Nature Hub

  From - Earth  Unreal Edited by - Amal Udawatta, The Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) is a dazzling species of butterfly known for its iridescent blue wings. However, what many people do not know is that the eggs of the Morpho butterfly are just as intriguing as the adult butterfly. Morpho peleides lays small eggs, which are about 1-2 mm in diameter, smooth, hemispherical, and deposited on the upper surface of leaves. These eggs are light green and have a circular band of small brown spots near the top. The duration of the egg stage varies between 7 to 16 days, depending on the subspecies. Text credit: Earth Unreal Photo credit: Alex Wild (portfolio in the comments)

  From - The Science Times By -  Margaret Davis   Edited by - Amal Udawatta (Photo : MARIO TAMA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) A member of the US Air Force deploys a weather ballon aboard the USS. Portland before the NASA's Orion capsule descended to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California, Mexico, on December 11, 2022. Recently, mysterious balloons have been flying over North America and the US Air Force has shot them down for security reasons. The balloons were believed to be Chinese surveillance vessels initially observed flying American territory in early February. But apart from these balloons, there are some emotional fatalities as well.  Futurism  reports that a solar geoengineering start-up that aims to dim the sun is worried that its balloons might get shot down as well. (Photo : MARIO TAMA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) A member of the US Air Force deploys a weather ballon aboard the USS. Portland before the NASA's Orion capsule descended to splash down in the Pa

  From Sky &  Night By -  Iain Todd , Edited by - Amal Udawatta, X-ray and optical view of colliding dwarf galaxies Elstir & Vinteuil Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Micic et al.; Optical: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Astronomers have found evidence of giant  black holes  in distant dwarf galaxies that appear to be on a collision course with one another. Observing the dwarf galaxies in x-ray, infrared and visible light, the team have been able to spot two separate pairs of black holes that seem destined to collide. Dwarf galaxies are  galaxies  that contain a total mass less than 3 billion times that of our Sun, as opposed to the roughly 60 billion Suns’ mass of our galaxy the Milky Way. Dwarf galaxies are thought to have been abundant in the early Universe, hundreds of millions of years after the  Big Bang . The theory is that they merged with each other over time to form the large scale galactic structures we see today. While astronomers have

  Jace Dela Cruz , Tech Time, Edited by Amal Udawatta, Jeff Bezos' private space firm Blue Origin  unveiled  its new 'Blue Alchemist' technology that would ensure an abundance of solar power for long-term missions on the Moon. They did this by directly drawing materials from the lunar surface brought on Earth.  The company claims that it can scale indefinitely, removing power restrictions everywhere on the Moon. (Photo : Blue Origin) The new "Blue Alchemist" technology from Jeff Bezos' private space company Blue Origin was recently unveiled. It would provide an abundance of solar power for prolonged missions to the Moon. They did this by directly drawing materials from the lunar surface brought on Earth. Blue Origin's Novel Method Blue Origin  created regolith simulants that have similar chemical and mineral components of a lunar regolith to make sure that their starting material is as realistic as possible.  They claim to have created an efficient, scalab

  By  Liz Kruesi  and  Emily Conover Edited by -Amal Udawatta ,    This is the first-ever image of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. The picture was taken by the globe-spanning Event Horizon Telescope. EVENT HORIZON TELESCOPE COLLABORATION Astronomers have finally assembled an image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Known as Sagittarius A*, this black hole appears as a dark silhouette against the glowing material that surrounds it. The image reveals the turbulent, twisting region right around the black hole in new detail. This vista could help scientists better understand the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole and others like it.  The new image was unveiled on May 12. Researchers announced it in a series of news conferences around the world. They also reported it in six papers in  Astrophysical Journal Letters .   No single observatory could get such a good look at Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short. It required a planet-spanning network

 From Earth Unreal Edited by - Amal Udawatta, Octopus Mother - Caribbean reef octopus guarding her eggs, found off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida. Like all other species of octopus, this mother does not eat while she tends to her eggs, and she will die after they hatch. It is a poignant fact that the life of an octopus mother is one of selflessness and devotion, even at the cost of her own survival. After laying hundreds of eggs, she will tirelessly guard them, keeping them clean and aerated, and fending off any potential predators. During this time, she will forego eating, relying solely on the stored energy in her body to fuel her maternal duties. As the eggs develop, the mother octopus will continue to care for them, gently fanning them with her arms to ensure a steady flow of oxygen, and protecting them from any harm. Eventually, the eggs will hatch, and the tiny, vulnerable offspring will swim away into the open ocean, ready to start their own lives. The mother, having giv

  By Patrick Hughes BBC News Climate and Science, Edited by - Amal Udawatta, IMAGE SOURCE, DAN BARTLETT Image caption, The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as seen through a telescope A newly discovered comet will make its closest approach to our planet on Wednesday. Astronomers say the object's journey toward us took around 50,000 years. Photographs captured by astronomers show a distinct green hue around the body of the comet. But those expecting a brilliant streak of emerald in the sky will be disappointed. Its brightness is right at the threshold of what is visible to the naked eye. "You might have seen these reports saying we're going to get this bright green object lighting up the sky," says Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society. "Sadly, that's not going to be anything like the case." However, away from light pollution and below dark skies, you might be able to see a smudge in the sky - if you know what you're looki