Hull Classification: DD-20

Class & type:

Valley Forge Class Destroyer

Complement:

22 officers, 298 enlisted

Armament:

4x Electromagnetic rail system

16x 50 caliber anti-ship gun, mounted on eight turrets

4x 38 caliber twin-barrel point defense cannons

20x Superluminal torpedo tubes

--

The third Valley Forge-class destroyer commissioned by the Union Space Navy, the USS Ticonderoga entered service in 2265.

The "Tico" served with distinction during the pivotal final engagement of "Operation Black Sword", where she and two Hulick-class destroyers, USS Saratoga and USS Ranger, successfully engaged and destroyed a superior enemy taskforce that was en route to attack the civilian hospital complex in the Beta Aquilae star system. By activating their stealth suites and hiding in the system's Kuiper belt, the three destroyers were able to play cat and mouse for 26 hours with the enemy taskforce and lure them into orbit around the system's Jovian gas giant. The planet's gravity well limited the movement of the enemy's larger battlecruisers and carriers, and evened the odds for the more nimble destroyers.

Ships of the Valley Forge-class:

Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga, Yorktown, Antietam, Gettysburg, Normandy

--

Credit to Red Spacecat for his amazing USS Saratoga, which is the inspiration for this design.

London United SN09 CHF in service at Richmond, 25th June 2017. SN09 CHF is one of five Alexander Dennis Enviro 200H vehicles operated by London United. In 2008, Alexander Dennis unveiled the hybrid-electric powered version of Enviro200, known as the Enviro200H, using BAE Systems's HybriDrive series drive system with the Cummins ISBe 4-cylinder engine fitted for power generation.

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

TWITTER | WWW.DAVIDGUTIERREZ.CO.UK | SAATCHI ONLINE | YOUTUBE | FACEBOOK | REDBUBBLE

London | Architecture | Night Photography | London Underground

Credit to Soren (www.flickr.com/photos/bricklovinfreakboy/) for the Chub base.

The Tumble Tiger is a standard Chub space proofed and outfitted with off the shelf parts to supplement the Terran Transit Marines squads' far more advanced Ospreys housed in the Byron System's Transit Gate. The Tumble Tiger is designed to engage with enemy frames that have made it to the surface of the Gate and dislodge them. Because projectile weapons or plasma edges may inadvertently damage the Gate, the Tiger executes its mission in a less orthodox fashion. Using a system of 14 thrusters and fueled by 4 additional fuel tanks, the Tiger barrels into enemy frames at high velocities, using a combination of its crash shield and twin eskrima batons to bullrush them, usually into the killzones of point defense clusters or the TTM Ospreys.

The antenna that will connect Europe’s BepiColombo with Earth is being testing for the extreme conditions it must endure orbiting Mercury.

The trial is taking place over 10 days inside ESA’s Large Space Simulator, which, at 15 m high and 10 m across, is cavernous enough to accommodate an upended double decker bus.

The 1.5 m-diameter high-gain antenna, plus its boom and support structure, are subjected to a shaft of intense sunlight in vacuum conditions, while gradually rotated through 90º.

The antenna will be part of ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter, one of two main components of the January 2017 BepiColombo mission – the other being Japan’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter.

The two will be launched together in a stack, carried by the Mercury Transfer Module for their seven-year journey towards the Solar System’s innermost world.

The Simulator is part of the largest spacecraft testing facility in Europe, at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

The mammoth chamber’s high-performance pumps create a vacuum a billion times lower than standard sea-level atmosphere, while the chamber’s black interior walls are lined with tubes pumped full of –190°C liquid nitrogen to mimic the extreme cold of deep space.

At the same time, the hexagonal mirrors seen at the top of the picture reflect simulated sunlight onto the satellite from a set of 25 kW bulbs more typically employed to project IMAX movies.

In this case, the alignment of the 121 mirrors was adjusted to tighten the focus of their light beam, reproducing the intensity of sunlight experienced in Mercury orbit – around 10 times more intense than terrestrial illumination.

Credit: ESA–A. Le Floc'h

What do you do when trash is piling up and there's nowhere to put it? You invent teleportation of course! Then you retrofit a fleet of municipal custodial vehicles to power miniaturized teleporters and send them on their way. The original vehicle had its nose lengthened to house the power cells and micro-reactor necessary to power the device, and the whole frame was reworked to bear the weight of the device. The result is a somewhat ungainly vehicle that is notoriously difficult to control.

Although the far-side output location for the teleporter is a closely guarded secret, the rumor-mill places it high above a barren lava plain on the third moon of one of the system's gas giants. Speaking of rumors, gossip and tall tales surround the trash teleporter. There are stories of city workers looking the other way or taking payoffs as organized crime syndicates dispose of evidence and "competition". Although the manufacturers insist that the portals are one-way, city workers insist they have seen "things" coming back through the gateway: from the odd grotesque hand reaching through, to the occasional swarm of flying creatures funneling out of the vortex. There's even whispers that the municipal garage is now inhabited by a shape-shifting beast that made its way through when the teleporter was left on overnight by a careless worker...

Another shot from my visit to the Taralga Wind Farm in NSW, Australia, today’s photo shows the dregs of the Milky Way’s core region and central-band as they were setting in the western sky two Saturdays ago. I messed up with my lighting of the tree, so it’s darker than I intended, but its silhouette shows some of its misshapen frame and the way it leans to the north.

Over on the right, you can see a transmission mast, pointing towards the lovely beacons of Jupiter and Saturn, our Solar System’s largest and second-largest planets. As well as the indistinct fuzz of the Milky Way on the horizon, the mast signifies something else that was subject to fading. The wind turbines at this farm aren’t visible in my photo, but they made their presence known by killing off the TV reception for the town of Taralga when they began service in 2015. The transmission mast–in fact, a retransmission mast–was erected by the owners of the installation to restore the service to the locals, who had green electricity to power their televisions, but nothing to watch.

My photo is another single-frame image (my favourite format), that I shot with my Canon EOS 6D Mk II camera, a Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens @ f/3.2, using an exposure time of 15 seconds @ ISO 6400.

The River Tummel (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Theimheil) is a river in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Water from the Tummel is used in the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme, operated by SSE.

As a tributary of the River Tay, the Tummel is included as part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation. The designation notes the river system's importance for salmon, otters, brook lampreys, river lampreys and sea lampreys.

Discharging from Loch Rannoch, it flows east to a point near the Falls of Tummel, where it bends to the southeast, a direction which it maintains until it falls into the River Tay, just below Logierait, after a course of 58 miles (93 km) from its source in Stob Ghabbar (3,565 ft (1,087 m)). Its only considerable affluent is the Garry, 24 miles (39 km) long, an impetuous river which issues from Loch Garry (2.5 mi (4.0 km) and 1,334 ft (407 m) above sea level). Some 2 miles from its outlet from Loch Rannoch the river expands into Dunalastair Water (or Dunalastair Reservoir), a man made loch formed by a weir, part of the Tummel Hydro Electric power scheme. About midway in its course the Tummel expands into Loch Tummel, between which and the confluence with the Garry occur the Pass and Falls of the Tummel, which are rather in the nature of rapids, the descent altogether amounting to 15 ft (4.6 m).[4] Loch Tummel was previously 4.43 km (2.75 mi) long and 39 m (128 ft) deep, but with the construction of the Clunie Dam in 1950, the water level was raised by 4.5 metres, and Loch Tummel is now approximately 11 km (7 mi) long.

