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Rare Footage Captures the Luminous Tentacles of the Psychedelic Jellyfish as It Floats Through the Pacific Ocean
Dig Into an Enormous Archive of Drawings Unveiling the Complex Root Systems of 1,180 Plants
A Rare Encounter with the Elusive Giant Phantom Jellyfish Captures Its 33-Foot Billowing Limbs
Project Stardust: A Photographer Scours Rooftops Across the Globe for Minuscule Cosmic Particles
A Short Film Dives into the 15-Year Process Behind the Documentary ‘Fantastic Fungi’
A Dive 2,300 Feet into the Atlantic Ocean Uncovers a New Bright Red Jellyfish Species
Rare Footage Captures the Luminous Tentacles of the Psychedelic Jellyfish as It Floats Through the Pacific Ocean
The findings coming out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute continue to amaze us: new footage from a recent ROV dive into the midnight zone of Monterey Canyon in the Pacific Ocean captures the incredibly rare psychedelic jellyfish and its vibrant body. First discovered in 2018, the elusive creature has luminous, spindly tentacles that, when drifting in the water, appear like colorful light trails rather than gelatinous appendages. The footage shares glimpses of both male and female specimens and their distinct body parts, and you also might want to watch this phantom jellyfish and its 33-foot limbs. (via Laughing Squid)
Dig Into an Enormous Archive of Drawings Unveiling the Complex Root Systems of 1,180 Plants
All images courtesy of Wageningen University & Research
It’s generally understood that terrestrial plant life evolved from algae, one key to its successful adaptation being roots that sprawled underground to absorb important nutrients and water. Billions of years later, the fibrous networks are essential to life across the planet as they ensure the growth and health of individual specimens, help prevent erosion, and capture carbon from the air.
A collaborative project of the late botanists Erwin Lichtenegger and Lore Kutschera celebrates the power and beauty of these otherwise hidden systems through detailed drawings of agricultural crops, shrubs, trees, and weeds. Digitized by the Wageningen University & Research, the extensive archive is the culmination of 40 years of research in Austria that involved cultivating and carefully retrieving developed plant life from the soil for study. It now boasts more than 1,000 renderings of the winding, spindly roots, some of which branch multiple feet wide.
We’ve gathered some of the biological studies here, but you can pore through the full collection on the Wageningen University site. (via MetaFilter)
In 'Wild Design,' Vintage Illustrations Expose the Patterns and Shapes Behind All Life on Earth
Ernst Haeckel, Kunstformen der Natur, 1904. Gotha: Bibliographisches Institut. All images from Wild Design: Nature’s Architects by Kimberly Ridley, published by Princeton Architectural Press, shared with permission of the publisher
Focusing on the patterns and shapes that structure the planet, a new book published by Princeton Architectural Press explores the science behind a trove of organically occurring forms. Wild Design: Nature’s Architects by author Kimberly Ridley pairs dozens of vintage illustrations—spot the work of famed German biologist Ernst Haeckel (previously) among them—with essays detailing the function of the striking phenomena, from the smallest organisms to the monumental foundations that extend across vast swaths of land. These structures are simultaneously beautiful and crucial to life on Earth and include the sprawling mycelium networks connecting life above and below ground, the papery, hexagonal cells comprising honeycomb, and a spider’s funnel-like web tailored to trap its prey. Dive further into the world of Wild Design by picking up a copy from Bookshop.
(Johann Andreas Naumann, Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands, 1820. Leipzig: G. Fleischer
Ernst Haeckel, Kunstformen der Natur, 1904. Gotha: Bibliographisches Institut
Berthold Seemann, Journal of Botany, 1863. London: R. Hardwicke
Henry C. McCook, American Spiders and Their Spinning Work, 1889. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia
Henri de Saussure, Études sur la famille des vespides, 1852. Paris: V. Masson
Oliver B. Bunce and William C. Cullen, Picturesque America, 1872. New York: D. Appleton
Spectacular Footage Captures a NASA Probe as it Touches the Sun for the First Time
NASA marked an impressive milestone when its Parker Solar Probe was the first ever to touch the sun and return earlier this year, and footage from its historic mission offers a stunning glimpse at the massive star’s upper atmosphere. The black-and-white timelapse shows a view from the probe as it hurls through a flurry of glowing bands and sparks that dart across the frame with celestial bodies panning in the background. These structures, known as coronal streamers, are part of the magnetic field surrounding the star—it doesn’t have a solid surface, meaning satellites like Parker come in contact with the fiery matter while flying through it. These sweeping plumes are often visible from Earth during solar eclipses.
During its travel, the probe also captured the Milky Way, Earth, and other planets from a rare angle, which astrophysicist Grant Tremblay labeled in the screenshots below. This was the satellite’s eighth attempt to permeate the sun’s atmosphere since it launched in 2018, and the successful mission garnered quite a few staggering statistics. NASA shares:
At closest approach, Parker Solar Probe hurtles around the sun at approximately 430,000 mph (700,000 kph). That’s fast enough to get from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., in one second… At closest approach to the Sun, the front of Parker Solar Probe’s solar shield faces temperatures approaching 2,500 F (1,377 C). The spacecraft’s payload will be near room temperature.
For a similar look at the sun’s details, watch this timelapse chronicling one month of its evolution. (via PetaPixel)
Exceptionally Slow-Motion Footage Documents Tropical Butterflies Bursting from Their Chrysalises and Taking Flight
In an extravagant display of evolutionary tricks and mating rituals, new footage by Adrian Smith of the wildly popular Ant Lab YouTube channel focuses on six tropical butterflies. The extremely slow-motion montage zeroes in on a trio of tropical creatures as they crack open and emerge from their chrysalises and others like the striking Blue Morpho as they take flight. Smith paired the spectacular clips with behind-the-scenes footage of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Living Conservatory, which fosters a climate-controlled environment that hundreds of butterflies hatch from every few weeks. If you haven’t seen his previous footage yet, make sure you watch these moths and an unusual muppet-esque troupe as they lift off the ground. (via The Kids Should See This)
A Rare Encounter with the Elusive Giant Phantom Jellyfish Captures Its 33-Foot Billowing Limbs
Back in August, we shared news of a previously undiscovered jellyfish so vibrant that its brilliant red body was a stark contrast to its deepwater environment. Now thanks to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, we can add another similarly spectacular sighting to this year’s collection of rare deepsea finds. A remote-operated vehicle spotted the elusive giant phantom jellyfish in the midnight zone, an area of the ocean about 3,200 feet below the surface, in one of just nine of the team’s encounters with the species since it was discovered in 1899.
Footage and photos from the expedition unveil the crimson animal’s bulbous body and its four billowing, blanket-like arms (these function as mouths) that have the capability to stretch 33 feet out into the water and uncannily resemble a hat and scarf flying in the wind. Because sightings are so uncommon, researchers suspect that the huge jellyfish eats plankton and small fishes, although they haven’t been able to study it enough to know for sure. (via Peta Pixel)
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Sailing Ship Kite by Haptic Lab
Highlights below. For the full collection click here.
Rare Footage Captures the Luminous Tentacles of the Psychedelic Jellyfish as It Floats Through the Pacific Ocean
Dig Into an Enormous Archive of Drawings Unveiling the Complex Root Systems of 1,180 Plants
A Rare Encounter with the Elusive Giant Phantom Jellyfish Captures Its 33-Foot Billowing Limbs
Project Stardust: A Photographer Scours Rooftops Across the Globe for Minuscule Cosmic Particles
A Short Film Dives into the 15-Year Process Behind the Documentary ‘Fantastic Fungi’
A Dive 2,300 Feet into the Atlantic Ocean Uncovers a New Bright Red Jellyfish Species
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