slow motion

Showing 39 posts tagged slow motion

As you may have heard, the asteroid 2012 DA14 silently glided past Earth on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Observations using radar have shown it to be an elongated rock about 20 x 40 meters (65 x 130 feet) in size… 

It still didn’t get very bright; it was invisible to the naked eye. But with digital cameras and dark skies, snapping pictures of it was a matter of knowing where to aim, something photographer Colin Legg knows very well. From Perth, Australia, he captured this lovely time-lapse video of the asteroid moving past Earth right at the time of closest approach, 19:24 UTC. And he captured more than just DA14; there are some other surprises in the video, too. Make sure to set it to full-screen.

You can see DA14 sliding through the video from top to bottom on the left side of the frame. But right after the video starts, a meteor plummets through the field of view, leaving behind what’s called a persistent train—a trail of vaporized rock that can glow for several minutes. 

From Slate’s Bad Astronomy.

Dry Ice and bubbles are nothing new, but it doesn’t get old too quickly either, especially when it looks great (cue the music and backlighting) and is a fun DIY.

You’ll need Dawn Dish Detergent (5 tablespoons), Glycerin (95%, 4 tablespoons), Distilled Water (1 cup), a bowl, a 100% cotton cloth strip, some dry ice (2 or 3lbs) and thick gloves for handling the dry ice (since dry ice will burn skin). Now watch!

Previous related DIY links: A dry ice and bubbles tutorial + how to handle dry ice safely.

Thanks, @mamagotcha.

Update: It’s Okay to Be Smart explains the science behind the fun!

Cheetahs on the Edge—Director’s Cut from Gregory Wilson, who was a part of the team who captured these stunning slow motion shots of cheetahs running: 

Cheetahs are the fastest runners on the planet. Combining the resources of National Geographic and the Cincinnati Zoo, and drawing on the skills of an incredible crew, we documented these amazing cats in a way that’s never been done before.

Using a Phantom camera filming at 1200 frames per second while zooming beside a sprinting cheetah, the team captured every nuance of the cat’s movement as it reached top speeds of 60+ miles per hour.

The extraordinary footage that follows is a compilation of multiple runs by five cheetahs during three days of filming.

For more information about cheetah conservation, visit causeanuproar.com/

Two (of many) mesmerizing things about this video: the steadiness of the cheetahs’ heads and the amount of time their back legs seem to not touch the ground.

More about how the cheetah’s speed has ”achieved nature’s optimal balance of size, running ability and weight” at It’s Okay to Be Smart.