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This is a train I don't normally get to photograph as it runs Sun-Thu corresponding with my work week and is off the only two days I can usually get out. But this week, thanks to some early morning training I was able to get out after and try for something different. Knowing that the Providence and Worcester Railroad's WOGR/GRWO turns have had a nice matched pair of classic red and brown painted GEs of late I figured they were worth a look.
I made it to the Chair City just as they were pulling into the Pan Am Southern yard along the old Boston and Maine mainline. Having dropped their train and run back to the east end of the yard they have paused for the conductor to grab their EOT off the hind end before heading down another track to pick up a small cut of empty aluminum hoppers which is all they'll return to Worcester with. PW 3903 (B39-8E blt. Apr. 1988 as LMX 8594) and 4005 (B40-8W blt. Feb. 1992 as ATSF 561) will make quick work of the light train down the 26 miles of the former Boston and Maine Gardner Branch.
And as for history of this line, how about a little courtesy of the Holden Historical Society?
In 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (BB&G) commenced construction of a railroad from Worcester (at Barber), through Holden, to Gardner. This 26-mile line, which cost 1.2 million dollars to build, opened in 1871. It was extended 10 miles to Winchendon in January, 1874 and later that same year the company leased the Monadnock Railroad north another 16 miles to Peterborough, New Hampshire. The BB&G thus attained a total length of 52 miles.
Beset by financial reversals, the Monadnock lease was surrendered to the Cheshire Railroad in 1880. The BB&;G was leased itself to the Fitchburg Railroad in 1884. The following year it was merged into the Fitchburg and became that road's Worcester Division. In 1900 the Fitchburg was leased and soon thereafter merged into the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M), becoming the B&M's Fitchburg Division. As a part of the B&M system's Fitchburg Division the line through Holden was referred to at different times by various names including the Worcester & Contoocook (N.H.) Branch, the Worcester & Hillsboro (N.H.) Branch, the Peterboro (N.H.) Branch, and finally after the line was severed north o f Gardner, as the Worcester Branch of the Fitchburg Division. At Worcester, the line joined the B&M Portland Division's Worcester Main Line at Barber.
The original 52-mile BB&G line through Holden remained under B&M control for 73 years. In 1974, the line was bought by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) from the trustees of the bankrupt B&M which was considering the route for abandonment. The last B&M freight left Holden for Worcester in January 1974 and the P&W operated its first train over the line on February 2, 1974.
At various times, passenger stops existed at Chaffins, Dawson, Holden, Jefferson, and at North Woods. Holden and Jefferson were small country depots, while the others were flag stops with small shelters. Only two station structures remain: the Holden depot in its original location and the Jefferson depot which was moved in 1975 to a site next to the Wong Dynasty Chinese Restaurant on Reservoir Street.
In 1878 there were four round trip passenger trains between Worcester and Winchendon. This increased to six round trips at the turn of the century. Under B&M ownership, the old BB&G line became part of a rather unlikely through passenger route from Worcester to Concord, NH. This service ended after the floods of 1936 severed the line north of Peterboro. However, a round trip passenger local from Worcester to Peterboro would survive another 17 years, handling passengers and mail. In its last years, it acquired a certain degree of fame and became known as the Peterboro Local or the Blueberry Special. By the early 1950s the B&M was hemorrhaging financially from passenger train losses and was given permission to discontinue this train. It made its last run, with extra coaches and much fanfare, on March 7, 1953. It had remained a steam train with an ancient wooden combine and one coach almost to the very end, at which time steam power had been taken off and a diesel locomotive substituted.
B&M operated through symbol freights Worcester to Mechanicville, NY (WM-1), and Mechanicville, NY, to Worcester (WM-2), as well as a local freight that switched customers between Worcester and Gardner. The through freights between Worcester and Mechanicville, NY, operated until about 1968. WM-1 would arrive punctually in Holden at 7:30 every evening, switch the small yard, and then depart for Gardner and points west. The eastbound WM-2 passed through in the small hours of the night. The local switcher out of Worcester worked during the day. By the end of B&M control, through service on the line had been discontinued and the Worcester switcher ventured out the line only to service customers as needed.
The line has undergoing a dramatic renaissance since the P&W commenced operations in 1974 and today is a well kept modern 30 mph railroad. In fact it's so well kept that chasing a train along its length is downright challenging!
Gardner, Massachusetts
Wednesday March 16, 2022
Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
GMCR GP9 804 and VTR GP40-2 307 are at MP 7.5 on Washington County Railroad's M&B Division having just tied down there power on the main after returning light engine from the top of the Hill at Websterville for loadout at Northeast Materials granite quarry. They had begun in the AM by bringing a loaded train of gondolas of armor rock destined for breakwater construction in the midwest down to the NECR interchange. They then took three empties up to the quarry before returning light engine into town to wrap up their work day.
The particular rails this train is on are ex CV, first laid in 1875 when the 1849 branch into the capital city was extended to Barre. In 1957 Sam Pinsly's Montpelier & Barre purchased them and he quickly consolidated the parallel CV and old Montpelier & Wells River (later Barre & Chelsea) routes between this point at Barre. The state purchased these rails in 1980 when the M&B petitioned for abandonment and they've had multiple contract operators over the years until finally setting on Vermont Rail System's Washington County Subsidiary about two decades ago.
Barre, Vermont
Friday April 24, 2020
“SPACE PROCESSING”
And there’s the following:
Thanks to the amazing work by G at his “Numbers Station” blog:
e05.code.blog/2021/07/19/construction-in-space/
ALONG with his conscientious & considerate linkage to the source, at:
archive.org/details/nasa-spinoff-1982/page/n14/mode/1up
Credit: user ‘chris85’/Internet Archive website
…contained within “NASA Spinoff 1982”, under the “Space Construction” section, on page 15, the following description pertaining to the image:
“The mobile work station is one example of a number of study and technology development projects aimed at exploiting the Space Transportation System’s capability for construction work. In one approach, structural components would be pre-assembled on Earth, collapsed into compact packages for Shuttle delivery, then expanded to original form in orbit. For erection of habitable structures, a technique being studied involves Shuttle delivery of fully-equipped modules which would be docked together to form a space station. A third approach involves in-space fabrication and joining of lightweight beams. The artist’s conception below depicts a space facility assembled by these techniques.”
