Hogwarts Houses Aesthetics

I’ve never identified with something more than this

Guide to Zero Waste as a college student.

I know. Just the thought of it made me scared. When I first started a year ago, I dived head first and told myself if I didn’t start now, I would never start. It didn’t matter if I would make a mistake, I had to start and then learn from my mistakes.

Boi did I make a lot of mistakes. But I learned. Here are some steps you can take to become zero waste.

1. Look at your trash. 

What is in there? Plastic bottles? Straws? Jars? Wrappers? Foam containers of that one take away? Take a look at your trash and determine why you are producing that amount of trash.

2. Plan. 

After figuring out what’s in your trash think about what you can do to stop making it. I like to guide myself with these three questions:

Do I really need this in my life? If not, then it is a good time to stop buying/ using said thing.

If I do need it, is there an eco-friendly alternative? Do they sell it or should I look for a DIY-option? The important thing is not to get stuck just because you can’t get it!

What habits can I adapt to make transitioning easier for me?

3. Set goals. 

At first, I dived right into it. Which was probably not the best option. After some months I realized it would be better if I took one step at a time. Goals are a good way to get you there but the only way goals can actually work is of they are smart. These are some of the goals I had when I started.

Every day I must fill my reusable water bottle and take it everywhere with me. I am not allowed to drink from any plastic cups, straws any other form of packaging that is recyclable but not necessarily reusable.

Every day I must go out with my reusable straw and my utensils. In order not to forget them, I have to always keep a pair on each of my bags.

4. Keep track. 

I will admit: I am not perfect. But keeping tracks of what I do with zero waste helps me see what I can do better. And that’s what this movement is. What can we do to get a bit closer to producing no waste? Some people get discouraged but this personally encourages me to work harder.

So are you planning on becoming zero waste? Are you already part of the movement? Let me know!

-Shirou

Female, Brunette, Ravenclaw | Geek, Engineer/Inventor Requested by anon, hope you like it! :)

Interesting use of a note-taking... thing

magnetism + mango smoothie + good music 

8 Common Questions About Our James Webb Space Telescope

You might have heard the basics about our James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, and still have lots more questions!  Here are more advanced questions we are frequently asked.  (If you want to know the basics, read this Tumblr first!)

Webb is our upcoming infrared space observatory, which will launch in 2021. It will spy the first luminous objects that formed in the universe and shed light on how galaxies evolve, how stars and planetary systems are born and how life could form on other planets.

1. Why is the mirror segmented? 

The James Webb Space Telescope has a 6.5-meter (21.3-foot) diameter mirror, made from 18 individual segments. Webb needs to have an unfolding mirror because the mirror is so large that it otherwise cannot fit in the launch shroud of currently available rockets.

The mirror has to be large in order to see the faint light from the first star-forming regions and to see very small details at infrared wavelengths. 

Designing, building and operating a mirror that unfolds is one of the major technological developments of Webb. Unfolding mirrors will be necessary for future missions requiring even larger mirrors, and will find application in other scientific, civil and military space missions.

2. Why are the mirrors hexagonal?

In short, the hexagonal shape allows a segmented mirror to be constructed with very small gaps, so the segments combine to form a roughly circular shape and need only three variations in size. If we had circular segments, there would be gaps between them.

Finally, we want a roughly circular overall mirror shape because that focuses the light into the most symmetric and compact region on the detectors. 

An oval mirror, for example, would give images that are elongated in one direction. A square mirror would send a lot of the light out of the central region.

3. Is there a danger from micrometeoroids?

A micrometeoroid is a particle smaller than a grain of sand. Most never reach Earth’s surface because they are vaporized by the intense heat generated by the friction of passing through the atmosphere. In space, no blanket of atmosphere protects a spacecraft or a spacewalker.

Webb will be a million miles away from the Earth orbiting what we call the second Lagrange point (L2). Unlike in low Earth orbit, there is not much space debris out there that could damage the exposed mirror. 

But we do expect Webb to get impacted by these very tiny micrometeoroids for the duration of the mission, and Webb is designed to accommodate for them.

All of Webb’s systems are designed to survive micrometeoroid impacts.

4. Why does the sunshield have five layers?

Webb has a giant, tennis-court sized sunshield, made of five, very thin layers of an insulating film called Kapton.  

