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Photos of the Year – 2013
BY:
World Science Festival Staff
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This 1st-prize winner of the
Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
shows the open trap of an aquatic carnivorous plant with single-cell organisms inside. The Utricularia gibba’s bladder-shaped trap is only a few millimeters long. Sensitive hairs trigger the trap to open, quickly sucking in water and the tiny prey therein.
Credit: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
This 1st-prize winner of the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition shows the open trap of an aquatic carnivorous plant with single-cell organisms inside. The Utricularia gibba’s bladder-shaped trap is only a few millimeters long. Sensitive hairs trigger the trap to open, quickly sucking in water and the tiny prey therein.
Credit: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
In July, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn’s shadow and captured new photos of the planet and its rings, and cameos of its planetary neighbors. This is only the third time Earth’s been imaged from the outer solar system. Carolyn Porco, leader of the imaging science team on the Cassini mission, sat down with us to discuss her
work
.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
NASA recently
unveiled
its human-like robot, Valkyrie (official title “R5″). The battery-powered robot is 6’2” and weighs 285 lbs, with removable limbs. See more about advancements in robotics in our
Man-Made Minds!
series.
Credit: IEEE Spectrum
Flooding in Magdeburg, Germany. While it is clear that warmer temperatures can lead to heavier rainfall and stronger tropical storms, science cannot definitively state that the rising rate of natural disasters is due solely to climate change. Science journalist and guest blogger Maggie Koerth-Baker discusses the uncertainty of science—and the importance of a science -literate public—
here
.
Credit: Reuters, Thomas Peter
Italy’s largest active volcano has erupted several times in recent weeks. Mt. Etna sits on an active fault between the African tectonic plate and the Ionian microplate. The types of lava Mt. Etna produces, which resemble the types produced along deep sea trenches, suggest that the Ionian microplate may have broken apart, contributing to the continued eruptions.
Credit: Simone Genovese/Getty Images
Last January, a five-alarm fire blazed during subzero temperatures in Chicago. Ice can undermine efforts to extinguish flames by sealing hydrants, cracking hoses, making conditions treacherous, and weighing down buildings and firefighters. This blaze required so much water that a light snow fell on the scene; water vapor rose to form a cloud, and the cold temperatures caused ice crystals to form and fall as snow.
Credit: Reuters, John Gress
This year marked the first carnivore
discovery
in the Western Hemisphere in over thirty years. Smithsonian zoologist Kristopher M. Helgen was attempting to better describe olingos, already known to be living in Central and South America, when he uncovered some museum specimens that appeared distinct, having reddish brown, long fur instead of the documented short, gray fur. After a field expedition, genetic testing confirmed olinguitos share only 90% of their DNA with olingos.
Credit: Juan Rendon
Stellar winds and radiation sculpted this interstellar dust cloud into this recognizable image, known now as the Horsehead Nebula. Stellar winds are a stream of electrons and ions that flow away from the sun at rates from 250- to 400-miles-per-second. Approximately 1,500 light-years away, the Horsehead Nebula, part of the Orion Nebula, will slowly shift its shape over the next few million years.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STSci/AURA)
In February, a 62-foot-wide
meteorite
streaked through the Russian skies. While 75% of the fireball evaporated during its descent, 9,000 to 13,000 pounds of meteorite hit the ground, including a 1,400 pound fragment that punched through two feet of ice covering Lake Chebarkul in Chelyabinsk.
Credit: Eduard Kalinin
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are actually the visible effects of collisions among electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. While spectacular to view in real life, modern cameras actually capture visuals more vibrant than can be perceived by the naked eye.
Credit:
Taylor Photography
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Festival
Upcoming Events
Participants
Past Events
Video
Video Library
Playlists
Big Ideas
Live with Brian Greene
The Big, The Small, The Complex
Performance
Performance Overview
Light Falls
Icarus at the Edge of Time
Spooky Action
Dear Albert
Awakening the Mind
Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie
Education
World Science U
World Science Scholars
World Science Academy
Cool Jobs
City of Science
Pioneers in Science
Infographics
Articles
Global
Global Overview
WSF Brisbane
Touring Performances
About
Mission
Support WSF
Our Team
Careers
Press Center
FAQ
Comments