10.25” x 13.5”, most likely on “THIS PAPER MANUFACTURED BY KODAK” photographic paper.
The photograph looks to have possibly been framed at one time. The covering on the verso has the look & feel of the peelable backing of vintage decals. I didn't check to see if it could be peeled off though.
Unfortunately, no signature is visible. The unfinished/brushstroke periphery look was sometimes used by Jack Olson. Although the clouds look like maybe Ted Brown, Henry Lozano, even M. Alvarez or Donald Bester? Whoever it is, it’s beautifully rendered.
Friday, 26 March 2021, just after 11:00 pm. I have just checked the weather forecast, out of curiosity. Wish I hadn't! So thankful that all the scaffolding around my building will not be installed till 5 April. Of course, the forecast could always change by Monday.
"Some very rosy spring-like warmth this weekend will vanish quite thoroughly by Monday. In its place will be the effects of an incoming system which looks to bring a wide swath of snow, heaviest in the mountains and foothills of Alberta, and northern and eastern Saskatchewan. Much more impactful will be the system's strong winds, gusting 80-90 km/h for most of Monday across the two provinces. Blowing snow is a guarantee."
All five photos were taken on 4 July 2015, at the Olds College Botanic Gardens and Wetlands. I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted image taken on the same trip. It was an interesting and enjoyable outing, including seeing the barn and a cluster of mushrooms.
"Yesterday, 4 July 2015, was the Nature Calgary annual bus trip, and this year it was a visit to the Olds College Botanic Gardens and Wetlands. The College is approximately 95.0 km north of Calgary, roughly a 55 minute drive. This once-a-year outing always feels so good for everyone - no driving, simply relaxing on a bus. We had about three hours there, which sounded short, but in fact worked out quite well.
The mission of the College is:
"Our goal is to develop a Botanic Garden on the Olds College campus, which introduces, conserves, and maintains a diverse, well-documented and accurately labeled collection of prairie hardy plants.
Our collections will preserve our natural heritage, expand the role of Olds College as a Centre of Excellence in Horticulture, and gain formal recognition with the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network (CBCN) and the American Public Garden Association (APGA).
Olds College Botanic Garden will enhance and support education, training, demonstration, and applied research programs that span the generations and encourage the exchange of information and ideas with industry, students, other botanical gardens and the public.
The Botanical Garden will also raise awareness with the public regarding the importance of sustainable environments."
About the College:
"Not just a walk down the garden path, the gardens are designed to meet the instructional needs of courses and programs on campus, and are used as the location and subject matter for research projects. The Botanic Gardens are an aesthetically beautiful, diverse and well-maintained garden and constructed wetlands. Highlights include our collections of hardy peonies, lilies and roses, natural areas, a wide variety of aquatics, herb garden, fabulous annual displays each year and much more.
The Gardens are comprised of three phases spread over 25 acres and are populated with a wide ranging collection of prairie hardy plant material, both native and ornamental. The most established parts of the garden are the Central Portion opened in 2002.
The third and most recent phase of our Botanic Gardens is the East Portion which contains the Treatment Wetlands, opened in early September of 2013.
The three phases when considered together include naturalized landscapes, specialty gardens, walking trails, demonstration plots, an arboretum and 20 constructed treatment wetlands and display ponds. The area is complete with two public gazebos, an amphitheater and event areas. The Botanic Gardens & Treatment Wetlands has the ability to host weddings, reunions, graduations, workshops, and boasts 1.3 kilometers of trails throughout the gardens and wetlands.
Botanic gardens are quite different from other public garden spaces or show gardens. To be able to be identified as a botanic garden, several criteria must be met. For example, botanic gardens must:
Be open to the public
1. Exhibit a degree of permanence
2. Use a scientific basis as the foundation for their collections
3. Document and monitor the collection
4. Communicate information to other gardens, institutions and the public
The Botanic Gardens and Treatment Wetlands at Olds College is dedicated to meeting all criteria and continuing to expand its value to the college and extended community."
On the afternoon of March 2nd 2002, the system's oldest SY 0271 passed the washery & stabling point with 18 loaded coal wagons (the third & fourth look very well loaded) from one of the deep mines to the CNR interchange.
nrhp # 92001490- The Boston Mills Historic District is a historic district in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio in the United States. With the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1827, people began to settle in this vicinity. By 1842, there was a water-powered mill, a large warehouse, a boat-yard, two stores and a hotel, and the population was around 300. A number of houses and other buildings dating back to that period remain.
With the decrease in boat traffic on the canal the village declined somewhat, but its fortunes revived with the construction of the railway in 1880 and the arrival of the Cleveland—Akron Bag Company in 1900. This industry drew in many Polish immigrant workers, and housing and commercial premises were built. Many of these buildings remain today, intermingled with the older properties.
Located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Village of Boston Mills reflects the early 19th-century canal era and the early 20th-century industrial era. With the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal from Cleveland to Akron in 1827, the settlement along the Cuyahoga River began to grow. By 1842, Boston Mills had a population of approximately 300. A water-powered mill, a large warehouse, two stores and a hotel were some of the businesses in the village. Canal boat building was also an important industry with several dry docks in this inland port. Although the canal is not watered through the village now, one of the system's locks is still extant and several Greek Revival frame buildings date from the early 19th century. The Upwright and Wing house type reflects the extended New England settlement culture. This style is exemplified by the main gable-front two-story section containing a parlor and bedchambers, while the kitchen is located in a perpendicular one-story eave oriented section. The 1836 Boston Company Store, with its Federal and Greek Revival influences, now serves as a Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitor center and canal boat building museum.
