What Is Botanical Illustration? Learn About the History of This Scientific Art Form
By Emma Taggart and My Modern Met Team via @mymodernmet
science
#OTD in 1889.
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a metre.
The history of the metre starts with the Scientific Revolution that is considered to have begun with Nicolaus Copernicus's publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543. The Mètre des Archives & its copies were replaced from 1889 at the initiative of the International Geodetic Association by 30 platinum-iridium bars kept across the globe.
British astronomer and meteorologist Isis Pogson was born #OTD in 1852.
Pogson worked as an assistant to her father, Norman Pogson, who was an eminent astronomer known for his work on variable stars and the discovery of several asteroids. Over time, she gained recognition for her own work, despite her initial role as an unpaid assistant. She became highly knowledgeable in astronomical calculations, observations, and meteorology.
Edwin D. Babbitt’s Principles of Light and Color (1878)
An early treatise on chromotherapy — the supposed science of healing physical and psychic ailments with colour. via @publicdomainrev
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/principles-of-light-and-color/?utm_source=newsletter
Russian chemist Vera Yevstafievna Popova was born #OTD in 1867.
Popova became known for her work in organic chemistry, a field that was rapidly developing in the late 19th century. She contributed to research on the synthesis of chemical compounds, particularly focusing on organic substances. One of her most significant areas of study was the preparation of peroxides. It was her work on these compounds that led to her untimely death.
PRESS RELEASE: https://www.seti.org/2025-frank-drake-postdoctoral-fellowship
The SETI Institute is pleased to open the call for applications for the Frank Drake Postdoctoral Fellowship (FDPF), which supports groundbreaking research in the search for life in the universe. This fellowship offers early-career scientists a unique opportunity to make impactful contributions across the diverse fields of the Drake Equation.
Applications for the Fall 2025 Call open on October 21, 2024, and must be submitted by December 15, 2024.
The 2024 winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year are out...and they are spectacular.
Here's the overall winner: a time-sequence of a solar eclipse that shows deepening shadows from mountains on the Moon. (Credit: Ryan Imperio)
https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/overall-winners-2024?_gl=1*1g40qqt*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTE1ODI1ODg1Ni4xNzI2NTkwODQ0*_ga_7JJ3J5DBF6*MTcyNjU5MDg0NC4xLjAuMTcyNjU5MDg0NC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_4MH5VEZTEK*MTcyNjU5MDg0NC4xLjAuMTcyNjU5MDg0NC4wLjAuMA. #science #space #photography #nature
Who really won when Bergson and Einstein debated time?
Henri Bergson and Albert Einstein fundamentally disagreed about the nature of time and how it can be measured. Who was right?
By Evan Thompson via @aeonmag
https://aeon.co/essays/who-really-won-when-bergson-and-einstein-debated-time
#EPA Scientists Said They Were Pressured to Downplay Harms From #Chemicals. A Watchdog Found They Were Retaliated Against.
Three reports issued by the agency’s inspector general detailed personal attacks suffered by the scientists — including being called “stupid,” “piranhas” and “pot-stirrers” — and called on the EPA to take “appropriate corrective action” in response.
#News #Science #Retaliation #Government #Environment #Safety #Whistleblower #Trump #Project2025
Tesla’s Pigeon
An inventor, a bird, and a plan to connect all the minds in the world.
By Amanda Gefter via @NautilusMag
Nikola Tesla's Obsession with Pigeons, Electricity, and a Plan to Wirelessly Connect the World
Most motorists driving down a secluded road fear the dreaded damaged tire. Imagine it happening on Mars. New photos reveal several sizable holes in one of the wheels of NASA's Curiosity rover, highlighting the toll that 12 years of scrambling across the Red Planet's harsh landscape has taken on the intrepid roaming robot. @LiveScience reports: https://flip.it/bB5pFh
#Science #Space #SpaceExploration #Mars #NASA #CuriosityRover
Edited 277d ago
Canadian inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was born #OTD in 1866.
