We went to see the exhibition of Tube Diagrams featuring some very early sketches by Harry Beck at the Map House in Knightsbridge (very, very pricey). Victoria Line at Kings Cross and Euston Four unique sketches in Harry Beck’s hand showing different ways to depict the area around Kings Cross […]
Monthly archives: February 2025
28 posts
Using Satellites for SpyingGRAB (Galactic Radiation and Background) Satellite GroundStation Contact Map, 1960 GRAB was the first electronic spy satellite; it picked up radio communications from Cold War adversaries. Ground operators used this map to tell when the satellite was overhead. That’s when they could download intercepted intelligence. This is […]
Picturing Earth from SpaceBefore the Space Age, people could only imagine what Earth looked like. Artists tried their best, and in time, new technologies started to piece together a more accurate picture. High-altitude rockets, satellites, and human space missions gave us increasingly dramatic views.In 1950, Scientific American had to rely […]
Another one from the Air and Space Museum. Using the Moon as a Communications Satellite The U.S. Navy’s Operation Moon Bounce beamed radio signals to the Moon that bounced back to another location on Earth. This system made it easier for the military to send long-distance messages during the Cold […]
Saw these in the Air and Space Museum, can’t quite remember the story behind them but I think it is to do with satellite communications for internet (somebody correct me please). Regardless, this is a massive globe with lights and lines and I thought it was cool.
At the Brooklyn Library they had an area where there was a rotating display of artwork from and about the city, I particularly liked this map of the Brooklyn neighbourhoods. “A Map of Brooklyn: a nostalglarama by Richard Rosenblum”
The Women’s Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly known.
There are a few coming up from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, this place was heaven for map loving air and space nerds like me. This poster dates from the late 1940’s, pretty is an understatement.
This was also in the display at the National Museum of the American Indian in NYC.“Over generations, Native Americans harnessed the potential of natural grasses, trees, bushes, and even cactus to breed edible crops. Today four of the top ten crops that feed the world originally came from Native American […]