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esiegel | April 22, 2013"[T]he entire globe will soon be wrapped in a glowing envelope through which none of the magic of the Universe can be seen by the naked eye." -George Eslinger
Welcome to still another Messier Monday here on Starts With A Bang! Each Monday, we highlight a different one of the 110 deep-sky objects that make up the Messier Catalogue, the first accurate catalogue of more than 100 extended, deep-sky wonders strewn across the expansive night sky!
Image credit: ScienceSouth -- Tony's Astronomy Corner.
Tonight, the Moon is nearly full, which means the largest natural source of light pollution at…
dr. dolittle | June 27, 2012
The last known member of the subspecies Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni), affectionately named Lonesome George, passed away on Sunday at about 100 years old (no one knew his exact age). He had been the last of his kind in the Galapagos Islands for the past 40 years, earning his nickname. The suspected cause of death is a heart attack. The Galapagos National Park Service will be preserving his body for future studies.
The reason for the extinction of these tortoises: overhunting by fishermen and sailors in the 19th century along with habitat destruction by feral goats.…
edyong | December 26, 2009In California's Jurupa Mountains, there is a very unusual group of tree - a Palmer's oak. Unlike the mighty trees that usually bear the oak name, this one looks like little more than a collection of small bushes. But appearances can be deceiving. This apparently disparate group of plants are all clones of a single individual, and a very old one at that.
By repeatedly cloning itself, the Palmer's oak has lived past the separation of Britain from continental Europe, the demise of the mammoths and saber-toothed cats, and the birth of human agriculture. It is among the oldest plants in…