Jim DeLillo
Bio
Jim DeLillo writes about tech, science, and travel. He is also an adventure photographer specializing in transporting imagery and descriptive narrative.
Stories (52/0)
- Top Story - August 2022
Can a 60-year old hike the Patagonian W-Circuit?Top Story - August 2022
Can a 60-year old hike the Patagonian W-Circuit? The short answer is yes. I did it. Let me tell you though, it was challenging. This circuit trip was beautiful, remote, and as difficult as a thru-hike.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Wander
Arcosanti
Driving through the desert of central Arizona, I came across a rather futuristic-looking structure. From the road, it looks like a habitat on Mars. Upon closer inspection, the ultramodern structures are part of an urban experiment– in arcology, the blending of architecture with ecology.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Futurism
Tonga before the blast
Smoke fills the air. Not the smoke of a volcanic eruption but the cookfires of hundreds of family huts. It was 1986, and I visited Tonga on an Earthwatch expedition. Our task was to map the growing fields identifying the types of vegetation–taro, plantains, papaya, and coconut made up some of the target crops. Our direct observation used ground-truth satellite imagery. Once identified on our maps, we transferred the information to the satellite photographs of the island. This, in turn, allowed researchers to extrapolate the key colors to other islands in the South Pacific.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Earth
Where to publish your astrophotography images
I have compiled a shortlist, while not comprehensive, can give you an idea of where you might publish your photos. Each of these settings will require crediting the source of your data. You of course, are credited with the final image and any processing that was done. Remember that if you use data from sources other than @telescopelive, they should receive the credit, regardless of any published policy.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Photography
A Stroll Down Main Street, USA
At the south end of Washington Avenue, Cedarburg's main street, I take a step backward in time. Cedarburg is an old woolen mill town. Late 1800s stone buildings now serve as restaurants, lodging, wineries, boutique outlets, and gift shops.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Wander
Watching the explosive end to a red supergiant star
On January 6, 2022, a group of scientists from Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley, announced in The Astrophysical Journal the study of the explosion of supernova SN 2020tlf in real-time. This is the first time such an observation was made of a star collapsing into a type II supernova.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in 01
Picturing Joshua Tree National Park
The prickly trees reach toward the sky like praying hands into the heavens. The Mormons saw these trees, and it reminded them of Joshua. The branches of the trees point their way westward like Joshua in an appeal for a safe journey to the promised land. Yucca brevifolia has a small range limited to the boundaries of the Mojave Desert. The magnificent examples of hardiness can live for hundreds of years; some manage the extremes of the arid landscape for a thousand years.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Photography
Monsters at Borrego Springs
The Serpent and the Stars A warm wind blows across me, but I still feel a chill run down my back. I'm alone in the desert. I’m at one of the darkest places on earth according to my map. It's a little scary, especially while visions of coyotes, scorpions, and roving gangs of desert hares dance in my head. I'm here to photograph monsters. It isn't my imagination. I saw them as I drove in during the day. Standing as tall as two stories, I could make out their rust-colored silhouettes against the arid sand.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Photography
A Gain Greater Than Unity
Abigail was startled by the intrusion. "Working late?" said Bradley. She pulled her hand out of the toaster-size frame of stainless steel. Having nicked her finger on a sharp edge, a tiny drop of blood dripped into the apparatus. A bright dime-sized glow beamed from within the unit.
By Jim DeLillo2 years ago in Fiction