What’s the device to the right of the Oase crystal skim?
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Astrobiology - Ancient Mars History - A Temporal Biotope
- Thread starter hydrophyte
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hydrophyte
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That's just a DIY internal filter. It's adequate.
[UWSL]hydrophyte[/UWSL], you are doing something unbelievable here!
Being a teenager I was impressed by Ray Bradbury's novel "The Martian Chronicles''. I saw myself as a Mars researching scientist, I tried to imagine the Martian nature penetrating ours and turned my attention and energy to the mysterious world under our feet. I took some part time jobs to collect money and buy a magnifying glass and some big 3 litre glass jars. Then I did many exploration trips to a forest and fields nearby to collect specimens of many species of mosses and lichens. I kept that collection in glass jars for a couple of years, watched mosses grow through the magnifying glass, drew sketches and made notes in my diary. I imagined myself a Mars explorer, LOL...
Later I moved to another region, my diaries and sketches were lost , and now I have only warm memories of those beautiful times of miracles. Thank you for this bitter-sweet feeling of nostalgia.
When I came across your thread here I was unpleasantly surprised with the improper use of the term "biotope" in regard to the bacteria inhabited terrarium. Now after a full dive into it I want to start a similar project myself.
You are doing a fantastic research in this mesmerizing bacteria world. Your ideas and DIY equipment are something beyond even my imagination!
Btw, I missed the point of atmosphere in the bacteria biotope: is it the same as in your environment or do you "cook" it to be closer to the Martian?
hydrophyte
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I formatted a new poster for the Mars terrarium project mainly with pics I had handy already and got it mounted too.
I'm expanding the astrobiology with a new idea, kites, among a few other additional concepts. I'll explain more later when I have more components built, but here is the first kite, a 34" X 45" rokkaku. This traditional Japanese kite design is easy to build and one of the best for lifting payloads.
I also got my Urban Ninja out. This thing is tons of fun and I could fly it for hours.
I'm expanding the astrobiology with a new idea, kites, among a few other additional concepts. I'll explain more later when I have more components built, but here is the first kite, a 34" X 45" rokkaku. This traditional Japanese kite design is easy to build and one of the best for lifting payloads.
I also got my Urban Ninja out. This thing is tons of fun and I could fly it for hours.
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MichaelJ
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Your work is profoundly fascinating. And now it turns out you fly kites too! I had so much flying kites as a kid!
Cheers,
Michael
hydrophyte
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Thanks for stopping by! I'll round up a few more things and explain the connection with these ideas.
Kitebuilding and kite flying are really rich areas to explore and a nice way to get outside. If you might want to pick it up again, that Urban Ninja kite is extreme fun to fly and available as a free plan.
Kite project: the urban ninja 2024
That just requires a few specific sewing supplies such as the correct thread for ripstop nylon. I cut a few corners building mine, but it went together fine and flies fantastic. I've spent many hours flying it.
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hydrophyte
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A couple more updates...
I've built another rokkaku for one of the astrobiology projects. I made this one with a couple of fabric half-yard scraps and it's only 50" tall, so it's probably not big enough to lift the ~4 ounce payload I have in mind with the sensors + data logger (second pic below), but I'll build another one with the same theme and more like 60". That should be enough lift.
Weather looks good for kite flying this week and I'm eager to get this one up in the air.
I also rounded up aquascaping rocks for another astrobiology aquarium setup. This approximate layout will go into a 18" X 6.7" UNS tank.
I've built another rokkaku for one of the astrobiology projects. I made this one with a couple of fabric half-yard scraps and it's only 50" tall, so it's probably not big enough to lift the ~4 ounce payload I have in mind with the sensors + data logger (second pic below), but I'll build another one with the same theme and more like 60". That should be enough lift.
Weather looks good for kite flying this week and I'm eager to get this one up in the air.
I also rounded up aquascaping rocks for another astrobiology aquarium setup. This approximate layout will go into a 18" X 6.7" UNS tank.
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hydrophyte
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Yes I know. WordPress hosting expired. I'm looking for a better value.
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hydrophyte
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hydrophyte
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More kite pics...
Most of this is astrobiology/aquarium/terrarium-related. I'll have to explain some more with more posts. The larger grey + gold + red Rokkaku is lifting a sensor + data logger + housing assembly.
Most of this is astrobiology/aquarium/terrarium-related. I'll have to explain some more with more posts. The larger grey + gold + red Rokkaku is lifting a sensor + data logger + housing assembly.
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hydrophyte
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Hello everyone. I haven't been back here for some time. I hope that some of my friends here are still posting.
I'm still working on various things. Lately I've been getting into more outdoor design/art projects. A fun recent experience from this past fall was a short section of shrubby plants trained with inspiration from the UK practice of hedgelaying used to contain/exclude livestock and delineate properties in farm areas. As a characteristic, historic and ecologically important feature of the countryside there, a lot of effort goes into maintaining British Isles hedgerows as well as the craft of hedgelaying:
Since I did not have a straight line of established shrubs in my garden area, I made a compromise with dormant-season transplants from elsewhere to fill the space between two existing plants, a Common Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) and Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomom). Here's a pic with that short, straight line of stems:
Hedgelayers usually leave most of the branches and twigs of laid stems, but I cut all of these off at a height of 60" and removed most branches to compensate for the transplant root loss. Here's an edited photo showing the plant selections, all but one of which are native to my area here in Wisconsin, USA:
Here are the shrub stems laid at an approximate 30-degree angle. After the partial cut through the stem bases, they are left with just a strip of bark and sapwood, so I provisionally tied them up against stakes with jute twine:
The hedge binding is the really crafty step in the process. Here, flexible Willow (Salix sp.) in two bunches wrap around the stakes with a complete twist between each pair:
To finish the job, I cut all of the rustic stakes off at an even height. The stakes and binders are dead pieces of cut wood at this point, but with luck the laid shrubs will resprout in the springtime from dormant buds along their stems to grow in as a dense hedge. This short section of hedge serves no real purpose aside from decoration and wildlife value, but it was fun to try training the plants with this traditional method:
I'm still working on various things. Lately I've been getting into more outdoor design/art projects. A fun recent experience from this past fall was a short section of shrubby plants trained with inspiration from the UK practice of hedgelaying used to contain/exclude livestock and delineate properties in farm areas. As a characteristic, historic and ecologically important feature of the countryside there, a lot of effort goes into maintaining British Isles hedgerows as well as the craft of hedgelaying:
Since I did not have a straight line of established shrubs in my garden area, I made a compromise with dormant-season transplants from elsewhere to fill the space between two existing plants, a Common Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) and Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomom). Here's a pic with that short, straight line of stems:
Hedgelayers usually leave most of the branches and twigs of laid stems, but I cut all of these off at a height of 60" and removed most branches to compensate for the transplant root loss. Here's an edited photo showing the plant selections, all but one of which are native to my area here in Wisconsin, USA:
Here are the shrub stems laid at an approximate 30-degree angle. After the partial cut through the stem bases, they are left with just a strip of bark and sapwood, so I provisionally tied them up against stakes with jute twine:
The hedge binding is the really crafty step in the process. Here, flexible Willow (Salix sp.) in two bunches wrap around the stakes with a complete twist between each pair:
To finish the job, I cut all of the rustic stakes off at an even height. The stakes and binders are dead pieces of cut wood at this point, but with luck the laid shrubs will resprout in the springtime from dormant buds along their stems to grow in as a dense hedge. This short section of hedge serves no real purpose aside from decoration and wildlife value, but it was fun to try training the plants with this traditional method:
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