I would like to start with some laughs or at least chuckles so
enjoy these delightful, innovative photos.
Really hardly beyond “reality”, no?
Part of that question of reality is the very real and
incredible diversity of life on this planet. After all these years as a student
of biology I continue to be astounded at what a variety of creatures, both
plant and animal, that have evolved here (and 90% have already come and gone). If I was to include the microbial
world I think you would be truly amazed. Here are some more critters that
accompany us on our journey around our star.
For
#WorldOctopusDay, a larval
longarm octopus that will ultimately live up to its name by developing arms
that stretch up to seven times the length of its body. Scientists have
witnessed this incredible species avoid predation by mimicking the shape,
color, and behavior of a flounder fish while moving across the sea floor. One
of our "aliens of the deep"
A fried egg jellyfish that has some
tenants living under its sunny-side-up dome: four juvenile Atlantic horse
mackerel.
Here, the fish find both protection from predators and a free meal,
often feeding on tiny prey ensnared by the jellyfish. When photographer Jordi
Benitez first pulled this shot up on his computer screen, he was shocked to realize
he had captured both the jellyfish and not one, but four of its borders. “It
was magical,” he says of the revelation.
One
of the more colorful of the Praying Mantis species….sorry, don’t know the name.
Adaptations
such as primate-like wrists and cat-like paws help make gray foxes well-suited
for life in the canopy. In the Sonoran Desert, they use these adaptations to
create eerie “skeleton trees" to mark their territory.
Just
a cool picture of a leopard.
Gyrfalcon
(Falco rusticolus). This falcon breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the
islands of northern North America, Europe, and Asia. Beautiful, no?
Stingrays’
defensive blades—the hardened cartilage at the base of their tails—are so
intimidating that humans have long co-opted them and fashioned them into
weapons of their own. Polynesian and indigenous Australian warriors brandished
spears made of stingray spines.
Even
the great warrior of Greek mythology, Odysseus, survived mythic beasts and
unimaginable hardships only to eventually be felled by a spear tipped with a
venomous stingray barb. One of nature's many creatures with venomous weaponry.
And
sometimes they can be very playful indeed.
Then
there is the amazing “reality” of the plant world.
I
took my bio students on a field trip to the Eel River once and one student, a
retired army drill instructor, wasn’t feeling well so I found a small puddle,
maybe 18” in diameter, and told him to just lie there and watch the puddle.
When we came back he proudly showed all of us the intricate interaction of life
within the puddle. It was all really quite wonderful. He told me later that it
was one of the most eye opening and healing experiences of his life.
And
there is still so very much to discover:
Julian Bayliss, a conservation scientist, initially spotted the forest on Google Earth. This isn’t the first time he’s done so; in 2005, he used the platform to identify an unexplored rainforest on Mozambique’s Mount Mabu. To confirm the presence of this newest forest, Bayliss traveled to the base of Mount Lico and flew a drone to the top of it. Then, in May, Bayliss and a team of more than two-dozen scientists and other experts set out on an expedition to see what kinds of animals and plants lived in this island in the sky.
Speaking of finding things, here are a few interesting
additions to our knowledge of ourselves.
Traces of opiates preserved inside a 3,500-year-old jug
have been found by scientists. The late Bronze Age base-ring juglet and its
contents are intact and is held in the British Museum collection.
There had been a "long-standing" theory the
jugs had been containers for opium and a new technique was used detect a plant
compound related to it. It is the first chemical evidence of the opium poppy
within such a jug, University of York scientist said.
Part
of a ceramic figurine depicting the head of the Mother Goddess, the earliest
deity of Europe’s first agriculturalists, has been discovered by archaeologists
in an 8,000-year-old Early Neolithic prehistoric settlement near the town of Mayor Uzunovo,
Vidin District, close to the Danube River, in Northwest Bulgaria.
Stone tools found among fossils of antelopes, elephants and other animals at Saudi Arabia’s Ti’s al Ghadah site date to between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago, archaeologist Patrick Roberts and his colleagues say. At that time, the site was located in a grassy, vegetated region that enjoyed regular rains, the researchers report online October 29 in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The new finds support the idea that the Arabian Peninsula had a climate friendly to either Homo sapiens or another Homo species that journeyed out of Africa a few hundred thousand years ago, say Roberts, of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, and his team.
Homo sapiens originated in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago. Traditionally, scientists have estimated that human migrations out of Africa began about 60,000 years ago. But recent finds on the Arabian Peninsula, including a human finger fossil from at least 86,000 years ago, have indicated that these dispersals began much earlier (SN: 5/12/18, p. 12).
So you thought perhaps there would be no astronomy…well.
