The journey to modern civilization has had many stops along its way. Hundreds of brilliant inventors have shaped the natural world to allow us to enjoy modern conveniences. BestCollegesOnline.org has created an infographic that traces the development of many of the technologies we rely on, including cars, electricity, computers, and indoor plumbing. You will be fascinated by the intricate details that led to the creation of life as you know it.

From: Best Colleges Online

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Relative to the size of the planet it orbits, the moon is actually the largest satellite in our solar system. It’s roughly one quarter of the diameter of earth. On size alone there are actually four satellites bigger than the moon orbiting planets in our system. These are three of Jupiter’s moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Io, and Titan which is a moon of Saturn.

For a long time it has been believed that water cannot exist on the lunar surface. However this is not quite true. Since the 60s it has been believed that small deposits of liquid water might well be present in permanently shadowed and very cold craters at either of the moon’s poles. The water it is though would have been deposited in the form of ice by comets impacting the moon’s surface or possibly as a result of chemical reaction between solar winds and oxygen rich lunar rocks.

Have you ever considered the preciseness of solar eclipses? It’s a little bit spooky that the moons orbit of 30 times the width of the earth means that the moon and sun appear as the same size in the sky. It is this that makes solar eclipses so vivid.

The moon is about as reflective as coal, which is bizarre when you consider that after the sun it is the second brightest body in our skies. This is due to the opposition effect that affects objects with rough surfaces or many particles. Depending on the phase angle the moon’s brightness increases hugely.

Seasons in terms of light are far less distinguishable on the moon due to its almost perfect axial tilt. This means that its topographical structures have a far more influential effect on the how and where light falls on the moon. For example there are mountainous regions on the rim of the Peary crater that remain in ‘daylight’ for the entire length of a lunar day.

Nearly all the craters on the moon were caused by impacts with the largest being over 200 miles wide and the smallest ones being microscopic. As the moon has such a scarcity of water and tectonic plates the craters tend not to erode. It is though that many of the craters have been present for over two billion years.

16 percent of the moon is referred to as Lunar Maria. These are basaltic plains that were originally mistaken by astronomers to be seas. The plains are actually iron rich and appear darker than the rest of the moon due to being less reflective. They were caused by volcanic eruptions dating back over 3 billion years.

Wow. If you ever wanted to know your place in the universe, moon facts are a good way to go… Big place this little old universe of ours…

About the author: Cynthia Seymour when not goggling through her telescope researches novelty gift ideas for the online emporium Find Me A Gift.

Facts About The Moon! is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog dedicated to the world of Science.

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(1) Lift off

A magisterial space rocket lifts off from planet Earth on its mission to outer space.

(2) Another powerful launch

The Columbia Space Shuttle heads for space with all its cylinders blazing.

(3) Home

A beautiful shot of our planet Earth in all her glory.

(4) Antarctic Peninsula

A vertiginous view of the Antarctic Peninsula seen from outer space.

(5) A Long Fall from Space

Autumnal colours surround Lake Superior snapped from space.

(6) Up and Over Down Under

Fires photographed from way above North-Eastern Australia.

(7) High Shot of Low Pressure

Low pressure builds and swirls over the Great Lakes of America.

(8) A Cloud Street Map

Cloud streets and a hurricane billow and blow off the West Coast of America

(9) Nature’s Magic Captured from on High

The wondrous green and red aurora caused by charged particles from a solar wind clashing with oxygen.

(10) A Glorious Sight To Behold

A time-lapse shot of the aurora from the giddy heights of the International Space Station

(11) A Turbulent Typhoon Approaches

A super shot of Typhoon Roke heading for Japan taken from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre.

(12) The Forecast: Clouds, Clouds and Clouds

Cloud vortices curl and curve above Heard Island in the Indian Ocean.

(13) UARS Prior to Re-entry

NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) orbits the Earth before it plummeted down into the Pacific Ocean on 24 September 2011.

(14) A Full Moon

A lovely lunar video capturing the pockmarked surface of our shadowy satellite.

(15) A Closer Look at the Lunar Surface

A wonderful video of a lunar landscape flyover.

(16) Solar Power

An immense solar flare roars from the surface of the sun in this stunning image of the centre of our solar system.

(17) Blaze and Flare

The temperature of the Sun’s surface is around 6000 Celsius. In this photo, a fiery flare from it leaps into space.

(18) The Shine of a Sun Spot

The awesome might of the solar surface and a stunning sun spot.

(19) A Solar Eclipse from Space

A chiaroscuro eclipse is even more stunning when seen from space.

(20) Look upon Mercury

A beautiful shot of Mercury’s moon-like surface, craggy and scorched by the Sun.

(21) Beautiful Venus

The rocky surface of the red-hot planet Venus

(22) Mighty Mars

Favourite of science fiction writers, Mars is just as incredible in reality.

(23) Ringed Saturn

A mesmerising sight, Saturn and its majestic rings.

(24) The Giant Jupiter

The biggest of the gas giants and largest planet in our solar system.

(25) A Look at Europa

One of Jupiter’s moons, Europa has ice and water on its surface, which has led to speculation about whether it can or does sustain life.

(26) Distant Uranus

Another gas giant, Uranus was the first planet found by telescope.

(27) Far Off Neptune

Initially Neptune’s existence was predicted by mathematics, before telescopes became powerful enough to view him.

(28) Pluto Out In the Cold

Images of the icy dwarf planet from the Hubble Space Telescope.

(29) An Image of Andromeda

A stunningly detailed photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy, approximately 2.5 light years away.

(30) A spiralling Galaxy of Stars

A magnificent spiralling disc of stars in the far off galaxy NGC 2841, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

(31) Jets from a Black Hole

Incredible imagery of a black hole as it spews jets into the cosmos.

(32) Turbulent Centre of a Black Hole

The mysterious centre of a black hole as it emits bright light. The route to another dimension?

This list of galactic images was compiled and written by PrinterInks – suppliers of top brand printer cartridges, including Dell, Samsung, HP, Canon and Epson ink cartridges.

Each of the images and videos used in this post are, at the time of posting, held under the Creative Commons licensing.

Earth and Beyond: A Pictorial Journey is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog dedicated to the world of Science.

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More photos like this at Richard Heeks’ outstanding photostreams on Flickr. See the Bubbles collections, specially All Bubbles.

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Nano Flower Bouquet - © Copyright Ghim Wei Ho and Prof Mark Welland

Found at Nanotecnology Now Art Gallery

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Stunning Looping Arcs — June 9-10, 2007. This STEREO image and video clip of the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light (June 9-10, 2007) showcases a string of active regions near the Sun’s equator over about 36 hours. We see several active regions (brighter areas with the loops above them) that were lined up as they approached the edge of the Sun. Credits: NASA, STEREO.

More Images: Latest Images, STEREO Selects and STEREO Gallery.

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From Micrographia: Cross-section of Nymphaea (Water Lily) stem, showing sclereid

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Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme. ‘In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble’s cameras. It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth — and death — is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.’

More Carina Nebula Images

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Related: Relaxing

Tags: Art of Science, Online Gallery, Science Exhibition

2006 Art of Science is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog dedicated to the world of Science.

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