On a late summer day that sits like a hinge in the calendar, August 23 offers a startling diptych: a mountain that devoured cities and a machine that taught us to see our own. In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted with a ferocity that turned Pompeii and Herculaneum into time capsules of terror and tenderness, …
Tag: NASA
Giants Among Us: The Day Mankind Took Aim at the Moon
It was the summer of 1969. America was still reeling from the social tremors of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War was raging across headlines and hearts, and Woodstock hadn’t yet welcomed its muddy masses. But on one blistering morning in Florida, something incredible happened—something that paused the noise of the world and replaced …
Apollo 13: The Successful Failure That Inspired the World
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Kennedy Space Center, carrying three astronauts on what was supposed to be NASA’s third moon landing. Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise were ready to make history. However, just two days into the mission, an oxygen tank exploded, crippling …
John Glenn’s Historic Journey: America’s First Orbit of Earth
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn made history as the first American to orbit the Earth aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7. At the height of the Cold War, the United States was locked in a tense space race with the Soviet Union. Just a year earlier, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human …
A Tragic Return: The Columbia Disaster and Its Legacy
On February 1, 2003, the world watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, claiming the lives of all seven astronauts on board. The crew, a diverse team of pioneers from different countries and disciplines, represented humanity’s unyielding drive to explore the unknown. Their loss was a poignant reminder …
The Viking Lander at the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space located in Washington D.C. is the host to many free exhibits that are the culmination of different major events throughout history for both flight and space travel. The Viking Lander shown here is one of those exhibits. The Viking Lander is best known for being the first U.S. …
Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona
Winslow, Arizona is the home to a gigantic hole in the earth called Meteor Crater. This hole is so big it could fit downtown San Francisco in it. Here are a couple photos that I took with different camera equipment. The second photo I had to stitch multiple photos together to fit the whole crater …
Computers and Functions
[Abstract] The purpose of this document is to provide an increased or basic knowledge of a computer and what types of functions are necessary to be present in order for a piece of hardware to be considered a computer. [Content] A computer is a piece or multiple pieces of hardware that have the ability to …
Wyoming Cowboy
A WYOMING cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban Sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly …
Navajo Elder’s Lunar Warning: NASA’s Untranslated Message to the Moon
When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, they took the astronauts to a Navajo reservation in Arizona for training. One day, a Navajo elder and his son came across the space crew walking among the rocks. The elder, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question. His son translated for the NASA people: “What are …