iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

As photography emerged, Egypt and the pyramids were a popular subject. Cool side effect - we get to see the Great Sphinx of Giza as it was being excavated. 🗃️🧵 For centuries it had been just a head sticking above the sand. Left: 1822 illustration Right: photo by Maxime du Camp, 1849

Black and white illustration from 1922. The neck and head of the sphinx rises out of the foreground sand on the left of the image. two people stand in the shadow near the neck, and three others stand farther away in the shadow. one is pointing up at the sphinx. The pyramids are seen beyond a rise in the background, on the right. The title above the image reads "Pyramides de memphis" and the caption below reads "vue due sphinx et de la grande pyramide. prise du sud-est."

Black and white photograph from 1849. The Sphinx is in the foreground, with its chest bared out of the sand. the rest of it is still submerged. in the background to the left of the head, two pyramids stand on the horizon.

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It's appropriate to post this chronological presentation of Venus-related spaceflight advance planning history posts from my blog No Shortage of Dreams with the crewed Mars flybys chronology post. Many crewed Mars flyby plans included a Venus flyby. spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com/2019/06/chro...

spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com

Chronology: Venus 1.0

The story of spaceflight told through missions and programs that did not happen - that is, the great majority of them.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 04/10/2026

A photograph taken from the surface of an asteroid by a small robot in 2018.

The surface of asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Turns out it looks like a poorly illuminated crawlspace at night.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Also, Emile Béchard's Sphinx photo, and others, are signed H. Béchard. People thought it might have been an Henri Béchard, possibly his brother? Now they think his name was actually Hippolyte Béchard? www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

metmuseum.org

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The British Library has a bunch of Maison Bonfils photo albums digitized, including one with a Sphinx photo that looks like the others taken in the 1860s/70s: eap.bl.uk/archive-file... Digital excerpts of book published by Emile Bechard: digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/...

eap.bl.uk

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This thread brought to you by a late night Wikipedia rabbit hole, which turned into a little research project when I hit inconsistencies and frustratingly sparse information on excavation. A few more interesting sources I found along the way:

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This is not my primary area of expertise - I'd love it if anyone more knowledgeable than me could help confirm/critique my reasoning here. One thing I'm wondering is if blowing sand could change coverage more rapidly and dramatically than I think. This would make coverage less reliable for dating.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Most photos can be found on wikimedia, NYPL, LOC, BnF. A few of the key images were initially traced using this cool photo-essay in the Atlantic, which otherwise doesn't contain a lot of context, and I think gets some of the sequencing/dating wrong: www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/0...

theatlantic.com

Photos: The Great Sphinx of Giza, Through the Years

Images of the Sphinx over the past 170 years, from Maxime du Camp’s 1849 travel photo to 21st-century light shows

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Certainly for a lot of the visitors and consumers of the photos, these sites were viewed through the lens of the exotic. Notions of exoticism must have evolved during the age of photography, and this is something I would like to read more about. If anyone has any recs, let me know.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Hassan's book is also where I got the first glimpses of the workers who actually performed the excavation. He gives us some insights into the involvement, thoughts and feelings of the local community, but this is something I'll need to look into more if I turn this into an essay of some kind.

black and white photograph. A pyramid looms in the background, in the foreground workers with carts are lined up beneath a hill of sand. caption reads "The field of excavation looking west. note fan0like layers of track rails."

A group of men in white robes stand on a hillside. caption reads "Men working on the clearance of mud deposits north side of the sphinx."

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This aerial photograph from a 1930s KLM flight shows the general area, and a completely excavated Sphinx. I would guess its before 1936, since I see what I think are some of the Baraize retaining walls. id.rijksmuseum.nl/200596063

An aerial view of the sphinx and the surrounding area, showing it clear of sand. the entire body of the sphinx is now visible, including the back right rear paw. the concrete collar is present, and what the author of this caption thinks is the wall near the sphinx's front left leg

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Hassan began his own work in 1936, and wasn't happy about those walls: Demolition of the walls "was one of our most laborious tasks when it became necessary to remove them in 1936-1937. I believe M. Baraize had taken his inspiration from the monuments of the Old Kingdom and built for eternity."

