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Polarsunset

@polarsunset.bsky.social
76 followers 61 following 134 posts

Teaching science in an age of growing anti-science. A potpurri of all things scientific, polar, and natural/environmental. ✔️ Feline ✔️Canine ✔️ Photography 🚫 Fund raisers 🚫 Dating 🚫 Crypto 🚫 Cannibis

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Reposted by Polarsunset
NPR @npr.org · 07/03/2025
The handcrafted tools found in Tanzania were made 1.5 million years ago and were fashioned primarily from the bones of elephants and hippopotamuses.
npr.org
New research reveals ancient humans used animal bone tools much earlier than thought
The handcrafted tools found in Tanzania were made 1.5 million years ago and were fashioned primarily from the bones of elephants and hippopotamuses.
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Sophie Carr @sophiecarr.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
So you know how I love pebbles in the cracks between rocks? Well, I found something equally amazing today - pebbles in tafoni holes! Can't believe I've never visited Malarrif before - amazing geology, could spend days exploring the beaches and cliffs. Next time :) #Iceland #GeologyRocks #Geology
Tafoni rock (with eroded holes) and some small black pebbles in some of the holes.
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
A horse from the Hall of the Bulls, reproduction in Lascaux II. Photo: Jack Versloot
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Figen @thefigen.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
This is most detailed photo ever of an extragalactic object.A 400 megapixel photo of the Andromeda Galaxy. Captured over a period of 3 months using 2 telescopes and thousands of photos. Credit: Andrew McCarthy
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Stegosaurus at the Natural History Museum, London
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Tilted Saturn - From Val Klavans - flic.kr/p/mvFqow
This is a true color view of Saturn highlighting its rings and north polar hexagon.

This composite is made of images that were taken by Cassini's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on March 27, 2014 and received on Earth March 27, 2014. The camera was pointing toward SATURN at approximately 1,813,657 miles (2,918,798 kilometers) away, and the image was taken using the CB2, RED, GRN, BL1, CL1 and CL2 filters.

Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans
about.me/valerieklavans
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Hubble Frames an Explosive Galaxy - From Goddard Space Flight Center - flic.kr/p/21cCWt1
Don’t be fooled! The cosmic swirl of stars in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image may seem tranquil and unassuming, but this spiral galaxy, known as ESO 580-49, actually displays some explosive tendencies.

In October of 2011, a cataclysmic burst of high-energy gamma-ray radiation — known as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB — was detected coming from the region of sky containing ESO 580-49. Astronomers believe that the galaxy was the host of the GRB, given that the chance of a coincidental alignment between the two is roughly 1 in 10 million. At a distance of around 185 million light-years from Earth, it was the second-closest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever detected.

Gamma-ray bursts are among the brightest events in the cosmos, occasionally outshining the combined gamma-ray output of the entire observable Universe for a few seconds. The exact cause of the GRB that probably occurred within this galaxy, catalogued as GRB 111005A, remains a mystery. Several events are known to lead to GRBs, but none of these explanations appear to fit the bill in this case. Astronomers have therefore suggested that ESO 580-49 hosted a new type of GRB explosion — one that has not yet been characterized.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compel...
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Thomas Spooks 🎃👻💀 @thomasfuchs.at · 16/02/2025
Hi skeet enjoyers, here’s a space nebula as seen from my driveway #astrophotography
The Flaming Star nebula in Auriga, which looks a bit like a fireworks spiral
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
A bison drawn about 13,000 years ago (Magdalenian) in Niaux Cave, France. Two apparent spears in the body: The Wendel Collection
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Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
The end.. 😂
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Buitengebieden @buitengebieden.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Cat charging station.. 😊
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Gus & Echo @katskitties.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
I’m annoyed that human hasn’t thanked me for waking her up at 6am. She’s gotten so much done this morning but not a word of thanks for how I helped
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
A very woolly mammoth from Pech Merle, drawn about 25,000 years ago. Image: The Wendel Collection
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Partial Solar Eclipse 2024-04-08 - From Ryan Kinnett (rkinnett.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/2pJaDVj
Imaged from La Crescenta, California with a Daystar Quark Chromosphere hydrogen-alpha filter, an Orion 60mm guide scope, and ZWO asi1600mm.
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Juno — Great Red Spot Flyover #1 - From Ian Regan - flic.kr/p/WKUzye
Made from the ground up from the raw JunCam B&W image strips.
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Fish gills and human ears share the same genetic blueprint www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Fish gills and human ears share the same genetic blueprint
Evolutionarily conserved molecular program used to form gills and ears.
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Scifi Art @scifiart.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
‘Neutron Star’ by Adolf Schaller from his book Extraterrestrials (1994)
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
NGC 7026 - From Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/h8pVvK
It's that time again. Another planetary nebula. I wish the left edge weren't cut off. I did manage to complete the right side even though that doesn't really help the composition. It's ok, Hubble. I still love you. 

Side note: One NGC number up from this is NGC 7027. The two planetaries are separated by about 5 degrees.  

Red: hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f658n_pc_sci + hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f658n_wf_sci
Green: hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f555w_pc_sci + hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f555w_wf_sci
Blue: hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f502n_pc_sci + hst_07501_08_wfpc2_f502n_wf_sci

North is NOT up, it's 73.3° clockwise from up.
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
SNR J0509.5-6731 - From Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/2heTvq9
A supernova remnant with a smooth outer shell in hydrogen emission, and a clumpy inner x-ray shell. The hydrogen emission is shown here in red, while the clumpy x-ray emission is shown in blues, greens, and pinks.