He is best known for his pioneering work developing radio technology, including the foundations of amplitude modulation (AM) radio. His achievements included the first transmission of speech by radio (1900), and the first two-way radiotelegraphic communication across the Atlantic Ocean (1906).
Christie’s ‘Lady Computers’ – the astrographic pioneers of Greenwich.
The first women to be employed at the Royal Observatory in a professional capacity were Isabella Clemes, Alice Everett, Harriet Furniss, Edith Rix and Annie Russell. They were all employed as ‘Lady Computers’ between 1890 and 1895.
By Graham Dolan via @ROGAstronomers
http://www.royalobservatorygreenwich.org/articles.php?article=1280
The Strange Experiments of Henry Cavendish
Cavendish was an idiosyncratic scientist who conducted fascinating experiments, such as “weighing” the Earth and splitting water into its constituent elements.
By: Danny Robb via @JSTOR_Daily
https://daily.jstor.org/the-strange-experiments-of-henry-cavendish/
American scientists have won the #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of microRNAs, which regulates gene activity.
These tiny molecules are revolutionizing our understanding of gene regulation and hold promise for treating diseases like cancer.
In the center of almost every large galaxy, there is a supermassive black hole. Now, scientists are discovering black holes that are 1,000 times the size of the one at the center of the Milky Way, and they’re calling them “ultramassive” black holes.
The James Webb Space Telescope is giving researchers new insights into how these giants formed and raising the question: how big can black holes get?
Read more from @BBCNews
https://flip.it/MJDuq6
American bacteriological chemist, food scientist and refrigeration engineer Mary Engle Pennington was born #OTD in 1872.
She was a pioneer in the preservation, handling, storage and transportation of perishable foods and the first female lab chief at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She was awarded 5 patents, received the Notable Service Medal from President Herbert Hoover and the Garvin-Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society.
What do planet formation and badminton have in common?
From @ArsTechnica: "Dust grains in protoplanetary disks align via the same aerodynamics as the sport."
See the full paper here: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stae2248/7783265?login=false
For more space news, follow @space-ScienceAlert
English mathematician and physicist Peter Barlow was born #OTD in 1776.
In 1833, Barlow built an achromatic doublet lens of joined flint glass and crown glass. A derivative of this design, named a Barlow lens, is widely used in modern astronomy and photography as an optical element to increase both achromatism and magnification. He contributed to Rees's Cyclopædia articles on Algebra, Analysis, Geometry and Strength of Materials.
Denialism isn't a political stance, it's a philosophical one. That's why both right- and left-wing people indulge in it.
Anybody who can be convinced that something is true against evidence otherwise is wide open to being convinced regarding denialism — of anything. HIV/AIDS, COVID, transgender, sexism, racism, etc.
Which is why political efforts to defeat denialism will never work. The only way to defeat it is through education, from kindergarten up. All age groups, all the time.
#Denialism #Climate #Racism #Bigotry #Sexism #Hate #Health #Religion #Science #Facts #Education
Edited 272d ago
#OTD in 1846.
William T. G. Morton administers ether anesthesia during a surgical operation, by the use of inhaled ether.
A month after this demonstration, a patent was issued for "letheon", although it was widely known by then that the inhalant was ether. The promotion of his questionable claim to have been the discoverer of anesthesia became an obsession for the rest of his life.
Lise Meitner died #OTD in 1968.
She is known for her part in the discovery of nuclear fission. Among physicists she had been known for many years as one of the early pioneers in the study of radioactivity. Einstein nicknamed her ‘the German Madame Curie’.
Edited 255d ago
The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope is assembling the largest 3D map of the universe ever made.
The first section is now complete. Take a look at what happens when you zoom in...
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Zoom_into_the_first_page_of_ESA_Euclid_s_great_cosmic_atlas #space #science #astronomy #nature
#OTD in 1756.
The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment to determine the electrical nature of lightning.
The experiment's purpose was to investigate the nature of lightning and electricity, which were not yet understood. Combined with further experiments on the ground, the kite experiment demonstrated that lightning and electricity were the result of the same phenomenon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_experiment