Black and white photograph of some tiered walls, and some scattered stones. caption read "Fig. 10 -- The eastern protective wall built by M. Baraize."

Black and white photograph, showing the sphinx and the excavated area around it. the ruins of a temple sit in the foreground. caption reads "Fig 34. -- the temple of amenhotep II with head and forequarters of the sphinx."

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A concrete collar was added sometime between 1926 and 1931. Baraize also erected walls to keep the sand from erasing his work. You can see the walls and the degree of the Baraize excavation in this photo by the Agence Meurisse. BnF dates it 1926, could put collar early in that time-frame?

a front-on view of the sphinx. both legs and paws are completely exposed, and the whole area is dug out in a rectangle. the stele is complete visible. the area below the headdress is now filled in with concrete supports. a tiered wall sits quite close to the sphinx's left paw.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

In 1925, Baraize began a new round of excavations, clearing lots of the sand, and revealing most of the Sphinx. You can also see the results, and some serious restoration work happening in photographs from 1925/26:

black and white photograph, the scaffolded sphinx from a more frontward angle. people in the foreground.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Dittrich was mainly active in Cairo starting in 1894, and you can see remnants of Maspero's work. Stele is partially exposed in Dittrich, but less so than in the 1905 shot, and moreso than in this 1915 photograph by Georgoulas. It shows Australian military officers posing in front of the Sphinx.

black and white photograph, taken from near the base of the chest of the sphinx. two soldiers in uniform sit on horses, which are standing where the front right paw of the sphinx would probably be, but there is just stand. the stele is not visible at all.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Then there's this photograph by Paul Dittrich. Date in NYPL is listed as 1860-1929, a hilariously long timeframe, but sensible given the timeline of excavation. Seen 1860s estimates, and version on wiki that says it was taken before 1886, but my guess is that it's actually between 1905 and 1915.

Black and white photograph. A view of the Sphinx from the front. It looks similar to the photos from the 1860s and 70s, in that it is most just the top of the sphinx with some of the chest bared. the author of this caption believes that he sees evidence of maspero's work to the left on sphinx, where you can seen a curved rim of sand, and a crater-like slope below it, similar in shape to the pattern seen in previous photos. what he thinks is the very top of the stele is just barely visible above the sand. big pyramid in the background.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My upper bound for Bonfils photos comes from this Wehrli photo, dated 1905. If that date is correct, it makes it seem like sand encroached considerably since the Spalding visit. The fact that the Dream Stele is still visible indicates definitely post-Maspero, and slightly after Bonfils.

black and white photograph. the sphinx sits to the left, and sand has clearly engulfed more of it. the very top of the stele is visible above the sand, and the legs are hidden behind a hill, if they are visible at all. some people and camels stand at the sphinx's chest, their feet are now nearly above the stele. a couple people with animals standin the foreground of the picture, and a large pyramid looms on the right. Large handwritten captions read "Cairo Ghizeh Sphinx ... Chefren-Pyramide. ... Marthat Wehrli... cd. 1905"

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Maison Bonfils actually has another photo of the Sphinx from what looks like the exact same time. It is also from almost the exact same angle as the Facchinelli photo, which gives us a good comparison.

A black and white photograph taken from in front of the sphinx. the right paw and a portion of the left are visible, as is the stele between them. there is maybe slightly more sand between the paws. A number of people stand on the paws, between them, and on the ground near the right shoulder. some are sitting on the left shoulder. one person dressed in white is standing right on top of the sphinx's head.

A view from the front left of the sphinx, framed almost identically to the other picture. a person stands with a camel on the sphinx's right leg, along with another person. a third person stands next to the sphinx's chest.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Then there's this photo by the Maison Bonfils, probably one of the most famous of partial excavation. I've seen dating from 1860s-70s. But the Béchard pic is likely from 70s, and shows it mostly buried. Based on coverage of the stele, I would actually put this somewhere between 1890 and 1905.

black and white photograph, processed. a view from in front and to the right of the sphinx. it dramatically shows the partial excavation, providing a great view of the right front leg, where a man sits with a camel standing. lots of sand has fallen down from the sphinx's left side, and has halfway covered the stele. two people sit between the legs near the chest, one in black and one in white. two pyramids loom large on the horizon on either side.

