tunnels had been constructed before, but with the advent of the automobile, tunnels now had to be ventilated to make their use safe. On shorter tunnels it wasn't such a challenge, but the Holland tunnel stretches 1.6 miles (2.6 km) some 90 feet (27 meters) below the Hudson River. The solution: construct four ventilation buildings (two on each end of the tunnel) and install 84 immense fans. These fans cause the air to changed every 90 seconds! The tunnel sees over 20 million vehicles use the  tunnel to access Manhattan from New Jersey every year! Even today, the Holland Tunnel serves as the basis for the design of many underwater vehicular tunnels.

Holland Tunnel flooded during Superstorm Sandy. Credit: NY/NJ Port Authority

On a side note, Superstorm Sandy's storm surge flooded the tunnel. The tunnel has since been pumped dry and reopened, but now a new engineering challenge faces tunnel builders: how to protect the tunnel from huge storms and flooding. There are some solutions in development, but maybe you can explore the project on your own or with classmates. Any solution would no doubt be welcomed by metropolises like New York, whose infrastructure is dependent on underground transportation systems.

Dumb Luck...

We found a piece of technology trivia today for the STEM fact in our travels around the Internet. Did you realize the simple design of Google's homepage was not a conscious design choice? It is actually a case of dumb luck. How so? Let's take you back to that fateful time when Google was first coming about.

Creators Sergey Brin and Larry Page first met at Stanford University in 1995. The two start working together a year later on a search engine called "Back Rub." This search engine is housed on Stanford University's servers until it consumes too much bandwidth. In 1997, the pair decide on the name Google and it becomes what we know of it today. Sergey and Larry were so consumed with writing the code, which actually makes the search engine so effective they didn't want to spend time on the actual "look" of the page. It turns out that neither of them were versed in HTML and they didn't have a webmaster who could help them. While the code we never see, but makes the search engine so relevant is the star of the show, the site itself is rather uncluttered and ordinary. Thankfully, Google designs different "doodles" for their site around major events and anniversaries.

The Google homepage as it appeared in early 1999. 

Pretty cool story. What is your favorite doodle?

Kicking Isaac Newton?

Halley's Comet on its last pass in 1986. It will return in 2061. Credit: James Balog/National Geographic

Today, we honor another great mind in the world of STEM, Edmond Halley. Halley was a respected astronomer, geophysicist and mathematician in his day. He was born on this day 1656 in eastern London. He is most famous for the comet named after him. He published "A Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets" (1705), in which he described the orbits of some 24 comets observed between 1337 and 1698. Three of these comets had such similarities that Halley claimed they were in fact the same object on successive returns. He accurately predicted its next return in 1758 and the comet now bears his name. 

However, Halley also worked with Robert Hooke, Christopher Wren, Isaac Newton on the development of an explanation for planetary motion. While Hooke and Halley struggled to deduce a theoretical orbit that matched the observed orbits. Isaac Newton had already figured out this orbit would be an ellipse. Halley persuaded him to publish his findings, which we know as "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica." This publication became the best of Newton's work and one of his most famous.

Sometimes it just takes a little push or kick from a friend to get a project rolling. What will be your next project? Check out our latest experiment, Earth 360.

Princess of Paleontology...

Today's interesting STEM fact is definitely a neat one and brought about by a visit to the local science center yesterday with my nephew. He wanted to see a movie there by David Attenborough entitled "Flying Monsters 3D." The film mentioned a woman who made some very exciting discoveries, which are still exciting!

Mary Anning and her reliable dog, Tray, depicted on the Lyme Regis coast.

It is the early 1800's in Lyme Regis, England (which is located near Dorset). Lyme Regis is situated on the Jurassic Coast of England; an area rich in fossilized remains from the Jurassic period. A young girl (born into a family who scoured the cliffs for fossilized shells to sell) named Mary Anning, begins searching the cliffs for fossils after the storms, which was dangerous work. She ends up discovering some amazing specimens and even firsts. She made her first major find, an ichthyosaur, at the time believed to be the world's first, when she was between 10-12 years old. She followed this up with another spectacular find in 1923, a complete plesiosaur skeleton. Mary unearthed a pterodactylus (flying dragon) in 1928 and a squaloraja in 1829.

Her discoveries aided the study of paleontology and for this she is dubbed the "Princess of Paleontology." Mary sold her discoveries to private collectors and others to provide for her poor family and this led to many others claiming the credit for these discoveries. She taught herself geology and anatomy, conducted the dangerous work of recovering these fossils, and interacted with many famous scientists in her short lifetime. When she died of breast cancer in 1847, her obituary was recorded by the Geological Society (which did not admit women until 1904) and her life commemorated by a stained glass window in the local church. Despite her disadvantaged beginnings, she had gained the respect and imagination of scientific and lay public who gave her recognition in her lifetime.

Another interesting tidbit is she may in fact be the inspiration for the tongue twister, "She sells sea shells by the seashore."

Maybe it's time to start exploring your own backyard. You never know what you can find. I am certain I found dinosaur tracks in my front yard while in high school. That reminds me to gather some more evidence and contact some experts. See you tomorrow!