Michael Formichelli's Blog: Nero's Niche, page 7

Thinking About Our Bright Future & a Self-Promoting Interlude

Hello and Happy Holidays to everyone.

With Eye of the Abyss polished and entering its Beta-reader stage, I started thinking about what to do next. After writing almost continuously for most of this year to finish Eye of the Abyss, it feels weird to be taking a break, even with all of the amazing things happening this month. For instance, SpaceX successfully landed a first-stage rocket , which puts them on par with Blue Origin's landing about a month ago. and maybe it gets them a little bit ahead since they also launched satellites into orbit in the process. Just today I found out we successfully produced Plutonium-238, a critical fuel for space craft out of the reach of the sun's energy (we were running out of natural sources, which would have put deep-solar system exploration in jeopardy).

This got me thinking a lot about how bright our future in space looks... And then it occurred to me that it's Christmas week and I haven't done any advertising for Keltan's Gambit. Doh!

So it's time for a little self-promotion:

Perhaps you picked up Keltan's Gambit and haven't read it yet, or maybe you just finished Blood Siren—whatever the case, if you haven't purchased it yet now is the time. Eye of the Abyss will be out sometime in the next month or so, which gives you more than enough time to read Keltan's Gambit in preparation. ::wink::


Baron Revenant's plan to take control of the Confederation of Sovereign Systems is on the verge of completion. With the Abyssian Praetor Nero Graves trapped and powerless behind enemy lines, and Revenant's enemies playing right into his hands, it seems no one can stop him. What he doesn't realize is Cylus Keltan has reached the breaking point.

Pushed around by his friends, and forced into a betrothal with his hated cousin, Cylus is on the edge. Forced to take a stand, it seems House Keltan is poised for a comeback, but is this boldness a result of new-found courage or alien mind-control? And just what is the link between the mysterous VoQuana and Baron Revenant? Will Investigative Reporter Cygni Aragón uncover the truth in time to stop the baron, or has she fallen into his trap?

Allegiances will change, battles will erupt, and the deadly nano-weapon known as Siren will be unleashed in Keltan's Gambit!

 Once again, Happy Holidays to all and be well!

Sci-fi At 30,000': A Cautionary Tale

Greetings all. I'm traveling this week, which gave me the opportunity to watch a couple of movies on planes that I wouldn't normally have expended the effort to see (mostly because the reviews were so bad). During the last two flights I watched the Fantastic Four remake and Tomorrowland. Both movies were pretty bad in their own right, and strangely, for similar reasons. In a way they serve as cautionary tales for those, like myself, who like to write sci-fi. How? Well...

1. The tension doesn't really increase past the first 45 minutes-

     In Tomorrowland they defuse the dramatic tension pretty much from the get-go. We see the main characters alive and well in the future before anything else happens. Nothing that occurs in the film is going to threaten them. Sometimes this style of narrative works, but when it does it's because we are given something else to care about or connect with soon after the introduction. In Tomorrowland they make an attempt at that through Athena, but they fail to build any threat around her past a basic level. Pretty soon the chase scenes are monotonous, and as Athena handles most of them pretty handily, her victory becomes pretty much assured.

     In the Fantastic Four the tension in the beginning relies on people being mean and/or stupid, which is pretty low-level stuff. There's no threat to life or limb, just to hurt feelings—which again, can work in some context but they fail to build it up. The main characters are given golden opportunities without having to earn them, which they promptly screw up and suffer the consequences... Superpowers! Not only has this been done to death in the last ten years, but FF didn't bring anything new to the table at all. Ben Grimm's character could have been the most interesting of them all, but they failed to concentrate on him. Instead, we see a bunch of gifted kids being given opportunity after opportunity right up until the sudden appearance of the villain almost at the end. The droning tone of the film had me too sleepy to really care by that point anyway.

2. The main action happens too late-

    In both films we don't really get to the meat of the story until we're almost at the end. This can work sometimes if the narrative was interesting and/or action packed leading to the climax, but that just wasn't the case for the above reasons. As such by the time the films arrived at their big moments, my reaction was: "Finally! I hope this stays interesting!" But neither movie did, because...