The scenery throughout this reach is most picturesque, culminating at the point above the eastern extremity of the loch, known as the "Queen's View" (Queen Victoria made the view famous in 1866, although it is said to have been named after Queen Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce). The chief places of interest on the river are Kinloch Rannoch; Dunalastair, a rocky hill in well-wooded grounds, the embellishment of which was largely due to Alexander Robertson of Struan, the Jacobite and poet, from whom the spot takes its name (the stronghold of Alexander); Foss; Faskally House (beautifully situated on the left bank); Pitlochry; and Ballinluig.

The ancient name of the river, in its upper reaches at least, was the Dubhag.

Date: 19 Nov 2013

Comet ISON shows off its tail in this three-minute exposure taken on 19 Nov. 2013 at 6:10 a.m. EST, using a 14-inch telescope located at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The comet is just nine days away from its close encounter with the sun; hopefully it will survive to put on a nice show during the first week of December. The star images are trailed because the telescope is tracking on the comet, which is now exhibiting obvious motion with respect to the background stars over a period of minutes.

At the time of this image, Comet ISON was some 44 million miles from the sun -- and 80 million miles from Earth -- moving at a speed of 136,700 miles per hour.

Credit: NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery

--------

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 image use policy.

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.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/39501

The RAF's 41(R) Test and Evaluation Squadron had BAE Systems's Typhoon ZK315, which was the 100th Typhoon built for RAF Service, painted in a centenary paint scheme for its 100th anniversary since formation in 1915. Seen here over the "piano bars" as it lines up on Warton Aerodrome's Runway 25 to depart for RAF Coningsby after having tested the previous night, the Typhoon's helmet technology in conjunction with BAE System;s own aircraft.

The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, which also includes the separate E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar lines, and the Muni Metro modern light rail system. Of the 23 cable car lines established between 1873 and 1890, only three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, the vast majority of the millions of passengers who use the system every year are tourists, and as a result, the wait to get on can often reach two hours or more. They are among the most significant tourist attractions in the city, along with Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf. San Francisco's cable cars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are designated as a National Historic Landmark.

In 1869, Andrew Smith Hallidie had the idea for a cable car system in San Francisco, reportedly after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones slid backwards, killing the horses. Hallidie solicited financial support in 1871 and 1872, and his primary backers were Henry L. Davis, Joseph Britton, and James Moffit.

The first successful cable-operated street running train was the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which had its inaugural run on August 2, 1873. The promoter of the line was Hallidie, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer; both Hallidie and Eppelsheimer obtained several patents for their work on the Clay Street line. The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars; the design was the first to use grips. The term "grip" became synonymous with the operator.

The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to become the template for other cable car transit systems. It was a financial success, and Hallidie's patents were enforced on other cable car promoters, making him wealthy.

Accounts differ as to the precise degree of Hallidie's involvement in the inception of the line, and to the exact date on which it first ran. According to the franchise granted by the city, operations were required to begin by August 1, 1873. Retrospective published in 1895 stated that a single car was run over the line at 4 AM on the morning of August 1 with few witnesses to ensure the franchise would not expire.  Eppelsheimer would later bring a suit against Hallidie and the Clay Street Hill RR in June 1877 over patents, but dismissed it voluntarily the following March.

The next cable car line to open was the Sutter Street Railway, which converted from horse operation in January 1877. This line introduced the side grip, and lever operation, both designed by Henry Casebolt and his assistant Asa Hovey, and patented by Casebolt. This idea came about because Casebolt did not want to pay Hallidie royalties of $50,000 a year for the use of his patent. The side grip allowed cable cars to cross at intersections.

In 1878, Leland Stanford opened his California Street Cable Railroad (Cal Cable). This company's first line was on California Street, and is the oldest cable car line still in operation. In 1880, the Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway began operation. The Presidio and Ferries Railway followed two years later, and was the first cable company to include curves on its routes. The curves were "let-go" curves, in which the car drops the cable and coasts around the curve on its own momentum.

In 1883, the Market Street Cable Railway opened its first line. This company was controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad and would grow to become San Francisco's largest cable car operator. At its peak, it operated five lines, all of which converged on Market Street to a common terminus at the Ferry Building. During rush hours, cars left that terminus every 15 seconds.

In 1888, the Ferries and Cliff House Railway opened its initial two-line system. The Powell–Mason line is still operated on the same route today; their other route was the Powell–Washington–Jackson line, stretches of which are used by today's Powell–Hyde line. The Ferries & Cliff House Railway was also responsible for the building of a car barn and powerhouse at Washington and Mason, and this site is still in use today. In the same year, it also purchased the original Clay Street Hill Railway, which it incorporated into a new Sacramento–Clay line in 1892.

In 1889, the Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company became the last new cable car operator in San Francisco. The following year the California Street Cable Railroad opened two new lines, these being the last entirely new cable car lines built in the city. One of them was the O'Farrell–Jones–Hyde line, the Hyde section of which still remains in operation as part of the current Powell–Hyde line.

In all, twenty-three lines were established between 1873 and 1890.

Originally, the cables were powered by stationary steam engines. For the initial three cables, the Ferries & Cliff House Railway constructed a three-story structure to house two 450-horsepower coal-burning steam engines. The building was complete with a 185-foot-tall smokestack to vent away the heavy black smoke created by the Welsh anthracite coal that the company burned. Expansion of service required two additional 500-horsepower coal-fired steam engines in 1890, and the number and type of engines continued to vary over time. Coal consumption in 1893 was about 10 tons per day. The system was converted to oil in 1901, and the lessened amount of smoke allowed the smokestack to be shortened to 60’; this shortened smokestack still exists at Washington-Mason today.

Electric energy was introduced in 1912, when a 600-horsepower General Electric motor came on-line. By 1926, all steam operation of the cable ended when a second complete electrical drive was installed, a 750-horsepower General Electric product. With reduction in the number of cable car lines, the single 750-horsepower electric motor took over the job of running all of the lines. The problem with that configuration was that if one cable car on one line broke down, all lines had to be stopped. After the 1984 reconstruction, each of the four cables for the three lines (California, Hyde, Mason and Powell) is separately powered by its own 510-hp electric motor.

The first electric streetcars in San Francisco began operation in 1892 under the auspices of the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway.

By the beginning of 1906 many of San Francisco's remaining cable cars were under the control of the United Railroads of San Francisco (URR), although Cal Cable and the Geary Street Company remained independent. URR was pressing to convert many of its cable lines to overhead electric traction, but this was met with resistance from opponents who objected to what they saw as ugly overhead lines on the major thoroughfares of the city center.

