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Tuesday, 23 April 2013

BEST SCIENCE PHOTOS OF THE WEEK XLV


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Best Science Photos of the Week
By
Live Science, 20 April 2013.

1. Threatened tribe

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Credit: ©Sarah Shenker/Survival

A deadline for the removal of illegal settlers from the lands of a threatened tribe in Brazil has passed without action, according to a British-based advocacy group for indigenous people's rights.

The Awá, an indigenous group of about 450, has legal rights to their lands and a judge's order requiring the removal of illegal loggers and other settlers from the area by the end of March. [Full Story: Brazilian Tribe Threatened as Illegal Loggers Stay Put ]

2. Hubble birthday photo

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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a spectacular new image of an iconic nebula to celebrate its 23 years of peering deep into the heavens.

The Hubble observatory, which launched on April 24, 1990, captured the Horsehead Nebula in infrared light, peering through obscuring veils of dust to reveal the object's hidden features. [Full Story: Hubble Telescope Snaps Stunning Nebula Photo for 23rd Birthday ]

3. Four Corners dust plumes

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The Four Corners is a famous part of the American West, where the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah come together, and tourists enjoy it because they can place themselves in multiple states at the same time.

NASA's Aqua satellite caught dust plumes trying to do the same thing on April 16.


4. Winning physics photo

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A black-and-white view inside a sprawling physics lab that's buried nearly a mile under an Italian mountain won the people's pick for 1st prize in a photo contest that brought together images of atom-smashing instruments typically only seen by scientists.


5. Severe weather from space

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Ever wondered what thunderstorms look like from space? Wonder no longer.

A false-colour image, taken by the GOES-13 satellite yesterday afternoon (April 17), shows a series of strong thunderstorms in the Midwest. The dark orange of the cloud tops indicate that they are very cold, a marked contrast to the warm, humid air surrounding it. (The warm air can't be seen since it is transparent in this image.)


6. Stunning sun show

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You can get a new perspective on the sun today (April 18), thanks to a special webcast devoted to our closest star.

The online Slooh Space Camera - which broadcasts footage of the night sky and celestial objects from professional-quality telescopes around the world - will host a free webcast featuring expert commentary and live views of the sun at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT).


7. Ancient star-forming galaxies

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A stunning new image from a giant telescope in Chile shows more than 100 ancient, star-forming galaxies in greater clarity than ever before.

The picture, released today by the European Southern Observatory, represents some of the first observations done by the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) - a group of high-powered telescopes arranged on a high plateau in the Chilean desert.


8. Antarctic melt

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Summer ice melt has increased tenfold over the last millennium in the Antarctic Peninsula, with most of the melt occurring during the last several decades in conjunction with global warming, new research suggests.


9. Attack of the giant snails!

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They're big, they're slimy, and they're eating their way across Florida.

The giant African land snail (Achatina fulica) can grow as large as a rat. They live up to nine years and have the annoying habit of eating through stucco and plaster walls for the calcium they need to grow their baseball-size shells.


10. Freaky fish

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Credit: Cichlid fish image via Shutterstock

There are some really weird-looking fish in the sea. And I do mean actual fish.

The folks over at The Fisheries Blog did a run-through of the "Top 10 Weirdest Things Found on a Fish's Head," and boy, are there some doozies.


11. You'll never guess what this is…

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A beautiful black-and-white image that looks like the pattern on a scarf isn't the work of an upscale French designer. It's the stuff that lines your lungs.


[Source: Live Science. Edited.]


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