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New Instrument to Detect Exoplanets Around Near Double Star
View into our cosmic neighborhood: So far it is unclear whether the near binary system Alpha Centauri has planets. To clarify this, astronomers are currently conducting a 100-hour search for exoplanets around the two stars a good four light years away. A specially developed instrument at the Very Large Telescope in Chile will make the nearby exoplanets visible for the first time - if they exist.
The Sun is not the only star in our immediate environment that possesses planets - on the contrary. Within a radius of a few light years, there are several stars and brown dwarfs that are orbited by planets, including Barnard's star, a pair of brown dwarfs and the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri. This Red Dwarf, only four light years away, even has an Earth-like planet in its habitable zone - and thus a potentially life-friendly world.
On Explore - February 8, 2024 - Thanks to all my Flickr friends!
We know that ladybugs hibernate in the cold, but I even came across them in the park last month when the sun showed itself. It is also possible that this individual is looking for a new place for itself. It would be fair to say that I was surprised by the ladybug that I chanced upon on a snowdrop on a cloudy and cold morning. This is the photo I captured by quickly grabbing my camera from my car and taking it without a tripod. The delicate balance of nature never fails to amaze me.
Ladybugs, like many other insects, go through a period of dormancy during the winter months, known as hibernation. During hibernation, ladybugs typically seek out sheltered spots such as under leaf litter, in tree bark crevices, or inside buildings to protect themselves from the cold temperatures. They enter a state of reduced metabolic activity, conserving energy until warmer weather returns.
Ladybugs hibernate in groups, which provides them with added protection and warmth. They release a chemical signal that attracts other ladybugs to gather in clusters, known as aggregations. These aggregations can sometimes be quite large, with thousands of ladybugs huddled together.
As the weather begins to warm up in spring, ladybugs become more active and start to emerge from their hibernation sites. They begin searching for food and mates to start the reproductive cycle anew. This emergence from hibernation is often observed by people who may find ladybugs crawling out of their winter hiding spots and venturing into the open once again.
Ladybug populations in the UK can vary depending on factors such as habitat, climate, and food availability. While specific population numbers may not be readily available, ladybugs are common and widespread throughout the UK, with numerous species found across various habitats including gardens, parks, woodlands, and agricultural fields.
Ladybugs play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and supporting biodiversity. Some of the benefits they provide in natural life include:
Controlling nature's pests: Ladybugs are voracious predators of aphids, scale insects, mites, and other garden pests. By feeding on these pests, ladybugs help to keep their populations in check, reducing the need for chemical pesticides in agriculture and gardening.
Pollination: While ladybugs are primarily known as predators, some species also feed on pollen and nectar. As they move from flower to flower in search of food, they inadvertently aid in pollination, facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants.
Indicator Species: Changes in ladybug populations can serve as indicators of environmental health. Monitoring ladybug populations can help scientists assess the impact of habitat loss, climate change, and pollution on ecosystems.
Food Source for Predators: Ladybugs serve as an important food source for various predators, including birds, spiders, and other insects. Their presence contributes to the food web and supports the survival of higher trophic levels in ecosystems.
Aesthetic Value: Ladybugs are beloved by many people for their bright colors, distinctive markings, and gentle demeanor. Their presence adds beauty and charm to gardens and natural landscapes, enhancing the overall aesthetic value of these environments.
Overall, ladybugs play multifaceted roles in ecosystems, from providing valuable ecosystem services to captivating human observers with their fascinating behavior and appearance. Protecting and conserving ladybug populations is essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems and promoting sustainable agriculture and gardening practices.
I've captured some moments with my camera, and I sincerely hope you'll find the same joy in viewing these images as I did in capturing them.
Thank you so much for visiting my stream, whether you comments , favorites or just have a look.
I appreciate it very much, wishing the best of luck and good light.
© All rights reserved R.Ertug Please do not use this image without my explicit written permission. Contact me by Flickr mail if you want to buy or use Your comments and critiques are very well appreciated.
Thanks for stopping and looking :)
Strobist:
studio: 90cm octa from above, 70x40 softbox downside up fill
outdoor: EL Ranger with 40x40 softbox left, 40x90 stripe right fil
Nikon D3x
Our YouTube Travel Video with Behind the Scenes of this picture:
youtu.be/Vm60CarOWqU?si=d8z_Lw6-PHaKfX1F
"Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." Aldo Leopold.
