Kepler’s Supernova
Kepler’s Supernova Visible to the naked eye, a spectacular supernova occurred in 1604. It was noticed by luminaries of the day, including astronomer Johannes Kepler, and left behind a beautiful...
View ArticleFilaments of Death
Filaments of Death Thousands of years ago, a giant star exploded. It’s light may have been noticed by people on Earth, though no one seems to have recorded it. But modern astronomers can see the...
View ArticleOldest Supernova
Oldest Supernova The oldest recorded supernova is this one, RCW 86, located 8,000 light-years away in the constellation Circinus. It was noted nearly 2,000 years ago (in 185 A.D.) as a “guest star” in...
View ArticleSupernova 1006
Supernova 1006 In 1006 A.D., a new star appeared to astronomers all over the world. It was recorded in documents across China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world. Supernova 1006, as it is now known, can...
View ArticleSpaghetti Nebula
Spaghetti Nebula The thin, ropy filaments of this nebula, Simeis 147, might make you a bit hungry. It has been given the moniker Spaghetti nebula and it the remains of a supernova that exploded 40,000...
View ArticleClose-Up Supernova
Close-Up Supernova In 1987, astronomers were given a treat when light from nearby star’s supernova reached Earth. Visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere, SN 1987A was one of the closest...
View ArticleTycho’s Supernova
Tycho’s Supernova One of the few supernovas to be observed with the naked eye and recorded during the modern scientific era was SN 1572, or Tycho’s supernova. In November of 1572, this “new star”...
View ArticleManatee Nebula
Manatee Nebula The long supernova remnant W50 can be seen in radio wavelengths in this image. Some astronomers, particularly those from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, think it bears a...
View Articlechimpanzee
The murmurs, whispers, shrieks and growls of 9,000 species are now digitized in a huge library of animal sounds, including some songs that will never be sung again.Housed at the Cornell Lab of...
View ArticleCrazy Corals
Observing the Coral Symbiome Using Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy Honorable Mention (Video) Living corals form a fluorescent kaleidoscope of awesomeness when imaged with a non-invasive confocal...
View ArticleSelene II
CyGaMEs Selene II: A Lunar Construction GaME Honorable Mention (Games and Apps) Build the moon, pummel it with asteroids, and pour a lava ocean over the nascent crescent.This computer game, called...
View ArticleUnappreciated Beauty
Unappreciated Beauty The tendency of dead fish to lose their color has skewed our images of them. Atlantic cod, typically depicted in dull brown, "are one of the most misunderstood in terms of...
View ArticleSeeing a Fish
Seeing a Fish Prosek's dissatisfaction with species names raises a thorny question: What does it actually mean to look at a black sea bass (above) but not see a black sea bass, inasmuch as the name...
View ArticleThe Colors of Life
The Colors of Life Within moments of death, fish often begin to lose their color. This process was captured nicely in the movie version of The Life of Pi, said Prosek, when computer-generated mahi mahi...
View ArticleThe New Audubon
The New Audubon Once described by the New York Times as "the Audubon of fish," Prosek finds the comparison flattering but in some ways misleading. "Audubon was painting a nature that was just being...
View ArticleHidden From Sight
Hidden From Sight Of all animals, fish are the hardest to see in their natural environments, and this makes it difficult to appreciate them in way people do birds or mammals. For some, such as the...
View ArticleIn the Studio
Some assumptions are so deeply ingrained that it's difficult to imagine the world from another perspective. Take taxonomy: We're raised to see nature through an essentially 18th century system of...
View ArticleOcean Fish in Person
Ocean Fish in Person Prosek's paintings can be seen in the book Ocean Fish. They'll also be on display at the National Arts Club in New York City from February 19 to March 2. "I'm not against the...
View ArticleBeyond Classifications
Beyond Classifications Prosek's first book, Trout of the World, grew out of his boyhood love of trout, an enthusiasm pursued in a pre-internet age by writing letters to biologist and poring through...
View ArticleJan 30, 2013
Earth From the Moon The Earth as seen from the Moon. LROC NAC mosaic of images snapped on 12 June 2010 during a calibration sequence, E130954785L and E130954785R. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center...
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