Madagascar’s Monster
An image from Japan’s ALOS satellite shows the estuary of the Betsiboka River, the largest river in Madagascar, flowing into Bombetoka Bay, which then opens into the Madagascar Channel. The picture was taken on Sept. 17, 2010, by the satellite’s Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer (AVNIR-2).
Art of Science 2011 Gallery
The Art of Science exhibition explores the interplay between science and art. These practices both involve the pursuit of those moments of discovery when what you perceive suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment.
This is the fifth Art of Science competition hosted by Princeton University. The 2011 competition drew 168 submissions from 20 departments. The exhibit includes work by undergraduates, faculty, research staff, graduate students, and alumni.
The 56 works chosen for the 2011 Art of Science exhibition represent this year’s theme of “intelligent design” which we interpret in the broadest sense. These extraordinary images are not art for art’s sake. Rather, they were produced during the course of scientific research. Entries were chosen for their aesthetic excellence as well as scientific or technical interest.
The magnetic field of the Earth has reversed its polarity several hundred times during the past 160 million years. Polarity reversals are known to be strongly irregular and chaotic, and the reversal durations are relatively short (typically a few thousand years) compared with the constant polarity intervals between reversals.
This image shows a simple deterministic model illustrating the geomagnetic reversals. The model is based on the non-linear interaction between two magnetic modes (dipole and quadrupole) and one velocity component of the Earth’s core flow, and the image shows typical trajectories in the 3D phase space. The corresponding strange attractor reproduces irregular reversals between two symmetrical states. (Christophe Gissinger / Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences/ Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) Continue reading »
Flying Over the Frozen Waters
A lorry and cars travel on a road over the ice-covered Vistula river near the village of Kiezmark. Photographer Kacper Kowalski took this image from a paraglider (Kacper Kowalski/Panos)
Remembering George Harrison 10 Years after His Death
Ten years ago today, George Harrison died at age 58. To mark the occasion, MSNBC collected a few classic images of the legendary musician.
George Harrison in Hamburg, Germany, in April, 1961. (Juergen Vollmer / Getty Images) Continue reading »
One Snappy Dresser
Staff at a salon Down Under have given a particularly scaly customer a ‘bikini wax’ and full body exfoliation. In a bizarre bid to show off their skills to potential new customers, they plucked and pedicured a crocodile.
Now this might sting: Louanne Grasmeder gives the croc a waxing at the Parap Day Spa in Darwin. Continue reading »
Giant Radishes Rised in China
A farmer from Pulandian in northeast China’s Liaoning Province was surprised when he harvested a number of radishes and found that they had grown in the shape of hands. Two of the radishes have five thick braches, which resemble fingers – Jin Fan says: “I call them Buddhist hands.” Two radishes have four fingers; “I call them alien’s hands.” (China News / Rex Features)
Golden Christmas Tree
An employee of Japanese jeweller Tanaka Kikinzoku unveils a 150 million yen (£1.24 million) Christmas tree which will be on display till Christmas Day at the company’s main shop. The 2.4 metre tall Christmas tree is decorated with heart and orchid shaped ornaments, ribbons and a star made of gold. (YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)
Last Days of Autumn Season
A fly fisherman tries his luck in the Naches River against a backdrop of autumn color near Cliffdell, Wash. Oct. 24, 2011. (Yakima Herald-Republic / Gordon King) Continue reading »
Recycling Grandma’s Replacement Parts
An employee of OrthoMetals separates parts for recycling on a conveyer belt in a warehouse in Zwolle, eastern Netherlands, on Nov. 14. Imperishable body parts are recovered from the ashes of cremated people, and precious metals are also recovered by the crematoria and offered to the family or placed in the urn. (Peter Dejong / AP) Continue reading »
Photo of the Day: Sad Ending
In a cove below the San Diego City Wastewater Treatment Plant in Point Loma, Calif., city lifeguards Wednesday towed away the body of a rare 67-foot female fin whale that washed up Saturday. Scientists hope eventually to determine the cause of death. (Earl S. Cryer/Zuma Press)
Photo of the Day: Penguins on the March
Cape Penguins, wearing colorful ribbons, take a walk at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, Japan. (AP)
Tiny Critter Becomes a Big Wheel
An extreme close-up of a type of rotifer known as Floscularia ringens has won first prize in the 2011 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, which showcases photos and movies of life science subjects. The image was the top selection out of more than 2,000 entries in this year’s contest — and it earned the photographer, Charles Krebs, $5,000 worth of Olympus imaging equipment.
