The end of the world is coming. We object
Anonymous, Day of the Last Judgment, late 19th century. From what I can remember of the Islam classes I took, the Last Judgment is a very big deal for Muslims, just as it is for Christians. In this jaunty scene, Mohammed sits on the camel in the upper right. Per tradition, his face is blanked [...]
Flannery O’Connor and the end of all things
Barry Moser, Flannery O’Connor (detail). Wood engraving. See the original at moser-pennyroyal.com. Used with permission of the artist The First Sunday of Advent. That was yesterday. And what a Sunday it was. Julie’s sermon was taken from Malachi. Malachi! Can you imagine?! I almost fell over when I saw that. The passage (3.1-3) reads, See, [...]
Twinkle, twinkle, little nonradially-pulsating delta Cepheid
Radial equations from the analysis of convection within pulsating variable stars. You should see the nonradial equations. Stars are pretty, sure. But when you stop to think about them, they get all complicated and stuff. Image source: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series A friend of mine told me a story recently, and it made me laugh: [...]
On detachment: what religion can learn from science
Tamara Grizjuk, Detachment, 2002. From 29 November – 20 December, Ms. Grizjuk’s work will be on display at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. I believe it will be her first show on this side of the Atlantic, so go check it out if you can. Image source: ARTmine. Used with permission of the artist [...]
Something new under the sun? A secular case for intentional creation
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Source: S. Beckwith & the HUDF Working Group/HST/ESA/NASA. Is everything you see here part of a high-tech stab at survival by a mega-species? That’s what Clay Naff has proposed recently. Click on the image for a nice high-resolution 19-MB version. It may take a minute to load, but once you [...]
Sharing evolution: The medium is the message
Ernst Haeckel, Geneological Tree of Humanity, 1891. I love the way science and art meet in this drawing. Of course, the science is no longer much good, apart from the general impression that Homo sapiens is one among many interrelated species (although we get top-center placement). Haeckel’s evocative rendering of the tree makes a subject [...]
Cities! Auroras! Lightning! One good use for the ISS
Michael König, Time Lapse Views of Earth from ISS, 2011. The music leaves a little to be desired, perhaps, but this is one wonderful video. Full-screen and hi-def it Here’s a little break from the regularly scheduled program, via the Bad Astronomer. As a big fan of robotic exploration of the solar system and space [...]
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