Station Chasin'

The International Space Station is the biggest and brightest man-made object orbiting Earth. It also happens to make really quick passes across the sky. If you've got a telescope and a steady hand (or good tracking equipment), you too can make a video like this

(From Astrospider via Dean Armstrong)

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Previous related Wohba links:
That's No Sunspot
Space Station Sightings
Ring of Power

Spirit in the Sky

With all the buzz surrounding NASA's Opportunity rover reaching Victoria crater, the other rover Spirit, started feeling a bit left out. So to celebrate the 1,000th Martian day of rover activity, NASA decided to release the most detailed 360 degree panorama yet produced by the rovers on Mars. Spirit's McMurdo Panorama (22348 x 5771) was produced using 1,449 Pancam images of every wavelength filter available, many of which were kept uncompressed to preserve as much detail as possible.

Of course Spirit was able to accomplish this long term task because for the last six months it's been waiting out the Martian winter on the side of a hill tilted toward the sun to get just enough power to subsist. It's also notable that one wheel is stuck - as can be seen from the small trench in the tracks in the sand.

And by the way, the missing pieces of this panorama will be filled in and released soon - making for an even larger image.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Behold Victoria
Mars As Close As It Gets
King of the Hill

Armadillo Aerospace

John Carmack (of Doom fame) has packed together his own team of top men in Texas - Armadillo Aerospace. They were the only qualifier for the Lunar Lander Challenge X Prize a few days ago. They didn't succeed, but as a tribute to their gumption, Wohba brings you these videos of their past successes (and failures.) Just wait 'till next year.

2006 X Prize Qualification Hover
2005 X Prize Free Hover
48 Inch Rocket Crash
Perfect Take-off and Landing

Here is the Space.com story on Yahoo. Feels like the future.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Shuttle Booster Cam
Learning to Fly

Antennae Galaxies

Teeny Hubble photos of a galactic collision of the Antennae Galaxies have been making the rounds, but Top Men found this hi-res (3915 x 3885) version - suitable for Wohba.

Check out the numerous galaxies in the background. Feel small.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Pin Wheel
Orion
Milky Way
Andromeda
Happy Birthday Hubble

Arrakis

This must be what it would look like if Mars had giant sandworms boring about it's crust. But those are just collapsed lava tubes.

Yeah, right.

Image snapped by the THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft last week.

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Previous related Wohba links:
HiRISE Hi-res

More Lakefront Property On Titan

More from Cassini - another radar pass of Titan and more spectacular images that look so close to home, but are so very not. Top Men would sure would like to have something on the surface snapping photos of this strange place.

Here is the hi-res radar original and a processed (if not entirely accurate) dimensional image - a Wohba exclusive.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Lakes on a Plain
Cassini Extravaganza
Another Titan Pass
Titan TV

Disguise in de Seas

Top Men are going to tell you before you start watching this video to look for the octopus that is hiding in the clump of seaweed. Now that you know he's there you'll surely see him, right. Uh... wrong.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Sea Stealth
Alien Creature

In Depth Charge

Top Men used to throw bottle rockets off the dock into the lake and watch them explode under water. It was like this only a lot smaller.

(via digg)
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Previous related Wohba links:
Unleashed

Bigger, Better, Behold Saturn!

Top Men brought you a striking image of Saturn last month after the Cassini occultation event - mentioning that we expected more. NASA just released (hot off the press) a few more, including a gorgeous panorama - produced from 165 of the images.

Here are two hi-res versions...

This one is color enhanced.
This one is the original.
(If the images don't load - try refreshing the image window several times.)

Read more about it here.

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Previous related Wohba links:

Behold Saturn
Free Saturn Poster
Ring Shine
Disturbance in the Ring
Stunning Saturn View
Ring Waves

Meissner Effect

Floating things are cool. The whole force-at-a-distance always seems like magic.

So either consider this video a demonstration of how the magnetic eddy currents of a supercooled superconductor resist decay allowing flux pinning at sites of impurity in the structure of the superconductor...

...or it's magic.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Real Levitation
Hutchison Effect
Fun With Liquid Nitrogen
Zero Gravity Research

Unleashed

Top Men are struck with a great sense of both amazement and dread watching this video of nuclear weapons testing in the 50's. The word unleashed comes to mind - especially in leu of recent events.

Take My Breath Away

Take a good look at that thumbnail image. Seems like that guy has a problem. Mix a strong crosswind with a large aircraft and it's a recipe for... uh... amazing videos.

Movie 1 - a collection of landings (set to a delightful hit from the 80's).
Movie 2 - a very skewed landing (thumbnail image).
Movie 3 - couldn't quite set 'er down.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Just Plane Lucky
Dynanic Flight Dynamics
Visible Sound Barrier

Aurora Motion

Here is an amazing time-lapse video of some spectacular aurora.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Aurora Ring

HiRISE Gazes On Opportunity

NASA and their toys - golly what fun!

No sooner had the MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) and its HiRISE camera dropped into its hi-res photo orbit of Mars, then the guys at NASA do what any red-blooded Top Men would do - aim the camera at Victoria Crater to see if they can get a sweet picture of Opportunity scuttling around the edge. Oh yeah - they got it! You can actually see the shadow of the rover's mast!

Top Men (after an episode of hyperventilation) have culled out a few. Hope you have broadband!

Here is the zoomed image of Opportunity. (1176 x 942 pixels)
Here is the money shot that shows all of Victoria crater. (4045 x 5085 pixels)
Download the full Victoria image. (4048 x 30,000 pixels)

And for our light-weight customers - same images, less filling...

Here is the zoomed image of Opportunity. (512 x 410 pixels)
Here is the money shot that shows all of Victoria crater. (2048 x 2575 pixels)
Here is the full Victoria image. (2048 x 15,178 pixels)

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Previous related Wohba links:
Behold Victoria
HiRISE Hi-res

Fun With White Boards

If Top Men had a white board like this, we wouldn't mind meetings quite so much.

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Previous related Wohba links:
White Board

Ruben Flame Tube

Top Men would like to know how many garages have been burnt to the ground trying to build this useless, but amazing device.

Here is the garage video.
Here is a classroom video.
Here is more info and details.