Silver Rockets» 2001

Way-Back Machine: LEGO Discovery (2001)

Danielle Signor — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:14:10 +0000

LEGO model of Discovery, from 2001: A Space Odyssey

No, not space shuttle Discovery, I’m talking about the 2001: A Space Odyssey version. Spindly and memorable, and entirely build-able, with just 3,861 pieces. (Check out those engines!)

Engines, LEGO model of Discovery from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Spacious Spacecraft

Danielle Signor — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:58:33 +0000

They sure built ‘em roomier back in 2001. And with more padding! Only nine years ago, and look at what a cluttered mess the ISS is! What were we thinking?! Here you see the entrance to the control deck, aboard a quite different Discovery than I featured on Tuesday.

“My God, It’s Full of Stars”

Danielle Signor — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:06:51 +0000

Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HPOW

The classic line, “My God, it’s full of stars” strikes fountains of sparks in my imagination (and has done so since first I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey.) It crosses my mind often. Especially when looking at an image like this! Less welcome are the images of those stewardesses in their Pepto-Bismol pink outfits. Squick.

Globular clusters once ruled the Milky Way. Back in the old days, back when our Galaxy first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our Galaxy. Today, there are less than 200 left. Many globular clusters were destroyed over the eons by repeated fateful encounters with each other or the Galactic center. Surviving relics are older than any Earth fossil, older than any other structures in our Galaxy, and limit the universe itself in raw age. There are few, if any, young globular clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy because conditions are not ripe for more to form. Pictured above by the Hubble Space Telescope are about 100,000 of M72′s stars. M72, which spans about 50 light years and lies about 50,000 light years away, can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Water Bearer (Aquarius).

LEGO Model of 2001′s Discovery

Danielle Signor — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:43:26 +0000

Command module front, LEGO model of Discovery, from 2001: A Space Odyssey

This is one of the most fantastic LEGO models I’ve seen. The Discovery is featured in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact, and this model is rendered in meticulous LEGO detail. A real visual treat!

LEGO model of Discovery, from 2001: A Space Odyssey