Last Light

summer

You would not believe your agony

If you don’t support net neutrality

Twelve U.S. presidents owned slaves, at some point in their lifetime. Eight owned slaves while serving in the White House.

Celebrating The First Americans Means Green, Not Red White and Blue

American jade is made up of a group of semiprecious hard stones. Chief among them is a dense rock composed almost entirely of the mineral jadeite, a sodium aluminum silicate of the pyroxene family noted for its beautiful color when worked. All American works of art in jade are basically green, but they are vary widely in tone, ranging from a pale apple hue, like below, to a distinctive blue green, to almost black.

As in China, where semiprecious hard stones — also known collectively as jade — were worked from very early times, the initial use of jade in the Americas is thought to have developed from the production of tools, weapons, and ornaments of more common stone. Jade is particularly hard and therefore useful for tools and weapons. But jade’s beautiful color, and shine when polished, would have made it stand out. Over time, jade became more and more favored for works of special status, like jewelry and ceremonial items. By the Olmecs in 1000 BCE, jade was high enough of a status symbol that the stone was being carved into non-useful sculptures and being placed in royal burials, never to be seen or used again.

I think you’re strong and I think you can get through anything, even if it’s the worst sadness you ever experienced. I believe you can get through this and you should believe it too.

reblog for positivity (via ashleymacleanblog)

Saturn and rings

This raw, unprocessed image of Saturn was taken on 12 August 2017 and received on Earth 13 August 2017.

The camera was pointing toward Saturn at approximately 938955 kilometres away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and RED filters.

The image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the Planetary Data System in 2018.

The Cassini Solstice Mission is a joint United States and European endeavor.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team consists of scientists from the US, England, France, and Germany.

The imaging operations center and team lead (Dr. C. Porco) are based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Wow

Saturn and rings

This raw, unprocessed image of Saturn was taken on 12 August 2017 and received on Earth 13 August 2017.

The camera was pointing toward Saturn at approximately 938955 kilometres away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and RED filters.

The image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the Planetary Data System in 2018.

The Cassini Solstice Mission is a joint United States and European endeavor.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team consists of scientists from the US, England, France, and Germany.

The imaging operations center and team lead (Dr. C. Porco) are based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI