Injecting a bit of humor into the stream while a cosmic surplus of rocks comes our way.
(h/t Michael Wells)
Oftentimes, for many of us, our way into the world of science is through gazing at the night skies, through astronomy, through NASA. We’re drawn to space and frontiers only limited by our imaginations. Natalie Batalha, a mission scientist on NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, brings this same sense of childhood astonishment and wonder to us in our show, “On Exoplanets and Love.”
This week’s sketchnotes by Doug Neill captures moments of her insights that, we hope, will lure you into listen and read. Quotations from Carl Sagan and rainbows in oil puddles are only the tip of the iceberg with this show. I encourage you to print it out, hang it on your door or in your office. Share with others. Listen and talk about what you see and what you heard.
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
(Source: sketchesinstillness)
“Keep your mind clear and your heart open so you can hear your truth.” - Kwan Yin, ‘female’ Buddha.
(Source: pinkbuddhaproject)
(Source: cosmiccrystals)
(Source: butterflieswhispertodeath)
nybg:
California, I don’t often give you enough credit, but consider this my admission of jealousy (wrapped neatly in nifty science). —MN
Giant Sequoias Grow Faster With Age
Older trees beat out youngsters when it comes to bulking up.
by Christy Ulrich
Aging giant sequoia trees are growing faster than ever, with some of the oldest and tallest trees producing more wood, on average, in old age than they did when they were younger.
A 2,000-year-old giant sequoia is just cranking out wood, said Steve Sillett, a professor at Humboldt State University in California who has conducted recent research on the big trees.
Other long-lived trees like coast redwoods and Australia’s Eucalyptus regnans also show an increase in wood production during old age, according to an article Sillett published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.
That may be because a tree’s leaf area increases as its crown expands over a long life span. The leaves produce more sugars through photosynthesis, Sillett said, and these sugars build wood across a growing cambium, or the living surface separating bark and wood in trees…
(read more: National Geo) (photo: Michael Nichols)
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(Read about redwoods, another species of giant tree, in National Geographic magazine.)