Those objections disappeared after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The quake and resulting fire destroyed the power houses and car barns of both the Cal Cable and the URR's Powell Street lines, together with the 117 cable cars stored within them. The subsequent race to rebuild the city allowed the URR to replace most of its cable car lines with electric streetcar lines. By 1912, only eight cable car lines remained, all with steep grades impassable to electric streetcars. In the 1920s and 1930s, these remaining lines came under pressure from the much improved motor buses of the era, which could now climb steeper hills than the electric streetcar. By 1944, five of those cable car lines had survived: the two Powell Street lines – by then under municipal ownership, as part of Muni – and the three lines owned by the still-independent Cal Cable.

In 1947, Mayor Roger Lapham proposed the closure of the two municipally owned lines. In response, a joint meeting of 27 women's civic groups, led by Friedel Klussmann, formed the Citizens' Committee to Save the Cable Cars. In a famous battle of wills, the citizens' committee eventually forced a referendum on an amendment to the city charter, compelling the city to continue operating the Powell Street lines. This passed overwhelmingly, by 166,989 votes to 51,457. Klussman led another campaign in 1948 to have the city acquire Cal Cable, but the referendum fell short of the required 2⁄3 majority, with 58% in favor of acquisition; a second referendum in 1949, requiring a simple majority, passed and the city began negotiations with Cal Cable.

In August 1951, the three Cal Cable lines were shut down when the company was unable to afford insurance. The city purchased and reopened the lines in January 1952, but another referendum that would have funded maintenance for the California Street tracks and the powerhouse and car barn at Hyde and California failed in November 1953. The amendment to the city charter did not protect the newly acquired Cal Cable lines, and the city proceeded with plans to replace them with buses; in addition, businesses in Union Square and downtown began advancing plans to convert O'Farrell to automobile traffic, which would remove service through the Tenderloin district via the inner section of the O'Farrell Jones & Hyde line. The result was a compromise that formed the current system: a protected system made up of the California Street line from Cal Cable, the Powell–Mason line already in municipal ownership, and a third hybrid line formed by grafting the Hyde Street section of Cal Cable's O'Farrell-Jones-Hyde line onto a truncated Powell–Washington–Jackson line, now known as the Powell–Hyde line.

This solution required some rebuilding to convert the Hyde Street trackage and terminus to operation by the single-ended cars of the Powell line, and also to allow the whole system to be operated from a single car barn and power house. Much of the infrastructure remained unchanged from the time of the earthquake.

By 1979, the cable car system had become unsafe; it needed to be closed for seven months for urgently-needed repairs. A subsequent engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who took charge of the effort, helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. In 1982 the cable car system was closed again for a complete rebuild. This involved the complete replacement of 69 city blocks' worth of tracks and cable channels, the complete rebuilding of the car barn and powerhouse within the original outer brick walls, new propulsion equipment, and the repair or rebuild of 37 cable cars. The system reopened on June 21, 1984, in time to benefit from the publicity that accompanied San Francisco's hosting of that year's Democratic National Convention.

Since 1984, Muni has continued to upgrade the system. Work has included rebuilding of another historical car, the building of nine brand new replacement cars, the building of a new terminal and turntable at the Hyde and Beach terminus, and a new turntable at the Powell and Market terminus.

Between 2017 and 2019, the system received a second, but less extensive rebuild. Over the two year project, Muni rehabilitated the cable car system's gearboxes, which had been in service since the last rebuild in 1984.

The system was shut down in March 2020 to protect operators during the COVID-19 pandemic, as cable cars do not offer a compartment separating them from passengers (unlike Muni buses, which kept running). Limited service on all three lines resumed on August 2, 2021. Full revenue service began on September 4. On September 9, a valve failure caused the fire suppression system in the carbarn to activate, shutting down electric power to the powerhouse. Service resumed on September 18.

The cable cars are an iconic part of San Francisco and are protected National Historic Landmarks, but they are not without their critics. Most complaints center around the high cost of operating a system that mostly serves tourists, and the large number of accidents involving the cable cars.

The cable car lines serve around seven million passengers per year, but the vast majority are tourists, rather than commuters. The area where the cable cars operate is well-served by a large number of buses and trolleybuses that often give residents better options for their trips. Also, during busy times, the wait to board a cable car can often reach two hours or more.

While Muni does allow monthly passholders to ride the cable cars at no additional charge, single ride fares are more than triple the fares charged on other Muni routes. The high fares led the San Francisco Chronicle to describe the cable cars in 2017 as a "cash cow" for Muni, yielding a yearly revenue of around $30 million. Still, according to Mission Local, the cable car system had a $46 million operating deficit in 2019. In 2006, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom reported that he had observed several conductors pocketing cash fares from riders without receipt. The following year, the San Francisco auditor's office reported that the city was not receiving the expected revenue from cable cars, with an estimated 40% of cable car riders riding for free. Muni's management disputed this figure and pointed out that safe operation, rather than revenue collection, is the primary duty of conductors. In 2017, after an audit showing that some conductors were "consistently turn[ing] in low amounts of cash", as well as a sting operation, one conductor was arrested on charges of felony embezzlement.

Among U.S. mass transportation systems the cable cars have the most accidents per year and per vehicle mile, with 126 accidents and 151 injuries reported in the 10 years ending 2013. In the three years ending 2013 the city paid some $8 million to settle four dozen cable car accident claims.

The Zagreus...

After winning the grand prix rally at the outer orbit, Vield's homeworld Bensin was attacked by the Deepness. He must fly back to save his little brother, unfortunately the only ship that he can take is the one that he can't control, because of its A.I. system's upgraded prejudice program.

Many of the larger icy moons of the Sol system's gas giants have interior oceans of liquid water, kept liquid through tidal heating caused by the interactions of the two gravity wells. The exoplanet Krysto, home of the famed ICEPLANET team 2002, was a true planet rather than a moon, but it did have a particularly large and close moon.

It took the Iceplaneteers some time to realize the potential of Krysto's subsurface ocean - the deeply hostile surface conditions combined with Blacktron factional conflicts meant that their limited resources were mostly put to other tasks - but after some time a mission was planned to melt a shaft through the thick icecap to the internal sea of Krysto.

