Four Regions With The Same GDP

So, what I'm getting is metric vs. imperial is a states' right issue

The United States, much to my own surprise, does use the metric system. But only at the Federal level. The Drug Enforcement Administration seizes kilos of cocaine. Soldiers determine distance by “klicks” or kilometers. The Federal Government of the United States officially works in metric. Adoption of the metric system over the imperial system was left up to the individual state governments, who chose freedom (and not having to pay to re-survey all their land).

50, 100 years down the line, will this be in the history books? Will the "War on terror" be over?

Battle of Mosul begins as forces push toward Islamic State stronghold.

This map shows where the polls got it wrong Purple = Trump received more votes than expected Green = Clinton received more votes than expected Click here for full election results

All the vampire superstitions! Except sunlight

Nice, old-timey church in a sleepy town in Slovakia. What could possibly be interesting about this place?

prayer circle for elder scrolls 6

A striking example of the strength of the British Empire in the early 1900s: In 1911 Britain completed the “All Red Line,” a network of telegraphs that linked its possessions. The system was so redundant that an enemy would have had to cut 49 cables to isolate the United Kingdom, 15 to isolate Canada, or 5 to isolate South Africa. As a result, British communications remained uninterrupted throughout World War I.

Vulcanize-Charles Goodyear and the Roman god of Fire

The early nineteenth century saw tremendous advances in chemistry, with scientists leading teams all across the world to improve both science in general and industrial processes in particular.  Leading the charge to improve rubber compounds was Charles Goodyear (born on this day, December 29, 1800, died July 1, 1860) who devoted his life and health to improving rubber compounds.  Self taugh Goodyear ran a hardware store in Philadelphia and realized early that improved rubber goods would transform manufacturing.

He toyed with the chemistry of rubber manufacturing for two decades before hitting upon heating the rubber as the most important part of the process by accident.  He was awarded a patent for vulcanizing rubber in 1844 for his efforts, though he still did not fully understand the process or what exactly was happening.  Enduring backruptcy, jail, and personal tragedy, Goodyear died at the age of 59, collapsing at the news of his daughter’s death and never recovering.  

The verb vulcanize was coined between 1820-1844 (several disputed dates are offered) to describe the process of changing something by adding heat or fire, from Vulcan, the Roman god of Fire.  By 1846, the word was in wide circulation thanks to Goodyear’s patent.  The company that bears his name today was actually founded almost 40 years after his death in honor of his contributions to the science of rubber compounds but also to capitalize on his fame and reputation.  Etymologically, the name Vulcan (Volcānus or Vulcānus) has unclear origins.  Some liguists connect the name with the Cretan god Velchanos, while others dispute this with no clear etymology.  Vulcan’s earliest temple in Rome dates to 8th century BCE.

Image of vulcanization of rubber showing polymer bonds and portrait of Goodyear both in the public domain.  Image of Vulcan at the Forge by Marco Dente (Italian, c. 1493 - 1527) in the public domain, via the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Scientists in Germany, Peru and Taiwan to lose access to Elsevier journals

Libraries pursue alternative delivery routes after licence negotiations break down.

Thousands of scientists in Germany, Peru and Taiwan are preparing for a new year without online access to journals from the Dutch publishing giant Elsevier. Contract negotiations in both Germany and Taiwan broke down in December, while Peru’s government has cut off funding for a licence.

“It’s very unpleasant,” says Horst Hippler, spokesperson for the DEAL consortium of state-funded universities and research organizations, which is overseeing negotiations in Germany. “But we just cannot accept what Elsevier has proposed so far.”

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Me thinks there's something under the Rockies

Temperatures at a depth of 10 km beneath the contiguous United States

Our Most “Liked” Instagram Posts of 2016

Our Instagram page has over 1,800 images and is lucky enough to be followed by more than 18 million fans.

What images and videos were your favorite from this past year? Great question, and one we asked ourselves too! 

Here’s a look at our most liked Instagram posts* of 2016…Enjoy!

#10

Colorful “last hurrah’ of a star: The Hubble Space Telescope shows off the colorful “last hurrah” of a star like our sun. The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star’s remaining core. With 513,672 likes, this image is our 10th most liked of 2016.

#9

Vivid glowing auroras in Jupiter’s atmosphere! Astronomers are using the Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras – stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere – on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system. This image ranks #9 for 2016 with 515,339 likes.

#8

Astronomers found evidence for what is likely one of the most extreme pulsars, or rotating neutron stars, ever detected. The source exhibits properties of a highly magnetized neutron star, or magnetar, yet its deduced spin period is thousands of times longer than any pulsar ever observed. With 517,995 likes, this picture ranks #8 for 2016.

#7

Fiery South Atlantic Sunset! An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. This image ranks #7 for 2016 with 520,553 likes.

#6

Go floating! Join us for a fly-through of the International Space Station! This footage was shot using a fisheye lens for extreme focus and depth of field. This video ranks as our sixth most liked Instagram post of 2016 with 541,418 likes.

#5

This #BlackFriday post helped us celebrate our 4th annual #BlackHoleFriday! Each year we pose awesome content about black holes on the Black Friday shopping holiday. A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. With 549,910 likes, this image ranks #5 for 2016.

#4

A cluster of young stars – about one to two million years old – located about 20,000 light years from Earth. Data in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope (green and blue) reveal thick clouds where the stars are forming. This image ranks #4 for 2016 with 573,002 likes.

#3

Supermoon is a spectacular sight! The Nov. 14 supermoon was especially “super” because it was the closest full moon to Earth since 1948. We won’t see another supermoon like this until 2034. Which might have something to do with this image ranking #3 for 2016 with 695,343 likes.

#2

Supermoon seen from space! Aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson posted this image on Dec. 14 captured by European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet. This stunning image ranks #2 for 2016 with 704,530 likes.

#1

It’s a bird, it’s a plane…no, it’s a #supermoon! The moon, or supermoon, is seen rising behind the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan ahead of the November crew launch to the International Space Station. This photo was our #1 image of 2016 with 746,981 likes.

Thanks for joining us as we traveled through the space events of 2016. We’re looking forward to all of the interstellar fun that 2017 will bring. Happy Holidays!

Do you want to get amazing images of Earth from space, see distant galaxies and more on Instagram? Of course you do! Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/nasa/

*Posts and rankings are were taken as of Dec. 21, 2016.

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