The same shot as the other one, but unprocessed. it has a blemish on the left side, and has a caption in french that reads "le sphynx apres les deblaiements et les deux grandes pyramides." a signature in the bottom right reads "Bonfils"

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This Facchinelli photo was taken around that time frame, maybe a few years after the Spalding photo, based on the fact that the Dream Stele is slightly more covered by sand. Had trouble finding histories of excavation. Selim Hassan's 1953 book was helpful: giza.fas.harvard.edu/pubdocs/244/...

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Gaston Maspero did next major excavation, which began in late 1885. Work was abandoned by 1888. Strangely, one of the most firm dates I found on a photo was this one, of the Spalding World Tour baseball team, which visited in 1889. This gives us a look as Maspero's work just after it finished.

A black and white photograph, taken from just in front of the sphinx. the front left leg and paw, and a portion of the right are visible. a large rectangular stele is clearly visible between the legs, an area that is largely clear of sand. a large number of people stand on and around the sphinx, many are in baseball uniforms.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Caviglia uncovered the Dream Stele, originally placed during excavation in 1401 BCE(!). Auguste Mariette studied Sphinx in 1853, did some limited excavation. One of the next firm photo dates is from Second Japanese Embassy to Europe, 1864 (left). Photo by Béchard (right) is likely 1870s.

Black and white photograph. The sphinx can be seen, facing off to the left, with a small part of the top of the body above the sand. two people stand in front, and another sits on the sand. two people are sitting on the left shoulder of the sphinx. a pyramid can be seen on the horizon to the right of the sphinx's head.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Couldn't find a good photo sequence, so decided to create one. But many photos didn't have precise dates in wiki OR archives, and some dates seemed off. Sent me on a journey. First modern excavation started in 1817 by Caviglia. We might see remains of his work in du Camp photo (date is reliable).

Black and white illustration on yellowed paper. The sphinx looms large on the left, with a pyramid in the background on the right. The chest of the Sphix is bared, and its left paw is just emerging from the sand. At the base of the chest is the regtangular stele, with writing on it. Workers are all around on the sloping hills, carrying material out. The caption on the bottom reads "A sketch of the sphinx of captain caviglia's excavations. April 1817."

Black and white photograph from 1849, the same from the previous post. The Sphinx is in the foreground, with its chest bared out of the sand. the rest of it is still submerged. in the background to the left of the head, two pyramids stand on the horizon.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It's October 4th -- the Sputnik satellite was flung into orbit 69 years ago today, beginning the age of space exploration. I dug into the Russian archives and got some documents on its creation. Check it out if you're interested.....

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Andy Saunders - Apollo Remastered @andysaunders-1.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A very HAPPY 91st BIRTHDAY to Apollo 16 LMP Charlie Duke! Born #OTD, October 3, 1935 and the youngest man to walk on the Moon. Charlie was always so generous with his time when I was working on the book and I feel so blessed to call him a friend. Happy Birthday Charlie.

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Physics Today @physicstoday.aip.org · 02/10/2026

The postwar funding boom in US physics came to a halt at the end of the 1960s, when officials in the Nixon administration made major cuts to the federal science budget. As historian Julia Menzel of @ihpst-uoft.bsky.social notes, the lessons learned then may be helpful to today’s scientists. #histSTM

physicstoday.aip.org

The last crisis of US physics

At the end of the turbulent 1960s, the postwar funding boom in US physics came to a crashing halt. The lessons learned then may be helpful to today’s physicists.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @rami.spaceaustralia.com · 02/10/2026

Today is the 81st anniversary of the birth of #RadioAstronomy in Australia! 📡 It grew out of radar tech built here in Sydney during WWII. As the war ended, military activity shifted to research, investigating the strange 'noise' and 'interference' coming from the Sun. 📸 J. Messer/NSW G.R.

