Nerds.

This is a science blog. We post science stuff. That's all. It's not that complicated.

[nasa]

What is it Like to be a NASA Intern?

We asked prospective interns that follow us on social media what questions they had for our current interns. 

You asked…they answered! Let’s take a look:

Answer: “Yes, sometimes astronauts request to run through the International Space Station simulation that we have using the hyper-reality lab.”

Answer: “Persistence is the key to getting your first NASA internship. Work hard, study hard, keep applying and persevere.”

Answer: “NASA is looking for passionate, smart and curious, full-time students, who are U.S. citizens, at least 16 years of age and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.”

Answer: “In addition to STEM majors, NASA has many opportunities for students studying business, photography, English, graphics and public relations.”

Answer: “The highlight has been the chance to learn a lot more about embedded systems and coding for them, and just seeing how everyone’s efforts in lab come together for our small part in the AVIRIS-NG project.”

Answer: Yes! Here at the Kennedy Space Center is where all the action takes place. Check out the schedule on our website!”

Answer:  “There are 10 NASA field centers and they all accept interns.”

Answer: “Yes, we do! I am currently working in tech development for an X-ray telescope that is launched into space to take pictures of our galaxy.”

Answer: “The greatest thing I’ve learned as a NASA intern is to not be afraid of failing and to get involved in any way you can. NASA is a very welcoming environment that offers a lot of opportunities for its interns to learn.”

Answer: My favorite experience from being a NASA intern is meeting people from all around the world and being exposed to the different cultures.”

Want to become a NASA intern? Visit intern.nasa.gov to learn about the open opportunities and follow @NASAInterns on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates!

Watch the full story on NASA Snapchat or Instagram until it expires on April 6.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[tobeagenius]

valentines day for nerds

[badsciencejokes]

Is it too early for these?

[sixpenceee]

Niagara Falls with no water in 1969. The water was diverted so that engineers could strengthen certain areas and slow erosion.

[badsciencejokes]

Shit

[journey-to-dvm]

Veterinary Diaries #2: Where did you put your body wall??

Prepped a kitten for surgery only to find very evident peristalsis in action!

Peristalsis: the progressive wave of contraction and relaxation of a tubular muscular system.

[eternalglorytochrist-deactivate]

The popcorn function, also known as Thomae’s function, is continuous at all irrational numbers and discontinuous at all rational numbers. The function is Riemann integrable on [0, 1] and its integral over [0, 1] equals 0. (If someone wants proof for this, I ca post it later on.)

Image credit: Smithers888 (Wikimedia Commons). The work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

[the-future-now-deactivated20170]

Scientists find mind blowing feathered dinosaur tail suspended in amber

Scientists have discovered a 99-million-year-old fragment of a dinosaur tail suspended in amber.

It’s “a once in a lifetime find,” as paleontologist Ryan McKellar told CNN, because it provides rare insight into the way dinos actually looked.

These are “the first non-avialan theropod fragments preserved in amber.”

he segment is believed to have come from a juvenile dinosaur, possibly a coelurosaurian.

The tail is covered in brown and white feathers, with bones and tissues and even some blood mummified in its amber tomb. Read more

follow @the-future-now​

[ultrafacts]

Source [x]

Click HERE for more facts

[humanoidhistory]

[perideraion]

Earth by night, December 16, 2014.

[skincold]

WOW

[fidget-sinner]

[science]

Mythbusters Physics: Relative Velocity

The Mythbusters tested what would happen if a ball was shot at 60 mph off the back of a truck travelling at 60 mph to see what would happen.

It became a perfect example of the relative nature of physics - showing that velocity can vectorially add together. 60 mph in one direction cancels the 60 mph in the other, meaning a net velocity of zero.

[planned-planethood]

NASA’s Most Shocking Image

This image is a 1.5… *BILLION* pixel photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy.

To view the image in all its glory go here.

NASA is the coolest thing that’s ever happened.

[devilishdescent]

alltogetherterrible oh gosh

[gracielikescats]

I zoomed in and I was like “yeah right” while it loaded and then my jaw actually dropped 

[nuclearcarrots]

holy shit

i mean i knew theoretically what this was supposed to look like, but i didn’t actually expect to see it

but then when i zoomed in, all the noise turned into ACTUAL STARS, that you can see individually

good job, NASA

[thescientificwaffle]

dipole-dipole force: who are you

hydrogen bond: i'm you but stronger

[skunkbear]

Flowers are nature’s ad men. They’ll do anything to attract the attention of the pollinators that help them reproduce, and they taylor their displays based on the sensory capabilities of those pollinators. Bees can see visible and ultraviolet light, they have precise olfactory receptors, and now we know they can also detect electric fields.

Visible spectrum (photo). Particular bright colors and petal shapes attract particular pollinators. (Credit: Kevin Collins)

Ultraviolet (photo). Bees and other pollinators can see the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. They are guided by patterns on flowers that are invisible to humans. (Credit: Kevin Collins)

Fragrance plume (artist’s depiction). Bees follow specific odors to locate flowers and, once they arrive, use scent maps to move toward the center of the flower. Fragrance that clings to a bee provides information for other bees back at the hive.

Electric field (artist’s depiction). Flowers have a weak negative electric charge relative to the air around them. Different flowers have different electric fields, often with charge concentrated at the tips of the petals.

A new study shows that bees sense these electric fields because the static electricity moves tiny hairs on their fuzzy bodies. 

[unexplained-events]

This rare footage of a gigantic sunfish was captured on film by photographer Miguel Pereira off the coast of Portugal.

“A few days before, my camera was damaged when the underwater housing flooded. The bad luck was compensated when diving with a GoPro I saw the giant Sunfish almost at surface level and practically static. The Sunfish seemed not to be bothered by our presence at all and followed us for 15 minutes.” -Miguel Pereira

[chroniclesofachemist]

A sunfish that size is not afraid of tiny humans.

[thescientificwaffle]

On the care and keeping of your scientist

Congratulations on adopting a scientist! Regardless of their field they will require much coffee, free food, and love. Here are some field specific tips for keeping your scientist happy and healthy!

Biology: make sure they don't get overly invested in their model organism by reminding them about the flaws inherent in their system on a regular basis, but also make sure to join in when they criticize other models in favor of their own

Chemistry: don't let them do that 'just one more reaction' at 10 pm. make sure they get out of the lab and see the sun on a regular basis. try to keep them from partying too hard when they do leave the lab

Geology: humor their rock puns but don't let the lick the rocks (they will tell you they need to lick the rocks to identify them, but don't fall for it)

Astronomy: try not to let them become completely nocturnal. point out nice stars to them and look suitably impressed by their "pictures" of planets that don't look like anything to you

Physics: take them to the park on a regular basis to remind them that things larger than subatomic particles exist. bring a frisbee or a ball to play catch with and be impressed by their ability to calculate trajectories

Math: always make sure to have free batteries for their calculators and a mathmatica user guide on hand. Humor them when they tell you why space without angles is important

Ecology: make sure they remember to wear sunscreen and keep an eye on them in the field. Remind them to come inside and analyze their data occasionally

Psychology: don't mention Freud or ever call them a soft or social science, but make sure you gently remind them that social factors can impact reproducibility and try to keep them from drawing sweeping conclusions about the inherent nature of humanity

Neuroscience: be suitably impressed by their newest experiment and then remind them that people are not mice as often as possible

Computer Science: make sure they take breaks while debugging by limiting their supply of coffee. Nod and smile when they go off on indexing and arrays. Make sure they always have a rubber duck.

Make sure to keep your scientist away from engineers unless they have been properly socialized to interact in a translational household. The most important thing is to remember to hug your scientist on a regular basis and remind them that there is life outside the lab

[thescientificwaffle]

First day of chem labs: uses gloves and goggles to measure distilled water

Last day of chem labs: spills silver nitrate all over hand and wipes it on pants