Splendid Cosmos

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Grand Canyon Filled with Rare Weather Phenomenon or Fog

What an awe-inspiring sight! A few days ago, on Friday, November 29, The Grand Canyon was taken over by a rare weather phenomenon that filled the entire canyon with a thick layer of fog. The occurrence, called a temperature inversion, caused everyone, including rangers, to flock to the rim to take photos of it. As the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page stated, "Rangers wait for years to see it. Word spread like wildfire and most ran to the rim to photograph it. What a fantastic treat for all!"

Sunday 1 December 2013

Amazing Image of Sydney Through A Glass

Indeed this is very creative capture by Daniel Roberts, we see part of the iconic Sydney skyline reflected in a Kirribilli wine glass. Along with the popular Sydney Opera House you can also see the RMS Queen Mary 2. The optic phenomenon that is causing the image to flip upside down is known as refraction. To learn more about refraction check out thisWikipedia entry.

via Daniel Roberts (New Dan on Flickr)

Floating Biodome Absorbs Carbon Dioxide, Emits Oxygen

The Bloom is a futuristic take on marine farming designed by French firm Sitbon Architectes that was chosen as one of 5 finalists for the first Architizer A+ Awards in the "architecture and weather" category. The spherical structure is well designed to be a semi-submersible laboratory garden, cultivating microscopic marine organisms famous as phytoplankton that produce oxygen and aid in plummeting the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The floating structure is espically designed to be tethered to the seabed by a series of cables and uses an advanced filtration system to make salt-water into fresh-water for the onboard residents. An everlasting staff of researchers, scientists, and marine biologists would live aboard the vessel, screening the ongoing experiments and using the phytoplankton farms to lower carbon-dioxide levels in areas of requires across the globe. Bloom would also be able to detect infinitesimal changes in the surrounding waters to assist alert nearby nations of impending tsunamis. Eventually, the goal of the project is to address both global warming and the rapidly rising sea-levels.

Sitbon Architectes' website

Unbelievable Light Painting Portrait in Seoul Korea

As part of this year's in recent times wrapped National Geographic Photo Contest, photographer Sungjin Kim entered this incredible light painting portrait. Like As we have seen a few times before, a piece of steel wool was spun to produce a brilliant cascade of sparks. Love how this was taken right in the middle of a busy metropolitan city and how the light painting effect is intensified by the reflection in the water. This is one of best picture I ever see.Playing with fire beside the canal in the modern city. Songdo, South Korea

Photo and caption by Sungjin Kim/National Geographic Photo Contest

Massive Wave Result of a Powerful Storm

The vigor of the Ocean is perfectly timed image by Tiago Pinheiro, you can view the massive waves crashing into the pier at Praia da Aguda in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. The waves were the result of a powerful storm at sea on October 15, 2012.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Russian peninsula of Kamchatka is a land of volcanoes

The Russian peninsula of Kamchatka is a land of volcanoes. During my journey there between October 14 to 26, 2013, I visited the active volcanoes Klyuchevskoy and Sheveluch. The former erupted for the first time in three years. During its strongest eruptive phase (shown above), lava fountains rose up to 0.6 mi (1 kilometer) above the summit dome, and explosions could be heard at a distance of 19 mi (30 kilometer) away. Note the funnel shaped cloud of steam and smoke more than Klyuchevskoy's concealed, volcanic cone. picture taken on October 16, 2013, at a distance of approximately 9.5 mi (15 km).

Photographer: Marc Szeglat; Marc's Web site

Author Summary: Marc Szeglat

Photo details: Camera Maker: Panasonic; Camera Model: DMC-GH3; Focal Length: 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 70mm); Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 3.200 s; ISO equiv: 500.

Saturday 23 November 2013

The Richat Structure, Mauritania

The Richat Structure is famous for mysterious Eye of Africa. The structure, situated in central Mauritania, was first discovered by astronauts on early space missions. The formation is around 30 miles in diameter. The first theory of its origin implied that it formed as a result of a meteorite hitting the Earth. Although in more modern theories, the uplift is supposed to be the result of erosion. Researchers have yet failed to explain the circular form of the structure.

Friday 8 November 2013

Colorful Creatures Stinging Nettle Slug Caterpillars

Stinging nettle slug caterpillars are gorgeous, colourful creatures found in most tropical parts of the world. They have urticating hairs (barbed bristles) to defend themselves from predators. Australian photographer John Hortsman captured this image near Yunnan, China

Eclipse at 44,000 Feet

Flying at 44,000 feet (13,000 meters), eclipse chasers on a chartered jet managed to intercept the Moon's shadow over the Atlantic Ocean during the November 3, 2013, solar eclipse. The remarkable flight made a perpendicular crossing of the central shadow track. The photograph below was taken by Ben Cooper of Launch Photography.

Unseen Sea HD Video from Simon Christen

This is the most beautiful video ever made by Simon Christen. Yes this is amazing! There are quite some timelapse videos going around on the web. And I can't get enough of it.. This one is one of the better I've seen.

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Whale Sharks

Chew on this: whale sharks have about 3,000 teeth, but they aren't used for feeding. As “filter feeders,” whale sharks eat plankton and other tiny organisms, and their rows of tiny chompers (just 3 mm, or about 1/10-inch, each) are remnants of their evolutionary past.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

A hawksbill sea turtle swims past batfish and barracuda in this stunning image by photographer David Doubilet.

Thursday 31 October 2013

The most bizarre and haunting lifeforms on Earth

Just in time for Halloween: the most bizarre and haunting lifeforms on Earth, like this sea angel. Perhaps they'll insipire a last-minute costume idea.

Thursday 17 October 2013

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013
2013: Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Grand Title Winner

The shortlist includes hundred images that are first separated into two age groups, Adult and Young and then by category wise, Animal Portraits, Underwater World and Creative Vision. Out of all those images, here were the top 18 images.

Mother’s Little Headful Photo: Udayan Rao Pawar (India)

Winners of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were just announced where more than 43,000 images from 96 countries were whittled down to just 18. Now in its 49th year, the competition showcases the very most excellent in nature photography and is led by two UK institutions, the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide.