Photography
grrlscientist | May 21, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Flossflower, also known as Bluemink or Ageratum, Ageratum houstonianum.
Photographed while waiting for the bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
These tiny bushy plants are members of the sunflower family and are native to the west coast of Central and South America. It's amazing that something so small is related to something that is as large as a sunflower!
grrlscientist | May 21, 2009tags: Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 11 April 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | May 21, 2009
The skull of the marsupial predator Thylacoleo, photographed at the AMNH's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit.
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bioephemera | May 20, 2009
The Princeton Art of Science competition has named its 2009 winners. The image above, by Celeste Nelson, is a bright field micrograph of baby squid (Loligo pealeii). See the rest of the winners here.
awild | May 20, 2009
I photographed this weird...sluggy thing, I guess you could say, in an ant nest in subtropical Argentina.Â
Ten points to the first person who picks what it is.
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Pansy, orange cultivar, Viola hybrid.
Photographed while waiting for the bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
Isn't it amazing what selective breeding (artificial selection) can give rise to over a few thousand generations? How much more amazing is natural selection that gives rise to new forms over millions of years!
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, photographed at the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 10 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | May 20, 2009
The skull of the giraffid Bramatherium, photographed at the AMNH's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit.
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sjurvetson | May 19, 2009
Kids at the candy shop... from the DairyAire launch event this weekend. For a sense of how the photonic Ritalin works, this is what my rocket looks like as an example:
For a while, I've wanted to use a funky armored car fisheye lens from Belarus for night rocketry. I tested it at dusk:
and at night...
Green propellant - burnout - orange burst from the BP charge popping the parachute - blinking spiral back to Earth.
That a cable spool with a high power motor in the middle flies straight as an arrow is amazing enough. Strap on some lights, and fly at night, priceless.
Next, I'll show some…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Pansy, purple cultivar, Viola hybrid.
Photographed while waiting for the bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, photographed at the San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | May 19, 2009I took my shiny new Canon 50D out for a spin this weekend, and along the railroad tracks I found a worthy myrmecological subject: Crematogaster feeding at the swollen nectaries of an Ailanthus Tree of Heaven. Ailanthus is an introduced Asian tree that's gone weedy across much of North America. Our local ants don't seem to mind, though, it's extra snack food for them.
laelaps | May 19, 2009
The skull of a crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus), photographed at the AMNH's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit.
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grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: mystery bird, bird ID quiz, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Greater Sand-Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, photographed near Jacksonville, Florida. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Roger Clark, 14 May 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
bioephemera | May 18, 2009
Edge of Loch, Scotland
Jason Hawkes
Phoographer Jason Hawkes specializes in aerial views that emphasize patterns in nature and manmade structures. While his Apartments, Hong Kong first caught my eye at io9, Edge of Loch, Scotland plays even more fascinating games with scale. Is that a closeup of a shoreline crusted with lichen, a crowd of lilypads suspended on the water's surface, or a gods' eye view of toylike trees? Look close enough to be sure it's the latter, and you risk being lost in the incredible cobalt of the water.
Apartments, Hong Kong
Jason Hawkes
Then there's London's O2 arena…
laelaps | May 18, 2009
The skull of a spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), photographed at the AMNH's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit.
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sjurvetson | May 17, 2009It was hot at the Dairy Aire launch this weekend. 103°F, with cows.
What weather forecast is that? The cattle packed into the nearby Harris Ranch pens literally create local fog as they sweat into dusk. Mix with a little methane, and you get Dairy Aire.
Here was one of my favorite shots... 2.25 seconds after liftoff... screaming into the air, the big, fat Thumper rocket suddenly ruptured overhead:
It was part of lineup of ten M-size motor launches (the largest you can launch in California), and this gas-passer had a bit of a hiccup.
There's something about these nitrous oxide rockets that…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Treasure flower, also known as the South African daisy, Gazania rigens.
Photographed on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 9 May 2009 [larger view].
laelaps | May 17, 2009
The skull of Arsinoitherium, photographed at the AMNH's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit.
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grrlscientist | May 17, 2009tags: White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, photographed the San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 February 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Do you notice the hole in this bird's beak? If so, do you know if this hole will ever be grown over?
Review all mystery birds to date.