Dawn on Saturn is greeted across the vastness of interplanetary space by the morning star, Venus, in this image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
Venus appears just off the edge of the planet, in the upper part of the image, directly above the white streak of Saturn’s G ring. Lower down, Saturn’s E ring makes an appearance, looking blue thanks to the scattering properties of the dust that comprises the ring. A bright spot near the E ring is a distant star.
(Source: ikenbot, via galileannights)
When the Nazi concentration camps were liberated by the Allies, it was a time of great jubilation for the tens of thousands of people incarcerated in them. But an often forgotten fact of this time is that prisoners who happened to be wearing the pink triangle (the Nazis’ way of marking and identifying homosexuals) were forced to serve out the rest of their sentence. This was due to a part of German law simply known as “Paragraph 175” which criminalized homosexuality. The law wasn’t repealed until 1969.
This should be required learning, internationally.
I grew up here in Germany and I have NEVER heard of this. Wow. Shit.
Nazi’s were also never actually charged for their treatment of the homosexual victims. They weren’t acknowledged as victims of the Nazi’s in general.
What you should also remember though, is that this was not just Germany. There was no safety in any of Europe or even the United States. In a lot of places you can still be arrested.
It’s messed up.
(via thedarksideofgruff)
Sunset at Jenny Lake (by WeldonG)
(Source: noahsiano, via weareallstarstuff)
Right Turn by savillent on Flickr.
Planetary Nebula by Digital Drew Space Art on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
When a star of moderate mass (like our Sun) begins to die, it casts off its outer layers in a subtle yet colorful way. The outer layers of gas, plasma, and dust fluoresce due to the hard UV radiation by the extremely hot pre-white dwarf core. Each planetary nebula is unique, the overall shape, outflow, and color is likely influenced by a number of factors including the original star’s mass and composition, orbiting binary companions, planets, asteroids, etc. These factors can influence how the planetary nebula itself is distributed and configured. Space art is a useful tool in describing such evolutionary processes as they take place.
Here a planetary nebula is seen from a distant planet as a star of intermediate mass is expelling its outer layers as it reaches the end of its lifetime. The gas and dust eventually recycle into the interstellar medium while the barren core collapses to form a white dwarf.
Foggy Dubia Marina
Comet Panstarrs and the Crescent Moon over San Jose, CA — Rick Baldridge
(Source: ikenbot)
Magical Night by peterspencer49 on Flickr.
Clouds and Light Pollution
Compare the effect of light pollution with and without clouds.— Till Credner
(Source: ikenbot)
This is a rare meteorological phenomenon called a skypunch. When people see these, they think it’s the end of the world. Ice crystals form above the high-altitude cirro-cumulo-stratus clouds, then fall downward, punching a hole in the cloud cover. ~via pinterest
Space stuff, science, nature, history, music, literature, philosophy and random stuff that I like. Please Enjoy.