3. The story resolved too quickly-

    After having spent so much time on inconsequential or monotonous stuff, the movies didn't have enough time to really showcase what was good. In Tomorrowland's case the climax actually was pretty good, but all it did was wake me up a little after the long path it took to get there. For the Fantastic Four, the end was only mildly more interesting than the bored-to-tears narrative of the previous hour. If I was home watching it I would have changed the channel before the credits for sure.

4. The messages were too heavy handed and didn't really fit-

     I suppose Tomorrowland suffered from this more than Fantastic Four. Every five minutes or so the film outright says—through dialogue—"If we don't do something everyone is going to die!" and then repeats the message until I just wanted to scream, "I get it, shut up!" Fantastic Four suffered from this less only because it didn't seem to understand what it was about until almost the end, and when it finally did it felt the need to shout: "Work as a team! Work as a team! Family! WOO!" repeatedly... with a megaphone... for the last 30 minutes. It doesn't help that FF's message was the same as every other ensemble superhero movie, but what really killed it was an overall lack of originality. They should have taken more pages from the Avengers, but alas, it was not to be.

—And that's why both movies were pretty awful, at least in my opinion. The next thing I will be watching is Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I'm very much looking forward to it, so my next post will cover that.

Take care and happy Sci-Fi'ing everyone!

Late to the Party Review: Killjoys

For my second "Late to the Party Review" I watched the second lauded sci-fi series by SyFy, Killjoys.


I started watching Killjoys because it was mentioned beside Dark Matter as one of the shows that SyFy was using to relaunch its sci-fi-based programming. The reviewers over at Geek's Guide to the Galaxy seemed to like it better than Dark Matter, so I figured it must be worth a look.

After watching the first few episodes, I have to admit, I don't agree.

Killjoys was a bit hard for me to watch. From the start it seemed like the show was using its "trendy" music and "edgy" sex appeal to appeal to its audience. The bizarre thing about this is that it really didn't need to. The universe is interesting and the character stories are compelling all on their own. The strange, lyric-heavy "pop" style music winds up being a distraction, particularly during fight scenes where I'd much rather have a tense instrumental than songs that keep pulling me out of the action.

The sex-heavy atmosphere of Killjoys likewise proves a distraction from what is otherwise a good show. I'm not against sexiness in sci-fi, I'm very much for it, but it's got to blend in well (i.e. Battlestar Galactica & the Mass Effect series of video games). In the context of Killjoys it just made it seem like the writers or producers were just trying too hard to make things edgy rather than letting the show develop that way on its own.

Despite this, however, I did wind up being drawn into the plot by the end. I hope they fix some of these issues in Season 2, because it really would be a great show if they just relaxed a bit, got out of their own way, and let it take its own form instead of the one they're trying to cram it into. Dark Matter did this. It had a bit of an awkward start but then became completely involving because it was able to relax and find its groove fast. I can't wait for Season 2 of Dark Matter. For Killjoys, I can sort of take it or leave it.

Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2

 
Last night my wife and I watched the conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy... which became four movies when it was translated to the big screen. I'm not sure if translating book trilogies into four movies, or single books into three, is a growing trend (looking at you Peter Jackson), but I do find something off-putting about it. On the one hand, it's nice to see books which might otherwise have important parts cut out of them get their due, as appears to be the case with the Hunger Games, but on the other it does sometimes seem like the Hollywood movie machine is just trying to milk more money from us ::cough:: The Hobbit ::cough::.
All of that aside, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 was an enjoyable film. Though I can't say I was on the edge of my seat,  I can say that the action sequences were well put together and easy to follow. The film also balanced action with the intrigue going on behind the scenes in a fluid way, which meant that there wasn't a moment during the movie I felt was slow or awkward. Despite all that it got right, however, it seemed to lack a vital energy. I often found myself routing for Finnick, or Cressida, or Pollux (probably due to Elden Henson's role as Foggy on Daredevil), and even Snow for a moment, rather than Katniss.
I'm aware that Katniss is not supposed to be 100% likable, it's one of her character flaws, but perhaps it was played up a bit too much in Mockingjay Part 2. This late in the game it would have been nice to see her show some character development rather than have the same-old icy Katniss. If anything, she seemed less likable in this movie than she has in the last. I'll confess, I haven't made it to Mockingjay in the books, but even if this is an accurate portrayal of Katniss in the last book, I think it would have brought more of an emotional hook to the movie to have her be more charismatic. There are plenty of examples of hard-boiled heroes with charisma out there (Riddick, Thomas Jane's Frank Castle, Yu Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and it would have made Mockingjay Part 2 better for Katniss to have followed that example—for the record, Jennifer Lawrence is a fantastic actor, so I don't blame her for this. It seems to have been a choice by either the director or the script.
So what's the verdict? Is Mockingjay Part 2 worth seeing?
It did bring the series to a somewhat satisfying conclusion, though the last scene seemed more awkward and unnecessary than not. So, yes, it is worth seeing, but don't expect a non-stop thrill ride or you'll be a bit disappointed.

Late to the Party TV Review: Dark Matter

I had this idea the other day, since I'm always watching TV series and movies after they have had their initial run, that I should do a "Late to the Party" review of the things I catch after the fact. I'm not sure how useful it will be, unless you're like me and wind up with a huge "I'll get to it eventually" list, but here it goes!

So, play the trumpets and sound the drums! Here's the first Late to the Party Review:


Dark Matter (TV Series, 2015, SyFy Channel):
Below is the intro/overview video (not a trailer, more of a detailed description).

So, how was it as a show?

Pretty damn good.

Dark Matter had a little bit of an awkward start for the first to second episode, as most shows do, but the mystery of who this crew was and what they were supposed to be doing was enough to pull me through to the good stuff. Fortunately, the show didn't take that long to get rolling. By episode three I was hooked, and by the last I wanted more.

The thing that kept me coming back to watch—let's face it, I wound up mainlining most of it with my wife on Amazon Prime Video—was the connection I felt with the characters. The more they find out about themselves, the more you find out about them, and the more you care about who they are. The show did a fantastic job of making the story emotional and easy to connect with. I listened to a podcast (Geek's Guide to the Galaxy Episode 167) about both this show and SyFy's other new space adventure/drama, Killjoys, before I watched it. In that podcast they said that the android is probably the best character on the show, and I'm inclined to agree, but the other characters all shine with their own qualities that had me on the edge of me seat.

On a final note, it was said (in that same podcast) that Dark Matter and Killjoys were supposed to be a sort of lead-up to SyFy's upcoming space drama, the Expanse. That might be so, but from what I've seen of the Expanse trailer, and what I've watched of Killjoys, I'd have to say Dark Matter is probably going to wind up the real gem of the three. It's a must see.

Aliens at '852?

Recently the news has picked up on a story about a very unusual star, KIC 8462852, which has object(s) orbiting around it that are creating some very unusual dips in the star's light. The objects are big enough to block 20% of the star's light (a Jupiter sized object blocks about 1%), and they lack any of the tell-tale signs that would accompany a debris field from a planetary collision, or even a group of comets.

Artist Depiction of KIC 8462852 Via NASA/JPL-Caltech, S.Pyle (SCC)KIC 8462852 is an F-type main sequence star: a yellow-white sun to the worlds orbiting around it, basically similar to ours (which is a G-type star). The similarity to our own star, combined with the age of the star ruling out other explanations (such as new planets forming, it's way too old for that), makes intelligent life a viable, if unlikely explanation.

So, have we found aliens?

Many astronomers are saying "probably not," and that might be the case (read an excellent article by Astronomer Phil Plait here). I first looked at this news with the thought "no, it can't be," but I'm starting to come around to thinking that maybe, yes, it could be intelligent life... maybe... It could also be we've found a new type of natural phenomena. The truth is that we just don't know.

If SETI points its radio telescopes at KIC 8462852 and we start picking up their version of McNeil then we'll know we are not alone in the universe. The proposal to do so has been slated for January, but apparently there is a debate in the committee that controls SETI about whether or not to do this at all. Personally, I think we have to do it, this is the best lead we've ever had on intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, but apparently not everyone agrees.

"The Atacama Compact Array" by ESO - http://www.eso.org/public/images/ann1.... Licensed under CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Assuming that we do point our radio telescopes at KIC 8462852 and we get a positive signal, here's some food for thought:

>KIC 8462852 is a little over 1480 years away. The leading "it's aliens" hypothesis states that the object we are detecting might be part of a massive solar collector, or that they're in the process of building a Dyson Sphere.

>That means the residents of KIC 8462852 had the tech to build such a massive structure around the time that the Byzantine Empire is a thing, Buddhism is starting to spread through China, and the fall of the Nasca Empire is nigh.

>That means, assuming the civilization(s) of KIC 8462852 survived to the present (didn't wipe themselves out, or go extinct through natural disaster—which is highly unlikely if they can build a Dyson Sphere), their technology, which was already leagues ahead of ours, is now leagues +1480 years ahead of ours. Given the exponential growth of technology, that means their tech is farther ahead of ours than ours is from the aforementioned Byzantine Empire. There will be no Independence Day-style victories if it comes to a fight, but don't worry about that because...

>We have probably not heard from them before since we have only been broadcasting radio waves from this planet for about 150 years or so, and we've only been broadcasting powerful radio waves for less than 100 years. That means our radio waves have to travel another 1330-1380 years before they reach KIC 8462852 and the 852's become aware of us. Simply put, they have no idea we're here. To them, we're still just a single, glittering point of light in a sea of stars. So, no reason to panic, right? (I mean, if it winds up being aliens)

>If it does wind up being aliens, prepare for every crackpot and jackass in the world to start making proclamations. I expect a great deal of stupidity, so hopefully everyone reading this blog will do the smart thing and listen to the astronomers and astrophysicists on what's going on.

If it winds up to be a natural phenomena, I admit I'll be a bit disappointed. I've been waiting for the discovery of space aliens since I first saw Star Wars in the early 1980's (that I can remember. As legend has it, I may have been at the original screening as a baby), so to me that news would be most welcome (and might shovel some more, needed money NASA's way). Still, even if it's not E.T., I look forward to learning something new about the galaxy, because whatever is going on in KIC 8462852, it's gotta be pretty cool.

Space Camp Days 3 & 4

Space Camp Day 3:

The day began with Charlie Mission.
ISS Simulator Module - Photo by Ellie BeckFor Charlie I was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight officer. My job was to execute some of the command procedures and run experiments which, in this case, included making a solid-mass precipitate in our imaginary microgravity.

We had a number of incidents go wrong during the mission, namely an atmospheric problem that lead to a fire, which in turn lead to all of us being dead. The situation highlighted just how dangerous space exploration can be and the importance of proper communication with Mission Control (which can offer effective solutions most of the time to those operating in orbit, it just didn't work out that way for us). On the more amusing side of things, our PAYCOM had to come on the module and sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to "ressurrect" us all. Pretty funny stuff...)



Inside the Endeavour simulator - Photo by Ellie Beck
 Okay, so Charlie Mission wasn't the best for team Columbia. Our space shuttle also suffered a little bit of a mishap and wound up crash-landing in the Florida Everglades. Only the ISS crew died, and we had fun... So, win?




After Charlie and lunch we got a tour of the newer simulators, including those made to simulate future missions such a a base that could be used as an outpost on Mars. Unfortunately, there had been a fire (a real one) in the newer shuttle simulator before we got there, so we never got to run a mission in it. It was a shame since it would have involved the payload bay and the Canada Arm, but such is life.
Payload Bay Simulator - Photo by Michael Formichelli

Hydroponics - Photo by M. Formichelli More Hydroponics - Photo by M. Formichelli

The modules were fairly extensive and included many practical innovations, like hydroponic farms, that will be needed to survive on another world.







Entertainment Station - Photo by M Formichelli
The facilities included almost everything you could imagine needing, including entertainment for the astronauts.






Photo by M Formichelli Photo by M Formichelli

Sleeping arrangements would probably be bunks, since there would be gravity on Mars or the Moon, so this part of the module wasn't accurate, but the point was made.


Work Station -Photo by M Formichelli Space Toilet -Photo by M Formichelli

Work stations, and of course, the space toilet will be vital equipment.



Robonaut! -Photo by M Formichelli








I'm not sure if we'd have a Robonaut unit with us on Mars or the Moon, but he was part of the exhibit (and is in present use on the ISS). Humanity's future on another world will, undoubtedly, involve our robot helpers, even if they don't include my main 'bot here.







After the simulator tour, and a bit of picture taking time, we had a team-building exercise involving a zip-line, then went back to the museum for some free exploration time which included seeing the Robot Zoo exhibit.


