It Gave Kit An Annoyed Look. “All Right, So I’m Ambivalent,” The Lone One Said. “But Isn’t

Are invisible things visible to invisible creatures? Are invisible creatures visible to each other, themselves? Discuss.

ya meme // nine quotes

the wizard’s oath (young wizards by diane duane)

NASA's Next Giant Leap

Technology drives exploration and we're building on the Apollo program's accomplishments to test and fly transformative, cutting edge technologies today for tomorrow's missions. As we develop and test the new tools of 21st century spaceflight on the human path to Mars, we once again will change the course of history.

8tracks is Radio, rediscovered - blood in the water i sing; (38min) by maerad| music tags: young wizards, deep wizardry, and the song of twelve | a mix for the song of twelve.

awesome playlist for deep wizardry. listen, cousins!

Reasons the Young Wizards series is wonderful: there’s a scene that can be described as “Tiny kitten Roasts Satan” and it’s the best thing ever

Annotation of All The Known Globular Clusters in Messier 31 by Michael van Doorn

Definitive list of whales, ranked.

Right Whale: It has an upside-down head — a bold move that pays off.

Sperm Whale: Has a silly name but really excels in all areas of being a whale: staying underwater, fighting squid, spraying sonar around the sea, looking like an ocean bus. Having teeth rather than baleen means not having to eat krill.

Narwhal: Sea unicorn that has ocean sword fights. Slightly less cool when you realize its horn is actually a big tooth, making it the whale version of this.

Orca: Doesn’t look anything like the other whales and hangs out around the Pacific Northwest, so it’s basically the hipster whale. Eats real food like seals rather than krill. Was in Free Willy, but, then again, was in Free Willy. Kind of an asshole, but you can’t argue with success. Secret shame: actually a dolphin.

Humpback Whale: Basic canonical whale. Has good press. Bit too mainstream, really.

Beluga Whale: Ongoing experiment in whether white privilege applies to cetaceans.

Blue Whale: Coasting on its size; must try harder.

Gray Whale: Blue whale that’s smaller and more boring.

Minke Whale: Kinda puny for a whale.

Fin Whale: Second biggest animal in the world, i.e. the first loser. Described by Roy Chapman Andrews as the “greyhound of the sea,” and we all know what Captain Hank Murphy of Sealab said about greyhounds. (”Too pointy.”)

Beaked whale: You are not a bird, please reconsider your choices.

Pilot Whale: Dolphin with ideas above its station.

“So you’re made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?”

―Neil deGrasse Tyson

These photos are on the shortlist for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014, a competition and exhibition run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The winning images will be posted here on September 18.