Author Archives: Chompsky

Behold: Phobos – the largest and innermost of Mars’ two moons. Also the darkest one in the entire solar system. Why? To wit:

Its unusual orbit and colour indicate that it may be a captured asteroid composed of a mixture of ice and dark rock. The featured picture of Phobos near the limb of Mars was captured in 2010 by the robot spacecraft Mars Express currently orbiting Mars. Phobos is a heavily cratered and barren moon, with its largest crater located on the far side. From images like this, Phobos has been determined to be covered by perhaps a meter of loose dust. Phobos orbits so close to Mars that from some places it would appear to rise and set twice a day, but from other places it would not be visible at all. Phobos‘ orbit around Mars is continually decaying — it will likely break up with pieces crashing to the Martian surface in about 50 million years.

(Image: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA; Acknowledgement: Peter Masek)

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New works by diorama dramatist Slinkachu, mostly created at home, due to lockdown. Sez he to Colossal:

My work has always reflected the sense of isolation and loneliness that a big city can imbue, but the isolation of being inside is new to me. These were recreations of small parts of city streets built in my living room with concrete paving slabs and weeds and moss.

colossal

Behold: the 1969 Lancia Fulvia HF Competizione – a one-off prototype commissioned by Alejandro De Tomaso and created by by auto designer Tom Tjaarda.

Intended as proof that Lancia could rival Ferrari on the racetrack (it couldn’t), the Competizione had a 1.6L V4 engine set low to reduce its centre of gravity along with innovative (at the time) folding headlights and an active rear wing.

It may not be the prettiest track monster of its day, but it is unique and it’s yours for €155,000.

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The curious avian creations of artist Calvin Ma – sculptural iterations of a character camouflaged as various birds: from owls and pigeons to Mandarin ducks.

The ceramic figures are part of an ongoing series entitled ‘Blend In: Making Home’ wherein each species represents an emotion or experience tied to social anxiety, which Ma bolsters with corresponding environments, like a birch cage or a flower-lined nest.

colossal