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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.)
DE: Lange vor der S-Bahn Zürich gab es in der Schweiz bereits eine Art "S-Bahn". Die Vorgängerbahnen des RBS, die SZB und die VBW betrieben ab Mitte der 1974 mit einer neuen Einführung in den Bahnhof Bern und den neu beschafften "Mandarindli" Triebzügen ganztägig einen Taktverkehr im Grossraum Bern, zu Spitzenzeiten im Viertelstundentakt. Das System wurde bis heute weiter ausgebaut bis hin zu teilweisem 7.5min Takt auf einzelnen Streckenabschnitten. Der Abschnitt Bern-Worblaufen gehört zu den am dichtesten befahrenen Strecken der Schweiz. Zu Spitzenzeiten fahren bis zu 20 Züge pro Richtung pro Stunden (!) über diese Doppelspur. Sowohl dem 1974 eingeweihten Bahnhof Bern wie auch den Mandarindli geht es nun aber an den Kragen. Der für 25'000 Personen ausgelegte, heute mit bis zu 60'000 Personen pro Tag frequentierte Endbahnhof Bern wird mit einem neuen, grösseren Neubau ersetzt. Die ersten Mandarndli wurden schon in den vergangenen Jahren eersetzt, für die noch in Betrieb stehenden Einheiten ist Ersatz bestellt und wird ab Mitte des Jahres abgeliefert. Grund genug im Worblental nochmals im Viertelstundentakt Mandarindli zu erleben...
EN: Years before the S-Bahn Zürich was inaugurated the predecessors of the RBS (SZB and VBW) created 1974 a so called Rapid Transit System (S-Bahn) in the capital region of Switzerland. A brand new four track terminal depot in Bern and a set of brand new trains - the so called "Mandarindli" - marked a major step in the developement of the RBS. Today up to 20 trains per direction and hour (!) run on the stretch between Bern and Worblaufen during high peak times. But: Bern depot and the Mandarindli are soon at the end of their journey. bern depot is rebuilt on a new location with more space, the Mandarindli are replaced through new trains. The first units will be delivered in second half of 2018.
Time to go to the Worblental and enjoy a Mandarindli every 15minutes....
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)
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance.
SARS-CoV-2 RNA Levels in Wastewater in the United States
Maps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updated by 8pm ET†. Represents all wastewater data submitted directly to CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System's DCIPHER platform, subject to suppression criteria described in Footnotes.
For more information on wastewater surveillance, please visit the National Wastewater Surveillance System page.
How Wastewater Surveillance Works:
www.cdc.gov/healthywater/surveillance/wastewater-surveill...
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.
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)
Suecia - Gotemburgo - Tranvía
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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.
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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. "
Two emergency egress vehicles are seen positioned at the slidewire termination area at Space Launch Complex 41 as a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches on the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, 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)
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
My Korner #278 - The Bride!
shakilynsblogs.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-korner-278-bride.html
BLOG NAME: The Bride!
DESIGNERS: Salt & Pepper, Monso, Avada & ACT5
Every girl's fantasy! Every girl's dream! Well, maybe every girl. I know I'm no exception. I do dream of marrying that one special man of my dreams! And I know this is some men's dream also!
Today I'm wearing:
DRESS/VEIL: S&P Bondage bride dress FATPACK @Romp
BONDAGE ROPES: S&P Bondage Ropes @Romp
HAIR: [monso] My Hair - Jullie @Fameshed
NAILS: Avada~ Stiletto Nails - Aurora @Unik
BREAST PUSH UP SYSTEM: S&P Bento Push Up
POSE: ACT5-537-Bride 3
Bondage Bride is rigged for Freya, Legacy and Maitreya. Comes with 3 pieces (dress, veil and veil flowers). Comes in 10 colors or a fatpack.
Bondage ropes has ropes for ankles, arms, thighs, wrists and two waist versions plus the collar. These are OC scripted. Comes with HUD with 10 rope colors and 7 metal colors.
Jullie hair has 2 versions. Pony tail to the side and in the back. Available with 6 color sets and offers ombres and root options.
