The Puffin

A few days ago, I read about a flying machine, developed by NASA engineers, that is made for one person. It is called the "Puffin," and is powered by electricity. Read more about it here.

Lego Orrery!

I just learned that some people associated with NASA's Kepler mission have created a Lego orrery! An orrery is a device that shows the relative sizes and distances of planets in a solar system. The Lego orrery will demonstrate the transit method, the method NASA scientists will use to try to find planets outside of our solar system. (Finding extrasolar planets is Kepler's mission.) The satellite includes a telescope that will detect faint waverings of light emitted by stars, waverings that will indicate that a planet has passed in front of the star, briefly blocking its radiation.

http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/education/ModelsandSimulations/LegoOrrery/

Evidence

Full disclosure: I work at the Exploratorium. But, I can't help mentioning the Exploratorium's website about the nature of science, and the role that evidence plays.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/evidence/index.html

Thales and Early Greek Science

I just found a fantastic website associated with the University of Virginia. It focuses on the origins of science in ancient Greece. I highly recommend perusing it.

http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/thales.html

El Dorado Discovered?

According to an article in the Guardian, remnants of a previously unknown civilization have been found in the Amazon rainforest. Interesting...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/05/amazon-dorado-satellite-discovery