This Is The Coolest Outer Space Animation Ever. It Shows The Crab Supernova Explosion, Happened In 1054,

See what technology was used in determining the age of the #Universe

http://astronomyisawesome.com/universe/the-age-of-the-universe/

the translucent skin of the northern glassfrog (hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni) allows us to see its internal viscera, and, in the case of the fifth photo, a mother’s eggs.

and yet, it is the male glassfrogs who alone provide the parental care, as the females flee the scene once the eggs have been delivered. it for this reason that these protective male glassfrogs can be extremely aggressive.   

to date, there is no clear explanation for the evolution of this transparency. most frogs are not transparent, as this would expose organs to the deleterious effects of sunlight and heat.

but the transparent underbelly of the glassfrog is covered in light reflecting organelles called iridiphores which could give the glassfrogs the ability to optimize their internal homeostasis.

some suspect this abdoninal transparency helps the glassfrog to blend into its environment, though no evidence as yet supports this crypsis hypothesis. 

photos by (click pic) alejandro arteaga, nicholas reusens, thomas marent, pete oxford, heidi and hans jurgen koch, joel sartore and geoff gallice

For anyone interested, this is a lecture we recently helped organise at the University of Glasgow, “Listening to Einstein’s Universe: the hunt for gravitational waves” by Prof. Martin Hendry. I’d suggest giving it a watch it you’re interested, it’s both fun and informative :)

Gotta love science ❤️

– Isaac Asimov, 1922 - 1992

Taylor Swift - Viva La Vida (Cover)

When engineers are bored.

I never thought I’d have competition for the most startorial Emily on the planet, but Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor and Planetary Evangelist at the Planetary Society (and the third most followed astronomer on twitter) is bringing it! After winding up with the Fibonacci spiral dress by @shenovafashion, she is dazzling in the super star dress from Belle Neptune, as posted by the Planetary Society on Instagram.

I haven’t identified the source image yet, but I suspect it is a globular cluster, perhaps one with a lot of unusually blue stars like Messier 53.

Watch this space to see Emily’s closest approach (and who she joins forces with) tomorrow!

–Emily