Evian Roller Babies
Funny commercial from mineral water brand Evian.
Volcanic Shockwave Captured by ISS Imagery
Astronauts on board the International Space Station took these striking views of Sarychev Volcano (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) on June 12, 2009. Notice the shock wave around the edge of the volcano’s plume and the “hole” the clouds that the eruption caused. Sarychev Peak is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, and it is located on the northwestern end of Matua Island. Here are few more images taken in sequence as the ISS flew 354 km (220 miles) overhead.
Satellite creates best topographic map of the Earth
An instrument aboard the Terra satellite has generated the most complete digital topographic map of the Earth ever made, covering 99% of the planet.
The map was created using measurements from the ASTER instrument (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) aboard the decade-old Terra satellite.
Gravity’s Imprint Sought in Big Bang Glow
A search for gravitational waves stemming from the creation of the universe commences this week with an array of new detectors sensitive enough to measure signals as faint as a billionth of a volt.
The experiment, called QUIET, is the latest attempt to find theoretical ripples in the expanse of space caused by the Big Bang explosion some 14 billion years ago.
Full article by Irene Klotz on Discovery News
99 Widescreen Wallpapers To Spice Up Your Desktop
An amazing collection of widescreen wallpapers related to nature, photography, patterns, illustrations, HDR as well as some abstract and fantasy-related wallpapers.
Long-Neck Women Of Kayan
The Padaung are a group of the Karenni people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Burma and Thailand. Women start wearing the brass neck coils at the age of five. Each coil is replaced with longer coils as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage.
Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened; the illusion of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested.
One of them is the coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites. Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, but often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity.
How big is the net?
“The mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time,” said the 18th-century scientist John Playfair, recalling the moment he learned of the Earth’s long history. If Playfair could peer into the depths of the internet he might get that giddy feeling again. In 2005, Google estimated the internet contained some 5 million terabytes of data – that’s more than 1 gigabyte for each of Earth’s 4.5 billion trips around the sun.
Maps and full story by Colin Barras on New Scientist
Michael Jackson dies
Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.
Paramedics were called to the singer’s Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.
He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Continue reading
Thanks to “Michael”
Lightning Detected on Mars
The first direct evidence of lightning has been detected on Mars. Researchers from the University of Michigan found signs of electrical discharges during dust storms on the red planet using an innovative microwave detector . The bolts were dry lightning, said Professor Chris Ruf. “What we saw on Mars was a series of huge and sudden electrical discharges caused by a large dust storm. Clearly, there was no rain associated with the electrical discharges on Mars. However, the implied possibilities are exciting.”
Full story by Nancy Atkinson on Universe Today
Ice baby
The mammoth herd approaches the rushing river. A calf ambles close to her mother’s huge legs, brushing their long, glossy hair now and then with her trunk. The sky is brilliant blue, and a dry wind hisses through the grasses, which billow like oceanic swells across a steppe 1o,ooo miles wide, spanning the northern arc of the Ice Age world. The long winter is over; birdsong and the scent of damp loam fill the air.
Perhaps the warmth of the sun makes the mother careless, and for a moment she loses track of her calf. The baby wanders toward the water. She stumbles on the slippery riverbank and slides into a slurry of clay, sand, and fresh snowmelt. She struggles to free herself, but every movement drags her deeper. The mud gets in her mouth, her trunk, her eyes; disoriented, she gasps for breath but gets a mouthful of muck instead. Coughing, gagging, caught in a riptide of panic, she makes a dreadful high-pitched shriek that brings her mother running. Inhaling with all her force, the calf sucks the mud deep into her trachea, sealing her lungs. By the time her mother reaches the bank, the baby is partially submerged in the ice-cold mire and flailing feebly, rapidly sliding into shock. The mother screams and mills on the soft bank, drawing the rest of the herd. As they watch, the calf sinks beneath the surface.