The Aquarius Project, as it was called, centered initially around a large submarine, the Interior eXploration Vessel Aquarius, but there were other vehicles besides the IXV Aquarius. The Delphinus-1 was a rover used for exploring the subglacial seabed, though it did have a limited swimming ability. The rather large laser cannon proved necessary as there were a number of very large and rather dangerous creatures that called the interior ocean their home.

~~~

This has a little too much yellow and not enough white to really mesh well with my previous "Alt-Seatron" Aquarius Project creations, but I'm mostly pleased with the overall design. In order to mesh with but remain distinct from the Ice Planet factional colours, the intent is that the IP2002 colours are used on the surface, and for the Aquarius Project interior exploration stuff the blue is replaced by yellow and the trans neon orange by trans red.

Continuing with my North Country miniseries, I'll admit that there's a lot of things "wrong" with this shot: The engine is running long-hood forward, it's still in leased paint, and to make matters worse the headlight isn't working. But, there's also a lot "right" with this shot, too. In this line's history, it was most famously known for being a part of the Rutland Railway's Northern Division between Burlington, Vermont and Ogdensburg, New York. Today, the tracks between Burlington and Norwood, NY are gone--by far the majority of the line. All that survives of this line is the roughly 31 miles that make up part of Vermont Rail System's New York and Ogdensburg Railway (NYOG). Here, VTR 205 leads its 2-car train east past an indicator of this line's Rutland history: the 1930-built Lisbon Railroad Depot. Closed in 1961 (just two years before the Rutland itself closed), the station is now the town museum and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It's a beautiful station, and if it weren't for the tree you can begin to see on the right that stands in the way, I would have included more of it. Somehow, railroading has survived on this Rutland remnant. After the Rutland went out of business, the Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority (OBPA) purchased this segment, which it first leased to the Ogdensburg & Norwood, then the St. Lawrence Railroad until 1990, then the St. Lawrence and Raquette River Railroad until 2002, and finally to Vermont Rail System's New York and Ogdensburg. The New York and Ogdensburg also operates over what's left of the original Norwood & St. Lawrence between Norwood and Norfolk--a line that the OBPA had also leased to the St. Lawrence and Raquette River Railroad prior to Vermont Rail System's arrival. The NYOG engine house in Norwood is actually the original St. Lawrence & Raquette River engine house on the old Norwood & St. Lawrence.

Rolling through the desolation on the solar system's 4th planet from the sun... Not really. UP's Potash Local approaches the entrance to Arches National Park near Moab.

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

TWITTER | WWW.DAVIDGUTIERREZ.CO.UK | SAATCHI ONLINE | YOUTUBE | FACEBOOK | REDBUBBLE

London | Architecture | Night Photography | London Underground

London Underground - Mind The Gap

In the 23rd century, Formula Zero-Gravity (FZG) is the Sol system’s biggest spectator sport and Nightshade one of its rising stars. Now the enigmatic black-clad driver joins Team Mercedes-Benz and its sponsor John Player - the planet’s leading supplier of legal stimulants - in a new bid to conquer the circuit and claim the FZG Trophy. Will 2248 prove to be his breakthrough season?

里山の蝋梅。

Photographed with OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM S ZUIKO AUTO-ZOOM 1:4 f=75-150mm No.276091

While these images look horribly crooked look again. Yes the train is listing badly but the horizon is dead on. That should tell you how little used and less maintained these tracks are.

GMCR GP9 804 and VTR GP40-2 307 have dropped their train behind them at MP 3.15 on Washington County Railroad's M&B Division and are seem making an ultra rare move to the east on what is now known as the M&WR spur. These rails they are on once led another 35 miles east to a junction with the Boston & Maine / Canadian Pacific Conn River Mainline at Wells River. Built in 1873 it was a through route operated by the Montpelier & Wells River and later Barre & Chelsea Railroads. But in November 1956 the last train ran the length of the line and the rails were removed. All that remained on this end was about an 1800 ft stub from this switch to a couple of customers in East Montpelier. With those customers long since closed even this stub was out of service for years and overgrown with trees. Recently cleared by present operator Vermont Railway, they have been loading company material here and this is why the crew had to make the rare move up the old M&WR mainline to switch a couple tie gons.

The location of the junction where they diverged was once known as Barre Transfer because here the rails of the Central Vermont, Barre Railroad and Montpelier & Wells River all met. The particular rails their train is sitting on are ex Central Vermont, 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.

One historical tidbit that this image got me thinking about was the similarity to two other long abandoned but one time east west thru routes cutting across northern New England. While nearly all the historic North South routes in New England still survive nearly intact only the Green Mountain's ex Rutland line, SLR's ex Grand Trunk and the former CP International of Maine east-west routes remain. The old Mountain Sub is a tourist operation and half out of service. This line is long abandoned and similar fates befell the Northern, the old Concord and Montreal. the Claremont and Concord and the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Routes.

The later two are particularly interesting in that like the M&WR route here both the C&C and StJ&LC came into the fold of the Boston & Maine in the early 20th century then were spun off to local interests within decades. In the middle 20th century all would end up in the Pinsly family of shortlines in some form or fashion before ultimately losing traffic and being abandoned. While Pinsly never owned the line between here and Wells River, his company did save the remainder of the M&WR and operate it for nearly two decades after the Barre & Chelsea petitioned for abandonment.

Montpelier, Vermont

Friday April 24, 2020

Two White Terns on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.

Camera: Olympus OM-1

Lens: Olympus OM-System S Zuiko MC Auto-Zoom f/4 35-70mm. Yellow filter.

Film: Adox HR-50

Developer: Beerenol (Rainier Beer)

Comet Panstarrs' close approach (in our line of sight) to the Andromeda Galaxy.

For a sky lover, (amateur astronomer/ from the Latin; Amator/Lover) to see this beautiful comet passing close to our big sister Galaxy, Andromeda/M31, appearing to brush against one another, despite the millions of light years between the two .... is just breathtakingly lovely. This was around midnight last night , tonight they may virtually merge. The comet's tail, now high in velvet darkness, is more prominently visible than at any other time in the last couple of weeks, since in first rose into our sunset sky. Seeing them together in a binocular field is an unforgettable sight. Though I've been watching comets for 30 some years, I've never seen such a stunning juxtaposition ... this may well be one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" events.

The comet is a dusty snowball remnant from our solar system's birth, melting in the glow of it's recent passage near our daystar ... the galaxy is an island universe of nearly a trillion suns, two and a half million light years away ...

Tonight, to our eyes, they will appear to embrace.

This apparent union reminds me of the observation that our own Milky Way Galaxy and the great spiral of Andromeda are locked together in an inescapable gravitational bond, approaching one another at hundreds of thousands of miles per second, a dance which will result in a complete merger of the two some billions of years hence, well after the inner planets and the sun have themselves merged as our daystar approaches the end of it's life, recycling our elements into those of the new galaxy which will be formed.

The wonder is that we've evolved brains and eyes which can look and wonder and try to grasp all this ...

114 sec. exposure , ISO 800, Can. 5D with Jupiter 37A 135mm f3.5 lens

( interestingly, the photo seems to show a thin, diffuse extension of the comet's tail actually spreading a filtering light over the entire region of M31, which otherwise would contrast more distinctly against the surrounding darkness.)

The second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System’s booster is seen, 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)

The second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System’s booster is seen, 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)

Flow

