IN MEMORIAM. THE SCIENTIST, 1986-2011. ScienceInsider has just informed me that The Scientist has expired. It had just celebrated its 25th birthday. A jolt for me; I was The Scientist's Founding Editor. But not really a surprise, given the chaos that is publishing these days. Another death from poverty.
THE BOLSHOI SIMULATION: DANCING WITH THE STARS. Real life and real work are interfering with this delightful blogging project. So next week there will be no post because I'll be consumed by consuming ScienceWriters 2011 — especially the first two days, which is the annual meeting of the National Association of Science Writers.
And this week other business prevails, so I'm fobbing you off with just one item. But what an item. It's only our entire universe:
I'd say it's life, the universe, and everything except that it's only about life by implication. The Bolshoi simulation is the most recent computer modeling of the evolution of the universe. The simulation is said to match well with actual data collected from the heavens, so the claim is that it's the most accurate model to date.
Here's a brief description of the Bolshoi simulation. Find FAQs here. Look here to find press releases from the University of California High-Performance Astrocomputing Center, the University of California at Santa Cruz, New Mexico State University, and NASA Ames.
But it's the dazzling images that make this a Must See. Several videos are here, including a clip from a National Geographic special on formation of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Find still images here, with a variety of resolutions, file sizes, and download options
Back in a couple weeks.
