For those of you who know me, you're already aware of this fact. For those of you who don't, I have a shameless confession to make: I'm a science nerd. Autotrophs, phototrophs, chemotrophs, octotrophs (nom nom octopus), spontaneous combustion, whale-cats, aromatic rings, amebae, virions, jumping genes, etc. It's fascinating to look at the world around us and question how it works, without taking for granted that it does. For example, the third brightest object in the sky is the International Space Station. The third brightest object that we can see from Earth is man-made! That is a pretty incredible accomplishment considering how many giant balls of gas there are in the universe.
This week, I stumbled upon a NASA program called "Spot the Station"; essentially, if you sign up, NASA will send you a text message or e-mail whenever the International Space Station is flying above your head. And in that space station, scientists are conducting medical experiments, sleeping in a cubby, drinking water-blobs, and combing their hair that's standing up straight. All. The. Time. That's going on in the tiny blip in the sky; it's enough to fuel an imagination explosion. So, that tendency to check your e-mail, like checking the fridge out of habit even though you're not hungry, might pay off one of these days!
To sign up for the Spot the Station: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/index.cfm
And for some super-fun videos about what it's like to live on the station: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/suni_iss_tour.html
Enjoy a little science fun, and have a fabulous day!
~Katie Healy