Although the village stagnated with the end of canal packet, or passenger boat era, the arrival of the Valley Railway in 1880 and the Cleveland—Akron Bag Company in 1900 began a new period of growth. Connecting the industries of Cleveland with the coal fields in the south, the Valley Railway provided raw resources and access to markets for industrial operations. The Cleveland—Akron Bag Company brought with it many Polish immigrant workers and new houses—built and sold by the company. Several patterned concrete block houses and a school remain from this era, along with a company store building. A somewhat later 20th-century building, the M. D. Garage has been restored, including period gas pumps and signage, and now houses art exhibits. The compact nature of the village creates streetscapes that juxtapose the buildings from each era.
from Wikipedia
The refitted Airbus A310 aircraft is on the runway and ready for its first flight for weightless research next week. Although the aircraft can weigh up to 157 tonnes, skilled pilots will angle its nose 50° upwards to create brief periods of weightlessness. At the top of each curve, the forces on the passengers and objects inside cancel each other out, causing everything to float in weightlessness.
During the climb and pulling out of the descent, the occupants endure almost twice normal gravity. A person weighing 80 kg on Earth will feel as if they weighed 160 kg for around 20 seconds.
Conducting hands-on experiments in weightlessness and hypergravity is enticing for researchers in fields as varied as biology, physics, medicine and applied sciences.
French company Novespace has conducted these ‘parabolic flights’ for more than 25 years. Last year they acquired a new aircraft to replace their trusty Airbus A300. Most seats were removed to provide as much space as possible inside, while padded walls provide a soft landing for the researchers – the changes in ‘gravity’ can be hard to handle. Extra monitoring stations have been installed for a technician to monitor the aircraft system’s as it is pushed to its limits – this is no transatlantic cruise.
The inaugural scientific campaign will start on 5 May, a collaboration between Novespace’s three main research partners: ESA, France’s CNES space agency and the DLR German Aerospace Center.
Experiments include understanding how humans sense objects under different gravity levels, investigating how the human heart and aorta cope, looking at how plants grow, testing new equipment for the International Space Station, trying out new techniques for launching nanosatellites, investigating whether pharmaceutical drugs will work without ‘gravity’, understanding Solar System dust clouds and planet formation as well as investigating potential propulsion for martian aircraft.
If you want to know more about these experiments and the parabolic flights, join us on Wednesday 6 May at 13:00 GMT (15:00 CEST) for a live ESA hangout with the researchers and space agency experts. Ask questions live in chat or via Twitter with hashtag #ZeroGhangout.
Credit: Sébastien Rouquette
One of the darker and more diabolical VCS units fielded during the First Greco-Roman War, the GRF HADES, was infamous due to its tendency to kill its pilots after they leave the life support systems of the cockpit. This was due to the immense amount of strain the unit put on the pilot due to its trans-dimensional travel. The GRF were desperate when they built the HADES, and did not bother to fix this major flaw. They did not even tell the pilots that their first mission in a HADES would be their last. Little did they know that the ghosts of the past would someday catch up to them.
.
The 7th HADES unit fielded was piloted by an ace named Ambrosio Callis. After his first mission, before he exited the cockpit of his unit, a kind-hearted technician decided to let him know what would happen if he left the system's life support. Enraged that the GRF had coerced him into piloting such a machine, Ambrosio broke out of the hangar and quickly dimension-hopped away. He resolved never to leave the cockpit of his HADES until he had exacted sufficient revenge on the GRF.
.
Over the years, Ambrosio (now known simply as "Unit 7") upgraded and enhanced his HADES, until he was permanently connected to the massive, immensely powerful killing machine. Unit 7 still has the ability to dimension hop, although its reactor has been improved so now it does not need to give off excess energy. However, if it becomes enraged, it will still seep energy from its head and chest. After the appearance of the Neo-GRF, Unit 7 became much more active, wiping out entire squads of NGRF units, and occasionally picking fights with the URE as well.
This bad boy's been a long time coming. I was rereading the description for Omar's HADES unit he built a while back for my universe, and had the idea of a heavily modified HADES with an insane pilot who would not leave the cockpit. My primary inspiration was the Graze Ein (minor spoilers for Gundam IBO), with a bit of the Berserk Eva 01 and Exia Repair mixed in. I basically wanted to take the aesthetics of the HADES and make it into a much larger, more menacing design.
Features an opening cockpit hatch, although you can't remove the pilot as he is attached directly to the mech and has no legs :P
A backdoor is a means to access a computer system or encrypted data that bypasses the system's customary security mechanisms.
A developer may create a backdoor so that an application or operating system can be accessed for troubleshooting or other purposes. However, attackers often use backdoors that they detect or install themselves as part of an exploit. In some cases, a worm or virus is designed to take advantage of a backdoor created by an earlier attack.
Whether installed as an administrative tool, a means of attack or as a mechanism allowing the government to access encrypted data, a backdoor is a security risk because there are always threat actors looking for any vulnerability to exploit.
There have been a number of high-profile backdoor attacks that have occurred over the last few decades. One of the most noteworthy was Back Orifice, created in 1999 by a hacker group that called themselves Cult of the Dead Cow. Back Orifice enabled remote control of Windows computers thanks to operating system vulnerabilities.
Built for Project Telstar experiments. View shows Control Building and 210 foot Radome.
Postmarked September 17, 1965
Interesting history of this here: www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/658/slideshow/386/di...
Western intelligence agencies have known for quite awhile that the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia (SRY) and Union of Songun Republics (USR) were in the process of developing a series of joint missile programs after snippets of the M-525PL Rod/WS525 Long Dong ASM TELAR's program documents began to surface following a managerial purge of the TELAR's associated design bureaus. Although a string of at least six separate programs was listed, it was unclear which were mere paper gimmicks and which had a shot of coming into actual fruition. Indeed many within the US Department of Defense (DOD) and its allied counterparts believed that the programs were fabrications meant to inflate the image of both the USR's and SRY's respective missile defense forces.
That dismissive perception was quickly flipped on its head, however, when images of an excess of Yugoslav troops protecting assets in USR port facilities were taken. American and Korean intelligence assets followed the Yugoslav forces as they moved farther inland and it was revealed that they were in fact protecting a convoy of cargo containers. Although these containers seemed innocuous on the surface--albeit still rather enigmatic--it was divulged that they in fact had a nefarious secret: They were collectively a camouflaged missile system.
