Early this morning at 4:31AM Pacific Time, NASA sent the 2.5 ton LCROSS Centaur rocket screaming on a collision course with what we’ve hoped to be an ice-filled crater at the Moon’s south pole (called Cabeus Crater).
And the resulting impact was totally AMAZING sucky. I’ve seen more spectacular car wrecks. And I’m glad I didn’t sit outside with a telescope at 4:30 in the morning looking for this.
HERE’S THE VIDEO:
NOT SUCKY BONUS ROUND:
NASA/JPL’s 2005 Deep Impact probe collision with Comet Tempel 1 (nice, big explosion).
The JAXA (Japan’s Space Agency) 2007 SELENE/Kaguya probe passing ~50km over the surface of the Moon; watch the Earth rise at 1:20.
You look good for 233 years old (not a day over 229 years old).
Watching a suburban neighborhood in Santa Cruz, CA attempt to re-enact scenes from “Apocalypse Now” with fireworks – drunk on gunpowder and patriotism – inspired me to look up a few things:
• AD 1044 - The Chinese Wujing Zongyao military compendium contains the oldest surviving recipe for gunpowder and also a description of how to use explosives-laden birds as weapons. [link]
• AD 1325 - The Chinese Huolong Jing military manual describes a weapon called Huolong Chu Shui “Fire Dragon Issuing from Water.” It had booster rockets that carried the dragon-shaped missile into enemy territory, then other charges ignited rocket-powered arrows which shot from the mouth of the dragon. [link]
• AD 1325 - The Chinese Huolongjing military manual describes a weapon called “Flying Crow with Magic Fire.” A crow-shaped wickerwork kite with rocket boosters beneath its wings – it delivered a tremendous explosion upon impact.
• Fireworks Colors - Modern fireworks are colored by mineral salts added to the explosive mixtures. REDS: strontium or lithium salts; ORANGES: calcium salts; YELLOWS: sodium salts; GREENS: barium or chromium salts; BLUES: copper salts; PURPLES: potassium salts or mixing strontium and copper salts; WHITES: barium oxide or powdered magnesium, titanium, or aluminum; GOLDS: powdered iron.
Thousand Fire Dragon Thunderclap Bonus Round: The fury of 16,000 firecrackers
The movie War, Inc. finally came to a theater in my neighborhood.
Two words: “kick” and “ass.”
I loved it.
Brand Hauser (John Cusak) is an assassin on a mission in the war-torn mythle-eastern nation of Turaqistan. Hauser is posing as the producer of an arms convention, promoting Tamerlane military industries – the very corporation currently occupying the nation of Turaqistan. At the convention, Hauser meets journalist Natalie Hegalhuzen (Marisa Tomei) and obnoxious middle eastern pop star Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff) . . . and all hell breaks loose in this Douglas Coupland-esque world.
