My one and only encounter with this species was just under 11 years ago, and while I wouldn’t mind seeing it again, I’d prefer not to find it the way that I did. This is the larva of a saddleback caterpillar moth (Sibine stimulea,) and those contrasting colors are there for a reason – somewhat self-defeating given that the species likes being on the undersides
Category: Science & Evolution
It’s, like, cosmic, man
On this date a whopping 60 years ago, there came an accidental discovery that helped confirm, and inform, our present view of the universe: the cosmic microwave background (CMB) was first measured.
Here’s the quick run down. Observations of many stars in the observable universe, generally around the early 1900s, showed light spectra that were very similar to our own sun, with gaps in certain
One more for Hubble
Sorting finds n+8
Just two today – or is it three? How does one count these accurately? I don’t want to get in trouble with the IRS…
This one comes from the same session as these, but I didn’t notice this detail until I had brought the image up at full resolution to see if it retained
Too cool, part 53: Two comets
For reasons unknown, I never went looking for these after returning from the trip, but I also never had any such images pop up anywhere in my usual haunts, so I suspected that no one got anything worth keeping. Until now, that is.
Astronomy Picture of the Day features someone who actually got comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
Exactly/mostly as feared/intended
I don’t know who comes up with these holidays, I really don’t – it’s makes little sense to celebrate something so banal. Why don’t we have National Spaghetti Day or Stay Away From Seattle Day while we’re at it?
[Oh. We do.]
But anyway, today/yesterday is/was Encounter Extraordinary/Rotten Luck Day, and since there
Ze Frank is back… again
Yes indeed, we have more True Facts from Ze Frank, and this time, they’re about shrimp. Not one of which has anything to do with eating them, either.
Naturally, I can’t let it go at that, because ego. Plus the fact (true) that I’ve had two of the varieties that he featured close at hand, when I maintained a basic saltwater aquarium during my tenure in Florida. The first would be
Nothing has evolved
Today is Darwin Day, celebrating the birth of Charles Darwin on this day in 1809, and I got bupkiss for it. I’ve known it was coming for over a week, even had routine reminders popping up in my calendar, and haven’t found a damn thing to actually
Half again
Yes, today is that very special day, but only right here in this imaginary, electron-supported environment known as the blogoblob, because it’s the 15th anniversary of the first post on Walkabout. Imagine that! And this is the 2,750th post therein, which is why this past month or so has been overtaken by dross. I regret nothing
We need some others
I first began this post just after Memorial Day in this country, which didn’t spark these thoughts because I’ve had them for a while, but it brought them up again at least. It’s a federal holiday, one of only a handful, intended to honor and respect members of the US military who died in service. We also have Veterans’ Day, which honors those who served, especially those