There’s A Big Metal Ball Just Hanging Out In Earth Orbit, And It’s Super Useful (Cool Weird Awesome 1003)

Today in 1965 the launch of what is the oldest functioning object in Earth orbit, Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1. To say it's "functioning" might be overstating things, since all it does it sit up there, but it's still had a big impact on science.

By |2023-05-05T08:04:15-04:00May 5, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

We Can Keep An Eye On Elephants With Satellites (Cool Weird Awesome 465)

Scientists at universities in the UK and the Netherlands have been testing out a system in which algorithms parse through high-resolution images taken by satellites to identify elephants and their locations, which could help protect these endangered pachyderms from poaching and habitat loss.

By |2024-01-22T06:52:14-05:00January 22, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

When A Giant Safe Showed Up In His Yard, A New York Farmer Decided To Embraced The Mystery (Cool Weird Awesome 364)

A farmer in Barre, NY found a massive old safe in his fields, with a note on the side saying whoever could open it could have what was inside. But he decided maybe it would be better not to spoil the surprise. Plus: scientists studying satellite photos of Antarctica were able to spot new colonies of Emperor penguins! From space!

By |2020-08-21T07:35:24-04:00August 21, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

How Space Might Save The Whales (Cool Weird Awesome 153)

Science has brought whales and outer space together for the first time since the fourth Star Trek movie. The British Antarctic Survey has been partnering with researchers in Chile on a way to protect whales via satellite. Plus: the story of a paraglider who manages to land smoothly and carefully on a couch.

By |2021-08-06T07:05:07-04:00October 21, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |
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