April 9th, 2008
Protoplanet
This might not be "Wtf!"-wtf but when seeing it in the perspective of the whole universe (how big and old everything is, even when they're young), it is a bit amazing to find something like this :)
HL Tau b - a baby planet possibly just 1600 years old and named after its mother, HL Tau. It's located near the constellation of Taurus and simply adorable little orbitlet :)
HL Tau b - a baby planet possibly just 1600 years old and named after its mother, HL Tau. It's located near the constellation of Taurus and simply adorable little orbitlet :)
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How many cats are in this picture?
How many of them are blinking?
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Elephants mourning
Prehistoric spider discovered in amber
An amateur fossil collector discovered a prehistoric spider trapped in amber while rummaging through a box of stones in his store.
Dinosaur enthusiast Terence Collingwood examines his rare find
Terence Collingwood, 37, came across the extremely rare "harvestman" spider, which was busy weaving webs while dinosaurs roamed the earth, at his I Dig Dinos store in Rochester, Kent.
The father-of-three said he knew instantly that the tiny arachnid, preserved in amber the size of a £2 coin, was a rare find.
The fossilised spider, known as the dicranopalpus ramiger, is only the second example of its species ever uncovered.
The arachnid once lived in forests and scaled tree trunks searching for prey, including caterpillars, beetle larvae, and small slugs.
Mr Collingwood said that he was delighted to uncover an item of such historical significance.
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He said: "Finding this was pure chance but I realised straight away that it was something special.
"I buy bulk lots of amber to sell and I have to search through them carefully looking for unusual items that other people may have missed."
Mr Collingwood, who sells rare fossils and dinosaur toys at his store, immediately informed the Natural History Museum of his extraordinary discovery.
He has agreed to donate the historic gem to the museum's collection after experts were finally able to accurately date his find.
The harvestman spider is over 40 million years old
He said: "Being able to contribute to the museum's collection is a dream come true.
"It was an agonizing wait, though. I think they had to send it off to Denmark or Germany to be able to date it."
Andrew Ross, the museum's fossil expert, described the find as "particulary impressive".
He said: "Complete harvestmen are rare finds. It's more common to find just the legs in amber where a trapped leg or two were sacrificed so the harvestman could escape the sticky resin.
"This is a particularly impressive example because all its legs are present and still attached to the body. It is a very welcome addition to our collection."
Amber has been described as nature's time capsule, helping scientists uncover secrets about prehistoric wildlife.
It is a fossilised resin that once exuded from tree bark can capture and preserve small insects and other animal or plant debris.
The museum's palaeontology collection includes 5,000 pieces of amber, with many pieces preserving more than one insect.
click here for the source faggots
Dinosaur enthusiast Terence Collingwood examines his rare find
Terence Collingwood, 37, came across the extremely rare "harvestman" spider, which was busy weaving webs while dinosaurs roamed the earth, at his I Dig Dinos store in Rochester, Kent.
The father-of-three said he knew instantly that the tiny arachnid, preserved in amber the size of a £2 coin, was a rare find.
The fossilised spider, known as the dicranopalpus ramiger, is only the second example of its species ever uncovered.
The arachnid once lived in forests and scaled tree trunks searching for prey, including caterpillars, beetle larvae, and small slugs.
Mr Collingwood said that he was delighted to uncover an item of such historical significance.
advertisement
He said: "Finding this was pure chance but I realised straight away that it was something special.
"I buy bulk lots of amber to sell and I have to search through them carefully looking for unusual items that other people may have missed."
Mr Collingwood, who sells rare fossils and dinosaur toys at his store, immediately informed the Natural History Museum of his extraordinary discovery.
He has agreed to donate the historic gem to the museum's collection after experts were finally able to accurately date his find.
The harvestman spider is over 40 million years old
He said: "Being able to contribute to the museum's collection is a dream come true.
"It was an agonizing wait, though. I think they had to send it off to Denmark or Germany to be able to date it."
Andrew Ross, the museum's fossil expert, described the find as "particulary impressive".
He said: "Complete harvestmen are rare finds. It's more common to find just the legs in amber where a trapped leg or two were sacrificed so the harvestman could escape the sticky resin.
"This is a particularly impressive example because all its legs are present and still attached to the body. It is a very welcome addition to our collection."
Amber has been described as nature's time capsule, helping scientists uncover secrets about prehistoric wildlife.
It is a fossilised resin that once exuded from tree bark can capture and preserve small insects and other animal or plant debris.
The museum's palaeontology collection includes 5,000 pieces of amber, with many pieces preserving more than one insect.
click here for the source faggots
(no subject)
I looked at tagged posts, and didn't see this posted. Hoping this is relevant to the community [should be?]; first post :] Not very "wtf" but still interesting to see what kind of coincidences can happen, I think.
Kitten's fur reads "I <heart> <dot>"; mother is named Dottie
Here is also a link to a video of the kitty, to show it isn't photoshopped. It's kind of a sad video though; the kittens eyes are still closed and just shouldn't be away from its mom, not to mention the bright sunlight of the outdoors.
If you look at this, they've named her after the mother, and the kitten was born on Easter. Heh!
Kitten's fur reads "I <heart> <dot>"; mother is named Dottie
Here is also a link to a video of the kitty, to show it isn't photoshopped. It's kind of a sad video though; the kittens eyes are still closed and just shouldn't be away from its mom, not to mention the bright sunlight of the outdoors.
If you look at this, they've named her after the mother, and the kitten was born on Easter. Heh!