Although the system's exact capabilities are a highly contentious subject among the intelligence and defense communities in the West and elsewhere, it is believed that its general nature is that of a typical vertical launch system insofar that its tubes are capable of carrying a range of munitions to cater to different mission statements. One container could carry long-range SAMs, another could have land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), and yet another could carry SRBMs whilst all being served by the same universal radar and command post. This clandestine force-multiplication means that a relatively small attacking Yugo-Songun party could enter a state and have tremendous firepower at its fingertips thanks to the universality of standardized shipping containers. Indeed the more states engage in globalized trade, the more they could be undoing their own national security given every highway, shipping lane, port, or railway could be converted into a weapon. If commercial goods can be hauled down a route, then the chances of said route being used as an offensive avenue are equally as high.
Such a notion has instigated a flurry of panic in the international community. The American reverence for free and open trading policies across the globe has morphed into a nightmarish and lingering betrayal. Hence, the United States has continued to push for international legislation that would limit the proliferation and mere existence of what is known as the YSA-37 (or CSA-31 if discussing the Songun model) Gavel. Over the course of seven years, the US has managed to gain piecemeal victories towards those objectives, but nothing overwhelming useful has been done to annihilate the threat imposed by the YSA-37. For example, the US managed to garner support for an international treaty condemning the development and production of systems along the same lines as the Gavel (a rare instance given the US likes to keep all options available; see the Ottawa Treaty as an example); however, the US failed to get a UN condemnation of the system after the USR used its weight as a permanent Security Council member to negate such a motion. Indeed this stalemate is likely to continue as the USR is able to use the CSA-31 as a trump card to negotiate more favorable terms in other treaties and the SRY can use it to reduce NATO's impositions in Eastern Europe.
Furthermore, given neither Yugoslavia nor the Songun Republics have standardized their references to the system (i.e. there is no Yugoslav or Songun military designation for the unit), there are no clear figures as to how many units actually exist. This lack of standardization was likely done on purpose to--and here an earlier phrase may be borrowed--inflate the image of both the USR's and SRY's respective missile defense forces. Regardless of the prescribed reason for keeping the units unmarked, the immediate result is that states are unable to impose sanctions or other similar acts against either the USR or SRY since it is unclear if they actual possess the capability to infringe upon the security and integrity of other countries. For all the world knows, the Yugoslav unit photographed in the USR was a mock-up or is in fact the one and only battery to exist. This is unlikely, but that's the legalist argument used to deny other states the moral high ground in restricting the USR and SRY access to certain components of the international community (e.g. unmolested trade). Because of this ambiguity and the systems capacity to be nigh ubiquitous, the DOD lists the Gavel as the greatest conventional threat to American national security and interests abroad. This classification is likely to persist well into the future.
Credit for the dank forklift and pallets goes to the homie, Devid. Such a swanky set of designs.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet (C/2012 S1) ISON was photographed on April 10, 2013, when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter's orbit at a distance of 394 million miles from Earth.
Even at that great distance the comet is already active as sunlight warms the surface and causes frozen volatiles to boil off. Astronomers used such early images to try to measure the size of the nucleus, in order to predict whether the comet would stay intact when it slingshots around the sun -- at 700,000 miles above the sun's surface -- on Nov. 28, 2013.
The comet's dusty coma, or head of the comet, is approximately 3,100 miles across, or 1.2 times the width of Australia. A dust tail extends more than 57,000 miles, far beyond Hubble's field of view.
This image was taken in visible light. The blue false color was added to bring out details in the comet structure.
Credit: NASA/ ESA/STScI/AURA
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More details on Comet ISON:
Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.
Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago.
NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed.
The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether.
This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact.
The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.
ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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On Endeavour's middeck, the three STS-59 red shift crew members begin to organize what was believed to be among the longest mail messages to that point in Shuttle history. Astronaut Sidney M. Gutierrez, mission commander, is in the right foreground. Also seen are astronauts Linda M. Godwin, payload commander, and Kevin P. Chilton, pilot. Though early Shuttle flights could brag of longer teleprinted messages, this Thermal Imaging Printing System's (TIPS) message from the ground competes with those of recent Shuttle flights.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: sts059-05-007
Date: April 9, 1994
Probably the highest bus stopover in the country
Km. 50, Sayangan, Atok, Benguet
Near Philippine Pali (Phil. Highway System's highest point)
The crew access arm is seen as it swings into position for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch on 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
In this modeled image of ISON, the coma has been subtracted, leaving behind the nucleus.
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) and Jian-Yang Li (Planetary Science Institute)
--------
More details on Comet ISON:
Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.
Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago.
NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed.
The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether.
This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact.
The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.
ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission after being rolled out from the Vertical Integration Facility, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Holyrood, Edinburgh. The white masts adorn the Dynamic Earth building. Salisbury Crags in the background.
Taken from Regent Road with Olympus OM-System S Zuiko Auto-Zoom 100-200mm 1:5
Early on the morning of March 29, 2011, at 5:20 am Eastern Daylight Time, the MESSENGER spacecraft captured this historic image of Mercury. This image is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the Solar System's innermost planet. Over the subsequent six hours, MESSENGER acquired an additional 363 images before downlinking some of the data to Earth. Exactly 37 years earlier (on March 29, 1974) Mariner 10 had made the first flyby of Mercury and returned the first closeup images of the planet.
The dominant rayed crater in the upper portion of the image is Debussy. The smaller crater Matabei with its unusual dark rays is visible to the west of Debussy. The bottom portion of this image is near Mercury's south pole and includes a region of Mercury's surface not previously seen by spacecraft.
The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation have helped unravel the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Image Number: PIA14076
Date: March 29, 2011
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lands at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Edited Juno PR image (processed by Andrea Luck, with extra processing by me - I changed the colors of Jupiter and brightened the moons) of Jupiter and two Galilean moons: Io (orange and closer) and Europa (gray and farther).
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25014
Original caption: NASA's Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter's southern hemisphere during the spacecraft's 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022. Zooming in on the right portion of the image (Figure 1) reveals two more worlds in the same frame: Jupiter's intriguing moons Io (left) and Europa (right).
Io is the solar system's most volcanic body, while Europa's icy surface hides a global ocean of liquid water beneath. Juno will have an opportunity to capture much more detailed observations of Europa – using several scientific instruments – in September 2022, when the spacecraft makes the closest fly-by of the enigmatic moon in decades. The mission will also make close approaches to Io in late 2023 and early 2024.
