Will Marshall: Tiny satellites show us the Earth as it changes in near-real-time
Adults ScienceSatellite imaging has revolutionized our knowledge of the Earth, with detailed images of nearly every street corner readily available online. But Planet Labs' Will Marshall says we can do better and go faster - by getting smaller. He introduces his tiny satellites - no bigger than 10 by 10 by 30 centimeters - that, when launched in a cluster, provide high-res images of the entire planet, updated daily.
Why can't we see evidence of alien life?
Adults ScienceStand by for an animated exploration of the famous Fermi Paradox. Given the vast number of planets in the universe, many much older than Earth, why haven't we yet seen obvious signs of alien life? The potential answers to this question are numerous and intriguing, alarming and hopeful.
Why Van Gogh's "Starry Night" Is Actually An Art Of Science
Adults SciencePhysicist Werner Heisenberg said, "When I meet God, I am going to ask him two questions: why relativity? And why turbulence? I really believe he will have an answer for the first." As difficult as turbulence is to understand mathematically, we can use art to depict the way it looks. Natalya St. Clair illustrates how Van Gogh captured this deep mystery of movement, fluid and light in his work.
How Bees Can See the Invisible
Adults ScienceFeeding and fertilizing. Bees are amazing social insects, and their relationship with flowers is one of nature's coolest examples of "mutualism". It got me wondering: How do bees see the world? Enjoy this look at how bees see in ultraviolet and even sense electric fields!
Why is the Sky Any Color?
Adults ScienceIt's a question that you'd think kids have been asking for thousands of years, but it might not be that old at all. The ancient Greek poet Homer never used a word for blue in The Odyssey or The Iliad, because blue is one of the last colors that cultures pick out a word for.
The Science and Beauty of Auroras
Adults ScienceSpace might seem like an empty place, but the area surrounding Earth is constantly being bombarded by waves of charged particles released by the Sun: The solar wind. Luckily, thanks to Earth's swirling, molten core (and the magnetic field it provides), we are protected from this planet-sterilizing onslaught like an invisible force field.
Preparing for #CometLanding
Adults ScienceAfter a ten-year journey, Rosetta and Philae had finally reached their destination, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta spent many weeks studying the comet, sending lots of information back to Earth. But where was Philae going to land? Eventually the scientists on Earth found the best place on the comet for Philae to land. Soon it was time to make the final preparations for Philae's great adventure. Both spacecraft couldn't wait any longer. The whole world would be watching as Rosetta and Philae prepared for their biggest challenge yet.
Astronauts Grow a Water Bubble in Space
Adults ScienceDuring Expedition 40 in the summer of 2014, NASA astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman - along with European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst - explored the phenomenon of water surface tension in microgravity on the International Space Station. The crew "submerged" a sealed GoPro camera into a floating ball of water the size of a softball and recorded the activity with a 3-D camera.
Life by the Numbers
Adults ScienceThere are now more than 7 billion human beings on Earth, and that got me wondering: How successful are we compared to other species? I take a look at out how our numbers stack up to some other domains of life. It turns out that biomass, or what things weigh, can be more important than how many of something there are. Find out how our numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria, and get ready for some mind-blowing numbers!
Ambition - An Amazing Short Fusion Film Of Science Fiction With Science Fact
Adults ScienceAmbition is a collaboration between Platige Image and ESA. Directed by Tomek Bagi?ski and starring Aiden Gillen and Aisling Franciosi, Ambition was shot on location in Iceland, and screened on 24 October 2014 during the British Film Institute's celebration of Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder, at the Southbank, London.