Dalyan, on the Turkey's Aegean Coast, is a fantastic place to relax in a peaceful setting surrounded by nature. Very close to this town we can find Iztuzu, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean. It can be reached by one of the numerous boats that offer tours along the Dalyan River until reaching the beach, or through a road that allows access only from its southern side.
Iztuzu Beach is also known as Turtle Beach, since this coastal strip is home to one of the most important breeding sites for sea turtles in the Mediterranean. In 1988, the beach was named a Protected Area by the Turkish government, and access is prohibited from dusk to dawn to protect the laying of eggs and the birth of small turtles. However, this area could have been very different today without the conservation efforts of June Haimoff and many other environmentalists who saved it in the 1980s. Their work to raise awareness and the launch of an international campaign allowed to stop the construction of a huge German resort in this ecological paradise. Both the curious turtles, which can often be seen near the beach, and the locals and visitors who come here, can still enjoy this natural wonder thanks to all those people who decided to protect this beautiful natural environment.
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"La conservación es un estado de armonía entre los hombres y la tierra". Aldo Leopold.
El pueblo de Dalyan, en la Costa del Egeo de Turquía, es un fantástico lugar para relajarse en un entorno tranquilo rodeado de naturaleza. Muy cerca del mismo, se encuentra Iztuzu, una de las playas más bonitas del Mediterráneo. A ella se puede llegar en uno de los numerosos barcos que ofrecen tours por el río de Dalyan hasta llegar a la playa, o a través de una única carretera que permite el acceso por su lado meridional.
Iztuzu Beach, es también conocida como la Playa de la Tortuga, ya que esta franja costera acoge uno de los lugares más importantes de cría de tortugas marinas del Mediterráneo. En el año 1988, la playa fue nombrada Area Protegida por el gobierno de Turquía, y el acceso se prohibe desde el atardecer hasta al amanecer para proteger la puesta de huevos y el nacimiento de las pequeñas tortugas. Sin embargo, esta zona podría haber sido hoy muy diferente sin los esfuerzos de conservación de June Haimoff y de otros muchos ambientalistas que la salvaron en la década de los 80. Su trabajo de concienciación y el lanzamiento de una campaña internacional, permitieron parar la construcción de un enorme resort alemán en este paraíso ecológico. Tanto las curiosas tortugas, que pueden verse a menudo cerca de la playa, como los locales y los visitantes que aquí llegan, pueden todavía disfrutar de esta maravilla natural gracias a todas aquellas personas que decidieron proteger este precioso entorno natural.
***There is no AI in this image ***
All manipulations were created in Photoshop. Stock:
Artwork ©jackiecrossley
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freepng
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Created for the Magnificent Manipulated Masterpieces
Just press L or click on the shot to see it on black background !!!
Photography is a play with light and shadows ... An effort to capture as accurately as possible the miniscule amount of light that exists in the atmosphere, transforming the objects that it showers into a meaningful, visually interesting image ... And last but not least, photography is all about capturing something dead and serve a living, breathing, interesting to look at scene in its place ...
EXIF: NIKON D90 with Nikon Nikkor 18 - 55 lens, Manual Mode, f 25, ISO 200, focal length 46 mm, auto exposure mode, fine weather adjusted white balance, center weighted average light metering mode, HDR made by only 1 original RAW shot with shutter speed 1/25 s, managing to accurately convey the scene's lighting conditions to the viewer, flash didn't go off, no tripod ...
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Three images in my office - tracy before the opera, a fading proof of mine, my great aunt, who they say I look like. Yup.
I am re-posting this photo of a Golden Whistler to illustrate the dense sticky thicket this bird was hiding in, on Callum Brae, May 2013.
This site is a narrow strip of dense bushes and sticks between a boundary fence and a track. It is home to the following species of small birds:
Fairy wrens
Red-browed finch
White eared honeyeater
Speckled warbler......(threatened species, I think)
Eastern spinebill
Yellow-faced honeyeater
Fuscous honeyeater
Leaden Flycatcher
Buff-rumped thornbill
Yellow-rumped thornbill
Striated thornbill
Weebill
White browed scrubwren
White-throated treecreeper
Silvereye
Grey fantail
Scarlet robin
Rufous whistler
Golden whistler
Sacred kingfisher.
Althought the Kingfisher just passes through from time to time, without living in the bushes.
On Callum Brae there would not be another single area of that size that could boast such a variety or density of small birds.
Yesterday morning two men with a large mechanical borer came in and drilled a series of holes along the fence line which they said were “test” holes for ACTEW.