At the time this image was taken, the Juno spacecraft was about 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) from Jupiter's cloud tops, at a latitude of about 52 degrees south. Citizen scientist Andrea Luck created the image using raw data from the JunoCam instrument.
JunoCam's raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products at missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. More information about NASA citizen science can be found at science.nasa.gov/citizenscience and www.nasa.gov/solve/opportunities/citizenscience.
More information about Juno is at www.nasa.gov/juno and missionjuno.swri.edu. For more about this finding and other science results, see www.missionjuno.swri.edu/science-findings.
Image Credit:
Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Image processing by Andrea Luck © CC BY
Image Addition Date:
2022-03-16
Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
“B1NR” by DICTO is an innovative, open-source “binary” sculpture system created by the Osaka-based sculptor, using just two standardized components—PET bottle security rings as multi-notch nodes and nylon zip ties as tensioned connectors—to build complex geometric structures from everyday waste.
Why “B1NR”?
The name “B1NR” is a stylized, leet-speak reimagining of “binary,” directly reflecting the system’s strict two-part material ontology: rings (0) and ties (1), evoking digital code through looped nodes and linear edges. This monochrome duality aligns with black-white aesthetics, wordplay on binding/connecting, and the philosophical tension of connection/separation in modular art.
Binary Connection
Like binary code’s 1s and 0s generating infinite complexity from simplicity, B1NR combines rings’ variable notches (unfolded for 3–5+ ports, unlike DeltaZips’ fixed triangles) with zip ties to form diverse polyhedra—from icosahedral frames and dodecahedral DICTOspheres to volumetric hybrids with interlocking PET bottles—all without proprietary parts. This unlocks free, public eco-sculptures via simple notch-pattern rules.
B1NR - COCOON 2024 by DICTO is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
The flowers at the Depot restaurant in Seaview, Washington, are spectacular, as these photos show.
If I want to enjoy flowers like these, I'll either have to go to the Depot or look at these photos. The deer love to eat flowers, and who wouldn't? They're a delight for the eyes and the palate.
======================
The History of the DEPOT Restaurant, located in the historic Seaview train depot
Seaview’s popularity as a vacation site began in the 1870’s when families would arrive by horseback, wagon, stagecoach and steamer to camp in the Willows, north of Cape Disappointment. The transition of Seaview from campground to resort is credited to Jonathon L. Stout who is believed to have come to the Peninsula as a barrel maker from Ohio in 1859. He married Ann Elizabeth Gearhart, daughter of Oregon’s Phillip Gearhart in 1860.
He was postmaster of Ilwaco, operated a liquor store and stagecoach line. They homesteaded 153.5 acres near the Willows in 1880 to create a summer retreat that was registered as “Sea View” at the Oysterville courthouse in 1881.
Lewis Alfred Loomis, one of the peninsula’s founding father’s secured a mail contract between Astoria, Oregon and Olympia, the capital of Washington. The slowness of the stage line used, convinced Loomis that he should build a railroad to handle his business.
Construction of his railroad, the Ilwaco Railroad and Navigation Company, began in March, 1888 at the Ilwaco wharf, which was the central place of its business.
Steamers could only reach the wharf after the tide was in mid-flood. So train departures were successively later over a month’s time. It is likely that the Ilwaco line was the only organized railroad to operate by a tide table, thus its nickname, the “Clamshell Railroad”.
The system’s first depot was built in Ilwaco not far from the wharf. Frank Strauhal, a summer camper, purchased Stout’s store and bathhouse in Seaview. He offered the railroad a lot, if a depot was erected on it. The line accepted and thus a wooden platform shed was built as a train stop on the current Seaview Depot site. The railroad reached Long Beach by July 1888. Track laying continued at a leisurely pace, terminating at Nahcotta, thirteen and a half miles north of Ilwaco.
In addition to the mail contract, passenger business and freight helped the railroad prosper. Over a thousand sacks of oysters were transported each week from Nahcotta to Ilwaco. From Ilwaco they were carried by the General Canby to Astoria for shipment to market in San Francisco. The freight charge from Nahcotta to Astoria was seventy-five cents a sack. Thursday was oyster day. Citizens with business in Astoria generally avoided that day.
In 1900, Loomis retired selling to a subsidiary of Union Pacific, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. Equipment was immediately improved and train crews were required to wear uniforms.
At a 1905 Directors’ meeting the construction of a regular depot to replace the platform shed at Seaview was authorized. You are sitting in that building today.
The railroad continued in operation until September 10, 1930, when car ferries and highways brought most of us here. The only remaining are the Long Beach and Seaview train depot buildings.
The Depot Restaurant today:
The Depot Restaurant features fine dining with international wines, on-tap microbrews, a display kitchen, heated outdoor deck, and special events ranging from wine dinners to Jazz events. This Seaview train depot has more than stood the test of time!
Enjoy contemporary and historic photos of our Seaview train depot on our page all about historic Seaview, Washington.
T-Centralen (Swedish for "The T-Central"; T being an abbreviation for "tunnelbana", the Swedish word for "underground" or "subway") is a metro station that forms the heart of the Stockholm metro system, in the sense that it is the only station where all three of the system's lines meet. That, its central location, and its connections with other modes of transport make it the most used metro station in Stockholm.
Wikipedia
Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
I imaged Uranus about a month ago, and wondered if the lighter area just off center of the planetary disk was real, or if it was a processing artifact. Upon seeing the NASA/ESA annual Hubble images of the Solar System's planets, I noticed that Uranus is displaying a very bright polar area. It seems that the lighter area in my image could be the polar brightening seen in the NASA/ESA image.
After assembling this composite image, I further wondered how else the two images compared in terms of my Meade LX850/12" and the Hubble Space Telescope, and in terms of the atmosphere that each telescope had to peer through.
Telescope Aperture:
Jim Johnson - 305mm
NASA/ESA - 2,400mm
Effective Focal Length:
Jim Johnson - 6,000mm
NASA/ESA - 54,600
Air Masses:
Jim Johnson - 1.09
NASA/ESA - 0.0
Seeing:
Jim Johnson - 4/10
NASA/ESA - 10/10
Friday, 26 March 2021, just after 11:00 pm. I have just checked the weather forecast, out of curiosity. Wish I hadn't! So thankful that all the scaffolding around my building will not be installed till 5 April.
"Some very rosy spring-like warmth this weekend will vanish quite thoroughly by Monday. In its place will be the effects of an incoming system which looks to bring a wide swath of snow, heaviest in the mountains and foothills of Alberta, and northern and eastern Saskatchewan. Much more impactful will be the system's strong winds, gusting 80-90 km/h for most of Monday across the two provinces. Blowing snow is a guarantee."
All five photos were taken on 4 July 2015, at the Olds College Botanic Gardens and Wetlands. I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted image taken on the same trip. It was an interesting and enjoyable outing, including seeing the barn and a cluster of mushrooms.
"Yesterday, 4 July 2015, was the Nature Calgary annual bus trip, and this year it was a visit to the Olds College Botanic Gardens and Wetlands. The College is approximately 95.0 km north of Calgary, roughly a 55 minute drive. This once-a-year outing always feels so good for everyone - no driving, simply relaxing on a bus. We had about three hours there, which sounded short, but in fact worked out quite well.
The mission of the College is:
"Our goal is to develop a Botanic Garden on the Olds College campus, which introduces, conserves, and maintains a diverse, well-documented and accurately labeled collection of prairie hardy plants.
Our collections will preserve our natural heritage, expand the role of Olds College as a Centre of Excellence in Horticulture, and gain formal recognition with the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network (CBCN) and the American Public Garden Association (APGA).
Olds College Botanic Garden will enhance and support education, training, demonstration, and applied research programs that span the generations and encourage the exchange of information and ideas with industry, students, other botanical gardens and the public.
The Botanical Garden will also raise awareness with the public regarding the importance of sustainable environments."
About the College:
"Not just a walk down the garden path, the gardens are designed to meet the instructional needs of courses and programs on campus, and are used as the location and subject matter for research projects. The Botanic Gardens are an aesthetically beautiful, diverse and well-maintained garden and constructed wetlands. Highlights include our collections of hardy peonies, lilies and roses, natural areas, a wide variety of aquatics, herb garden, fabulous annual displays each year and much more.
The Gardens are comprised of three phases spread over 25 acres and are populated with a wide ranging collection of prairie hardy plant material, both native and ornamental. The most established parts of the garden are the Central Portion opened in 2002.
The third and most recent phase of our Botanic Gardens is the East Portion which contains the Treatment Wetlands, opened in early September of 2013.
The three phases when considered together include naturalized landscapes, specialty gardens, walking trails, demonstration plots, an arboretum and 20 constructed treatment wetlands and display ponds. The area is complete with two public gazebos, an amphitheater and event areas. The Botanic Gardens & Treatment Wetlands has the ability to host weddings, reunions, graduations, workshops, and boasts 1.3 kilometers of trails throughout the gardens and wetlands.
Botanic gardens are quite different from other public garden spaces or show gardens. To be able to be identified as a botanic garden, several criteria must be met. For example, botanic gardens must:
Be open to the public
1. Exhibit a degree of permanence
2. Use a scientific basis as the foundation for their collections
3. Document and monitor the collection
4. Communicate information to other gardens, institutions and the public
The Botanic Gardens and Treatment Wetlands at Olds College is dedicated to meeting all criteria and continuing to expand its value to the college and extended community."
SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, left, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins are seen inside the crew access arm with the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft visible behind them during a tour of Launch Complex 39A before the early Saturday morning launch of the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission launched at 2:49am ET on Saturday, March 2 and was the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Hurley and Behnken are assigned to fly onboard Crew Dragon for the Demo-2 mission and Glover and Hopkins have been assigned to fly to the International Space Station on Crew Dragon's first operational mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The farmer who owns this property, located in the hills southwest of the rural town of Nowra, Australia, happened to come home as I was setting up my camera and tripod. Seeing him move toward the gate, right near where I was lurking in the dark, I uttered “hi there”, but it went unanswered. Upping the volume, I repeated the words. He responded with “hi, watcha up to?” His tone was pleasant, and he seemed friendly, unlike many people who’ve stumbled upon me shuffling around in the shadows. “Taking photos of the stars”, was my brief reply. “Huh. I would have thought they were too far away to take photos of”, he offered, with a cheeky tone.
I had aimed to take photos in which the Milky Way was seeming to stand vertically, stretching from the horizon to the top of the frame. I missed that by about 30 minutes, resulting in our galaxy's starry band of light and dust tipping over a little towards the southwestern side of the sky. The farm’s distance from any significant built-up areas was a boon for a dark sky hunter like myself, allowing me to capture a tremendous amount of detail in the Milky Way’s dust lanes, as well as the distinct deep green colour of the background atmospheric airglow.
You can see Jupiter–our solar system’s most massive planet–shining with a bright, white light at the extreme righthand side of this image. Higher up and across to the left is Mars, at present brighter than Jupiter in the night sky but glowing with a distinctly orange hue. The Magellanic Cloud galaxies hadn’t long risen over the trees near the south-south-eastern horizon, starting another daily circuit of the sky.
I took eleven photographs to make up a vertical panorama to take in this scene, but only ended up using eight of those so that the image wouldn’t be too tall for posting online. Each of the images was shot with a Canon EOS 6D camera, through a Samyang 14mm XP lens @ f/2.8, exposed for 25 seconds @ ISO 6400. The camera was mounted on a Nodal Ninja 3 panoramic head, atop a Manfrotto tripod.
My first visit inside the Julia Ideson Building at the Houston Central Library. A beautifully restored Spanish Renaissance style from 1926. It’s was the only main Houston library from 1926-1976. It is named after the system’s first head librarian for 40 years,
This is one corner of of the wrap around windows in the Tudor Gallery
The two extremely high-power Nuclear-fusion engines get the ship going in a hurry. They are capable of Warp 9 - which is just barely sub-light speed - but require half a solar system's length to slow down to atmospheric-entry speed. (You really don't want to incinerate the planet's crust your are trying colonize with your engine's high-energy backwash!)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch on 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The moon rises ahead of the second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System’s booster, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems test facilities in Promontory, Utah. During the Space Launch System flight the boosters will provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth, the first step on NASA’s Journey to Mars. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
GMCR GP9 804 and VTR GP40-2 307 thread thru the capital of the Green Mountain state with a handful of empty gons destined for the top of The Hill at Websterville for loadout at Northeast Materials granite quarry.
