Guttation is the exudation of drops of sap (xylem) on the tips or edges of leaves of some vascular plants, such as grasses. Guttation is not to be confused with dew, which condenses from the atmosphere onto the plant surface. At night, transpiration usually does not occur because most plants have their stomata (pores…
Crimson Skies and Mammatus Clouds Photograph by beau-dog on Flickr In this amazing photo, we see crimson mammatus clouds over Citi Field in Queens, New York. The photograph of the intense storm was taken before the game on June 26, 2009 by Flickr user beau-dog. Citi Field is the home baseball park…
STRIPPED BY LIGHTNING Photograph by Fidget08 on Reddit In this incredible sighting, we see a tree completely stripped of its bark after being struck by lightning. The photograph was taken by Redditor Fidget08 who says he noticed the tree on his way to work this morning. The photo was submitted a mere…
Have you ever looked at an object or building and thought, “hey that kind of looks like a face!”? It’s actually a psychological phenomenon known as pareidolia. Pareidolia involves a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant; it’s a form of apophenia (seeing meaningful patterns or connections in…
GLACIAL WATERFALLS Photograph by KEENPRESS Photography | keenpress.com In this jaw-dropping photograph we see glacial waterfalls cascading into the sea. The photo was taken on or near Spitsbergen, the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Svalbard represents the northernmost part of Norway, located about midway between…
THE BLACK ICEBERG Photograph via Rundboll on Reddit In this rare sighting we see a black iceberg. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia: Most icebergs are white except along freshly calved ice cliffs, which tend to appear blue. Others may appear green, brown or black, or combinations of these colours. These icebergs have…
A Horizon Rainbow in Paris Photograph by Bertrand Kulik Have you ever seen a horizon rainbow before? This fascinating phenomenon was recently captured by photographer Bertrand Kulik in Paris, France. According to Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell of NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): “What is pictured above is actually just…
KAMCHATKA ICE CAVE, RUSSIA Photograph by Marc Szeglat @ vulkane.net In the incredible photo by Marc Szeglat (taken Sept. 12, 2012), we see a surreal-looking ice cave on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. It was formed by a stream flowing from the hot springs associated with the Mutnovsky Volcano. This stream flows…
THE TSUNAMI CLOUD Photograph by GARY BRINK (photofrenzy2000 on Flickr) This incredible photograph was taken by Gary Brink (1/800, ƒ/9, ISO 200, 135 mm) on May 29, 2011, at the Holland State Park in Michigan, USA. The incredible cloud formation formed on Lake Michigan just off the beach. In his Flickr description,…
AURORA ASTRALIS FROM SPACE Photograph by NASA/JSC/Joe Acaba The Expedition 32 crew onboard the International Space Station, flying an altitude of approximately 240 miles (386 km), recorded a series of images of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, on July 15, 2012. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer, recorded the…