Bibliophiliosaurus

There are some laws, though, that are coded into the very nature of the universe, and one is: There Is Never Enough Shelf Space.

[gutorock]

Patagonia Chile

[longingforrotkehlchen]

These ducks are growing so much! Yeah, ahem, ducks.

Höckerschwäne 🐥 (mute swans) am Schwefelsee im Unteren Schlossgarten, Stuttgart-Ost.

[heaveninawildflower]

August calendar page for 1900 with a floral design by Theo Nieuwenhuis.

Rijksmuseum.

Wikimedia.

[thesilicontribesman]

Dundrennan Abbey, 12th Century CE, Dundrennan, nr. Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway

[beautifulmars]

HiPOD: Depressions in Deuteronilus Mensae

The objective of this suggestion is to determine the nature of depressions, some of which have high, steep walls. Since this area is probably covered with an ice-rich mantle, pictures like this one will help us determine how this material evolves over time.

ID: ESP_077171_2255 date: 12 January 2023 altitude: 304 km

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

[thesilicontribesman]

How many effigies of abbots feature daggers and disemboweled assassins?

Dundrennan Abbey, 12th Century CE, Dundrennan, nr. Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway

[longingforrotkehlchen]

(Shel)duck face!

Rostgans 🐥 (ruddy shelduck) am Eckensee im Oberen Schlossgarten, Stuttgart-Mitte.

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

"Supercell"

A supercell thunderstorm in New Mexico appears almost otherworldly in this photo from Dennis Hualong Zhang.  (Image credit: D. Zhang; via ILPOTY)

[smithsonianlibrariesarchives]

Caterpillar, moth, snake and cassava plant from Maria Sybilla Meriaen Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke veranderingen der Surinaamsche insecten (1730).

Full text here.

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Ice Giant or Magma Ocean World?

Uranus and Neptune–known as our system’s ice giants–are our least explored planets. “Ice giant” is one structure that matches the limited measurements we have from these planets, but, as today’s preprint study points out, it’s not the only one. (Image credit: NASA; research credit: E. Young et al. (preprint); via Gizmodo)

[apod]

2026 July 31

NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad Image Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Cipolat Bares

Explanation: The Dark Doodad Nebula drifts through southern skies, a tantalizing target for binoculars toward the small constellation Musca, The Fly. A dusty interstellar cloud, it’s seen against rich starfields just south of the Coalsack Nebula and the Southern Cross. Stretching for about 3 degrees across this telescopic field of view, the Dark Doodad is punctuated near its southern tip (upper right) by yellowish globular star cluster NGC 4372. Of course NGC 4372 roams the halo of our Milky Way galaxy, a background object some 20,000 light-years away and only by chance along our line-of-sight to the Dark Doodad. About 700 light-years distant and over 30 light-years long, the Dark Doodad’s well defined silhouette belongs to the potentially star-forming Musca molecular cloud. The dusty Dark Doodad’s delightfully alliterative moniker was first coined by astro-imager and writer Dennis di Cicco in 1986 while observing Comet Halley from the Australian outback.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260731.html

[chabochi]

Petroglyphs of Sikachi-Alyan, Nanaian village

[nietp]

Deer friends thousands of years apart

[nietp]

Elk-figure from Åskollen, Drammen, Norway.

[nietp]

Petroglyph of Sikachi-Alyan under the snow

[wanderthewood]

Peak District, England by wander_linaa

[jstor]

Explore the world of early bacteriological research with this historical footage from the Wellcome Trust, now available on JSTOR. This short film, dating back to between 1910 and 1919, showcases the movement and agglutination of typhoid and cholera bacilli, providing a rare glimpse into the origins of modern bacteriology. Believed to be one of the earliest surviving film records of this type, it highlights cultures possibly from the Bombay Plague Laboratory (now the Haffkine Institute for Training, Research & Testing). Dive into this unique piece of scientific history. Clip: Bacillus Typhosus (Typhoid and Cholera Bacilli). Wellcome Collection.

[longingforrotkehlchen]

Congratulations, little buddy! You've just spotted the cylinder-wielding bird stalker.

Steinkauz (little owl) am Schlegeläcker, Möhringen.

[amnhnyc]

Meet the blunt-headed burrowing frog (Glyphoglossus molossus)! This amphibian is also known as the balloon frog because of its spherical body shape. It lives in parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, where it inhabits forests and wetlands, spending much of its time underground. During the breeding season, it comes to the surface and takes advantage of seasonal rain pools to release up to 300 eggs. Unfortunately, the species is threatened due in part to humans catching the frogs for consumption when they come out to breed.

Photo: Noah Kirkland, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist

[beautifulmars]

HiPOD: Mantling and Glacial Erosion of an Impact Crater

This observation features a mantled impact crater with a good exposure of bedrock on the nothern (top) part of the rim. Other areas of bedrock show signs of erosion. The central pit may also be possibly mantled. High resolution can help to detail the stratigraphy and topography of this crater and its formations.

Grayscale cutouts are less than 5 km across. For full image including scale bar, visit the source link.

ID: ESP_077151_2185 date: 10 January 2023 altitude: 297 km

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona