Stupendous Shuttle Scenes

I am a big fan of space research, and space travel.  So allow me a brief foray outside the usual topics of this blog, and watch this.  Full screen, at high definition, if you can.



Pretty amazing.  It's incredible to think that even after detachment from the shuttle and fuel tank (and after they have ceased to produce thrust) the boosters gain an additional 13 miles of altitude. Truly awesome.

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(You might ask, what's that little squiggle mean? It means "via" and you can find out more about using it to attribute content online by clicking on it.)

And now: space!

Saturn, and its various satellites, to be more specific.

Cassini has been a spectacularly successful mission, by any standard, documenting conditions on Titan, finding water geysers on Encedalus, providing clues to the forces that form and maintain Saturn's splendid rings, and much more.  It also has returned some of the most beautiful imagery of a member of the solar system thus far.

Enter Chris Abbas, who has taken the raw, uncorrected imagery, and produced a dazzling little film.  It's is absolutely gorgeous, and makes just about perfect use of the 'open source' Ghosts music project, by Nine Inch Nails.



CASSINI MISSION from Chris Abbas on Vimeo.

Watch it full screen.

(h/t to Warren Ellis!)