Assuming either an electricity line or water pipe is to be taken along that fence line, it can only be done with the destruction of all of the abovementioned habitat, and dispersal of the small birds. Birds driven out of habitat that is especially suitable for breeding and cover will not necessarily find alternative accommodation, so to speak, and may cease to breed and inhabit the general area.
An impending further decline of bird numbers in the ACT.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassenthwaite_Lake
Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about 70 ft (21 m).
It is the only body of water in the Lake District to use the word "lake" in its name, all the others being "waters" (for example, Derwentwater), "meres" (for example, Windermere) or "tarns" (for example, Dock Tarn). It is fed by, and drains into, the River Derwent. The lake lies at the foot of Skiddaw, near the town of Keswick. Some maps dating from the 18th century do in fact mark this lake with the name Bassenwater,[citation needed] and the use of the name Broadwater for this lake is also attested.[citation needed]
The A66 dual carriageway runs roughly north/south along the western side of the lake. The lay-bys are popular spots for photographers and bird watchers looking for osprey. The section running south towards Keswick was built along the course of the former Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith railway line.
Origin
Like the other Lake District lakes, Bassenthwaite Lake lies in a glacially eroded valley, left after the last glaciation. Bassenthwaite Lake is linked to Derwent Water by the River Derwent, which crosses the 3-mile (4.8 km) alluvial plain between the two lakes. There has been speculation that Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake were once one larger lake with the alluvial flats now separating them formed from partial infill of the original basin.[citation needed]
Etymology
'Bassenthwaite' is "'Bastun's clearing', pers.[onal] n.[ame] plus 'þveit' 'clearing', also 'common', 'lake'. The 1st el[ement] is usually taken to be the Anglo-French nickname or surname 'Bastun', originally meaning 'stick', while the 2nd is ON 'þveit' 'clearing'. The lake, in early times known as 'Bastun's water', takes its name from the village." [2] (ON=Old Norse).
Biodiversity
The lake's catchment is the largest of any lake in the Lake District. This, along with a large percentage of cultivable land within this drainage area, makes Bassenthwaite Lake a fertile habitat.
The lake contains salmon, trout, pike, perch, minnow, dace, ruffe and eel, though the predominant species is roach, which is believed to have been introduced in the form of discarded live-baits by visiting pike anglers. Also present was the vendace, until it was declared extinct within the lake in 2001.
Birdlife
Cormorants have been known to fish the lake and herons can also be seen; at the turn of the 19th century there was a report of 60 nests in a heronry in nearby Wythop Woods.
Lake District Osprey Project
In 2001, ospreys returned to nest in the Lake District after more than a hundred years. They nested by the lake, and have done so regularly since. The osprey family can be watched from viewpoints at Dodd Wood and by CTV from Whinlatter Forest Visitor Centre.
Threats
Water quality is adversely affected by high sediment deposition, and there are other problems such as phosphate pollution. These issues are being addressed via the Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme.[4][5] To reduce the sediment entering the lake more trees have been planted alongside watercourses, and clear felling of existing tree cover has been discouraged with the cooperation of the Forestry Commission.
Phosphates encourage algae formation.[4] The Environment Agency attributed unacceptable levels of phosphate in the catchment to Keswick wastewater treatment works, Greta Grove pumping station and the associated overflow.[6] Water company United Utilities was fined £27,000 in 2011 for allowing raw sewage to pollute nearby Pow Beck watercourse.[7] The company's £20 million sewer improvement scheme, begun in 2011, aims to improve water quality in the River Greta[8] and the lake itself.[9] The project will facilitate removal of greater quantities of phosphates.[10] Works to upgrade the wastewater treatment works and pumping station were begun in May 2010.[6]
Neolithic man
It has been reported that the wide gravel spreads between Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake provided the best centre within Lakeland for Neolithic farming communities. Stone axes have been found in the area and particularly at Mossgarth, Portinscale.
Aerial wide view east side of Adelaide with beautiful Rymill Park adjacent in foreground: vibrant green colours, sunny, connection between city and environment, wellbeing, recreation, conservation, autumn colours, fresh air. 4x3 format
Scholven Power Station is a E.ON owned coal-fired power station in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Its installed output capacity of 2300 MW it is one of the most powerful coal-fired power stations in Europe.
Source: Wikipedia
Another plastic jug and other litter in the same storm drain as the one I picked back in March. [IMG_3104]