|
Click
on
the
images
to
see
related
websites
with
full-size
images
and
other
related
pictures.
(World
Science
does
not
vouch
for
contents
of
any
outside
websites)
|
|
NEWLY
FEATURED
|
|
 Bacterial
art Colonies of the bacterium Panibacillus dendritiformis organize
themselves into extravagant formations to maximize their food intake
in a given environment. Some resarchers argue this suggests the Earth's most
primitive life forms have a social intelligence. (Photo from the website of Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob
of Tel Aviv University, Israel.)
|
|
 Solar
"tadpoles": Physicists have long wondered why
solar flares contain
dark, wormlike forms that wriggle toward the surface. Recently,
researchers reported finding that the dark areas are not physical matter but rather gaps in the outflow of
fiery material. (University of Warwick, U.K.)
|
|
 A
more life-friendly view of Mars Most Mars photos
show a rocky, barren-looking landscape. This is another view: an area of the
planet that researchers think might, in the past at least, have been
habitable. They plan to investigate further. (European Space Agency)
|
|
 Underwater
gems: The skeleton of a radiolarian, a single-celled sea creature with a
skeleton made of silica, a glassy material.
|
|
 A "light echo" highlights swirls of dust around a red giant star. This image of the star V838 Monocerotis was captured using the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows how the lighting of the surrounding dust clouds have dramatically changed since 2002, when the star glowed brighter for several weeks, astronomers say. This caused light to "echo" off the dust clouds, not unlike the effect a flashbulb would cause in a dark, dusty room. The dust here may have been ejected from the star during an earlier explosion. (NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI))
|
|
 An ice cave at Loudwater Cove on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula. (Photo by Zenobia Evans. Courtesy Natonal Science Foundation, U.S.A.)
|
|
 A lightning bolt? No. It's a penguin diving. An underwater observation tube allows researchers to study how and where penguins dive, at the Penguin Ranch near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. (Photo by Kris Kuenning. Courtesy Natonal Science Foundation, U.S.A.)
|
|
 The
sun doing nothing special: A special telescope aboard the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft – a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency – takes pictures of the Sun almost daily. The
instrument, called the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, creates images
using the Sun's emissions of ultraviolet light, a type of light more energetic than
visible light. This image was taken on Dec. 11, 2004. More images are at the SOHO home
page.
|
|
 Better
than
rainbows?
Scientists
have
devised
a
new,
simplified
mathematical
description
of
hidden
patterns
that
adorn
that
daytime
sky.
Viewing
the
sky
through
special
sunglasses
reveals
colorful
patterns
invisible
to
the
naked
eye.
These
patterns
are
due
to
the
polarization
of
daylight,
a
phenomenon
that
has
to
do
with
the
way
light
waves
vibrate.
(Courtesy
Michael
Berry).
|
|
 Cutting moon rocks into thin, flat slices and photographing them under a microscope -- while shining a type of light through them called polarized light -- can result in pictures like
this. Polarized light is light whose waves are all aligned in the same direction.
The
rock
slice
bends
the
light
in
a
way
that
creates
these
colors.
These
photos
are
by
Jeffrey
Ryan,
of
the
University
of
South
Florida.
"As is not the case with any other world in the Solar System,"
Ryan
writes,
"we have a pretty clear idea of what the Moon is made of and how it was put together, because we have an extensive suite of rock samples brought back from the Apollo Lunar landings. The images below are photomicrographs of thin sections made from Lunar rocks, breccias, and regolith. Through a careful examination of these images, we can gather some first-hand information about what has happened over the last several billion years to create and modify the Lunar crust and surface."
|
|
 Another
moon
rock
under
a
microscope,
this
one
classified
as
a
lunar
mare
basalt.
These
rocks
formed
from
solidified
lava
generated
by
colossal
meteor
impacts.
|
|
 Another
lunar
mare
basalt.
|
|
 From
the
photo
studio
website
of
Valentina
Bacchetti
|
|
 From
the
photo
studio
website
of
Valentina
Bacchetti
|
|
 From
the
photo
studio
website
of
Valentina
Bacchetti
|
|
 Dying stars, called planetary nebulae, very often have rings such as those seen in this image, astronomers have found.