Coer of a magazine from the late 1940s showing an illustration of a radar station on top of a hill. The title reads: SECRET - Directorate of Radar Services R.A.A.F. Radar Station Portable Type - LW Station

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @rami.spaceaustralia.com · 02/10/2026

This is an excellent video that was *made in 1958* that covers these early days of the emergence of #RadioAstronomy in Australia. Highly recommend this -- it's like a time capsule of what they knew of the radio sky back then (juxtaposed against what we know today). it's very good!

youtube.com

Radio astronomy in Australia (1958)

YouTube video by CSIRO

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I like this image depicting the different types of orbits. Most of the action is happening in LEO and GEO. MEO ist mostly pretty empty except for two MEO bands. - Navigation satellites are orbiting between 19,000km and 24,000km. - MEO satcom like O3b mPower and IRIS2 (not yet) at ~8,000km.

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Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Cosmography archives Large Magellanic Cloud: a Cosmographic Survey by Harlow Shapley (1931) ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1931BHar... 🔭🧪

A map of the Large Magellanic Cloud, with four types of regions outlined: 1) The "axis", an elongated patch of densely crowded stars extending in right ascension from 5h to 5h40m, is the dominating feature, displayed in dark crosshatch. 2) Several semi-clustered areas displayed in light crosshatch. 3) Several semi-clustered areas (diagonal hatches), the largest examples lying along the western border. 4) the rest of the map: open regions, practically free from clusters, except a few of the globular type, and relatively poor in supergiant stars. The map has been altered by hand drawing of a few "o" and arrows markings. An hand writen footnote specifies that "o" stands for new glob. clusters.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You can really see the exhaustion in his eyes. Every time I see this photo, I'm reminded of the portraits Herbert Ponting took of the Terra Nova support crew returning from the Barrier. Antarctica, 1911-12. Cecil Meares, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, and Bernard Day.

Black and white photograph, Cecil Meares, member of Scott's Terra Nova expedition, stares into the camera. he is wearing a cap, and sunblocking goggles pushed up onto his forehead. He has a ragged full beard.

Black and white photograph, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, member of Scott's Terra Nova expedition, stares into the camera. His nose is severely damaged by the cold. he is wearing a thick cap, and has a thin beard and a scarf.

Black and white photograph, Bernard Day, member of Scott's Terra Nova expedition, stares into the camera. he has medium length hair that is wild and pushed up, and a short beard. he is wearing a knitted top with two safety pins and a row of button at his chest.

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Dwayne Day @kennen11.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I did a quick trip to the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum to see a new photography collection and talk by Andy Saunders, who remastered the photos. Really fascinating on a number of levels. There is data in the photos we have not seen before, and that can change our understanding of them.

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Brandon Haber @malderi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I really love spacecraft photos with structure in the frame. Makes it seem so much more real.

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Daniella M. @farsouthhistory.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Only 2 more days to buy "Antarctic Materialities" with the 50% code McCa6648 #histsci #polar #Antarctica #envhist #musuems www.berghahnbooks.com/title/McCahe...

berghahnbooks.com

Antarctic Materialities | Berghahn Books

Independent Publishing since 1994

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

NASA admin picks have long been fairly political (in many senses - including managerial/political chops). You don't get a NASA insider until Truly in 89. Otherwise mainly execs, bureaucrats, Uni presidents, etc. Sjoberg didn't have much of a chance as ops, even if maybe people like him should have

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Daniella M. @farsouthhistory.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Somehow I think us historians of science will have an older mean....But twice I have cited Alexander Dalrymple's "An historical collection of the several voyages and discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1771), and I think that in my academic writing, it is as old as my citations get #histsci

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Definitely easier for history! I quoted Strabo on Pytheas in my master's thesis on Lunar Orbiter (partly for fun, but I had a point). The question of "oldest citation in a recent scientific paper that isn't for historical context" is a particularly interesting one, even from a histsci angle.

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Interested to see everyone else's "oldest cited work," please post them in the replies!

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"Lamarck contributed a subtle yet crucial change of emphasis: these mountains weren’t just made from the remains of marine organisms...[they] were made by living things. The original source of the mountains was not dead organisms, but the incessant activity of living ones." -Jessica Riskin #HPS 🧪 🦑

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bookswain.bsky.social @bookswain.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A rare book in my personal library, in fact it’s possibly the only copy that exists; virtually no footprint in book markets or public library databases: “A Compilation of Pertinent Data Concerning Priority Achievements for U.S.A. Unmanned (sic) Spacecraft” by NASA administrator Sigurd A. Sjoberg 🚀

A manual style book with a light blue green cover. “REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION OF FIRST
PRIORITY ACHIEVEMENTS FOR
UNITED STATES UNMANNED SPACE FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL AERONAUTIC ASSOCIATION
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE FEDERATION AERONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE
A Compilation of Pertinent Data
Concerning Priority Achievements for U.S.A.
Unmanned Spacecraft
Submitted To
National Aeronautic Association
Federation Aeronautique Internationale.”

#booksky #spaceflight #space #history 🗃️ #tech #techsky #spacesky

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In the 1930s, Hugo Benioff helped bring musical instruments and seismology into the electronic age. He invented the strain seismometer and electric violins, cellos, and pianos. Both efforts were part of the same intellectual project. #histSTM 🗃️ #seismology daily.jstor.org/what-does-an...

daily.jstor.org

What Does an Earthquake Sound Like? - JSTOR Daily

Seismologist Hugo Benioff spent decades turning seismic vibrations into signals he could study—and, eventually, hear.

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Emily Lakdawalla 🏳️‍⚧️ Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Two years ago I wrote an article about trans-Neptunian objects for Sky & Tel. This week I’ve been diving back in to the small bodies databases and there are quite a few updates — lots of things with new names, and quite a few newly discovered possibly round worlds

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

High encourage clicking through to Dörries' original article on this one. Great pictures of both the seismometer and the cello, alongside a fascinating historical argument regarding the aesthetic sensibilities guiding Benioff's project.

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

daily.jstor.org

What Does an Earthquake Sound Like? - JSTOR Daily

Seismologist Hugo Benioff spent decades turning seismic vibrations into signals he could study—and, eventually, hear.

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The Space Review @thespacereview.com · 25/09/2026

In the early 1960s, the US Air Force launched nearly a dozen Samos satellites with varying designations. But what happened to one class of satellite, Samos E-3, that never launched? www.thespacereview.com/article/5318/1

thespacereview.com

To E-3 or not to E-3: the liminal Samos E-3 program

In the early 1960s, the US Air Force launched nearly a dozen Samos satellites with varying designations. Dwayne Day examines what happened to one class of satellite, Samos E-3, that never launched.

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Here's Tharp's map of the ocean floor— first of its kind—revealing the mid-Atlantic Ridge (photo is of a reproduction of Tharp's map given to me by my wonderful former PhD student @federicabocchi.bsky.social) Learn more about Tharp here: lamont.columbia.edu/news/marie-t... #WomenInSTEM #histsci ⚒️ 🌊🧪

Map THE FLOOR OF THE OCEANS
Based on Batlymetric studies by
Bruce C. Heezen and Marie Tharp of tbe Lamont Doberty Geological Obseratory
Columbia Unisersity Palisades, New York, 10964
SUPPORTED BY THE UNITED STATES NAVY
OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH

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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

As OREX formally closes shop at the end of this month, the science in that precious container goes on. Meanwhile the successor mission APEX heads on to Apophis.

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Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Three years ago on this day, September 24, 2023, the sample return capsule from the OSIRIS-REx mission touches down in the desert in Utah. The sample inside was collected from the asteroid Bennu three years before. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber flic.kr/p/2qisTV8 🔭🧪

The sample return capsule from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, September 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample inside was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

OSIRIS-REx was the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. After dropping off the sample, the spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and sent on a new mission to explore asteroid Apophis in 2029.
Credit text: NASA on the Commons

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