Gaia Sees Stars Out in Deep Space, Flying Between Galaxies
In December of 2013, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Gaia mission. Since that time, this space observatory has been busy observing over 1 billion astronomical objects in our galaxy and beyond – including stars, planets, comets, asteroids, quasars, etc. – all for the sake of creating the largest and most precise 3D space catalog ever made.The ESA has also issued two data releases since then, both of which have led to some groundbreaking discoveries. The latest comes from the Leiden Observatory, where a team of astronomers used Gaia data to track what they thought were high-velocity stars being kicked out of the Milky Way, but which actually appeared to be moving into our galaxy.
https://www.universetoday.com/140170/gaia-sees-stars-out-in-deep-space-flying-between-galaxies/
It’s been quite a tumultuous time for space telescopes lately! Less than a month ago, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode after experiencing a mechanical failure with one of its gyroscopes (which has since been remedied). Shortly thereafter, the Chandra X-ray telescope went into safe mode as well, and for similar reasons. After three days, it’s operations team managed to get it back in working order as well.
And now, after nine years of service, NASA has officially announced that the Kepler Space Telescope will be retiring.
With no fuel remaining to conduct its science observations, NASA has decided to leave the telescope in its current safe orbit (well away from Earth). Far from being a sad occasion, Kepler’s retirement is an opportunity to reflect upon the immense accomplishments of this telescope and how it revolutionized the study of exoplanets.
And on September 30th, 2016, Rosetta came closer than ever to the surface of 67P/C-G and concluded its mission with a controlled impact onto the surface.
Since that time, scientists have still been processing all the data the spacecraft collected during its mission. This included some awe-inspiring photographs of the comet’s surface that were obtained shortly after the spacecraft made its rendezvous with 67P/C-G. Can you believe this photo!!
Japanese Rovers are Now on the Surface of an Asteroid, Sending Back Amazing Pictures
In December of 2014, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Hayabusa2 mission. As the second spacecraft to bear this name, Hayabusa2 was deployed by JAXA to conduct a sample-return mission with an asteroid. By studying samples of the near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, scientists hope to shed new light on the history of the early Solar System.
The spacecraft arrived in orbit around Ryugu in July of 2018, where it will spend a total of a year and a half surveying the asteroid before returning to Earth. On September 23rd, the satellite deployed its onboard MINERVA-II rovers onto the surface of Ryugu. According to the latest updates from JAXA, both rovers are in good condition and have recently sent back photographs and a video of the asteroid’s surface.https://www.universetoday.com/140126/japanese-rovers-are-now-on-the-surface-of-an-asteroid-sending-back-amazing-pictures/
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is now the closest object to the Sun that we’ve ever sent into space. On Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT, NASA’s probe broke the old record for the close-to-Sun distance of 42.73 million km (26.55 million miles). That record was held by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft in 1976. And the probe will keep getting closer to the Sun.
The Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12th, 2018, on a projected 6+ year mission. The mission is designed to answer 60 year old questions regarding our Sun:
- How do energy and heat move through the Corona?
- How do the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields accelerate the solar winds?
- What mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles?
Lockheed Martin Unveils Their Proposal For a Lunar Lander
In the coming decades, NASA has ambitious plans
to send astronauts back to the Moon and conduct the first crewed mission to
Mars. In order to accomplish these lofty goals, the agency is investing in
cutting-edge technology and partnering with major aerospace companies to create
the necessary spacecraft and mission components.
https://www.universetoday.com/140155/lockheed-martin-unveils-their-proposal-for-a-lunar-lander/
A couple of
last things to contemplate.
What we see
and what is actually there….and not even counting the other 11 dimensions.
In order to
fully appreciate the essence of existence in this universe biology needs to be
included in the formula.
Which pretty
much leads to this:
So let us
diligently keep looking for the TRUTH in all things.
π§ππ π‘ππππ π§π₯π¨π§π
According to a 19th century legend, the Truth and the
Lie meet one day. The Lie says to the Truth: "It's a marvellous day
today"! The Truth looks up to the skies and sighs, for the day was really
beautiful. They spend a lot of time together, ultimately arriving beside a
well. The Lie tells the Truth: "The water is very nice, let's take a bath
together!" The Truth, once again suspicious, tests the water and discovers
that it indeed is very nice. They undress and start bathing. Suddenly, the Lie
comes out of the water, puts on the clothes of the Truth and runs away. The
furious Truth comes out of the well and runs everywhere to find the Lie and to
get her clothes back. The World, seeing the Truth naked, turns its gaze away,
with contempt and rage.
The poor Truth returns to the well and disappears forever, hiding therein, its shame. Since then, the Lie travels around the world, dressed as the Truth, satisfying the needs of society, because, the World, in any case, harbours no wish at all to meet the naked Truth.
The poor Truth returns to the well and disappears forever, hiding therein, its shame. Since then, the Lie travels around the world, dressed as the Truth, satisfying the needs of society, because, the World, in any case, harbours no wish at all to meet the naked Truth.
The world famous painting- "The Truth coming out
of the well" Jean-LΓ©on GΓ©rΓ΄me, 1896.