Aurora nails are rigged for Belleza, Legacy, Slink and Maitreya. Comes with nail applier with 17 different colors and each finger can be painted separately. Love these!
Push Up Breast system has 4 stages. I'm showing stage 4. This breast system works with any mesh body and works with all rigged clothing.
LINKS:
Romp
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forbidden%20Fantasy/128/128/1
Salt & Pepper Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Birdcage/101/133/42
Salt & Pepper Marketplace
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/163109
Fameshed
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FaMESHed%20Too/37/174/24
Monso Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sweet%20Isle/196/108/23
Monso Marketplace
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/105079
Unik
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/UniK/176/141/27
Avada Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Elmira/136/134/27
Avada Marketplace
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/147505
ACT5 Marketplace
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
Another frame here of the AAPRCO's Autumn Explorer southbound on Vermont Railway's B&R Sub at MP 51 three miles south of Rutland Yard on VRS' former Rutland mainline that once extended all the way to Chatham, NY.
The train left Albany-Rensselaer in the morning behind two Amtrak P42s and traveled up CP's ex D&H Canadian main. At Whitehall they diverges on to Vermont Rail System's CLP mainline, also former D&H for the trip to Rutland, VT. There the Amtrak power was exchanged for red GP40-2 307 that will take the train south all the way to Hoosick Junction before returning to North Bennington to spend the night, then the train will travel north to Burlington where it will spend a few days.
The eight PVs on this year's trip listed in order are the: NYC 3, Promontory Point, Northern Sky, Northern Dreams, Dagny Taggart, San Marino, Wisconsin, and Chapel Hill.
Erected in 1860 the 190 ft tall steeple of Grace Congregational Church in the distance completes the New England tableau as fall colors begin to pop in the surrounding Green Mountains.
Clarendon, Vermont
Sunday September 27, 2020
A fiery horizon observed at sunset this evening. Looks like there's a wildfire just beyond the horizon! Pic taken from around San Jose, CA.
Weather update:
Thunderstorms have erupted throughout the state this week, courtesy of a very slow moving low pressure system. This system's eastward movement was very slow and the counter clockwise flow around the low had kept us in a rainy, unsettled weather pattern the past couple days or so. However, things were to start to dry out. By Monday of the following week, high pressure was forecast to be back along the coast...
(Saturday around sunset, May 7, 2016; 8:00 p.m.)
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.
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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.
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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
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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
Youtube: Dream Factory
Photograph by Yusuf Alioglu
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.
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
NASA image acquired September 3, 2011
Dominici crater, the very bright crater to the top of this image, exhibits bright rays and contains hollows. This crater lies upon the peak ring of Homer Basin, a very degraded peak ring basin that has been filled by volcanism. This image contains several examples of craters that have excavated materials from depth that are spectrally distinct from the surface volcanic layers, providing windows into the subsurface. MESSENGER scientists are estimating the approximate depths of these spectrally distinct materials by applying knowledge of how impacts excavate material during the cratering process. The 1000, 750, and 430 nm bands of the Wide Angle Camera are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively.
This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 250-meter/pixel (820 feet/pixel) morphology base map or the 1-kilometer/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel) color base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution during MESSENGER's one-year mission, but several areas of high scientific interest are generally imaged in this mode each week.
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, MDIS is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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 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 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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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.
Reading and Northern's NRFF was rolling through East Mahonoy Junction on the way to Pittston on a beautiful afternoon.
Classic signals abound on the Reading and Northern.
The 5020 was built for Chessie System's Baltimore and Ohio in 1984 as B&O 8592.
This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.
Young crater rays, extending radially from 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 crater in the upper right whose rays stretch across the planet is Hokusai.
To watch a movie of this colorful view of Mercury as a spinning globe go here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/8497927473
Young crater rays, extending radially from 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 giant Caloris basin is the large circular tan feature located just to the upper right of center of the image.
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
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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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
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.