Photo by Michael Formichelli Photo by Michael Formichelli

There was a brief, mostly failed attempt to see an IMAX film about space exploration (to my disappointment—Journey to Space was the name, I hope to see it one day), and then we went on a Docent Tour of the Saturn V rocket (a real one) they had inside one of the buildings. Our guide was Placide D. Nicaise, one of the engineers who actually worked on the Saturn V for the Apollo missions.
P.D. Nicaise - Photo by Antigone Klima
Getting to hear a detailed explanation of a Saturn V by one of the people who built it was beyond cool. It's incredible to imagine, but we really did go to the Moon and back on a 16k computer. Yeah, that's not an error, the Saturn V's computer had only 16k! It makes me wonder what Orion will achieve with our modern, giga and terabyte computers... but I digress.

Apollo Capsule- Photo by M Formichelli

The other highlight of this part of the museum was getting to see some of the real life equipment used in the Apollo program, which included the quarantine car the astronauts had to use when they got back (we didn't know if there would be space-germs or not), and one of the actual capsules.





The day ended on a high-note, literrally, as we finished by getting to use a device that simulated the gravity of the moon—the 1/6th Gravity Chair!



Day 4: The Final Day

The last day was bittersweet. We had our final team breakfast and headed out to launch the rockets we'd designed back on Day 2 (mine got caught in a tree). After that we had our final contest together, the "Space Bowl" (think Space Jeopardy), in which we competed directly against Team Challenger... and won! The final part of Day 4 was graduation, where we earned our wings for completing Space Camp, said our final goodbyes, and headed home.

All together Space Camp was an amazing experience, made all the better by the incredible team we had—Go Team Columbia! The best part about it may sound cliché, but my wife and I really did make some great friends that share our passion for space exploration. We're still in touch with many of them, and thanks to their efforts we've got the mission patch we designed at Space Camp coming in the mail soon. Who knows, maybe one day we'll have a Team Columbia Expedition 49 reunion!

Thank you to everyone who made this trip so special. You guys rock.

Space Camp Day 2 Part 2

Day 2 Part 2:

Photo by Michael Formichelli Photo by Michael FormichelliJust before Bravo Mission we were turned loose on the museum and the grounds of the center. My wife and I took a walk around the exhibits which included elements geared both towards adults and kids. One of the creepier ones, though also touching in a way, was the exhibit dedicated to Able and Baker—the monkeys that successfully rode up into space and returned making them the first animals to do so alive. The mission proved that humans could (most likely) survive a similar trip and so these little guys paved the way for us into orbit. (We wouldn't actually know until we did it, of course).


Bravo Mission:

As I mentioned in Day 1, I was assigned to the post of GNC (Guideance, Navigation, and Control Data) in Mission Control for Bravo Mission. My job was to monitor weather at the launch and landing sites, and to "calculate" and call out the maneuvers the shuttle needed to make while on the mission. The most fascinating part of this job was learning the flow of information at Mission Control. Only the CapCom (another position) talks to the shuttle directly, everyone else reports to other stations and never speaks directly to the crew. For example, I relayed information to the Flight Control, who then relayed it to the CapCom, etc. You might think this would introduce errors, much like the game "Telephone" does, but the system works quite well to avoid confusion on the shuttle where a small mistake could lead to a horrible death.

Space Shuttle Pathfinder- Photo by Michael Formichelli

Apologies, I don't have pictures for Bravo since I was pretty involved in what I was doing. Here, have this one of the shuttle Pathfinder instead—Yes, there really was a Space Shuttle Pathfinder, though it never went to space. It was used to make sure they had designed the shuttle correctly in terms of size of parts, etc.






After Bravo mission (yes, everyone lived again) we got to do one of the coolest things I've ever done: Use the Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT) and the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) trainer.

The MMU, in case you're wondering, is this thing:

Photo by Michael Formichelli
Me in the MMU- Photo by Eleanore Beck
Much like the device that simulated zero-gee during Alpha mission, this one simulates wearing a jet-pack in space. It was a lot of fun and gave quite a bit more control than the one I used for Alpha Mission. An interesting fun-fact about the MMU, NASA has all but discontinued using it due to the danger of getting a jet stuck in the "on" position. As you might imagine, this would result in something absolutely horrible happening, which is why astronauts use the "tether" method during space walks now.