The train has just crossed Main St. / Route 12 crossing at MP 1.36 on the Washington County Railroad's M&B Division. They are threading an alley that cuts between Barre Street and Stone Cutter's Way. These particular rails are ex CV, first laid in 1875 when the 1849 branch into the capital city was extended to Barre. In 1957 Sam Pinsly's Montpelier & Barre purchased them and he quickly consolidated the parallel CV and old Montpelier & Wells River routes between this point at Barre. The state purchased these rails in 1980 when the M&B petitioned for abandonment and they've had multiple contract operators over the years until finally setting on Vermont Rail System's Washington County Subsidiary about two decades ago.
The large square brick building at left that now serves as a bank was once the Montpelier & Wells River Railroad station and headquarters building. Built in 1876 as the Murray Block, it was purchased and refurbished by the M&WRR in 1881 for $8,000.
In the background is the gold dome of the Vermont State Capitol building. This Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the State House. Designed by Thomas Silloway in 1857 and 1858, it was occupied in 1859 although the dome was not gilded until the early 20th century, when many states did so as a part of the Colonial Revival style. The dome is topped by a statue named Agriculture, a representation of Ceres, an ancient Roman goddess of agriculture.
Montpelier, Vermont
Friday April 24, 2020
SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, left, speaks with NASA astronaut Bob Behnken on the fixed service structure of Launch Complex 39A during a tour before the early Saturday morning launch of the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission launched at 2:49am ET on Saturday, March 2 and was the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Behnken and fellow NASA astronaut Doug Hurley are assigned to fly onboard Crew Dragon for the Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The Detroit People Mover began operation in 1987 and is one of the more interesting transportation options in the heart of the Motor City. Admittedly, I have never taken a ride on the system, but I'm sure some great photos could be taken from the elevated system's trains. I took this photo on January 26, 2018 during a visit to the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center, a corner of which can be seen at the left in my photo. The Renaissance Center is seen in the distance, with the upper portion of the Detroit Princess riverboat at the bottom of the photo.
View my collections on flickr here: Collections
Press "L" for a larger image on black.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen in the Vertical Integration Facility before being rolled out to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft opens its main parachutes as it lands at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
This is a train I don't normally get to photograph as it runs Sun-Thu corresponding with my work week and is off the only two days I can usually get out. But this week, thanks to some early morning training I was able to get out after and try for something different. Knowing that the Providence and Worcester Railroad's WOGR/GRWO turns have had a nice matched pair of classic red and brown painted GEs of late I figured they were worth a look.
I made it to the Chair City just as they were pulling into the Pan Am Southern yard along the old Boston and Maine mainline. Having made quick work of their chores they are on their way back to Worcester with eight empty aluminum hoppers and nothing else. PW 3903 (B39-8E blt. Apr. 1988 as LMX 8594) and 4005 (B40-8W blt. Feb. 1992 as ATSF 561) are making quick work of the light train down the 26 miles of the former Boston and Maine Gardner Branch seen here in the rural town of Hubbardston passing the old B&M era MP 20 and the rarely used siding track.
And as for history of this line, how about a little courtesy of the Holden Historical Society?
In 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (BB&G) commenced construction of a railroad from Worcester (at Barber), through Holden, to Gardner. This 26-mile line, which cost 1.2 million dollars to build, opened in 1871. It was extended 10 miles to Winchendon in January, 1874 and later that same year the company leased the Monadnock Railroad north another 16 miles to Peterborough, New Hampshire. The BB&G thus attained a total length of 52 miles.
Beset by financial reversals, the Monadnock lease was surrendered to the Cheshire Railroad in 1880. The BB&G was leased itself to the Fitchburg Railroad in 1884. The following year it was merged into the Fitchburg and became that road's Worcester Division. In 1900 the Fitchburg was leased and soon thereafter merged into the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M), becoming the B&M's Fitchburg Division. As a part of the B&M system's Fitchburg Division the line through Holden was referred to at different times by various names including the Worcester & Contoocook (N.H.) Branch, the Worcester & Hillsboro (N.H.) Branch, the Peterboro (N.H.) Branch, and finally after the line was severed north o f Gardner, as the Worcester Branch of the Fitchburg Division. At Worcester, the line joined the B&M Portland Division's Worcester Main Line at Barber.
The original 52-mile BB&G line through Holden remained under B&M control for 73 years. In 1974, the line was bought by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) from the trustees of the bankrupt B&M which was considering the route for abandonment. The last B&M freight left Holden for Worcester in January 1974 and the P&W operated its first train over the line on February 2, 1974.
At various times, passenger stops existed at Chaffins, Dawson, Holden, Jefferson, and at North Woods. Holden and Jefferson were small country depots, while the others were flag stops with small shelters. Only two station structures remain: the Holden depot in its original location and the Jefferson depot which was moved in 1975 to a site next to the Wong Dynasty Chinese Restaurant on Reservoir Street.
In 1878 there were four round trip passenger trains between Worcester and Winchendon. This increased to six round trips at the turn of the century. Under B&M ownership, the old BB&G line became part of a rather unlikely through passenger route from Worcester to Concord, NH. This service ended after the floods of 1936 severed the line north of Peterboro. However, a round trip passenger local from Worcester to Peterboro would survive another 17 years, handling passengers and mail. In its last years, it acquired a certain degree of fame and became known as the Peterboro Local or the Blueberry Special. By the early 1950s the B&M was hemorrhaging financially from passenger train losses and was given permission to discontinue this train. It made its last run, with extra coaches and much fanfare, on March 7, 1953. It had remained a steam train with an ancient wooden combine and one coach almost to the very end, at which time steam power had been taken off and a diesel locomotive substituted.