Created using a 3d model by Sebastian Sosnowski
Rendered in Auto Desk 3ds Max
From wiki :
"the largest and most massive of the Solar System's moons. The ninth-largest object in the Solar System, it is the largest without a substantial atmosphere. It has a diameter of 5,268 km (3,273 mi), making it 26% larger than the planet Mercury by volume!"
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.
Test for Echo? The Owens Valley Solar Array (OVSA) is a astronomical radio telescope array with main interests in studying the physics of the Sun. The instruments of the observatory are designed and employed specifically for studying the activities and phenomena of our solar system's sun
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)
"Pump It"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaI2IlHwmgQ
[The Black Eyed Peas:]
Ha, ha, ha
Pump it
Ha, ha, ha
And pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo, right
Ha, ha, ha
[Will.I.am:]
Niggas wanna hate on us (Who)
Niggas be envious (Who)
I know why they hate on us (Why)
'Cause that so fabulous (What)
I'm gonna be real on us (Come on)
Nobody got nothing on us (No)
Girls be all on us from London back down to the US
S-S, we rockin' it (Contagious)
Monkey business (Outrageous)
Just confess it your girl admits that we the shit
F-R-E-S-H, we fresh
D-E-F, that's right we def (Rock)
We definite
B-E-P we reppin' it so
Turn me up (Turn it up)
Turn me up (Turn it up)
Turn me up
Come on, baby, just
[The Black Eyed Peas:]
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
And say (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Say (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Yo, yo
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo, right now (Ha)
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin' right
[Will.I.am {Taboo}:]
Can you check this out right here?
Dude wanna hate on us (Dude)
{Dude need to ease on up} (Dude)
Dude wanna act on up
But dude get shut like flavor (Shut 'em down)
Chicks say she ain't down
But chick backstage when we in town (Ha)
She like man on drunk (Fool)
She wanna hit and run (Errr)
Yeah, that's the speed
That's what we do, that's who we be
B-L-A-C-K E-Y-E-D
P to the E
Then the A to the S
When we play you shake your ass
(Shake it, shake it)
Shake it girl
Make sure you don't break it girl
('Cause we gonna)
Turn it up (Turn it up)
{Turn it up} (Turn it up)
Turn it up
Come on baby just
[The Black Eyed Peas:]
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
And say (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Say (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Yo, yo
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo, right now (Ha)
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin' right
[Will.I.am (Fergie):]
Damn (Damn)
Damn (Damn)
Damn (Damn)
Damn (Damn)
Damn (Damn)
[Apl.de.ap:]
Apl.de.ap from the Philippines live and direct rockin' the scene
Breakin' on down for the B-Boys and B-Girls waitin' to do their thing
Pump it, louder come on
Don't stop, and keep it goin'
Do it, let's get it on
Move it
Come on, baby do it
Ha
[Fergie:]
La-da-dee-da-da-dee-da
On the steree-aree-aree-aree-o (Ha)
Let those speakers blow your mind
(Blow my mind, baby)
Just let it go, let it go
Here we go (Ha)
La-da-dee-da-da-dee-da (Come on, we here)
On the radi-aree-aree-aree-o (Ha)
The system's gonna feel so fine (Ha)
Yeah, yeah, yeah (Ha), yeah, yeah
[The Black Eyed Peas:]
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
Pump it (Louder)
And say (Oh, oh, oh)
Say (Oh, oh, oh)
Yo, yo
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo, right now (ha)
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin' right
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
There's so much about this scene that's everyday, but very much gone. The poster advert for cigarettes; the man in a mackintosh on his bicycle; and above all the trolleybus, whose loudest noise would be its tyres swishing through the rain. All long gone.
Let's talk about the trolleybus. It was a locally-made Crossley Empire, built just three miles away on the boundary between Stockport and Manchester, and painted in the smart peacock blue and primrose colours of Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation. It carried an almost full load as it left Manchester for Stalybridge, so the conductor would be doing his rounds but not forgetting to jump off to set the points on the overhead wiring (or 'frog') at junctions where necessary. The location is the junction of Aytoun Street and Whitworth Street - you'd be hard-pressed to drive a bus this way nowadays, even a diesel one, as Aytoun Street is one-way going from left to right of this picture.