Capturing the transitionary moment between freeze and thaw, Flow re-imagines a single ice crystal as a 3D star-shaped module digitally fabricated through slot-fitting wood connections. While capable of crystallizing into a solid state, the material is able to be easily reconfigured, like a liquid, due to the system’s loose bonds. Submitted by graduate students Calvin Fung and Victor Huynh, Flow is a reflection of the duo’s interdisciplinary backgrounds. More info: www.canadianarchitect.com/students-education/winners-unve...

Twin City Lines car 1583, a product of the system's own Snelling Shops, passes J. Lauber's ice cream parlor and soda fountain at East Troy, Wisconsin on trackage that was once part of the Milwaukee Electric.

Suecia - Gotemburgo - Tranvía

***

ENGLISH

The Gothenburg tram network (Swedish: Göteborgs spårvägar) is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs spårvägar, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The system's approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) of single track — making it the largest tram network in Sweden — is used by around 200 trams as of 2006, which serve twelve day-time and five night-time lines with a combined line length of 190 km. These figures are expected to increase when the second stage of Kringen (short for Kollektivringen, the public transport ring) is finished.

The first tram line in Gothenburg was started in 1879 by the English company Gothenburg Tramway Ltd. This was a horse-drawn tramway, which stretched from Brunnsparken to Stigbergsliden. The city of Gothenburg bought the tramway in 1900, and introduced electrically powered trams only two years later, when Sigfrid Edström led the electrification of the trams. During the next 40 years, the tram system was heavily expanded, reaching outside the city borders by 1907, and Hisingen in 1940.

In the 1960s, plans for converting the tram system to an underground rapid transit system were created, and the new tram sections to the Tynnered, Angered, Bergsjön and Länsmansgården suburbs were built free from level crossings and partly in tunnels to make a future conversion to underground standards easier. However, after further investigation, it was concluded that it would be too expensive to dig the necessary tunnels under the city centre, as the foundation of the city is partially made up of clay.

When Sweden's switch to right-hand traffic in 1967 made existing unidirectional trams obsolete, Gothenburg was one of only two cities in Sweden to maintain its city-centre tramway, the other such network to survive being the Norrköping tramway.

***

ESPAÑOL

La red de tranvías de Gotemburgo (sueco : Göteborgs spårvägar) forma parte del sistema de transporte público organizado por Göteborgs spårvägar, controlado por Västtrafik en la ciudad sueca de Gotemburgo. El sistema cuenta con aproximadamente 160 kilómetros (99 millas) de vía única, lo que lo convierte en la red de tranvías más grande de Suecia, y es utilizado por aproximadamente 200 tranvías desde 2006, que sirven doce líneas diurnas y cinco nocturnas. con una longitud de línea combinada de 190 km. Se espera que estas cifras aumenten cuando finalice la segunda etapa de Kringen (abreviatura de Kollektivringen, la red de transporte público).

La primera línea de tranvía en Gotemburgo fue iniciada en 1879 por la compañía inglesa Gothenburg Tramway Ltd. Este fue un tranvía tirado por caballos, que se extendía desde Brunnsparken hasta Stigbergsliden. La ciudad de Gotemburgo compró el tranvía en 1900 e introdujo los tranvías eléctricos solo dos años después. Durante los siguientes 40 años el sistema de tranvías se expandió en gran medida, llegando a las fronteras de la ciudad en 1907 y a Hisingen en 1940. En la década de 1960, se crearon planes para convertir el sistema de tranvía en un sistema de tránsito rápido subterráneo, y las nuevas secciones de tranvía a los suburbios de Tynnered, Angered, Bergsjön y Länsmansgården se construyeron libres de pasos a nivel y en parte en túneles para hacer una conversión futura a Estándares subterráneos más fáciles. Sin embargo, después de una investigación adicional, se llegó a la conclusión de que sería demasiado caro excavar los túneles necesarios debajo del centro de la ciudad, ya que la base de la ciudad está parcialmente hecha de arcilla.

Cuando el cambio de Suecia al tráfico por la derecha en 1967 dejó obsoletos los tranvías unidireccionales existentes, Gotemburgo fue una de las dos únicas ciudades en Suecia que mantuvo su tranvía en el centro de la ciudad, y la otra red que sobrevivió fue el tranvía de Norrköping .

XTOL-15 CARGO UAV, ART PARK, displayed in the Bengaluru

Tech Summit 2023.

"XTOL-15 Cargo UAV is a multi-role VTOL capable UAV with a payload capacity of 2.5+ Kg and delivers to a range of 30 Km. The system’s primary application is low-weight cargo transport, which is to deliver medicine, blood samples, and other time-sensitive and high-value items. However, the system can be in-field configured for surveillance, mapping, and SaR applications by installing the required payload. The vertical takeoff and landing capability eliminate the need for runways. To be able to launch and recover in constrained environments, the UAV has an electronically controlled foldable wing that reduces the vehicle span to 1.5m only. The navigation system comprises a jamming resilient multi-constellation GNSS receiver able to work with IRNSS. "

This movie shows Mercury's globe as it rotates. A global color map of Mercury's surface has been created by mosaicking thousands of sets of images obtained by the MESSENGER Wide Angle Camera (WAC). The colors shown here are related to real variations in the spectral reflectance across the planet. This view captures both compositional differences and differences in how long materials have been exposed at Mercury's surface. Young crater rays, arrayed radially around fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material", thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The color base map shown here consists of MDIS images taken through eight different color filters. It is part of a global color map that covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of about 1 kilometer per pixel.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MESSENGER acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a yearlong extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Courtesy NASA.

Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two body system like the Sun and the Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion. These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.

Lagrange points are named in honor of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.

There are five special points where a small mass can orbit in a constant pattern with two larger masses. The Lagrange Points are positions where the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them. This mathematical problem, known as the "General Three-Body Problem" was considered by Lagrange in his prize winning paper (Essai sur le Problème des Trois Corps, 1772).

Of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The unstable Lagrange points - labeled L1, L2 and L3 - lie along the line connecting the two large masses. The stable Lagrange points - labeled L4 and L5 - form the apex of two equilateral triangles that have the large masses at their vertices. L4 leads the orbit of earth and L5 follows.

The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the sun and is currently home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite SOHO.

The L2 point of the Earth-Sun system was the home to the WMAP spacecraft, current home of Planck, and future home of the James Webb Space Telescope. L2 is ideal for astronomy because a spacecraft is close enough to readily communicate with Earth, can keep Sun, Earth and Moon behind the spacecraft for solar power and (with appropriate shielding) provides a clear view of deep space for our telescopes. The L1 and L2 points are unstable on a time scale of approximately 23 days, which requires satellites orbiting these positions to undergo regular course and attitude corrections.

NASA is unlikely to find any use for the L3 point since it remains hidden behind the Sun at all times. The idea of a hidden planet has been a popular topic in science fiction writing.

The L4 and L5 points are home to stable orbits so long as the mass ratio between the two large masses exceeds 24.96. This condition is satisfied for both the Earth-Sun and Earth-Moon systems, and for many other pairs of bodies in the solar system. Objects found orbiting at the L4 and L5 points are often called Trojans after the three large asteroids Agamemnon, Achilles and Hector that orbit in the L4 and L5 points of the Jupiter-Sun system. (According to Homer, Hector was the Trojan champion slain by Achilles during King Agamemnon's siege of Troy). There are hundreds of Trojan Asteroids in the solar system. Most orbit with Jupiter, but others orbit with Mars. In addition, several of Saturn's moons have Trojan companions.