This photo depicts the Cat’s Eye Nebula, one such dying star. It's 3,000 light years away.
(Hubble
Space
Telescope)
|
|
 The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
:
The
most
detailed
image
ever
made
of
the
remains
of
an
exploded
star.
A
bright
outer
ring
(green)
ten
light-
years
wide
marks
the
location
of
a
shock
wave
generated
by
the
supernova
explosion.
A
large
jet-like
structure
protrudes
past
the
shock
wave
in
the
upper
left.
The
colors
don't
reflect
what
the
eye
would
see,
but
rather
represent
different
X-ray
energies.
Red,
green,
and
blue
represent
low,
medium,
and
higher
X-ray
energies.
(Credit:
NASA/
CXC/
GSFC/
U.Hwang
et
al.)
|
|
 Massive black holes
often
float
in
doughnut-shaped gas clouds which, depending on our line of sight, blocks the view of the black hole in the center.
Using two European Space Agency orbiting
telescopes, scientists looked "edge on" into this doughnut, called a torus, to see features never before
seen
so
clearly. How the doughnut forms, however, remains a mystery.
(added
July
20,
2004.
Image:
NASA
Goddard
Space
Flight
Center)
|
|
 Nanoflowers:
University
of
Cambridge
PhD
student
Ghim
Wei
Ho
photographed
these
microscopic
creations,
which
she
had
made
of
silicon-based
material
using
a
chemical
vapor
deposition
process.
|
|
 Nanotrees:
University
of
Cambridge
PhD
student
Ghim
Wei
Ho
photographed
these
microscopic
creations,
which
she
had
made
of
silicon-based
material
using
a
chemical
vapor
deposition
process.
|
|
|
|
PLANETS
&
MOONS
OF
THE
SOLAR
SYSTEM
|
|
 Jupiter's
moon
Io
(NASA,
National
Space
Science
Data
Center)
|
|
 A
volcano
erupts
on
Jupiter's
moon
Io
(NASA,
Goddard
Space
Flight
Center)
|
|
 Another active volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io was captured in this image taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
(NASA,
National
Space
Science
Data
Center)
|
|
 Another active volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io was captured in this image taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
(NASA,
National
Space
Science
Data
Center)
|
|
 Jupiter's
moon
Callisto
(NASA).
Known
as
the
icy
moon.
|
|
 The
high-altitude
cloud
structure
on
Neptune
(Center for Adaptive Optics, UCSC,
U.S.A./National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 Venus:
The
mountain
Maat
Mons.
The
image
is
generated
from
computer
data
from
the
spacecraft
Magellan,
as
seen
from
3
kilometers
(2
miles)
above
the
terrain
and
634
km
(393
miles)
away.
Lava
flows
extend
for
hundreds
of
kilometers
across
the
fractured
plains
shown
in
the
foreground,
to
the
base
of
Maat
Mons.
|
|
 Venus:
The
mountain
Maat
Mons.
The
image
is
generated
from
computer
data
from
the
spacecraft
Magellan,
as
seen
from
1.7
kilometers
(1
mile)
above
the
terrain
and
560 kilometers (347 miles)
away.
Lava
flows
extend
for
hundreds
of
kilometers
across
the
fractured
plains
shown
in
the
foreground,
to
the
base
of
Maat
Mons.
|
|
 Mars:
computer-generated
image
of
the
rim
of
a
crater:
This false-color image shows visible mineral changes between the materials that make up the rim of the impact crater known as "Endurance." The image was taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity using all 13 color filters. The cyan blue color denotes basalts, whereas the dark green color denotes a mixture of iron oxide and basaltic materials. Reds and yellows indicate dusty material containing sulfates. Scientists are very interested in exploring the interior and exterior material around the crater's rim for clues to the processes that formed the crater.
(NASA/JPL/Cornell)
|
|
 Photo of Jupiter taken
with NASA's Voyager
2
spacecraft.
Colors
are
enhanced
to
bring
out
detail.
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Jupiter,
close-up,
as
photographed
by
the
Voyager
II
spacecraft
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Closeup
of
the
"great
red
spot"
of
Jupiter,
as
photographed
by
the
Voyager
spacecraft.