Photo of the Day: Taking the Test
More than a thousand students took mid-term examinations on the playground of Sihuang Middle School Thursday in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. (Zuma Press)
Photo of the Day: Flood and Glamour
A woman sits on a fridge outside a closed restaurant while surrounded by floodwaters in Bangkok on November 9, 2011. Thailand plans to hire at least 2,000 extra rubbish collectors in the capital Bangkok to tackle a mountain of trash that has piled up in inundated areas, officials said on November 9. (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)
Armless Man Dreams of Teaching
Fan Ling, 21, studies at the library of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Fan lost his right arm and most of his left arm, and one ear after being hit by high voltage wires at the age of 6. Fan says he wants to teach in less-developed areas after graduation. (CFP) Continue reading »
Beautiful Gingkgo Trees Attract Visitors
Amateur photographers take photos of a model in a gingkgo wood in Tancheng City, East China’s Shandong province, Nov 6, 2011. The beautiful scenery of gingkgo trees in the county attracts tens of thousands of visitors every autumn. (Xinhua) Continue reading »
Horses, Gigantic Wooden Table and Two Chairs
Horses stand in the shadows of a gigantic wooden table and two chairs during nice autumnal weather at a meadow near Doellstaedt, central Germany. (AP)
NASA: Spectacular Images from Space – Galaxy Encounter, Flooding Thailand, and 12-Billion-Year-Old Stars
This NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team image obtained November 4, 2011 shows dust as it blew over the Gulf of Alaska in early November 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on November 2, 2011. Blowing toward the south-southwest, the dust plume remains discernible for roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles). The dust emerges from the Copper River Valley, which zigzags through the glacier-rich Chugach Mountains. The slow movement of glaciers over bedrock grinds the rock into glacial flour. This fine sediment is easily lofted into the air by winds blowing through mountain valleys. This image also shows swirls of iridescent green in the waters along the shore. The bright green probably results from sediment and phytoplankton. Dust can fertilize phytoplankton, prompting big blooms, but the microscopic organisms also thrive in high-latitude seas especially near coastlines, without dust. (Jeff Schmaltz / NASA via AFP – Getty Images) Continue reading »
Living With Lion Cubs
This brave girl’s name is Helen, and she did those awesome photos during she was involved in volunteer project called ‘Living with Lion Cubs’ in south Africa on August, 2011. Continue reading »
Inside Opower’s Arlington Office: A robot, a Scooter and Many, Many Couches
Anybot at rest at Opower‘s Arlington office. (Jeffrey MacMillan / For Capital Business) Continue reading »
A New SPiN on Low Light Photography
SPiN Galactic features 12 tables in a club light setting, there is some very cool lighting but very challanging to photograph. Each table is lit with a square of light directly above the table simular to a pool table, there are several other sources of light that make it difficult to find a white balance that works. To make things a little more difficult as the player backs away from the table during a volley they move out of the light falling onto the table. In photographs by Steve Russell for Toronto Star.
At SPiN Toronto at 461 King Street West, ping pong players can play at the 12 tables and 12,000 square foot clubhouse. SPiN was founded in New York and has Susan Sarandon as an investor. Continue reading »
Zombie March
Zombie marchers make their way along Dundas street west of Bathurst making their way back to Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto. (RICHARD LAUTENS)
Rhinos get Upside-Down Helicopter Ride to Safety
For some endangered rhinos, a 1,000-mile road to rescue from poachers starts with a helicopter ride — hanging upside down, blindfolded and sedated.
Rhinos get Upside-Down Helicopter Ride to Safety. (WWF) Continue reading »
Heart of the Sun
This image shows giant sun spot activity from a region on the sun that scientists are calling a “benevolent monster.” After years of quiet, the sun is coming alive with solar storms in a big way. (NASA)
Photo of the Day: With a Screaming Man Inside
In this image released by Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, doctors have spotted what looks like the face of a screaming man in an ultrasound of a testicular tumor. The startling image jumped out at them while scrolling through scans of a 45-year-old patient suffering from severe testicular pain. The picture went viral after it was published in the journal “Urology” and it’s been compared to sightings of the Virgin Mary on toast or grilled cheese sandwiches. (Queen’s University/The Canadian Press)
