I saw a video from National Geographic about this peacock mantis shrimp in my Twitter feed today. I thought it was pretty cool and deserved a wider audience. 😉
This little shrimp really is an amazing creature. It’s colors are beautiful and it’s punch is strong as hell! I wouldn’t put it up against any human boxer, if it was our size it would really be scary! TKO any heavyweight champ in a NY second!
I do love nature and all the wonderful plants and animals we share the world with. I think the natural world is beautiful and fascinating. I love to spend time wandering around in any forest, beach, mountain, etc. I really wish more people would take a look at the bigger picture and not stay so tightly focused on their own self, family, tribe, etc. We are killing off so much of our world, just so we can fill it up with billions more humans. Seriously, I don’t understand why.
Sorry I haven’t been keeping up with the ‘editorial calendar’ I made up for the Blogging 201 challenge. I hope you haven’t been too disappointed. 😉
Here’s something I found online recently with the “Creature Feature”/”Wild Wednesday” in mind.
This has got to be one of the weirdest fish I’ve ever seen. It’s head is transparent! ONLY it’s head is transparent!
There are lots of other sea creatures that are transparent all over, or mostly clear. It makes them less obvious to predators.
Supposedly, the transparent domed head helps this fish steal food from certain types of stinging ‘siphonophores‘ (colonial organisms- one common type is a Portuguese man-o-war).
It’s eyes are INSIDE that dome. What looks like it’s eyes are really it’s nostrils (or close enough). Weird. 🙂
These barreleye fish (or spook fish) live in deep water. This video is one of the first to ‘catch’ one alive. They’ve been caught before, but these types of deep sea creatures are not in the best shape when they come up to the surface. The changes in pressure are usually enough to seriously damage them (if not kill them outright).
I just think its amazing how much we still don’t know about what’s in the water all around us. There are so many beautiful and fascinating creatures out there and we haven’t even scratched the surface.
I think it’s a shame that through our actions we are doing such damage to pretty much everything else on the planet. I would hate to see that continue til it’s too late and we won’t even know all the things we lost.
I do think the other things that share the planet with us have a ‘right’ to be here too. Yes, I do think everything on this planet is here for a reason. Everything is connected. We are all part of the whole.
I think humans are completely unbalancing the entire world. Most of the problems we have to deal with now are the predictable end result of the fact that there are over 7 BILLION people on the planet (and we are STILL increasing that number daily)!
The crowding is not good for us or for anything else that has to share the planet with us. We are NOT the be-all and end-all of everything. Too bad most of us think we are. 🙁
Another interesting week in the sky. I tried really hard to watch the Geminid meteor shower last weekend, but it was too cloudy here in Texas. I tried to check it out online, but I couldn’t find anything other than clouds or a few photos. I was hoping for a video from somewhere with clear skies, but I never found one.
Jupiter should be shining bright and easy to spot next week. If you have a telescope, you should even be able to spot Callisto as she crosses Jupiter. Hopefully even I will be able to see Jupiter, if not her moon. The lights are so bright on the rigs I work on, its impossible to see all but the brightest stars most of the time. 🙁
Looks like we’ll have another chance to catch a meteor shower too. The Ursid shower probably won’t be anywhere near as good as the Geminid would have been, but it’s something to look forward to.
Next Saturday is the Winter Solstice too, so for all you Pagans out there, I hope you are able to throw some good parties!! 😉
This weeks sky events from National Geographic. First of all, look out for the comet ISON. You should be able to spot it with a decent pair of binoculars in the constellation Virgo.
On the 14th, look for a ‘stellar snow globe’ next to Venus around the constellation Sagittarius.
Be sure to watch for the Leonid meteor shower on the night of the 17th. Best to check after the moon sets.
Something wonderful to see, easy and affordable way to spend an evening. Enjoy! 🙂
I love watching the stars at night. I miss being able to see them clearly. Its just SO amazing sky watching from a ship at sea without all the light pollution we get at home.
Looks like the Taurids (meteors) will be the main thing to look for tonight. Venus and Cassiopeia should be bright and easy enough to spot, even with the lights of the city around and no need of a telescope.
I’ll be back at sea by Thursday but I don’t expect to be able to do much star gazing, there’s not much chance of a dark ship on a drilling rig (and we would not want that to happen!!!).
I’ll have to try and go sailing again when I get in from work. 😉
If I was still working as planned, I would be sure to see the (partial) solar eclipse. Nowhere better to see one than while at sea. 🙂
If you’re somewhere where you have clear, dark skies, this should be an interesting week for skywatching. Comet ISON will be visible in the constellation Leo from November 1. The Zodiacal Lights will be visible from November 2 for about 2 weeks. Then the solar eclipse on the 3rd.
For readers in Africa, you will be able to see a total eclipse! Be sure to use good shades. 😉
Be sure to check out the sky tonight for the Orionid meteor shower. Last night it was raining my entire watch (2400-1200), so I couldn’t even see the moon. 🙁