In 1956 the Polish astronomer Kordylewski discovered large concentrations of dust at the Trojan points of the Earth-Moon system. The DIRBE instrument on the COBE satellite confirmed earlier IRAS observations of a dust ring following the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The existence of this ring is closely related to the Trojan points, but the story is complicated by the effects of radiation pressure on the dust grains.

In 2010 NASA's WISE telescope finally confirmed the first Trojan asteroid (2010 TK7) around Earth's leading Lagrange point.

GP30 5513 sits quietly along the Reading & Northern's recently acquired ex Reading trackage in North Reading PA-March 9, 1991.

The 5513 was built by EMD in March 1962 for the Reading Railroad as their 5513 but was renumbered into the C&O/B&O system's numbering scheme by the mid 1960s becoming the 3613 with hopes that the railroads would merge together at some point before the end of the decade. That merger never happened and the Reading was left adrift by it's parent road, B&O. The Reading's rail operations were merged into Conrail on April 1, 1976 with the 3613 becoming Conrail 2181. The unit worked for it's new owner for another 10 years before it was retired along with other GP30s and GP35s as Conrail sought to rid itself of all 567 powered locomotives. The Reading Technical & Historical Society stepped in and purchased the 2181 and restored it to it's as-delivered appearance. At the time of this slide (3/9/1991) the 5513 was being leased by the Reading & Northern as the R&N had recently expanded operations exponentially and found itself short of power.

Fujichrome 100, Nikon N8008

Just another from this fun rainy summer Saturday chasing Vermont Rail System's Washington County Railroad train NPWJ (Newport to White River Junction) south along the old Conn River Line. This is a signature location dating back to Boston and Maine days and the images of long drags behind mixed B&M blue and CP red locos are things of dreams these days. Alas getting a freight long enough to fill up the curve is very rare these days and will only happen under extraordinary circumstances, though a few people have gotten some killer big train shots here in the not too distant past

A pair of company red EMDs, GP38-2s CLP 204 (blt. Oct. 1973 as SCL 528) and VTR 201 (blt. Dec. 1972 new for the VTR) have two cars in tow as they round the sweeping curve beside tje Connecticut River at MP L97.4 on modern day WACR's Connecticut River Division Lyndonville Subdivision. This is the former Boston and Maine Conn River Line main which dates from 1848 when the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad built north from White River Junction.

Norwich, Vermont

Saturday June 22, 2024

The Nikon F, Nikon's first pro-level system SLR, was in production from 1959 to 1973. The pictured camera is a late-model pre-Apollo version with the basic non-metered prism.

-----------------------

The Nikon F, especially with the basic non-metered prism (along with the Pentax Spotmatic) is one of the most beautiful classic 35mm SLR designs. With periodic maintenance and use, there is no reason why these cameras cannot continue to work perfectly, long into the future.

Many of the Nikon F bodies on the market today have been heavily used by professionals and/or stored improperly so they are in bad shape. Models that are in cosmetically perfect shape are not cheap on auction websites, and may still require professional maintenance to work properly. Standard non-metered prisms are often separately offered for sale on auction websites at a premium price to owners whose Photomic metered prisms have stopped working (although in my experience, the prism meters can often be repaired by a competent technician).

I had the good luck to get my hands on a Nikon Photomic FTN when it just hit the market new. It was my dream camera as a serious amateur photographer and student. Mine didn't go into a war zone as many Nikon Fs did around that time, but it went on many back country trips and numerous travels in my backpack. It once fell out of my pack as I was repelling down the side of a mountain, and it survived without a scratch in the original hard case!

The Nikon F is one of the original system SLRs, with an enormous selection of lenses and various other attachments. I think that I took pretty good advantage of the system: numerous prime lenses, two different prisms, at least a couple of different focusing screens, extension tubes, filters, flashes, adapters, etc. However, Nikon also produced a motor drive, expanded film canisters, and any other conceivable specialized professional system component.

Since buying the camera new, after many decades until today, it has been in for full maintenance only a handful of times. If properly maintained, these cameras can be great shooters today for natural light film photography. But to be honest, these days, because of numerous limitations, one would generally leave it on the dry box shelf as a display piece, and instead use something only a slight bit newer!

One of the positive attributes of the Nikon F is its very nice solid body feel, similar to a Leica M3 in build quality. Of course, the standard non-metered prism has no indicators in the viewfinder except the focusing aids. On the Photomic FTN, the light meter is very effective and is similar to many later Nikon cameras, with its center-weighted measuring system. Unfortunately, this early viewfinder display only includes the shutter speed and match needle; there is no indicator for aperture setting. The Photomic FTN meter only works with Nikon mount lenses that include the meter prong, This is one reason why a relatively newer model like the Nikon F2 Photomic AS is a better option for actual use; with the F2 Photomic AS you can use all of your AF Nikkor lenses (without the prong) as well as Ai lenses. (Of course, modern G-type lenses without aperture rings are out of the question). Some people complain about the need on the FTN to reset the meter, adjust the aperture, and then twist to set the meter to the lens's maximum aperture. However, in practice, it is second nature and really fast. The aperture ring does encounter slight resistance from the meter pin when setting the aperture smaller than f/5.6. This is just a feature of the Photomic FTN and I can remember it has been like that on my sample since it was new.

It is also a bit of a hassle to remove the camera back to insert film, but again film loading is reasonably efficient; certainly easier than on a Leica M3!

This camera would, needless to say, not be a good fit for modern flash photography. Although users have taken many good flash photos with the camera, the 1/60 second maximum electronic flash synchronization speed is far too slow for fill flash, and of course you need to use manual flash or old style non-TTL auto flash (with the F system's slip-on flash bracket).

The shutter release on the Nikon F is positioned very close to the back of the body and has to be pressed quite far down to release the shutter. However, as can be seen in the accompanying photo, the Nikon AR-1 shutter release adapter (or a currently available clone) really improves the feel and accessibility of the shutter release. By comparison, the shutter release button of the F2 is in a more comfortable position near the front of the body, and has a better hair-trigger feel (although it is also improved by the same AR-1). The Nikon F still works great for available light photography on a tripod. With the Nikon F's mechanical shutter, you can take long time exposures for hours without fear of wearing out the battery. Just set the shutter to B and use a cable release, or use the T setting for really long exposures. On the other hand, the 1/1000 maximum shutter speed is really low by today's standards, although it was considered normal by photographers for many years. For people who shoot films like Tri-X, the one stop faster 1/2000 maximum shutter speed on the F2 and F3 makes a significant difference.

Copyright © 2015 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.

(DSC_5839fin1)

The Sentinel-3A satellite caught this image of a dust storm blowing east across the Red Sea on 25 July 2016.

Dust storms, or sandstorms, are usually the result of a large mass of cold air moving swiftly across dry ground covered with loose sand and silt. They are remarkable natural phenomena that can cause major ecological and agricultural damage.

Dust storms can be a major contributor to reduced air quality and can cause hazards to human health. Windborne dust particles can invade our respiratory system’s natural defences and lodge in the bronchial tubes, increasing the number and severity of asthma attacks, causing or aggravating bronchitis and reducing the body’s ability to fight infections.

Other visible features include the Nile River on the upper left side of the image, and the orange sands of the Arabian Desert in the upper right.

Sentienl-3 carries a suite of instruments to monitor Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere for Europe’s Copernicus programme. This image was captured by the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument.

Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016), processed by ESA

My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd

Another Photo24 photo and although I didn't use the Tube much durng the 24hr event I must admit I can't remember which station this escalator shot was taken in. It's pretty obvious though that I used the Nikon 10.5mm fisheye lens that the events sponsors MPB had lent me.

Click here for more photos from the 24hr event : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72177720300740278

From Wikipedia, "The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.

The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground passenger railway. Opened on 10 January 1863, it is now part of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The first line to operate underground electric traction trains, the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2020/21 was used for 296 million passenger journeys, making it one of the world's busiest metro systems. The 11 lines collectively handle up to 5 million passenger journeys a day and serve 272 stations.

The system's first tunnels were built just below the ground, using the cut-and-cover method; later, smaller, roughly circular tunnels—which gave rise to its nickname, the Tube—were dug through at a deeper level. The system serves 272 stations and has 250 miles (400 km) of track. Despite its name, only 45% of the system is under the ground: much of the network in the outer environs of London is on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, and there are only 33 stations south of the River Thames."

© D.Godliman

The Dark Planet ©

Youtube: Dream Factory

Photograph by Yusuf Alioglu

Facebook

Twitter

Blogger

Vimeo

Imagekind

UnbornArt

deviantART

Tumblr

MySpace

Google+

The Sun (Latin: Sol), a yellow dwarf, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter (including other planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dust) orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass. The mean distance of the Sun from the Earth is approximately 149,600,000 kilometers, or 92,960,000 miles, and its light travels this distance in 8.3 minutes. Energy from the Sun, in the form of sunlight, supports almost all life on Earth via photosynthesis, and drives the Earth's climate and weather.

FACEBOOK GROUP

As Tom Cruise was still determining filming of Top Gun: Maverick, Lockheed Martin invited him to their aerospace plant in Fort Worth that produces the phenomenal F-35 Lightning II 5th-generation stealth fighter… he signed an airframe of an F-35C (Navy variant) that is now at NAS Lamoore, the home of Top Gun. With the F-14 Tomcat retired since the original movie, Maverick’s ride would have to be updated. It would not be the F-35C. The 4th-generation F/A-18 Super Hornet was chosen for the film instead because there are no two-seat variants of the F-35. He wanted authenticity on the actors’ faces of the G-forces they experienced from the back seat of F/A-18Fs. Through the magic of movies, they used that footage to make it appear as though they were pilots of both F/A-18Fs and the single-seat F/A-18Es. That choice was a good thing, as all the critical issues concerning using the F/A-18 in the story's mission, would not have been an issue for the F-35… the movie would have been over in less than 20 minutes. No fun in that.

The pilot of this F-35C showed the crowd at the NAS Oceana Air Show just what a beast it truly is. In this profile pass over the crowd, you can see the pilot giving everyone a friendly ‘shaka sign’ hand gesture, common among fighter pilots. I wonder how many others caught that? The stunning demonstration was no more impressive than the precision and professionalism of the pilot. Moving at transonic speed is starting to create vapor on the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer skin, reflecting sunlight and showing all the sawtooth panel distinctions on the skin. Everything about that skin, as well as the shape of the aircraft, is designed to absorb and deflect search radar away from away from its receiver… stealth.

Early in its test phase, the F-35 was determined to be quite a dud as a fighter. Tested against a 4th-generation F-16, it could barely hold its own in a mock dogfight against the Viper, but what few knew was its capabilities were reined in, much like holding a racehorse back from what it was born to do… run. There was another problem that was unforeseen… pilots of the new F-35 had all previously flown 4th-generation, and they brought with them habits that did not apply to the new system’s stunning flight characteristics. They were just figuring out they had to unlearn what they had trusted for so long flying F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s, also known as Legacy fighters, because the Lightning wasn’t just capable of making mincemeat of any adversary, it was a gamechanger with immediate power, faster response to pilot input, an incredible angle of attack (AOA), and an ability to slow to less than 100 mph rapidly while still maintaining controlled flight to rapidly swing its nose to a target. The funny thing is, that as new pilots graduate flight school without the habits of the older pilots, they’re learning more about what the Lightning can do.

All variants of the F-35, A, B, and C models have advanced integrated avionics (sensor fusion) giving enhanced situational awareness not just to the pilots, but to every Lightning aircraft on a given mission… what one knows, they all know. Red Flag is somewhat like the Air Force’s version of Navy’s Top Gun, but there’s more to it than what the movie portrays. A Marine pilot new to the program in 2016 was preparing to take off in an F-35B from Luke AFB for a Red Flag exercise… it floored him how much information it provided him from the other members of his squadron who were already airborne. He had a Gods-eye view of the fray before he even left the ground. Since then, 4th-generation fighters are now taking part in that sensor fusion data… the weapons they carry can be slaved by F-35s to specific targets.

From a pilot’s own perspective at Red Flag: "You never knew I was there," he said with a smile. "You literally would never know I'm there. I flew the F-35 against 4th-generation platforms, and we killed them, and they never even saw us."

"If you were to engage an F-35 in say, a visual dogfight capability, the capabilities of the F-35 are absolutely eye-watering compared to a 4th-generation fighter. So, if it's a long-range contact, you'll never see me and you'll die, and if it's within visual-range contact you'll see me and you're gonna die and you're gonna die very quickly."

"I can tell you that it is by far the best platform I've ever flown in my entire life, and at that, you would have to take me on my word." – Maj. Gen. Scott Pleus, former CO of 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB. 24 years flying the F-16.

Makes me proud of my own involvement as an airman of the U.S. Air Force. A big shout out to all my brothers-in-arms. Many of you never knew what was coming when you signed the line and took the oath. That very decision took courage, no matter how you served. Much gratitude to you all.

If you have a special veteran in your life, mention their name here.

The Milky Way is massively bright on this cold, clear, altiplano night. At 4,500 meters its reflection in a river, a volcanic peak on the distant horizon, is captured in this stitched panorama under naturally dark skies of the northern Chilean highlands near San Pedro de Atacama. Along the Solar System's ecliptic plane, the band of Zodiacal light also stands out, extending above the Milky Way toward the upper left. In the scene from late April, brilliant Mars, Saturn, and Antares form a bright celestial triangle where ecliptic meets the center of the Milky Way. Left of the triangle, the large purple-red emission nebula Sharpless 2-27, more than twenty Moon diameters wide is centered around star Zeta Ophiuchi. via NASA ift.tt/29n4bzm

On October 19, Comet Siding Spring will pass within 88,000 miles of Mars – just one third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon! Traveling at 33 miles per second and weighing as much as a small mountain, the comet hails from the outer fringes of our solar system, originating in a region of icy debris known as the Oort cloud. Comets from the Oort cloud are both ancient and rare. Since this is Comet Siding Spring’s first trip through the inner solar system, scientists are excited to learn more about its composition and the effects of its gas and dust on the Mars upper atmosphere. NASA will be watching closely before, during, and after the flyby with its entire fleet of Mars orbiters and rovers, along with the Hubble Space Telescope and dozens of instruments on Earth. The encounter is certain to teach us more about Oort cloud comets, the Martian atmosphere, and the solar system’s earliest ingredients.

Learn more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4KsatjFeI

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA image use policy.

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.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Find us on Instagram

With Chessie System's complete take-over of the Western Maryland Railway, WM power began traveling other areas of the system. Here a WM SD40 and a B&O GP40 handle a westbound on former B&O tracks in Baltimore, MD on 4-17-76.

