spock practicing chopsticks song for amanda
star trek
Pluto’s big moon may host Doctor Who names in space!
This month’s New Horizons flyby of dwarf planet Pluto and its biggest moon Charon left a wealth of incredible data in its wake, with unforgettable pictures of geographic features such as the now famous giant “heart” on Pluto.
But the highly detailed pictures gave the New Horizons team a welcome problem: What do they call all those craters, plains and mountain ranges?
Now, thanks to maps the New Horizons team plans to submit to the International Astronomical Union (the official governing body for names of celestial objects), we know the answer.
Their names are drawn from movies, TV shows and books sure to gladden every geek’s heart — including Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Firefly, Alien, Lord of the Rings and the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Spock, Kirk, Sulu and Uhura craters dot the Vulcan plane. Spock, Kirk, Sulu and Uhura craters dot the Vulcan plane. The Tardis chasma crosses the Gallifrey macula — named for the Doctor’s vessel and home planet respectively. Which could make for an awkward moment if the Time Lord ever lands there.
STAR TREK DAY in VULCAN, CANADA by Mark Berry
Via Flickr:
In 1995, Vulcan unveiled a 31 foot long, 9 foot tall, 5 tonne replica of the USS Enterprise. At the base of the ship visitors will find 3 plaques engraved in Klingon, Vulcan and English that welcome them to the town.
Star Wars: There are forces in the universe which are all-powerful and unknowable, and you should be careful lest they corrupt you.
Star Trek: There are forces in the universe which are all-powerful and unknowable, and they like to dick with humanity for their own amusement.
Doctor Who: There are forces in the universe which are all-powerful and unknowable, and one of them is the main character. He likes jelly babies.
[via charamei]
Star Trek offered hope to a generation who had grown up haunted by the specter of nuclear war. A significant portion of its viewers remembered the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the country was readying for World War III. Kids were being taught to “duck-and-cover”; beneath their school desks if they saw an atomic flash. Grim end-of-the-world scenarios were shown in popular books and films. At the same time, our paranoia toward Soviet Russia had reached an all-time high—which may explain why space aliens were generally portrayed in fims as evil monsters, bent on conquering Earth.
And in the midst of this paranoia and fear came a bright message of hope in the form of Star Trek, which said, “Yes, we will survive the atomic age. We will contact other intelligent life on other planets, and they’ll be our friends, not our enemies. Together, we’ll work for the common good.’
Leonard Nimoy, I Am Spock, hypothesizing on why Star Trek found a place in the hearts of its fans, and why its fans would be so passionate about it.
(via cmdr-beverlycrusher-md)
(via cmdr-beverlycrusher-md)
Dr. Mae Jemison, MD, the first black woman in space and first actual astronaut to appear on a Star Trek show, one of the very few people on this planet of whom two pictures can be posted depicting them doing their job on a spaceship with entirely different contexts.
Holy shit this is a serious contender for the best post I’ve ever seen on tumblr.
This is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen