This week marks the 32nd anniversary of the Skylab's dramatic (and destructive) re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Wired have a post detailing the day, and also mention the Perth resident who travelled travelled to San Francisco to claim a $10,000 prize after a piece of the space station landed on his roof.
Last week saw the creation of the world’s newest country, South Sudan. Those eager to view its borders were probably a little disappointed when they found out that it wasn’t yet on any of the major online mapping sites. Well, Google Maps Mania have you covered, with a link to a KML showing the new borders, as well as the town Abyei, which, pending a referendum, will belong to both Sudan and South Sudan.
A billion pixel sensor (that’s 1,000 megapixels in consumer camera speak) is destined to fly aboard the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, where it will take shots of our Milky Way in unprecedented detail. It makes me wonder what kind of detail would be available if they turned the sensor toward Earth. Gizmag have the full story.
A new online exhibition hosted by Baseline (a website run by the NSW government’s Land and Property Information) showcases the Maps That Shaped Australia. The website was launched to promote the book of the same name, but the site is worth a look all the same.
Big Think have a post talking about a map created by MIT and IBM that re-assess the US borders that define their states. The new map used call data to create a map that shows which areas are more likely to contact each other (by phone, of course), and then uses this data to propose the new boundaries that more accurately represent the natural borders of communication. It’s an interesting idea, and I’d like to see what such a map would look like in Australia, with our less homogenised population density.
Go visit the world’s longest bridge over water… at least in Google Maps. Google Earth Blog also have some neat stats for the fact nerds: The Chinese bridge measures around 42 km, and stands on 5,200 pillars, cost around US$1.5 billion to build, uses enough steel for 65 Eiffel Towers (that’s 450,000 tons, along with 81 million cubic feet of concrete), and can withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons, and the impact of a 300,000 ton ship.
And another from Google Maps Mania, this one outlining a new online mapping site that, using Google Maps, allows you to create temporal maps outlining some momentous event or journey in your life. Nothing special in that these days, but what really sets it apart is that you can see how your journey coincides with other people’s journeys. It’s a cool way to see all the different lives happening in the world… or at least those that use the service.