One of the Harz system's single-unit railcars enters the short street-running section in Hasserode on the outskirts of Wernigerode.

Two additional secondary payloads that will travel to deep space on Artemis I, the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, are ready for launch.

The Team Miles and EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft (EQUULEUS) CubeSats are tucked into dispensers and installed in the Orion stage adapter the ring that connects Orion to the SLS rocket. They are joining five other secondary payloads that were recently installed. These small satellites, known as CubeSats, will conduct a variety of science experiments and technology demonstrations. The CubeSats will deploy after the Orion spacecraft separates from SLS.

In this image, members of the EQUULEUS (EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft) team prepare their CubeSat to be loaded in the Space Launch System’s Orion stage adapter for launch on the Artemis I mission. This CubeSat, developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo, will help scientists understand the radiation environment in the region of space around Earth called the plasmasphere.

Credit: NASA

#NASA #space #moon #Mars #NASAMarshall #msfc #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #rockets #exploration #engineering #explore #rocketscience #artemis #JAXA #cubesat

Read more

More about Artemis

More about SLS

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

The sun says that it has 99% of the solar system's weight resting on its shoulders and the sun also says that it is quite visible to a telescope pointed in its direction 1000 light years away, needless to say the sun isn't at all impressed by the accomplishments -- whether real or imaginary or lunacy -- of a primate.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London is considered to be one of the world's most important global cities and has been termed the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, innovative, sustainable, most investment friendly, most popular for work, and the most vegetarian friendly city in the world. London exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportation. London ranks 26 out of 300 major cities for economic performance. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or sixth largest metropolitan area GDP. It is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games.

London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2016 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was 8,787,892, the most populous of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The population within the London commuter belt is the most populous in the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. London was the world's most populous city from c. 1831 to 1925.

London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory, Greenwich defines the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and Greenwich Mean Time. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. London has numerous museums, galleries, libraries and sporting events. These include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground

The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground, or by its nickname the Tube) is a public rapid transit system serving London, England and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.

The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground passenger railway. Opened in January 1863, it is now part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines; the first line to operate underground electric traction trains, the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2017/18 carried 1.357 billion passengers, making it the world's 11th busiest metro system. The 11 lines collectively handle up to 5 million passengers a day.

The system's first tunnels were built just below the surface, using the cut-and-cover method; later, smaller, roughly circular tunnels—which gave rise to its nickname, the Tube—were dug through at a deeper level. The system has 270 stations and 250 miles (400 km) of track. Despite its name, only 45% of the system is underground in tunnels, with much of the network in the outer environs of London being on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, with fewer than 10% of the stations located south of the River Thames.

The early tube lines, originally owned by several private companies, were brought together under the "UndergrounD" brand in the early 20th century and eventually merged along with the sub-surface lines and bus services in 1933 to form London Transport under the control of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). The current operator, London Underground Limited (LUL), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Greater London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares. The Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster, a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless card payments were introduced in 2014, the first public transport system in the world to do so.

The LPTB was a prominent patron of art and design, commissioning many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. The schematic Tube map, designed by Harry Beck in 1931, was voted a national design icon in 2006 and now includes other TfL transport systems such as the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, Crossrail (which is officially called Elizabeth Line) and Tramlink. Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and Johnston typeface, created by Edward Johnston in 1916.

Sheffield was the second UK city to inaugurate a modern light rail system, just 34 years after it bid farewell to its last classic trams. Sheffield followed Manchester in embracing light rail, but compared with the Manchester Metrolink system that has proved locally popular and has been subsequently expanded, Sheffield’s Supertram has had to overcome to initial public scepticism, below-forecast usage and more limited horizons.

I made my first visit to see the Sheffield system in action six months after it opened in March 1994. This view of Düwag unit No.20 (one of 25 that began the service) was taken at Fitzalan Square, initially the city centre line terminus. The plain livery reflected the system’s ownership by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority. Mounting financial losses led SYPTE to privatise the Supertram operation in 1997. Vehicles were daubed in corporate stripes after Stagecoach took over, continuing to the present day. Sheffield Supertram will revert to public ownership in 2024 when the Stagecoach contract expires. An early priority will be to replace the long-lived Düwag rolling stock.

September 1994

Rollei 35 camera

Fujichrome 100 film.

NASA image captured July 12, 2011

With his feet secured on a restraint on the space station remote manipulator system's robotic arm or Canadarm2, NASA astronaut Mike Fossum (frame center) holds the Robotics Refueling Mission payload, which was the focus of one of the primary chores accomplished on a six and a half hour spacewalk on July 12. The failed pump module is with DEXTRE on left side of the photo. NASA astronauts Fossum and Ron Garan performed the six-hour, 31-minute spacewalk, which represents the final scheduled extravehicular activity during shuttle missions.

Among Atlantis’s final contributions to the ISS is the Robotic Refueling Mission, developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. Atlantis brought this module to the International Space Station, where it will provide key support in maintaining future spacecrafts for years to come. STS-135 astronauts traveled to Goddard to complete special training for these robotics, a major component of the final shuttle mission. RRM is one of dozens of Goddard payloads to travel aboard orbiters into space throughout the 30-year flight history of the Shuttle Program.

To read more about the Robotic Refueling Mission go here.

Photo credit: NASA

NASA image SI35-E-007547 (12 July 2011)

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.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Find us on Instagram

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 as the countdown progresses for the launch of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Thursday, May 19, 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, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

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 passing the only depot still in its original location along this line here at MP 8.3 just south of the Pleasant Street crossing. The old passenger station here is now used as a shop and is in battered shape but still proudly has its train order semaphore intact. On the opposite side of the tracks and north of the crossing the ild freight house also still stands making for an irresistible pair of photo props!

And as for history of this line, here is an excellent detailed write up 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!

Holden, Massachusetts

Wednesday March 16, 2022