ATOP EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE Photograph by NASA Earth Observatory In this breathtaking photograph we see the crescent moon through the top of Earth’s atmosphere. The image was taken above 21.5°N, 113.3°E by International Space Station crew Expedition 13 on July 20, 2006 over the South China Sea, just south of Macau. The atmosphere…
DESICCATION CRACKS Photograph by Hannes Grobe Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. In biology and ecology, desiccation refers to…
Photograph by Bob Henricks Caddisflies are an order (Trichoptera) of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. They can be described as small moth-like insects with two pairs of hairs membranous wings. One of the most interesting characteristics of the caddisfly is the ornate and highly intricate protective cases they build as larvae. The caddisfly…
CALIBRATING A DIGITAL BILLBOARD Photograph by fungiside on Reddit What seems like a bad (or awesome) acid trip is actually a calibration test for a digital billboard. The video (although it appears as an image here) is a test to make sure all of the individual panels are working together to make…
We all know some foods have a much higher Calorie content than others, but how many of us know what that difference actually looks like? Information website wiseGEEK sought to answer this question way back on January 3, 2007. The result was a fascinating article that compares over 71 foods! The images below are…
Gannets are large sea birds that can be found in the North Atlantic as well as the coastal seas of Southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The birds fish by diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. The technique, known as plunge diving, allows birds to use the energy…
In botany, a fruit is a part of a flowering plant that derives from specific tissues of the flower, one or more ovaries, and in some cases accessory tissues. Fruits are the means by which these plants disseminate seeds. Many of them that bear edible fruits, in particular, have propagated with the movements of…
THE VAPOR CONE Photograph by Joe Oliva/U.S. Air Force An F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot with the Viper East Demonstration Team from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., creates a ‘cone’ of condensation on Aug. 21, 2010, as he nears Mach 1 during a flyby at an open house at Volk Field Air National…
Photo by Jean Paul Ferrero/Ardea/Caters News (via Exposing the Truth Lake Hillier is a pink-coloured lake on Middle Island in Western Australia. Middle island is the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago, a group of about 105 islands and over 1,200 ‘obstacles to shipping’. The tiny lake only…
As the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon needs somewhere to put all of those products. The solution? Giant warehouses. Eighty to be exact. Strategically located near key shipping hubs around the world. The warehouses themselves are massive, with some over 1.2 million square feet in size (111,484 sq m). And at the heart of…