Photography
grrlscientist | June 29, 2009tags: Dahlia, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, image of the day
Dahlias.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side on West 81st street at Central Park West.
Image: GrrlScientist, 29 June 2009 [larger view].
On the opposite side of the continent, a friend of mine was murdered by her husband, who then committed suicide. Their teen-aged daughter found their bodies. My friend was very active in the avicultural community, and bred her own flock of rare parrots. If I lived a few thousand miles closer, I would immediately drop everything to care for her flock of parrots as long as…
grrlscientist | June 29, 2009tags: Pelagic Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pelagicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pelagic Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pelagicus, photographed at Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon. It is taking nesting materials back to the rock, where many of these birds were busy nesting. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 8 June 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | June 29, 2009
A young Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.
grrlscientist | June 28, 2009tags: Hibiscus Tree, Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Garden, Horticulture, Botany, nature, image of the day
Rose of Sharon, also known as the Hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.
Photographed on Columbus Avenue, between West 81st and 82nd streets.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 June 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 28, 2009tags: Lesser Flamingo, Phoeniconaias minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lesser Flamingo, Phoeniconaias minor, photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | June 27, 2009Here are a few snapshots of the foster kittens that have been running around the place lately:
Psghetti. She was adopted the day I took this photo.
Meatball. She is Psghetti's sister, and still needs a good home.
Leela. She loves to "help" when I'm working at the computer.
Teddy. He and his brother Stitch have grown quite a bit since I last posted a photo of them.
And, as a bonus, part of a really beautiful sunset as seen from my office. To see the heavy rain in this lighting was spectacular.
grrlscientist | June 27, 2009tags: Dahlia, flowers, Garden, Horticulture, Botany, nature, image of the day
A bunch of flowers for you to enjoy. The big yellow blossom
is one of the many thousands of popular Dahlia cultivars.
Photographed on Amsterdam Avenue, near West 83rd street.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 June 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 27, 2009tags: Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, photographed in Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | June 27, 2009
An American toad (Bufo americanus), photographed along the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey.
grrlscientist | June 26, 2009tags: Rainstorm, weather, nature, Manhattan
Hiding from the rain under the eaves.
Photographed on Columbus Avenue, between West 81st and 82nd streets.
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 June 2009 [larger view].
This rainstorm was so severe that it even drenched people with umbrellas .. and flooded the streets.
sjurvetson | June 26, 2009As I prepare to hand off this photoblog to Cobalt123, I thought I would share my favorite non-rocket photos. Each clicks through to a story or geeky observation.
Last Thoughts
Magic Toes
Fire & Ice
A Beautiful Computation
in the Wolfram sense
Curiosity
Diamond Age & Eyes
and even some people
Namaste.
grrlscientist | June 26, 2009tags: Hibiscus Tree, Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Garden, Horticulture, Botany, nature, image of the day
Rose of Sharon, also known as the Hibiscus tree, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.
Photographed on Columbus Avenue, between West 81st and 82nd streets.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 June 2009 [larger view].
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is one of many plant genera that can exhibit polyploidy, a condition where its number of chromosomes is far greater than the two sets that come from each parent. Polyploid offspring can have very different morphologies from either parent, or indeed any ancestor,…
grrlscientist | June 26, 2009tags: House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 3 June 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:03:06 17:34:01
Exposure Time: 1/30
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 500
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | June 26, 2009tags: Antarctica, environment, nature, streaming video
As an introduction to my special plea to you, my readers, I want to share this astonishing time-lapse video filmed in Antarctica, in and around McMurdo Station and Scott Base [6:17]
Thanks to one of my readers, I learned recently that Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. To select this person, they are asking blog writers to enter a competition where the public votes for whom they think would be best for the job. Quite honestly, I think I am the best person in the world to act as the…
awild | June 26, 2009Alaus oculatus (Elateridae) - The Eyed Elater
Illinois
One of North America's largest beetles, the eyed elater is more than an inch long. Alaus oculatus is widespread in the deciduous forests of eastern North America where their larvae are predators of wood-boring beetles. Other species of Alaus occur in the south and west. This individual was attracted to a pheromone trap intended to bring in longhorn beetles as part of a University of Illinois study on beetle pheromones, a ready demonstration of how predators may exploit the chemical signaling of their prey.
This particular beetle has…
sjurvetson | June 25, 2009The Shuttle is glorious after midnight awaiting a big adventure...
A complicated design...
Lifts with a thunderous roar...
SRB Separation is visible to the naked eye... and the payload joins the ISS...
As the Shuttle is retiring from operation, SpaceX is gearing up to service the space station and other orbital launch needs:
Here you can see the music video of their first launch to orbit.
grrlscientist | June 25, 2009tags: Cambridge University, Garden, Horticulture, Botany, nature, image of the day
Walkway at Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
Image: Bob O'Hara, 23 April 2009 [larger view].
According to the photographer, the director led them on a tour of the gardens. He said it was laid out by one of Darwin's mentors to show the variation in the plants. Apparently, the trees were paired up to show morphological variation by Henslow, the man who recommended that Darwin accompany the captain on the Beagle's famous voyage. The director of the gardens was really pleased to have worked this out: it…