The
spot
is
actually
a
giant
storm.
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Jupiter,
close-up
with
enhanced
colors,
as
photographed
by
the
Voyager
I
spacecraft
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Icy
surface
of
Jupiter's
moon
Europa,
as
photographed
with
the
Galileo
Orbiter
spacecraft
in
1998.
Colors
have
been
enhanced
for
visibility.
The
broken,
fractured
ice
on
Europa's
surface
may
have
liquid
water
beneath
it.
Some
believe
life
may
lie
within.
The whiter
area
is
believed
to
be
a
region
that
has
been blanketed by dust
from
ice particles ejected
when
a
large crater
was
formed
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Saturn
as
photographed
by
the
Voyager
II
spacecraft.
Its
moon
Mimas
is
visible
as
a
tiny
black
dot
against
Saturn's
cloud
tops
near
the
left
horizon
just
below
the
rings.
The
big
gap in the rings,
called
the Cassini Division
(after its discoverer), is a 3500-km wide region (2200 mi, almost the width of the United States) that is much less populated with ring particles than the brighter B and A rings to either side of the gap.
(Image
from
NASA
Planetary
Photojournal)
|
|
 The
northern
hemisphere
of
Saturn
as
photographed
by
NASA's
Voyager
I
spacecraft
in
1980
at
a
distance
of
9
million
kilometers
(5.5
million
miles),
showing
a
variety
of
features
in
Saturn's
clouds.
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
 Possible variations in chemical composition from one part of Saturn's ring system to another are visible in this
picture
from
the
Voyager
II
spacecraft
as subtle color variations that can be recorded with special computer-processing techniques. This highly enhanced color view was assembled from
several
images
obtained Aug. 17 from a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles).
(NASA/JPL)
|
|
|
|
UNDERSEA
HABITATS
|
|
 Coral
reef
(National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration/U.S.
Department
of
Commerce)
|
|
 Coral
reef
life
(National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration/U.S.
Department
of
Commerce)
|
|
 Jellyfish
preying
on
plankton
(National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration/U.S.
Department
of
Commerce)
|
|
 A
clownfish
browses
a
coral
reef.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey)
|
|
 A
coral
reef
dweller
off
the
Florida
coast
known
as
a
spanish
flag.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey)
|
|
 Tube-dwelling
polychaete
worms. The "arms" are actually tentacles or
"radioles." Most of their bodies are hidden within tubes they have
made.
(National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration/U.S.
Department
of
Commerce)
|
|
|
|
BUTTERFLIES
|
|
 Butterflies
(U.S.
Geological
Survey)
|
|
 Monarch
butterflies
at
the
DeSoto
refuge
along the Missouri River on the Nebraska-Iowa border
in
the
midwestern
U.S.A.
(U.S.
Fish
&
Wildlife
Service)
|
|
 Endangered
Karner
blue
butterfly
from
New
York
State,
U.S.A.
(U.S.
Fish
&
Wildlife
Service)
|
|
 Butterfly
(U.S.
Department
of
the
Interior)
|
|
 Monarch
butterfly
larva
(Jason Hill, University of Minnesota;
From
U.S.
National
Science
Foundation
website)
|
|
 Morpho
butterfly,
Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica
Tourism
Board
Photo
Gallery)
|
|
|
|
EARTH
AS
SEEN
FROM
SPACE
|
|
 Twin plumes of smoke and ash shoot up from Mt. Etna in Sicily. The image was recorded by International Space Station astronauts on July 22, 2001. (NASA)
|
|
 Satellite
photograph
of
the
Himalaya
Mountains,
from
the
U.S.
Geological
Survey's
"Earth
as
Art"
collection
|
|
 Satellite
photograph
of
the
Colima
Volcano,
Mexico,
from
the
U.S.
Geological
Survey's
"Earth
as
Art"
collection
|
|
 Satellite
photograph
of
the
Tibetan
Plateau
in
the
Himalaya
Mountains,
demonstrating
the
striking
difference
between
the
geological
features
on
each
side
of
the
border
between
India
and
China.
Site
of
the
ongoing
collision
of
two
of
the
world's
great
continental
plates.
(NASA)
|
|
 Jordan,
satellite
photo:
Meandering wadis combine to form dense, branching networks across the stark, arid landscape of southeastern Jordan. The Arabic word "wadi" means a gully or streambed that typically remains dry except after drenching, seasonal rains.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey
"Earth
As
Art"
image
gallery)
|
|
 The
Earth
as
photographed
by
a
U.S.
weather
satellite
in
1992
during
Hurricane
Andrew.
(NASA
Goddard
Space
Flight
Center)
|
|
 Syrian
desert,
satellite
photo:
Between the fertile Euphrates River valley and the cultivated lands of the eastern Mediterranean coast, the Syrian Desert covers parts of modern Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey
"Earth
As
Art"
image
gallery)
|
|
 West
Fjords,
Iceland,
satellite
photo:
The West Fjords are a series of peninsulas in northwestern Iceland. They represent less than one-eighth the country's land area, but their jagged perimeter accounts for more than half
the
country's coastline.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey
"Earth
As
Art"
image
gallery)
|
|
 Hurricane
Elena
(from
NASA's
Earth
From
Space
gallery)
|
|
 Ocean
currents
(from
NASA's
Earth
From
Space
gallery)
|
|
 The
Earth
as
seen
in
ultraviolet
light.
The
image
was
taken
by
a
camera
left
on
the
Moon
by
the
crew
of
the
Apollo 16
spacecraft. The part of the Earth facing the Sun reflects much
ultraviolet
light. Even more interesting is the side facing away from the
Sun,
where
bands of
ultraviolet
emission also
appear.
They are the result of aurora caused by charged particles given off by the
Sun,
that
spiral towards the Earth along
its
magnetic field lines.
(NASA)
|
|
|
|
FRACTALS
-
Patterns
repeated
at
every
size
scale,
existing
both
in
nature
and
as
human-made
designs
|
|
 "Spikes"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Neurons
5"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Golden
Honeycomb"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Beehive
pools"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Blue
Swirl"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Things
on Strings 2"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
 "Green
bug
in
bronze"
(Francis
Griffin/National
Science
Foundation)
|
|
|
|
VOLCANOES
AND
VOLCANIC
ACTIVITY
|
|
 Kilauea
Volcano, Hawaii
(Photo by Paul Kimberly. Image from Smithsonian Institution/National Museum of Natural History website.)
|
|
 Mt.
Etna,
flank
eruption,
2002
(from
Stromboli
Online)
|
|
 Kilauea Volcano,
Hawaii.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey/Hawaiian
Volcano
Observatory.)
|
|
 Isanotski Peaks Volcano, Unimak Island,
Alaska
(U.S.
Fish
&
Wildlife
Service
Alaska
Image
Library)
|
|
 A
plant
known
as
fireweed
was
one
of
the
first
living
things
to
make
a
comeback
after
a
deadly
1980
eruption
at
Mt.
St.
Helens,
Washington
State,
U.S.A.
(Photo by
Lynn
Topinka,
1984.
Photo
from
website
of
U.S.Geological
Survey/Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington
)
|
|
|
|
FROGS!
|
|
 Poisonous
red
frog,
Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica
Tourism
Board
Photo
Gallery)
|
|
 Frog,
Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica
Tourism
Board
Photo
Gallery)
|
|
 Frog,
Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica
Tourism
Board
Photo
Gallery)
|
|
 Red-eyed
tree
frog
of
Central
America
(U.S.
Dept.
of
Energy)
|
|
 Purple
frog
(Image:
Campbell Creek Science Center,
Alaska,
U.S.A.)
|
|
 Frog,
Chile
|
|
|
|
FAMOUS
SPACE
IMAGES
|
|
 Eagle
Nebula,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
|
|
 Multiple generations of stars in the Tarantula nebula: Near the edge of the most active starburst region in the local universe lies a cluster of brilliant, massive stars, known to astronomers as Hodge 301. Hodge 301, seen in the lower right hand corner of this image, is located at the edge of the Tarantula Nebula.