Why five? One big, thick sunshield would conduct the heat from the bottom to the top more than would a shield with five layers separated by vacuum. With five layers to the sunshield, each successive one is cooler than the one below. 

The heat radiates out from between the layers, and the vacuum between the layers is a very good insulator. From studies done early in the mission development five layers were found to provide sufficient cooling. More layers would provide additional cooling, but would also mean more mass and complexity. We settled on five because it gives us enough cooling with some “margin” or a safety factor, and six or more wouldn’t return any additional benefits.

Fun fact: You could nearly boil water on the hot side of the sunshield, and it is frigid enough on the cold side to freeze nitrogen!

5. What kind of telescope is Webb?

Webb is a reflecting telescope that uses three curved mirrors. Technically, it’s called a three-mirror anastigmat.

6. What happens after launch? How long until there will be data?

We’ll give a short overview here, but check out our full FAQ for a more in-depth look.

In the first hour: About 30 minutes after liftoff, Webb will separate from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Shortly after this, we will talk with Webb from the ground to make sure everything is okay after its trip to space.

In the first day: About 10.5 hours after launch, Webb will pass the Moon’s orbit, nearly a quarter of the way to Lagrange Point 2 (L2).

In the first week: We begin the major deployment of Webb. This includes unfolding the sunshield and tensioning the individual membranes, deploying the secondary mirror, and deploying the primary mirror.

In the first month: As the telescope cools in the shade of the sunshield, we turn on the warm electronics and initialize the flight software. As the telescope cools to near its operating temperature, parts of it are warmed with electronic heaters. This prevents condensation as residual water trapped within some of the materials making up the observatory escapes into space.

In the second month: We will turn on and operate Webb’s Fine Guidance Sensor, NIRCam, and NIRSpec instruments. 

The first NIRCam image, which will be an out-of-focus image of a crowded star field, will be used to identify each mirror segment with its image of a star in the camera. We will also focus the secondary mirror.

In the third month: We will align the primary mirror segments so that they can work together as a single optical surface. We will also turn on and operate Webb’s mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), a camera and spectrograph that views a wide spectrum of infrared light. By the end of the third month, we will be able to take the first science-quality images. Also by this time, Webb will complete its journey to its L2 orbit position.

In the fourth through the sixth month: We will complete the optimization of the telescope. We will test and calibrate all of the science instruments.

After six months: Webb will begin its science mission and start to conduct routine science operations.

7. Why not assemble it in orbit?

Various scenarios were studied, and assembling in orbit was determined to be unfeasible.

We examined the possibility of in-orbit assembly for Webb. The International Space Station does not have the capability to assemble precision optical structures. Additionally, space debris that resides around the space station could have damaged or contaminated Webb’s optics. Webb’s deployment happens far above low Earth orbit and the debris that is found there.

Finally, if the space station were used as a stopping point for the observatory, we would have needed a second rocket to launch it to its final destination at L2. The observatory would have to be designed with much more mass to withstand this “second launch,” leaving less mass for the mirrors and science instruments.

8. Who is James Webb?

This telescope is named after James E. Webb (1906–1992), our second administrator. Webb is best known for leading Apollo, a series of lunar exploration programs that landed the first humans on the Moon. 

However, he also initiated a vigorous space science program that was responsible for more than 75 launches during his tenure, including America’s first interplanetary explorers.

Looking for some more in-depth FAQs? You can find them HERE.

Learn more about the James Webb Space Telescope HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

I’m an ENTJ, and my favorite part of the day is *by far* the early morning. I love my alarm going off before most of the world has even thought about rolling out of bed. I love having tea, sitting on the porch, and listening to the stillness while I catch up on the news or read about/work on ideas. I’d get up every morning at 4:00 or 4:30 am if I could. It’s like I own my own piece of the world in those hours before the neighborhood wakes. 

mbti and parts of the day

Hey everyone,

I would like to see the correlation between mbti and your favourite part of the day (morningns, nights, etc.)

Please reblog (or comment) with the following:

your type

your favourite part of the day

the reason why you like that specific part of the day

Thanks for your help, ~x Z.

“The next time your mind wanders, follow it.”

First week of college is in the books and I’m loving it ✨🍃

I want this in my house 

BOOKS ARE MAGIC

Tea and a good book