Author Archives: Chompsky

Behold: the sunlit crescent of da Vinci glow caused by earthshine (light reflected from a bright planet Earth) on the moon. To wit:

..a description of earthshine in terms of sunlight reflected by Earth’s oceans illuminating the Moon’s dark surface was written over 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci. One lunar month ago [this] da Vinci glow was captured in stacked exposures from the Badain Jilin Desert of Inner Mongolia, China. This year marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death.

(Image: Likai Lin)

apod

Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot – it does parkour now. To wit:

We created the manoeuvres using new techniques that streamline the development process. First, an optimisation algorithm transforms high-level descriptions of each manoeuvre into dynamically-feasible reference motions.  Then Atlas tracks the motions using a model predictive controller that smoothly blends from one manoeuvre to the next.

…and then kills all humans.

Previously: Warehousebot

kottke

Behold: sand dunes defrosting near the north pole of Mars last May, pictured by the ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. To wit:

The carbon dioxide and water ice actually sublime in the thin atmosphere directly to gas. Thinner regions of ice typically defrost first revealing sand whose darkness soaks in sunlight and accelerates the thaw. The process might even involve sandy jets exploding through the thinning ice. By Summer, spots will expand to encompass the entire dunes. The Martian North Pole is ringed by many similar fields of barchan sand dunes, whose strange, smooth arcs are shaped by persistent Martian winds.

(Image: ESA, Roscosmos, CaSSIS)

apod