(Hubble
Heritage
Image
Gallery)
|
|
 Cat's
Eye
Nebula,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
The
Cat's
Eye Nebula is a planetary nebula. This nebula formed about 1,000 years ago when a fast "stellar wind" of gas blown off the central star created the elongated shell of dense, glowing gas. This structure is embedded inside two larger lobes of gas blown off the star at an earlier phase.
[ Image: J. P. Harrington and K. J. Borkowski (University of Maryland), and NASA]
|
|
 Hourglass
Nebula,
a
type
of
object
known
as a planetary nebula. When a star such as the Sun starts to die it becomes red and expands into a giant star. The old star will eventually eject its outer layers. The gaseous shell is illuminated by the dense stellar core, which is now exposed. We see the illuminated gas as a planetary nebula.
( Image: Raghvendra Sahai and John Trauger (JPL), the WFPC2 science team, and NASA)
|
|
 Swan
Nebula,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
|
|
 The
Ring
Nebula,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A,
the most famous of all planetary nebulae. In this image, the telescope has looked down a tunnel of gas cast off by a dying star thousands of years ago. This photo reveals elongated dark clumps of material embedded in the gas at the edge of the nebula, and the dying central star floating in a blue haze of hot gas.
(Hubble
Heritage
Image
Gallery)
|
|
 Planetary
nebula
IC
418,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
It lies about 2,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation
Lepus.
A planetary nebula represents the final stage in the evolution of a star similar to our
Sun,
as
it
runs
out
of
fuel
and
ejects its outer layers into spacer.
(Hubble
Heritage
Image
Gallery)
|
|
 The
"ant
nebula"
(Hubble
Heritage
Image
Gallery)
|
|
 The
reflection
nebula
NGC 1999. Like fog around a street lamp, a reflection nebula shines only because the light from an embedded source illuminates its dust; the nebula does not emit any visible light of its own.
(Hubble
Heritage
Image
Gallery)
|
|
 Galaxy
NGC
1512,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
(STScI & Dan Maoz)
|
|
 The
"Whirlpool"
galaxy
M51,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
|
|
 The
"Sombrero"
Galaxy
M104,
imaged
with
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
U.S.A.
|
|
|
|
COMPUTER
SIMULATIONS
OF
NATURAL
PROCESSES
|
|
 Black
hole
merger:
computer
simulation
of
the
ripples
in
space-time
created
by
the
merger
of
two
black
holes.
Second
image
in
a
series
(Courtesy Ed Seidel
;
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics; Werner Benger – Zuse Institute, Berlin; and
AEI.
Image
from
National
Science
Foundation
website)
|
|
 Black
hole
merger:
computer
simulation
of
the
ripples
in
space-time
created
by
the
merger
of
two
black
holes. Third image
in
a
series
(Courtesy Ed Seidel
; Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics; Werner Benger – Zuse Institute, Berlin; and
AEI.
Image
from
National
Science
Foundation
website)
|
|
 Black
hole
merger:
computer
simulation
of
the
ripples
in
space-time
created
by
the
merger
of
two
black
holes.
Fifth
image
in
a
series
(Courtesy Ed Seidel
; Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics; Werner Benger – Zuse Institute, Berlin; and
AEI.
Image
from
National
Science
Foundation
website)
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 Simulation
of
a
Bose Einstein condensate, an unusual form of
matter
consisting
of
millions
of
atoms all at exactly the same energy level, behaving exactly alike.
(U.S.
National
Institute
of
Standards
and
Technology)
|
|
 Simulation
of
the
density
profile
of
a
star
after
a
supernova
(exploding
star)
has
gone
off,
above
the
top
of
the
image.
(Pacific
Northwest
National
Laboratory)
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ROCKS
AND
MINERALS
|
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 A
thin
section,
or
slice,
of
a
rock
containing
phengite
and
quartz.
(From
the
New
York
State
Museum's
Splendor
In
Stone
image
collection)
|
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 A
thin
section,
or
slice,
of
a
marble
from
Naxos,
Greece.
(From
the
New
York
State
Museum's
Splendor
In
Stone
image
collection)
|
|
 A
thin
section,
or
slice,
of
a
mineral-rich
rock.
