Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
The joke about water on Mars has been on the internet longer than I have. But all joke aside, astronomers have been searching for traces of water on the Red Planet ever since I can remember.
Earlier this week, researchers from the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute revealed a “relict glacier” they discovered on Mars. It suggests that surface water ice on Mars may have existed more recently than it was previously thought.
Back in 1937, mountaineers Brad Washburn and Robert Bates were exploring the Yukon region in Canada. The weather forced them to immediately find shelter, so they ditched their heavy camera cache and hiked for 100 miles. And now, 83 years later, the cameras have been found with film still in them!
Thwaites Glacier is a huge glacier in Antarctica, often referred to as “Doomsday Glacier.” Why “doomsday?” Well, if it melts away, researchers say that it could raise the sea levels more than 10 feet. This is why it’s important for scientists to understand the behavior of his glacier – and a recent video from Icefin Robot will help them in this mission.
The video was recently published on YouTube, but it’s not only a tool for scientists to study the glacier. It’s also the first-ever video recorder under the ice of Thwaites Glacier, and it’s absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
We have all done reckless, stupid or plain silly things for the sake of a photo. A 77-year-old Judith Streng from Texas is no exception. She sat on an “ice throne” in Iceland to pose for a fun vacation snapshot. But when a wave dislodged the chunk of ice, it started drifting away from the shore and the lady almost got washed out to sea.
The glaciers at Glacier National Park are rapidly shrinking. In fact, they’re melting so fast that the glaciers that can be seen today represent just one-sixth of the number of the icy bodies that were in the same park just 150 years ago.
It is imperative that scientists measure glaciers and follow their changes, and this is exactly where repeat photography kicks in.
By going to the same spot where a photo was taken a long time ago and recreating the composition, scientists are able to quickly learn (and share) how the landscape has changed over time.
The results, unfortunately, are alarming.
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