NASA's #RealGravity, the unexpected Oscar-night winner

It may not have broken Twitter, but NASA's Oscar tweets remind us of how important true space exploration is

By Sarah Gray

Published March 3, 2014 3:22PM (EST)

Sandra Bullock in "Gravity"
Sandra Bullock in "Gravity"

Last night was an undoubtedly big night for Hollywood and the filmmaking industry at large.  But it was an equally huge night for Twitter.  The star-studded film "American Hustle" may have been shut out, but Twitter was shut down by host Ellen DeGeneres' all-star Oscar selfie.

The night proved once again that the creeping root of social media has taken hold in even our most vaunted of award ceremonies -- and not just for real-time reactions to winners and speeches.  The lively Oscar host was not the only one to take advantage of the powers of social media.  NASA took to Twitter to post its own celestial photos with the apropos hashtag #RealGravity.

Though "Gravity" took home seven out of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for, including best director Alfonso Cuarón, hopefully, the real winner will be our underfunded space programs.  The technology to make a film like "Gravity" is truly amazing, but more incredible (instructive, and altogether innovative) is the actual ability to explore the regions far beyond a movie studio -- and our own atmosphere.

Here are the best tweets from NASA:

 

 

 


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Cool Culture Gravity Innovation Nasa Oscars #realgravity Space