An afternoon full of contemplation and the restorative powers of the landscape as a meditative tool...... One of the most relaxing applications in recents weeks. Thinking, feeling and writing while revisiting 'The Breath Beneath'.
Cold weather can create some wild fluid dynamics, so pay attention to your local rivers and waterfalls during the next cold snap. The video above comes from North Dakota where a combination of cold dense air and a stable river eddy created a spinning ice disk, roughly 16 meters in diameter. The disk forms as a collection of ice chunks—not one solid, spinning piece—because the ice formed gradually. As ice pieces form, they get caught in the river eddy and begin to spin as part of the disk, rather like dust and ice do in the rings of Saturn. Such formations are rare but not unheard of; here’s a video showing a similar disk as it grows. (Video credit: G. Loegering; via Yahoo and io9; submitted by Simon H and John C)
The Startling Science of a Starling Murmuration
Starling flocks, it turns out, are best described with equations of “critical transitions”— systems that are poised to tip, to be almost instantly and completely transformed, like metals becoming magnetized or liquid turning to gas. Each starling in a flock is connected to every other. When a flock turns in unison, it’s a phase transition.
An absolutely stunning video. It’s brought me to tears before. The science behind the murmurations is fantastic.
Nature is so full of beautiful mysteries.
Incredible timelapse
In #Astrophotography, star trails are a type of photograph that utilizes long-exposure times to capture the apparent motion of stars in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth.
A star trail photograph shows individual stars as streaks across the image, with longer exposures resulting in longer streaks. Typical exposure times for a star trail range from 15 minutes to several hours, requiring a ‘bulb’ setting on the camera to open the shutter for a longer period than is normal. Star trails have been used by professional astronomers to measure the quality of observing locations for major telescopes.
How To: Star trail photographs are captured by placing a camera on a tripod, pointing the lens toward the sky, and allowing the shutter to stay open for a long period of time.
Star trails are considered relatively easy for amateur astrophotographers to create. Photographers generally make these images by using a SLR camera with its lens focus set to infinity. A cable release allows the photographer to hold the shutter open for the desired amount of time.
Images: Slow Dance Circumpolar startrail, Shooting Stars November 2001, Camping under trailing stars, Star trails under moon light, Star trails at Berner Oberland, Switzerland
Waitomo Glowworm Caves are a famous tourist attraction because of the large population of fireflies that live in caves. Fireflies, or Arachnocampa luminosa - tiny bioluminescent creatures that produce blue and green light live exclusively in New Zealand.
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