I almost didn't finish this, because what I was doing was almost exactly the same as had already been done beautifully, and I try not to redo things. It ended up quite interesting however when I realized there were multiple frames from different years that could be used to show the expansion of the bubble over time. An animation of that is here: flic.kr/p/2heWSpn

Hubble proposals used:
The Proper Motion of Supernova Remnant E0509-67.5
Single-Degenerate or Double-Degenerate? The Case for a Third Epoch Observation of the Confirmed Ia Supernova Remnant 0509-67.5
A Search for Surviving Companions of Type Ia Supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Hubble Heritage 2.0

Chandra data:
Red: .10-.70 keV
Green: .70-1.0 keV
Blue: 1.00-5.00 keV
(Obs IDs 776, 7635, 8554)

Hubble data:
Red screen: ACS/WFC F658N
Red: WFC3/UVIS F814W
Green: WFC3/UVIS F555W
Blue: WFC3/UVIS F475W

North is up.
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Jupiter - From Ryan Kinnett (rkinnett.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/2oNHNwB
2022-09-25, imaged from La Crescenta, CA, with Meade LX200 14", 2x PowerMate, and ZWO asi224mc camera.
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Perhaps the oldest known representation of a bird, carved in mammoth ivory, from Hohle Fels cave, Germany. Aurignacian, about 40,000 years old.
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
The Trifid Nebula from Sydney - From Ángel López-Sánchez - flic.kr/p/2jcFe2M
The Trifid Nebula, M 20, from my backyard, 15 km North from Sydney's city center, on 15th June 2020. 

This image compiles 40 x 300s images (3.3 hours total integration time) obtained with my Skywatcher Black Diamond 80, an Orion X0.8 focal reducer (f/6), the ZWO ASI178MC camera and an OPTOLONG L-Pro filter.

I used the ZWO ASIAir to control the camera, the mount (Skywatcher AZ-EQ6) and the guiding system (ASI120MM + Orion 50mm finderscope).

Flats and darks included. Data processed with Siril software. Color / saturation / levels / contrast / smart sharpen with Photoshop.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Voyager 1 wide-angle Jupiter mosaic (March 4, 1979) - From Ian Regan - flic.kr/p/2et7QZW
The innermost Galliean satellite, Io, is seen here coasting above the russet cloud decks of Jupiter. This Voyager 1 mosaic consists of three principle orange, green, and blue color composite frames, each shuttered through the wide-angle camera on the evening of March 4, 1979. 

Gaps in coverage were filled by other three-filtered composites, taken earlier or later the same day. North is to the right. Planet-spacecraft distance was some 650,000 miles at this time.

NASA / JPL / Ian Regan
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Bits @bitshammer.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
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𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.lol · 03/02/2025
Psyche!
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
If you're looking for some reading in the new year... 😉
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Coming very very soon. Just a few days from now. The latest from @neilshubin.bsky.social ! We all loved Your Inner Fish. This is the story of what it was actually like to collect the fossils...how it feels to be a scientist working in the coldest, most inhospitable places on Earth!
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Bodega Cats @bodegacats.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
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🍒 𝓛𝓪𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓑𝓵𝓾 🍒 @laurelblu.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
🤍 Good morning 🤍 Happy #Caturday
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
NGC 247 with the 2.5m INT - From Ángel López-Sánchez - flic.kr/p/2kDR8cf
NGC 247 is a small spiral galaxy about 11.1 million light years away in the constellation Cetus. It belongs to the Sculptor galaxy group. 

This image shows plenty of star-forming regions (in red colours) and young star-clusters (in blue-white), as well as a central region with dominant old stars (yellow colours). 

Image obtained using the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope (Obs. Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain).  We used the Wide Field Camera (WFC) and filters B (blue) R (green) and H-alpha (red). Observations were conducted in October 2006. The data were reprocessed in February 2021.


Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ), Adal Mesa-Delgado, Sergio Simón-Díaz (IAC) and Bärbel Koribalski (CSIRO).
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Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Did giant ice age beasts carve these vast caves in South America? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Did giant ice age beasts carve these vast caves in South America?
Researchers are investigating who — or what — cut ancient tunnels in sandstone in Brazil and nearby nations.
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Riley Black 🏳️‍⚧️ 🦖 @restingdinoface.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Tonight I’ll be joining @seismatters.bsky.social at EARTHx, hosted at the University of Calgary! You can join online, too. And my talk? How to survive a mass extinction. 🦕 ☄️ 🌱 🐆
science.ucalgary.ca
EARTH EARTHx
Some of the best talks on the planet
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Yooberz 🍤 @yooberz.postes.club · 30/01/2025
Does this to you
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Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
I love this picture from @imageplotter.bsky.social - makes it look like I've joined the police and my partner and I are going door to door making enquiries
Larry and his police officer partner going door to door to make enquiries
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Titan - False Color - June 6 2012 - From Kevin M. Gill (kevinmgill.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/2fPbK63
Processed using calibrated near-infrared (CB1), green, and blue filtered images of Titan taken by Cassini on June 6 2012.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill
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