Hey I Have A Favor To Ask From Astronomers, Can Y'all Put Little Krakens On The Edges Of Maps Of The

Ai Weiwei, “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn,” 1995

An astonishingly irreverent piece of work.  This triptych features the artist dropping a Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) in three photographs.  

When questioned about the work, he suggested that the piece was about industry: “[The urn] was industry then and is industry now.”  His statement, therefore, was that the urn was just a cheap pot two thousand years ago, and the reverence we feel toward it is artificial.  One critic wrote: “In other words, for all the aura of preciousness acquired by the accretion of time (and skillful marketing), this vessel is the Iron Age equivalent of a flower pot from K-Mart and if one were to smash the latter a few millennia from now, would it be an occasion for tears?”

However, the not-so-subtle political undertone is clear.  This piece was about destroying the notion that everything that is old is good…including the traditions and cultures of China.  For Ai Weiwei, this triptych represents a moment in which culture suddenly shifts (sometimes violently), shattering the old and outdated to make room for the new.  

A small step for man…

(all my gifs are here)

Tribute to Katherine Johnson (African-American mathematician aka ‘the computer’) who helped with calculating the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. SOURCE                          

Lunar gold rush could create conflict on the ground if we don't act now – new research

When it comes to the Moon, everyone wants the same things. Not in the sense of having shared goals, but in the sense that all players target the same strategic sites—state agencies and the private sector alike. That’s because, whether you want to do science or make money, you will need things such as water and light.

Strange and massive objects plow near the moon, captured on amateur film from Quebec, Canada. (26.03.2020).

“our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field this is the legacy we’ll leave.”

the fact elon mask genuinely might ruin the night sky for everyone makes me wanna sharpen my shovel and get to work

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