Author: M. Özgür Nevres

I am a software developer and a science enthusiast. I was graduated from the Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Computer Engineering. In the past, I worked at the Istanbul Technical University Science Center as a science instructor. I write about the planet Earth and science on this website, ourplnt.com. I am also an animal lover! I take care of stray cats & dogs. This website's all income goes directly to our furry friends. Please consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can help more animals!

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Space Exploration

6 spaceships parked at the ISS

6 spacecraft parked at the ISS
6 spacecraft parked at the ISS (June 2, 2019)

On June 2, 2019, the International Space Station (ISS) team published a photo on their Twitter account showing a total of six spacecraft parked at the orbiting laboratory.

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Life on Earth Astronomy Evolution People

Humans walking on two legs because of exploding stars, new study says

Evolution of bipedalism (walking on two legs)
As the forests shrank, it would have become harder and more time-consuming for individuals to find food. One theory, suggested by anthropologist C. Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University, says "a mutually beneficial arrangement evolved: males gathered food for females and their young and in return females mated exclusively with their providers. To be successful providers, males needed their arms and hands-free to carry food, and thus bipedalism evolved." Another theory considers the efficiency of upright walking. In the 1980s, Peter Rodman and Henry McHenry, both at the University of California, Davis, suggested that "...as forests shrank, hominid ancestors found themselves descending from the trees to walk across stretches of grassland that separated forest patches". The most energetically efficient way to walk on the ground was on two legs, Rodman and McHenry argued.

Walking on two legs is an evolutionary leap that led humans to conquer the world. But, why humans are walking on two legs? It’s still unclear. Now, according to a new study published in the University of Chicago’s Journal of Geology, the reason might be exploding stars a few million years ago.

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Mars Space Exploration

Fly over Mount Sharp on Mars with this NASA video

Mars Curiosity Rover Selfie
This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the "Mojave" site, where its drill collected the mission's second taste of Mount Sharp. The scene combines dozens of images taken during January 2015 by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The pale "Pahrump Hills" outcrop surrounds the rover, and the upper portion of Mount Sharp is visible on the horizon. Darker ground at upper right and lower left holds ripples of wind-blown sand and dust. Image: NASA.gov Some conspiracy theorists ask "where is the robotic arm?", "who took this photo?", "who holds the camera" etc. The view does not include the rover's robotic arm. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic's component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images, or portions of images, that were used in this mosaic. This process was used previously in acquiring and assembling Curiosity self-portraits taken at sample-collection sites "Rocknest" (PIA16468), "John Klein" (PIA16937) and "Windjana" (PIA18390).

NASA has published a video showing Curiosity Rover‘s (Mars Science Laboratory) proposed route on Mars’ Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a mountain rising 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high from the valley floor. The animated video shows what it would be like to soar over Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons, which the Curiosity has been climbing since 2014.

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Space Exploration Earth from Space Moon Landing

Going to Space to benefit Earth (Jeff Bezos)

O'Neill cylinders as illustrated in The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space
O'Neill cylinders as illustrated in The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space, a 1976 book by Gerard K. O'Neill, a road map for what the United States might do in outer space after the Apollo program, the drive to place a man on the Moon and beyond. It envisions large manned habitats in the Earth-Moon system, especially near stable Lagrangian points. Three designs are proposed: Island one (a modified Bernal sphere), Island two (a Stanford torus), and Island 3, two O'Neill cylinders. These would be constructed using raw materials from the lunar surface launched into space using a mass driver and from near-Earth asteroids. The habitats were to spin for simulated gravity and be illuminated and powered by the sun. Solar power satellites were proposed as a possible industry to support the habitats. Image: Wikipedia

On May 9, 2019, Jeff Bezos, the founder of the American aerospace company, Blue Origin, discussed his vision to go to space to benefit Earth. In addition, he also announced the Blue Moon lunar lander, which is capable of taking people and payloads to the lunar surface. Here is the full replay of the event below. You’ll find more information about these announcements.

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Astronomy Solar System

How far are the nearest stars? [a 200 billionth scale model to demonstrate]

Milky Way
Milky Way is our home galaxy in the universe. It is a barred spiral galaxy with a diameter between 150,000 and 200,000 light-years (ly). It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars. Earth is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy which, in turn, is a part of a cluster of galaxies known as the Local Group. Further, the Local Group is a small part of the Virgo Supercluster which is a cluster of cluster of galaxies, comprising of thousands of other galaxies. Like the Virgo Supercluster, there are countless other superclusters as well. Until the early 1920s, most astronomers thought that the Milky Way contained all the stars in the Universe. Then, observations by the American astronomer Edwin Hubble (November 20, 1889 - September 28, 1953) showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies.

Another “putting things into perspective” video which I liked, shows how big space is, and actually how far the nearest stars are from us.

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Space Exploration This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

The First Tweet from Space was posted on May 13, 2009

Mike Massimino during the STS-125 Hubble Space Telescope EVA 4
On May 11, 2009, Space shuttle Atlantis with its seven-member crew launched on the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, which launched on April 24, 1990. The STS-125 mission was the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th for Atlantis. It was referred to as Servicing Mission 4, although it is technically the fifth servicing flight to the space telescope. During the mission's fourth spacewalk, Michael Good and Michael Massimino faced a curious challenge: a stripped screw delayed the removal of a handrail (pictured inside the telescope to the upper right of Good's helmet in this photo) on the outside of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). After nearly four hours of troubleshooting, Good, Massimino, the rest of the crew and a team back on Earth found a way to remove the handrail and continue the mission.

On May 13, 2009, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino composed the first tweet from space as he and the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis zoomed to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope. Massimino wrote, “From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!”.

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Space Exploration Earth from Space Places

Venice from space [amazing photo]

Venice from space (cropped)
This perfectly-timed image of Venice from space was captured by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. A blanket of clouds approaches from the east the historic city's famous lagoon but seemingly stops short against the Lido sandbar (Lido di Venezia)! You can easily spot the S-shaped Grand Canal (Canale Grande). This is a cropped image.

This perfectly-timed image of Venice from space was captured by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. A blanket of clouds approaches the historic city’s famous lagoon but seemingly stops short against the Lido sandbar (Lido di Venezia)! You can easily spot the S-shaped Grand Canal (Canale Grande).

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Places

The shortest international bridge in the world: El Marco

The smallest international bridge in the world: El Marco
El Marco, the tiny bridge between Spain and Portugal is the smallest international bridge in the world. It has a length of 3.2 meters (10.4 feet). Image source: Wikipedia

There’s a bridge called “El Marco” between Portugal and Spain. With a length of 3.2 meters (10.4 feet), it’s the shortest international bridge in the world. It connects the Spanish municipality of La Codosera (located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura) with the Portuguese Arronches (in Portalegre District).

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Astronomy

88 Constellations and Their Brightest Stars

The Milky Way
The Milky Way. Will we ever visit the other stars? The descriptor "milky" is derived from the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. The term Milky Way is a translation of the Latin via lactea, from the Greek γαλαξίας κύκλος (galaxías kýklos, "milky circle"). From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a band because its disk-shaped structure is viewed from within. With a diameter between 150,000 and 200,000 light-years, the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy (a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars). It is estimated to contain 100-400 billion stars.

The International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 official constellations in contemporary astronomy. 42 depict animals, 29 depict inanimate objects, and 17 depict human beings or mythological characters.

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Life on Earth Animals Climate Global Warming Insects Plants

UN report warns one million species at risk of extinction

Proboscis monkey
The proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) or long-nosed monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and known as "the bekantan" in Indonesia. The proboscis monkey is a large species, being one of the largest monkey species native to Asia. Only the Tibetan macaque and a few of the gray langurs can rival its size. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in the species. Males have a head-body length of 66 to 76.2 cm (26.0 to 30.0 in) and typically weigh 16 to 22.5 kg (35 to 50 lb), with a maximum known weight of 30 kg (66 lb). Females measure 53.3 to 62 cm (21.0 to 24.4 in) in head-and-body length and weigh 7 to 12 kg (15 to 26 lb), with a maximum known mass of 15 kg (33 lb). They generally live in groups composed of one adult male, some adult females and their offspring. All-male groups may also exist. Some individuals are solitary, mostly males. The proboscis monkey is assessed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and listed in Appendix I of CITES. Its total population has decreased by more than 50% in the past 36-40 years to 2008 due to ongoing habitat loss because of logging and oil palm plantations, and hunting in some areas due to the species being treated as a delicacy, as well as its use in traditional Chinese medicine. Text Source: Wikipedia Photo: PXHere

We, humans, are destroying the Earth’s wilderness, very fast. Actually, we are the main (and probably the only) cause of the sixth major extinction event in the history of our planet. Now, a recent UN report says at least one million species (animals, plants, and insects) are at the risk of extinction. There will be serious consequences for life on Earth, and also for human beings.

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