'The Face of Creation' - Higgs Remix

Celebrate 2012's greatest scientific discovery with a remix by melodysheep:

Our Story In One Minute

A tapestry of footage tracing the cosmic and biological origins of our species, set to original music. Another great mash-up from Melodysheep.

Watch:

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Tweets More Baseball

During the 2011 World Series, Neil deGrasse Tyson treated his Twitter followers to an entertaining and informative stream of tweets about baseball from the perspective of an astrophysicist.

Tyson is arguably one of the most popular, charismatic, and likable scientists since Carl Sagan. It's only natural that we would want to know what it's like to sit on the couch with him during the All-Star Game.

I was pleased to find Tyson tweeting about baseball last night while the game was on. (It wasn't much of a game, so his commentary was probably the only thing keeping me from shutting the thing off.)

I've collected those tweets below for your enjoyment:

Symphony of Science - "We Are Star Dust"

The latest Symphony of Science is "We Are Star Dust," the 15th in the series. It features heavyweights Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman and Lawrence Krauss.

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Symphony of Science: Neil deGrasse Tyson Sings!

In the latest video from the Symphony of Science folks, we're treated to the lovely (auto-tuned) vocal stylings of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, physicist Brian Cox, and planetary scientist Carolyn Porco.

The video, "Onward to the Edge!" also features stunning visuals from My Favorite Universe, BBC's Wonders of the Solar System, and NatGeo's Traveler's Guide to the Planets.

The Symphony of Science folks describe it as: a musical investigation into the importance and inspirational qualities of space exploration (human and robotic), as well as a look at some of the amazing worlds in our solar system.

Enjoy.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Tweets Baseball

Since my beloved Red Sox missed the playoffs following their curse-esque September nosedive, I have avoided watching baseball altogether this postseason. It's too painful. I didn't even have the chance to root against the Yankees in the World Series.

I have, however, found some consolation in the post-season tweets of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tyson has wowed us for years with his intermingling of science and pop culture, He's showed up on Jeopardy!, Who Wants To Be A Millionare?, and Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! He's appeared on The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, Conan O'Brien, and The Big Bang Theory. On his radio show, Star Talk, he has analyzed the physics behind the powers of superheroes.

Tyson's baseball tweets have run the gamut: the physics of baseball, breakdowns of player salaries, suggestions for new rules, and new criteria for awards.

I've collected some of his gems below (running in order, from the playoffs through the World Series):

• Yankees must win tonite. CC Sabbathia in relief on the mound. During the regular season, he earned $6,500 per pitch.

• Yankees must win tonite. A-Rod is 0 for 2. During the regular season, he earned $86,000 per at-bat.

• You can play baseball on the airless Moon, but only if you find a way not to suffocate & if you don't care about curve balls

• New baseball rules I'd like to see: if the pitch that hits you is ball four, you should get to advance to second base.

• Baseball should track extraordinary plays that fielders can bank, and then credit against errors they might later commit.

• If you walk on 4 pitches it should count against the pitcher. But if you walk on 8 pitches, it should count as a hit.

• On the Moon, with 1/6 of Earth's gravity, a 400 ft home run would travel nearly half a mile. Do the physics.

• The "ManagerOfTheYear" award should not be a vote, but should go to who gets the most wins per dollar of player salaries paid

• Just an FYI: It takes twice as much energy to throw a baseball 100mph than it does to throw one at 70mph. Do The Physics

Follow Neil on Twitter at @neiltyson

Perspective: The Lifetime Of The Universe Mapped Onto A Single Calendar Year

A reader commenting on yesterday's post depicting the history of the world cast into a 24-hour clock brought up another wonderful time-scale concept.

The Cosmic Calendar casts the 13.7 billion year lifetime of the universe into a single calendar year, and was popularized by Carl Sagan on his television series Cosmos, and in his book The Dragons of Eden.

A few mind-blowing bits of perspective:

• The Milky Way does not form until May.
• Our Solar System arrives in August.
• First life appears on Earth in September.
• Dinosaurs are extinct on December 30.
• Modern humans evolve on December 31 at approximately 11:54pm.
• Recorded history begins in the final 15 seconds of the year.
• Columbus arrives in America in the last second of the year.

(Image via Wikipedia)