Fallen AT-AT snow fort
From reddit user jabo27. [via Geekologie]
Science
DIY science is the perfect way to use your creative skills and learn something new. With the right supplies, some determination, and a curious mind, you can create amazing experiments that open up a whole world of possibilities. At home-made laboratories or tech workshops, makers from all backgrounds can explore new ideas by finding ways to study their environment in novel ways – allowing them to make breathtaking discoveries!
Monster Krupp bucket excavator eats stray bulldozers
Stumbling upon these photos was a strange moment for me. I’ve been playing Borderlands recently, and it had never occurred to me that the monster excavator from the video game might’ve been based on a real-world machine–a real-world machine which, just by eyeballing it, looks like it might actually be bigger than the video game version. Dark Roasted Blend has a good article with lots of deets on the monster machine.
Cute and Easy Sweater Skirt How-to
In case you missed it, be sure to check out Betz White‘s charmingly easy hip huggie tutorial. It’s a perfect project now that the holidays are over; think of it as a well-deserved present to yourself. I love the idea of a quick and easy, warm and cozy skirt made from a reused felted wool […]
Telescope pr0n
Flickr user 3D King added this cool setup to the MAKE Flickr pool. See his photo set for shots of the stars taken with the rig.
Retroreflector
If you’re looking at it from the correct side, the reflection will always be centered on your eye or, in the case of photographs, on the lens of the camera.
Sweet robot dresser built from junk table
Anthony Pego, aka Reddit user pegothejerk, says, “I built a robot dresser out of end table scraps I found on the side of the road. My nephew is going to freak.”
Pictures of the construction process reveal that the dresser seems, actually, to be mostly built from stock lumber, with the found object serving as base, frame, and/or inspiration. [Thanks, Marc!]
Amazingly well-timed photos of ISS silhouetted against moon, sun
Both these remarkable shots were captured from the ground by French astrophotographer Thierry Legault.
The first, showing the ISS passing in front of the full moon, was taken from Avranches, France, at 21:34 UTC on December 20, 2010. The space station, of course, is much closer to the camera than the moon is, and is moving at 7.5 km/s relative to the ground, the upshot of which is that this photograph was only possible for the 0.55 seconds it took the ISS to pass in front of the moon. Monsieur Legault knew that, in advance, planned for it, and got the shot.
The second, even more remarkable photograph, shows a double partial eclipse of the sun, most obviously by the moon, to lower left, but also, again, by the ISS. The small dark spot to lower right is a sun spot larger than the Earth itself. This photograph was only possible for a 0.86 second window at 9:09 UTC on on January 4th, 2011, from Muscat, Oman. Again, Legault carefully planned for that moment, traveled to Oman, and got the shot.
M. Legault’s website is absolutely chock-a-block with stunning astrophotography and is well worth the click. Just be prepared to spend some time gawking. [via Neatorama]
