So that’s what it’s like to eject from a burning aircraft…

  A fascinating video clip has emerged of a Russian pilot (who was wearing a personal video recorder on his chest) ejecting from his damaged Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft, after it was hit by Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire.  A tip o’ the hat to The Aviationist for publishing the video.  All the action happens in… Continue reading So that’s what it’s like to eject from a burning aircraft…

Wow! The Webb space telescope images the Pillars of Creation

  Courtesy of the BBC, here’s a wonderful image of the Pillars of Creation in the Serpens constellation, taken by the Webb space telescope.  Click either image for a much larger view. And here’s a comparison between the Hubble space telescope’s view of the Pillars (on the left) and the Webb’s greatly improved and much… Continue reading Wow! The Webb space telescope images the Pillars of Creation

Farewell to a little-known aircraft that turned into a scientific wonder

  NASA has retired its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), after eight years of operations.  Data from its missions will continue to be analyzed for years to come. From the start of its development in 1996, SOFIA required engineering ingenuity. A Boeing 747SP jetliner had to be modified to carry the 38,000-pound, 100-inch (more… Continue reading Farewell to a little-known aircraft that turned into a scientific wonder

Is this the most over-the-top fight scene ever?

  The Telugu action movie RRR is the latest thing out of India, and it’s making waves in this country too after Netflix bought the US broadcast rights.  I think this fight scene is perhaps the weirdest and most over-the-top I’ve ever seen! It’s not the only over-the-top scene, either.  How about this dance number?… Continue reading Is this the most over-the-top fight scene ever?

Don’t send up the Bat-signal for this nightmare!

  I was astonished to see this mask, representing an ancient, evil bat-deity named Camazotz.  The resemblance between it and the comic-book figure Batman is uncanny. Collective Spark reports: Camazotz, (meaning ‘death bat’ in the Kʼiche’ Mayan language of Guatemala) originated deep in Mesoamerican mythology as a dangerous cave-dwelling bat creature. A cult following for… Continue reading Don’t send up the Bat-signal for this nightmare!

Expensive wheels indeed!

  I had to smile at this report. Million-dollar cars are nothing new nowadays. Whether we’re talking about state-of-the-art supercars or classic Ferraris and Aston Martins, paying seven-figure sums for automobiles is not as ridiculous as it used to be. But did you know that vintage agricultural equipment can also cost a fortune? You might… Continue reading Expensive wheels indeed!

Low flight over snow, on skis, at night. Beautiful!

  Courtesy of Gerard Van der Leun, here’s a brief video from Red Bull that’s really lovely to watch.  I suggest you do so in full screen mode. You can read here about how skier Valentin Delluc did it.  He seems to have an amazing talent for such things.  Here’s an earlier video, where he… Continue reading Low flight over snow, on skis, at night. Beautiful!

Now that’s what I call well-preserved

  I was fascinated by these before-and-after images of what a poster on Gab described as, “A 2000-year-old Roman silver dagger, that was discovered by an archeology intern in 2019 in Germany, before and after nine months of careful restoration work”.  Click the image for a larger view. Intrigued, I looked for more information, and… Continue reading Now that’s what I call well-preserved