US Naval Observatory

The Naval Observatory photo gallery has been updated with a new responsive design. The old design was “responsive,” but the images were too small, and the JavaScript was awkward. In July 2007, as part of a science partnership with the Continue reading US Naval Observatory

Epic penguin migration

Last week, a penguin completed an epic migration that lasted a couple years and thousands of miles. When measured in penguin distances, it encompassed more miles than Neil Armstrong traveled going to the moon and back in his celebrated “one Continue reading Epic penguin migration

First world problems

Soofa Bench is a solar-powered park bench. It has space for three people, and can recharge two USB phones at once. It is "made of sustainably harvested materials and built in the United States." Photo by Lykara Ryder.

Third world problems usually center around a lack of food, clothing, water, or shelter, or possibly all of them. Compounding these lacks, you often have severe pollution and poverty. First world problems, however, are more nuanced. For example, this sign Continue reading First world problems

Instead of weed removal, weed delivery?

The District of Columbia voted to legalize possession of marijuana in November 2014. Because of misguided criminal laws, bad science favoring marijuana use, bad science opposing marijuana use, and a great many other factors, this was — and still is Continue reading Instead of weed removal, weed delivery?

Monkeys grasp for the moon

Washington boasts many world-class museums, but some of the most impressive are not necessarily the most visited. The Freer Gallery of Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution, is an Italian Renaissance style building just east of the Smithsonian Institution “castle” on Continue reading Monkeys grasp for the moon

Memorial to gun violence

The stark simplicity of the memorial is stilling: these are shirts that will not be filled, and in many cases the shirts are for victims many times too young to wear an adult T-shirt.

St. John Baptist Church in Columbia recently installed a powerful memorial to victims of gun violence in the greater Washington, DC, area. On an embankment behind the church are simple frames, and on each frame is the name (if known), age, and date of Continue reading Memorial to gun violence

U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial at Night

United States Marine Corps War Memorial, better known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Officially, the Memorial at the edge of Arlington National Cemetery is the United States Marine Corps War Memorial. Virtually everyone on the planet, however, refers to it as the Iwo Jima Memorial. Cast in bronze and dedicated in November 1954, Continue reading U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial at Night

Sights on the way to Washington, DC

Traveling to the nation’s capital from distant Silver Spring, Maryland, was a journey through a single timezone and a distance measured in subway stops. Along the way there were many wonders, such as this Transformer attempting to sneak toward the capital Continue reading Sights on the way to Washington, DC

Joshua Bell at Union Station

Joshua Bell returned to Washington, DC, to attempt another concert in a train station. Since it was during lunch hour, and in a train station, why not take a train to see one of the greatest violinists in the world? Continue reading Joshua Bell at Union Station