This image taken on June 5th 2012 shows what you could call the opposite of a hurricane. NASAās MODIS aboard the Aqua satellite took this image of a 1000km diameter hole in a blanket of marine stratocumulus clouds near Tasmania. Looking at the hole from above, it almost appears to plunge down.
This rare sight was caused by a high pressure weather system which usually brings clear skies. (low pressure areas in contrast are a forebode of storms and cloudy weather) In general wind blows away from high pressure areas, thus the air pulls downwards. The sinking air in turn warms which makes it difficult for clouds to form. The shape of the high pressure system actually matches the hole.
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Image: NASA MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer).
This liquid is boiling and freezing simultaneously because itās reaching its ātriple point,ā which is the temperature and pressure at which three phases of a substance (gas, liquid, and solid) co-exist in equilibrium. Source
HuacachinaĀ is a tiny town in southern Peru, an hour away from the Pacific coast. The town is a collection of resorts and restaurants around a blue-green laguna surrounded by huge sand dunes. One can sand board there and ride in a four-wheel-drive dune buggy.Ā
Legend claims every year a mermaid living in the laguna takes one man.The legend stems from the yearly drownings. People speculate that the cause of the frequent drownings is swimmers muscles cramp when the warm water on the top of the oasis mixes with cooler water below. (Source)Ā
Arizona pyrope garnet is calledĀ ant hill garnetĀ because they are āminedāĀ by ants.Ā Ants find the garnets while digging their anthills,Ā drag them out, and discard them on the surface. (Source)
The above picture you see is off the elephantās foot, a radioactive mass. Itās from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.Ā
These are the effects:
After just 30 seconds of exposure, dizziness and fatigue will find you a week later. Two minutes of exposure andĀ your cells will begin to hemorrhage (ruptured blood vessels); four minutes: vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. 300 seconds and you have two days to live.Ā
The coolest thing about this photo is definitely the radiation damage. Look at the bright squiggles, and the way the man seems to be in two places at once. This is because even as the photo is being taken, the radiation is causing severe damage to the camera.
According to another source, the man in the photograph and the cameraman are now dead. Apparently, the radiation would have been too high for them to live more than a few years after this, even if they had just run in, snapped the photo, and ran out again. If they spent more than a few seconds here, itās possible they could have died even quicker.
viĪ±Ā sixpenceee:Ā Bejeweling Skeleton The ultimate treatment for human remains is bejeweling the entire skeleton. This was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries in parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and remains of people thought to be holy would be treated in this way. This particular skeleton, in
Waldsassen, Germany, was discovered in the Roman catacombs and believed
to be that of a martyr ā he was sent to Germany, covered in jewels, and
set into an altar to inspire faith. (Source)
North Sentinel Island, one of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, is forbidden to visit because it is inhabited by a hostile Sentinelese tribe. This tribe resists all contact with outsiders and aggressively attacks anyone who dares to come near their island. However, visiting this place may not only be dangerous for the curious travelers. Islanders are not immune to modern diseases, so contact with outsiders could tragically wipe out the whole Sentinelese tribe.
The Indian government was eager to make a contact with the tribe. The first and probably the only friendly contact was established in 1991 by scholar T.N. Pandit who arrived at the island bearing coconuts and other gifts in hopes to win the tribeās trust. For the first time, islanders greeted visitors without bows.
However, soon after this expedition, officials decided to stop all other missions. They concluded that the tribe is healthy and thriving without any intervention of modern civilization. (Source)
Cryptobotany is the study of hidden plants. In addition to Cryptozoology, Cryptobotany takes plants from history and folklore and studies them. There are many plants that have yet to be discovered, but because of how history and folklore reports these plants, Cryptobotany mostly focuses on things that are a danger or are of use to humans.Ā
The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. It was the only significant volcanic eruption to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. However, it has often been declared as the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.
š„ There is beauty in destructionš„ 