Strange Planet: Real Life UP House

Do you want to see the video of how National Geographic Channel lifted a house with balloons?  Of course you do!



Is it really possible to lift a house off the ground with helium balloons, like in the movie Up?

National Geographic Channel's new television series, "How Hard Can It Be?," aimed to find out, and ended up setting a world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted.

So how many balloons do you think it took to raise this house 10,000 feet over a private airfield outside Los Angeles? Check your guess here.

Video: National Geographic Channel

Strange Planet: Real Life UP House

Backlink: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2011/03/strange-planet-real-life-up-ho-1.html

Join a Worldwide Planet Search

An anonymous reader writes "Astronomers have been looking for alien worlds for more than 15 years, and now you too can join the search. The Planet Hunters project is the latest citizen-science campaign organized by the crew at Zooniverse . Hundreds of thousands of computer users are already helping Zooniverse classify galaxies through Galaxy Zoo, and analyze lunar craters through Moon Zoo. This new project aims to recruit users to check data gathered by NASA's Kepler mission, which is expected to detect hundreds of Earthlike planets in a region of the constellation Cygnus. Kepler's science team detects planets by looking for the slight dimming in a star's light that's caused when a planetary disk passing over. By making precise measurements of that periodic dimming, astronomers can figure out how big the planet is, then follow up with other types of observations to confirm its existence and estimate its mass. More than 500 planets have been detected beyond our solar system, and Kepler is just getting started."

Join a Worldwide Planet Search

Backlink: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Ik-YqGarSdQ/story01.htm

Strange Planet: Macau's Cat Fancy

Lawrence Ferber uncovered a confluence of kitty kitsch and a caring cause in Macau.

 

Is Asia the cat's meow? Pardon the pun, or don't, but Asia is home to a few unique, even peculiar, cat-themed attractions. Tokyo and Taipei's "cat cafes," where one can mingle with a bevy of kitties while sipping a cuppa (and pay hourly for the honor), have received a fair amount of online ink, and the Kuching Cat Museum in Sarawak, Malaysia, which is dedicated to all things feline (from ancient Chinese representations to a poster for Broadway's CATS) and more than borders on kitsch, is a must-see. But look to Macau--aka the Las Vegas of the East--and you have a different sort of jackpot.

Meow Space is where stray cats, art, and retail therapy come together. Hong Kong's Almond Chan, who worked in print media as a writer and editor, teamed up with Macau designer Cora Si and opened their storefront in 2007. An independently funded shelter and adoption center for abandoned or homeless felines--approximately 700 have been rescued and placed so far--Meow Space also serves as a cat-centric art gallery and shop stocking locally crafted fashion and home goods that range from the quirky to chic. Wallets, purses, and tote bags bearing photos of previous Meow Space cats, T-shirts riffing on both feline and Chinese iconography, and gorgeous hand-printed stationery and wall hangings are among the offerings. Yes, they make purrrfect, one-of-a-kind souvenirs and gifts.

            

Located just across the street from a school, at recess time many students come by for a dose of feline affection, and with approximately 20 cats in the space at one time (in cages, beds, and walking or lazing about around freely) you're likely to get some yourself: one handsome, striped cat was even sitting on Meow Space's donation box--making a personal call for contribution to their cause. Speaking of, Chan (who presently contributes a column to a Hong Kong Buddhism magazine) has expansion plans should business pick up, which it might since Meow Space has received more media exposure lately, including mention in a promotional film screened at the Shanghai World Expo.

"If we can make more money from our business, we hope we can help dogs also," Chan adds. Bow-wow Space, anyone?

Photo: Lawrence Ferber

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/strange-planet-macaus-cat-fanc.html

Slashgeo: 3D Planet Viewer Via HTML5 Canvas

In case you missed it, the Fuzzy Tolerance blog has an article up showcasing a virtual globe done completely in javascript. It's a bit rough around the edges, but goes to show that it may be soon feasible to have a virtual globe experience without resorting to browser plugins.
 

lue lisää

Post originale: http://slashgeo.org/2010/11/11/3D-Planet-Viewer-HTML5-Canvas

Strange Planet: On Beyond Zebra

Ever wonder what it would feel like to go sightseeing in Washington, D.C. while dressed as a zebra? William Shubert, who works for National Geographic international editions, satisfied his curiosity by zipping himself into a full-body Morphsuit and heading out on the town. He filed a report, with more photos, on National Geographic's Pop Omnivore blog.

For real zebra action, check out these zebra video clips from National Geographic's seven-episode documentary series Great Migrations, being broadcast this month on the National Geographic Channel.

And for a chance to witness zebra migration in Botswana for yourself, enter our Great Migrations Sweepstakes and you might win a 12-day trip for two with National Geographic Expeditions.

Photo: Sam Pepple


Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/strange-planet-on-beyond-zebra.html

3D Planet Viewer Via HTML5 Canvas

In case you missed it, the Fuzzy Tolerance blog has an article up showcasing a virtual globe done completely in javascript. It's a bit rough around the edges, but goes to show that it may be soon feasible to have a virtual globe experience without resorting to browser plugins.
 

You are not watching this post, click to start watching

Post originale: http://slashgeo.org/2010/11/11/3D-Planet-Viewer-HTML5-Canvas

Strange Planet: Freak Beach of Asturias

Notice anything wrong with this picture? 

This beach has white sand, seaweed, bathers, tiny waves, rocky cliffs, and is subject to tides, but it's not on the ocean.

Located near the town of Llanes in Asturias in northern Spain, the odd little beach of Gulpiyuri stands by itself in a depression in the middle of an agricultural field. Declared a Spanish Natural Heritage site, the beach and lagoon are actually a karst sinkhole, created when the nearby Cantabrian Sea dug through the limestone cliffs, making underground tunnels for the sea to come through, and collapsing the roof of a limestone cave. At high tide, the sinkhole fills with ocean water.

Want more Spanish wonders?  Check out our Spain Travel Guide and photo gallery.

Photo: Oviedo for 91 Days blog, via Neatorama