B&M operated through symbol freights Worcester to Mechanicville, NY (WM-1), and Mechanicville, NY, to Worcester (WM-2), as well as a local freight that switched customers between Worcester and Gardner. The through freights between Worcester and Mechanicville, NY, operated until about 1968. WM-1 would arrive punctually in Holden at 7:30 every evening, switch the small yard, and then depart for Gardner and points west. The eastbound WM-2 passed through in the small hours of the night. The local switcher out of Worcester worked during the day. By the end of B&M control, through service on the line had been discontinued and the Worcester switcher ventured out the line only to service customers as needed.
The line has undergoing a dramatic renaissance since the P&W commenced operations in 1974 and today is a well kept modern 30 mph railroad. In fact it's so well kept that chasing a train along its length is downright challenging!
Hubbardston, Massachusetts
Wednesday March 16, 2022
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope watched a mysterious dark vortex on Neptune abruptly steer away from a likely death on the giant blue planet.
The storm, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean, was born in the planet's northern hemisphere and discovered by Hubble in 2018. Observations a year later showed that it began drifting southward toward the equator, where such storms are expected to vanish from sight. To the surprise of observers, Hubble spotted the vortex change direction by August 2020, doubling back to the north. Though Hubble has tracked similar dark spots over the past 30 years, this unpredictable atmospheric behavior is something new to see.
Equally as puzzling, the storm was not alone. Hubble spotted another, smaller dark spot in January this year that temporarily appeared near its larger cousin. It might possibly have been a piece of the giant vortex that broke off, drifted away, and then disappeared in subsequent observations.
"We are excited about these observations because this smaller dark fragment is potentially part of the dark spot’s disruption process," said Michael H. Wong of the University of California at Berkeley. "This is a process that's never been observed. We have seen some other dark spots fading away, and they're gone, but we've never seen anything disrupt, even though it’s predicted in computer simulations."
The large storm, which is 4,600 miles across, is the fourth dark spot Hubble has observed on Neptune since 1993. Two other dark storms were discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989 as it flew by the distant planet, but they had disappeared before Hubble could observe them. Since then, only Hubble has had the sharpness and sensitivity in visible light to track these elusive features, which have sequentially appeared and then faded away over a duration of about two years each. Hubble uncovered this latest storm in September 2018.
Wicked Weather
Neptune's dark vortices are high-pressure systems that can form at mid-latitudes and may then migrate toward the equator. They start out remaining stable due to Coriolis forces, which cause northern hemisphere storms to rotate clockwise, due to the planet's rotation. (These storms are unlike hurricanes on Earth, which rotate counterclockwise because they are low-pressure systems.) However, as a storm drifts toward the equator, the Coriolis effect weakens and the storm disintegrates. In computer simulations by several different teams, these storms follow a more-or-less straight path to the equator, until there is no Coriolis effect to hold them together. Unlike the simulations, the latest giant storm didn't migrate into the equatorial "kill zone."
"It was really exciting to see this one act like it's supposed to act and then all of a sudden it just stops and swings back," Wong said. "That was surprising."
Dark Spot Jr.
The Hubble observations also revealed that the dark vortex’s puzzling path reversal occurred at the same time that a new spot, informally deemed "dark spot jr.," appeared. The newest spot was slightly smaller than its cousin, measuring about 3,900 miles across. It was near the side of the main dark spot that faces the equator — the location that some simulations show a disruption would occur.
However, the timing of the smaller spot's emergence was unusual. "When I first saw the small spot, I thought the bigger one was being disrupted," Wong said. "I didn't think another vortex was forming because the small one is farther towards the equator. So it's within this unstable region. But we can't prove the two are related. It remains a complete mystery.
"It was also in January that the dark vortex stopped its motion and started moving northward again," Wong added. "Maybe by shedding that fragment, that was enough to stop it from moving towards the equator."
The researchers are continuing to analyze more data to determine whether remnants of dark spot jr. persisted through the rest of 2020.
Dark Storms Still Puzzling
It's still a mystery how these storms form, but this latest giant dark vortex is the best studied so far. The storm's dark appearance may be due to an elevated dark cloud layer, and it could be telling astronomers about the storm's vertical structure.
Another unusual feature of the dark spot is the absence of bright companion clouds around it, which were present in Hubble images taken when the vortex was discovered in 2018. Apparently, the clouds disappeared when the vortex halted its southward journey. The bright clouds form when the flow of air is perturbed and diverted upward over the vortex, causing gases to likely freeze into methane ice crystals. The lack of clouds could be revealing information on how spots evolve, say researchers.
Weather Eye on the Outer Planets
Hubble snapped many of the images of the dark spots as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, a long-term Hubble project, led by Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, that annually captures global maps of our solar system's outer planets when they are closest to Earth in their orbits.
OPAL's key goals are to study long-term seasonal changes, as well as capture comparatively transitory events, such as the appearance of dark spots on Neptune or potentially Uranus. These dark storms may be so fleeting that in the past some of them may have appeared and faded during multi-year gaps in Hubble's observations of Neptune. The OPAL program ensures that astronomers won't miss another one.
"We wouldn't know anything about these latest dark spots if it wasn't for Hubble," Simon said. "We can now follow the large storm for years and watch its complete life cycle. If we didn't have Hubble, then we might think the Great Dark Spot seen by Voyager in 1989 is still there on Neptune, just like Jupiter's Great Red Spot. And, we wouldn't have known about the four other spots Hubble discovered." Wong will present the team's findings Dec. 15 at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.
For more information: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/dark-storm-on-neptune-r...
The crew access arm is seen as it swings into position for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is seen atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad of Launch Complex 39A before the early Saturday morning launch of the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission launched at 2:49am ET on Saturday, March 2 and was the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Gornergratbahn AG (GGB, BVZ Holding AG): The Gornergrat rack railway connects Zermatt (1605 m a.s.l.) with the summit of Gornergrat (3089 m a.s.l.), in a route of 9.3 km. Of metric gauge, it is one of the few railways in the world that has a three-phase electrification, at 750 V/50 Hz. It uses the Abt system's rack. The line was put into service in 1898, and is electrified from the beginning. The service is mainly provided with EMUs of two cars, of three different generations.
Here we see a train formed by two articulated EMUs of the most modern generation (numbers 3083 and 3084, part of series Beh 4/6 3081-3084, built by Stadler in 2006), just arrived to Gornergrat.