(From
the
New
York
State
Museum's
Splendor
In
Stone
image
collection)
|
|
 A
thin
section,
or
slice,
of
a
rock
exhibiting
a
pattern
known
as
a
spiral
inclusion
trail.
The large purple blob is
garnet,
a
mineral. As garnets grow, they can trap nearby grains. These inclusions commonly result in quite striking patterns. This garnet trapped
quartz crystals in smoothly curving spiral trails. The
pattern
suggests the garnet may have rotated as it grew
(From
the
New
York
State
Museum's
Splendor
In
Stone
image
collection)
|
|
 A
thin
section,
or
slice,
of
a
mineral
rock
structure
known
as
folded
phlogopite.
Phlogopite
is a member of the mica family. Micas are like stacks of paper in that they have a crystal structure formed by sheets of
atoms,
which
can
easily
deform
and
slide
past
each
other.
(From
the
New
York
State
Museum's
Splendor
In
Stone
image
collection)
|
|
 Amethyst,
a violet or purple variety of quartz used as an ornamental stone. The name is said to
come
from the Greek
\na, "not," and methuskein, "to intoxicate,"
from
the old belief that the stone protected its owner from
drunkenness,
according
to
the
Web
encyclopedia
Wikipedia.
(Image
from
the
U.S.
Bureau
of
Land
Management
Alaska
Minerals
-
Hidden
Treasures
web
gallery)
|
|
 Epidote
(From
the
U.S.
Bureau
of
Land
Management
Alaska
Minerals
-
Hidden
Treasures
web
gallery)
|
|
|
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MORE
IMAGES
|
|
 Gold
particle
smash
into
each
other
at
near-light
speed.
(Brookhaven
National
Laboratory)
|
|
 Snowflake
photographed
by
W.A.
Bentley,
who
conducted
some
of
the
first
exhaustive
studies
of
these
crystals
in
the
early
1930s.
(NASA)
|
|
 Scarlet
king
snake
(U.S.
Geological
Survey/Florida
Integrated
Science
Center)
|
|
 Leaf-footed
bug,
U.S.A.
(U.S.
Geological
Survey)
|
|
 A
magenta
microheater,
a
device
that
can detect toxic
gases such as sarin or mustard gas. Slight variations in the thickness of the sensing film covering the microheater cause changes in color that have been enhanced in this micrograph.
(U.S.
National
Institute
of
Standards
and
Technology)
|
|
 A
computer
image
shows
powerful
magnetic
fields
used
to
accelerate
subatomic
particles
toward
each
other,
at
the
Brookhaven
National
Laboratory
(U.S.A.)
ion
collider.
|
|
 Shells
of
diatoms,
single-celled
algae
with
silica
shells
(Photo by Hans Paerl; courtesy Univ. of North Carolina’s Endeavors magazine.
Image
from
National
Science
Foundation
website)
|
|
 Ripples
created
by a freshwater spider, Dolomedes, as it runs along the surface.
This image comes from a project conducted to determine how insects and
spiders run across the surface of water. The water was dyed blue in order to
visualize the ripples created by the creatures as they scamper across. A layer
of
water is sprinkled
with
the
chemical
Thymol
Blue,
which
when
lit
from
below
enables
the
ripples
to
be
visualized.
(Courtesy
John
Bush,
MIT.
Image
from
National
Science
Foundation
website)
|
|
 Grand
Canyon
National
Park,
U.S.A.
(National
Park
Service/U.S.
Department
of
the
Interior)
|
|
 Northern
Lights
(Aurora
Borealis)
in
Alaska.
An
atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earth's magnetic lines of force.
(U.S.
Fish
&
Wildlife
Service
Alaska
Image
Library)
|
|
 Northern
Lights
(Aurora
Borealis)
in
the
southern
latitudes
of
the
United
States
in
March,
2001.
An
atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earth's magnetic lines of force.
(Adam
Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF,
from
the
National
Optical
Astronomical
Observatory
Image
Library,
U.S.A.
)
|
|
 The
polar
bear,
Ursus
maritimus
(U.S.
Fish
&
Wildlife
Service
Alaska
Image
Library)
|
|
 Tucan,
Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica
Tourism
Board
Photo
Gallery)
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