Monthly Archives: October 2011

Unraveling an Oscilloscope

Posted on 31 October 2011 by

For a while I sat looking at it a bit nervously, sort of like Indiana Jones trying to decide just how to swap the golden head for a bag of sand without everything coming apart. Continue reading →

Posted in Citizen Science Musings, Electronics, Science Education, Tools | 1 Comment

Networked Science and Its Discontents

Posted on 30 October 2011 by

Back in July we ran a post, “Michael Nielsen on Open Science” in which Nielsen described a new process of creating information working groups to solve particularly difficult problems. Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Science, Best Practices, General Interest | 2 Comments

Grammatical Bird Tweets?

Posted on 29 October 2011 by

For a long time, humans were assumed to be the only ones who employed language, although recent experiments with other animals have shown that different species can understand human speech with a remarkable degree of accuracy. Continue reading →

Posted in Ornithology | Leave a comment

Scientists Explain Bat Die-off

Posted on 28 October 2011 by

After much investigating and the death of at least one million bats, scientists have finally isolated the cause of the large bat die-off. The next problem, however, is what to do about it. Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Breaking News, Environment, Wildlife | Leave a comment

Merismopedia Mug Shot

Posted on 27 October 2011 by

Photo of cynaobacteria, genus Merismopedia. Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Microbiology, Microscopy, Photography | Leave a comment

Odd Hollows Found on Mercury

Posted on 26 October 2011 by

NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft has discovered strange hollows on the surface of Mercury. Images taken from orbit reveal thousands of peculiar depressions at a variety of longitudes and latitudes, ranging in size from 60 feet to over a mile across and 60 to 120 feet deep. No one knows how they got there. Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Breaking News, Geology, Space | Leave a comment

This Week at Hilton Pond: “Ode To Goldenrod, 2011”

Posted on 25 October 2011 by

Each October, one of our favorite natural pastimes is to venture into a patch of Goldenrod to see how many pollinators and predators we can find. “This Week at Hilton Pond” we located–and photographed–some little arthropods we’d not encountered before, including a spider species we’ve been seeking for years. Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Entomology, This Week at Hilton Pond | 1 Comment

Citizen Science Musings: Science and History

Posted on 24 October 2011 by

History, like science, matters. I particularly enjoy it when one can serve the other, as in a new study in the UK that seeks to track a herd of wild goats that comprise the UK’s oldest known herd of wild animals. Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Biology, Citizen Science Musings, Wildlife | Leave a comment

The Essential Breadboard

Posted on 23 October 2011 by

Fluency in basic electronics is increasingly useful for anyone getting into citizen science. These days electronic kits from Make, SparkFun, Adafruit, and many other vendors are everywhere. Ardino and Netduino has created an entire subgenre of electronics with active, enthusiastic communities. Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Radio, Amateur Science, Electronics, Invention, Makers and Making, Projects, Tools | Tagged , | 2 Comments

New Berkeley Study Confirms Global Warming

Posted on 22 October 2011 by

In what is perhaps the most comprehensive study yet of recent planetary climate trends, taking into account questions raised by some climate scientists, including amateur scientists. The Berkeley Earth study concluded that there has in fact been a rise in temperature globally of 1°C since the 1950s. Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Science, Breaking News, climate, Environment, Meteorology | 1 Comment