The MAT was pure fun. It was originally designed to simulate an out-of-control capsule, and train astronauts to operate the machinery to regain control while in a wild spin. NASA discontinued this training when the capsules proved to be more stable than they thought. (Ironically, an out of control capsule incident did happen on one mission during a docking procedure between the US and the Soviets—after the training had been discontinued). 

Instead of talking about the MAT, I'm just going to leave this here: 
(Thank you to Eleanore Beck for the video)

Ellie's Rocket -Photo by Eleanore Beck

After our adventure on the MMU we (team Columbia) engaged in our rocket construction session. Each of us got to build and paint our own model rocket. The launch would happen on another day. For the time being we had dinner and then were brought over to the Aviation Challenge section of the facility for some training in fighter-plane combat and a walk around the grounds which included being able to stand beside some pretty awesome aircraft like the Harrier featured below.





A Harrier- One of my favorites. Photo by Michael Formichelli

Me in the Simulator- Photo by Eleanore Beck ...And so ended Day 2 of 4.

Space Camp Day 2 (Part 1)

Day 2 opened with Alpha Mission. We divided up into groups to man Mission Control, the Space Station, and the Endeavour. After taking our positions the mission began.

Inside the Endeavour simulator
Photo by Michael FormichelliI served as Mission Specialist 2, and my job was to ride the space shuttle up to orbit along with Mission Specialist 1, and practice constructing a support structure as NASA did when they were practicing to build the International Space Station.

We suffered no mishaps on the ride up thanks to our excellent commander and pilot, and were able to get to work straight away once the Endeavour had maneuvered into position.


Me in the zero-gee chair In reality, we would have suited up before exiting the shuttle (or very bad things would have happened) but in this simulation we had to exit first before putting on our "space suits" and getting strapped into these (mostly) zero-gee simulators.

The device used to simulate a space walk (shown to the right) is essentially a hovercraft-chair functioning along the same principle as an air-hockey table where the floor is the puck. You can shove yourself back and drift helplessly if you want (I didn't) until you collide with something as the friction is minimized by the air cushion (just like in space, but with air involved, and far less terrifying since there is something to slam into). We were being judged on our performance, though, so my partner and I were all business. (Yes, that's her helmet open in the shot below, pay no attention to that. The suits didn't have the cooling system the real ones do and were damn hot.)
Working on the structure
It's harder than you might think to put together a giant tinker-toy with space gloves on (okay, hockey gloves to simulate the real thing) but we managed it in what we were told was in record time (which I think may have been beaten during Charlie Mission by my wife and her team mate, and yes, that's me helping to put on the solar panel below). Me attaching the solar panel












After the space-walk we returned to Endeavour for the landing procedure, which I must say was handled with a calm professionalism considering we found a malfunction in the control stick—and oh yeah, no landing gear! (Damn gremlins in the system...) Despite this, we skidded to a glorious landing in Florida with no hands lost (thank you guys!)

(The V2 German Missile)
Photo by Michael Formichelli
(That's a mock-up Saturn V in the background)
Photo by Michael FormichelliAfter Alpha Mission team Columbia proceeded outside the simulator building (Davis Center) to the rocket museum portion of the campus. Here we were given the overview of space flight from the early days of the V2 to the Saturn V. Many of the rockets in the exhibit were real, either reassembled or spares that were never used.


Okay, we all know that rockets are big, but I have to say it's quite the humbling experience to stand before them and realize just how large they really are. What really awes me is that most of the space in these metal beasts is full of fuel, and the portion occupied by humans (or satellites or probes) consists of that tiny little section near the top. In the case of the Saturn V rocket, the fuel has the energy equivalent of two-kilotons of TNT. It's just amazing.

After our walk through history we returned to Davis for Bravo Mission training, during which I was to be assigned to mission control as the GNC (Guideance, Navigation, and Control data) flight controller... (to be continued)

The Solar System to Scale & Delayed Day 2

Apologies for the delay in Day 2 of Space Camp this week. Ran into some time management issues.

Instead, watch this video of Alex Gorosh and Wylie Overstreet building a scale model of the solar system in the desert (with the Earth as a marble. They needed 7 miles to put all the planets around the sun. It's amazing.)





What really strikes me about this video is 1) the scale, when you realize it, and 2) what the Apollo astronauts have to say about the view of Earth from the Moon. It's awe-inspiring, almost overwhelming, and just amazing.


FYI: I saw this originally as part of an article at thisiscolossal.com.