-Whirlpool galaxy M51-
Two galactic bodies caught in each others gravitational fields approximately 31 million light years away. The common misconception is that the larger is swallowing up the smaller galaxy on the left but quite clearly it is just one of the spiral arms overlapping our field of view. Surprisingly easy to locate by the amateur astronomer even with binoculars, located just below the plow and part of the Canes Venatici constellation.
You too! I’m an avid follower, also fan of the time machine i see :)
-Baby Polar Bear-
Polar bear cubs learn to freeze and remain still while their mother hunts. If they move, the mother disciplins them, with a whack to the head.
Sadly, still today, humans are the only hunters of polar bears.
-Titan-
Saturn’s moon Titan has a very thick atmosphere coupled with a very low gravity. In fact it is said that human beings could fly simply by flapping their arms about.
Titan is 5,150 km across, compared to 4,879 km for the planet Mercury and 3,474 km for Earth’s moon. Due to the lower gravity conditions it means that its atmosphere is far more extended than Earth’s; even at a distance of 975 km, the Cassini spacecraft had to make adjustments to maintain a stable orbit against atmospheric drag
Right now, on your computer screen, are approximately 10,000 galaxies.
Each of those galaxies contains anywhere from ten million to one trillion stars.
The average star is roughly a million times the size of Earth.
And yet, with all that junk, the Universe is more than 90 percent empty space.
All of that, in this tiny photo. A photo that took 400 orbits and 800 exposures to take.
And the kicker? The photo covers one thirteen-millionth of the entire night sky.
-Snow leopard-
One of the most elusive felines in the animal kingdom. This shot was taken with a motion sensor camera that had be placed and left for several weeks high up in the mountains before finally one big cat happend to pass by. There is an estimated 5000 left in the wild, roaming southern asian mountains at altitudes exceeding 18,000ft
-Sink hole-
The enormous 200ft deep hole appeared while the city was being ravaged with high winds, torrential rain and deadly mudslides. Witnesses claim at least one man was in the three-storey building when it was swallowed up at a downtown intersection in Guatamala.
Alone,
so alone..
-Gecko-
The extremely unusual toes of several species of gecko. The have a particularly unusual property in that they happily adhere to almost any surface, given that it is not completely smooth, they will easily run upside down on the ceiling.
-Immortal Jellyfish-
They need not die!
The Turritopsis Nutricula (Immortal jellyfish) is one of the most unique animals not just within the species of jellyfish, but within the entire history of the animal kingdom. It has actually managed to accomplish the one feat that has been yearned by many and accomplished by none. It appears to have cheated death and hence transformed itself into a perpetually immortal being.
What is unique about the immortal jellyfish is that after reproducing sexually, they are able to return to their polyp stage. When most fish die after their sexual maturity, immortal jellyfish get transformed back into a polyp and restart the process of asexual reproduction. In this way, the jellyfish is able to convert itself back into a polyp, start a polyp colony again and give birth to a number of new jellyfish, rendering it ‘Biologically immortal.’
-Razor blade cut-
The image is of the underside of a sticky plaster which has been used to treat a razor blade cut. Red blood cells are clearly visible among fine strands of fibrin - a protein formed from the conversion of clotting factors which traps blood cells and platelets to prevent further bleeding and stop the wound from becoming infected.
-Tardigrade-
Otherwise know as the ‘water bear.’
Tardigrades are able to survive in extreme environments that would kill almost any other animal. Some can survive temperatures of −273 °C (−459 °F), close to absolute zero, temperatures as high as 151 °C (304 °F), 1,000 times more radiation than other animals, and almost a decade without water. In September 2007, tardigrades were taken into low Earth orbit and for 10 days were exposed to the vacuum of space. After they were returned to Earth, it was discovered that many of them survived and laid eggs that hatched normally. Recent research has revealed that they can also withstand pressure of 6,000 atmospheres, which is nearly six times the pressure of water in the deepest ocean trench.
-Ball’s Pyramid-
A curious erosional remnant of a shield volcano that formed about 7 million years ago. Balls Pyramid is 20 km southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. It is 562 m (1844 ft) high, while measuring only 1100 m (3600 ft) in length and 300 m (1000 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world.
-Dragonfly-
Show quite clearly here are the useful hydrophobic properties of its skin.
Dragonflies possess six legs (like any other insect), but most of them cannot walk well and resort to flying, giving some of them the capability to reach nearly 97km/h claimed for the Southern Giant Darner one of the fastest insects in the world. Although most cruise at around 5 metres per second.
-Velvet worm-
This chap bimbles through the forest, like a worm with legs in a smoking jacket, looking for victims by quite literally sniffing them out. When he finds a hapless individual he rears up and squirts goo everywhere like a primordial spiderman. The victim is stuck fast by the threads and all the dastardley velvet worm has to do is inject it with its saliva and suck the gooey insides out. After a fine brunch he will spend a good bit of time chomping up all his sticky stuff to use on some other poor sod.
This rather spider-like way of eating is no coincidence. Although originally scientists thought it was a type of worm, it seems that this fellow is actually a lot closer related to the spiders.