We don't know which of this little batch of Ashton trolleybuses is featured here: but we hope it's number 80, because 80 survived after the system's closure in 1966 in preservation: and is currently on display at the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.
If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.motgm.uk.
© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.
Ex. # 219 475 BVG Berlin arrived in Almaty in 2000 in the vein of system's revival after the 90s. It worked mostly as # 1041 being renumbered to # 1011 in 2008 and almost put out of service the same year. However, it was revived by some enthusiastic young tram driver and served another year or two since then.
[AET / АЭТ] Tatra KT4D # 1041
Konayev koshesi, Almaty, KZ 🇰🇿
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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada (285 km by road north of Toronto) at 21.21 EDT
(Moon altitude: 6.4° | Sun 9° below the horizon)
This is a 400 mm lens view of the solar system's largest planet and the Moon, three days after its new phase, setting low in the west in evening twilight. Faint Earthshine can be seen on the left side of the lunar disk.
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Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/2.8G ED lens on Nikon D810 camera body, mounted on Manfrotto 057-CF tripod with a Kirk Enterprises ball head
* 400 mm focal length, f/11
* ISO 200, 1/2 sec. exposure
Processed in Photoshop CS6
(brightness, contrast, colour saturation)
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NASA release date June 21, 2011
The terminator of Mercury, shown here in color, is the line between light and dark, or day and night. On Mercury, three days are equivalent to two years, or in other words, the planet spins around its axis three times for every two orbits around the Sun. The first Mercury year of the MESSENGER mission ended on Monday, June 13, 2011.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's color base map. The color base map is composed of WAC images taken through eight different narrow-band color filters and will cover more than 90% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 1 kilometer/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel). The highest-quality color images are obtained for Mercury's surface when both the spacecraft and the Sun are overhead, so these images typically are taken with viewing conditions of low incidence and emission angles.
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, MDIS is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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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New images of Saturn from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope herald the start of the planet's "spoke season" surrounding its equinox, when enigmatic features appear across its rings. The cause of the spokes, as well as their seasonal variability, has yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.
Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun. The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable.
The suspected culprit for the spokes is the planet's variable magnetic field. Planetary magnetic fields interact with the solar wind, creating an electrically charged environment (on Earth, when those charged particles hit the atmosphere this is visible in the northern hemisphere as the aurora borealis, or northern lights). Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings.
The ring spokes were first observed by NASA's Voyager mission in the early 1980s. The transient, mysterious features can appear dark or light depending on the illumination and viewing angles.
"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.
Saturn's last equinox occurred in 2009, while NASA's Cassini spacecraft was orbiting the gas giant planet for close-up reconnaissance. With Cassini's mission completed in 2017, and the Voyager spacecrafts long gone, Hubble is continuing the work of long-term monitoring of changes on Saturn and the other outer planets.
"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season," Simon said.
While our solar system's other three gas giant planets also have ring systems, nothing compares to Saturn's prominent rings, making them a laboratory for studying spoke phenomena. Whether spokes could or do occur at other ringed planets is currently unknown. "It's a fascinating magic trick of nature we only see on Saturn – for now at least," Simon said.
Hubble's OPAL program will add both visual and spectroscopic data, in wavelengths of light from ultraviolet to near-infrared, to the archive of Cassini observations. Scientists are anticipating putting these pieces together to get a more complete picture of the spoke phenomenon, and what it reveals about ring physics in general.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore 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/2023/hubble-captures-the-sta...
Ex. NVS # 126 from Schwerin arrived in Almaty in 2004 in the years of the system's slight revival after the 90s. As all other Schweriners, it contained a second cabless twin car. The latter was in service until 2006 and 1027 was the last of the operating multiple-units here. The head car was running through the next years until the arrival of ex-Berliners in 2013.
[AET / АЭТ] Tatra T3DC # 1027
Toraigyrov koshesi, Almaty, KZ