Ocean Liner to Mars

A comet called 10195 (1999 RQ36) regularly crosses Earth’s orbit. So scientists are going to send a robotic probe called OSIRIS to have a look and even bring some of it back.

One of the experiments the mission will be carrying is an under graduate student project to measure radiation on the comet’s path. Why? Because one of the possible future uses for a comet like this is to hitch a ride on it from Earth’s orbit out to Mars. You get protection from solar radiation, oxygen from the ice, water obviously and Ice for martinis. It’s an ocean liner in space.

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/news_lpl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=149&sid=8c915f019e9e2a6b73b8230ad463d678

Cubic Tragedy

 

Apparently caricature work so well because it is close to the way our brains handle faces.

This is a charming and funny little 3D animation that’s guaranteed to raise a smile.
Cubic Tragedy:
http://www.dt.ntust.edu.tw/siggraph2005/
It’s won a few awards. It’s striking how engaging a face made of such simple elements can be.

I tried to find some appropriate info to go with this animation, on how the brain uses caricature. There’s tons of it. It’s pretty heavy duty. I stumbled over a yet more interesting angle that includes the caricature effect.

Secrets of human thinking
by MARILIA DUFFLES
Why are great aesthetic works timeless? What prompted prehistoric man to draw? Science is unveiling the laws of being human. Marilia Duffles reports
http://www.neuroaesthetics.com/