Half A World, The Earthly Width

“I look at the natural geological record as a history of the world imperfectly kept and written in a changing dialect” - Charles Darwin (main: mightylaaitie)

[powerburial]

what's the matter honey? you've hardly touched your fleeting experience of time on earth

[lionofchaeronea]

If anyone's feeling sad today, here's a newly discovered species of octopus. Found in the waters off the Galapagos Islands, this little critter can fit in the palm of your hand.

[wrenhavenriver]

Strange new species of blue octopus discovered by scientists 5,900 feet underwater: "It's beautiful"

The new species, named Microeledone galapagensis, has a blue hue, which is believed to be the rarest color in nature.

The new species, named Microeledone galapagensis, stands out for reasons other than its blue hue, which is believed to be the rarest color in nature. The octopus appears to be the runt of the Megaleledonidae family, whose members are normally much larger and live in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. "Its stubby little arms with only one row of suckers set it apart from most octopus we are familiar with," Voight said. Even among "other species with short little arms and a single sucker row, its coloration and smooth skin on the back surface separate it," she added. While the octopus is light blue on its back, underneath it is a "very deep purple," Voight said. "We think this color pattern helps keep it safe. If the octopus grabs a prey item that emits light, that light may attract predators that might then eat the octopus," she explained. "So the octopus puts its dark-colored web over the prey item, keeping itself safe."

[antiqueanimals]

Rousettus aegyptiacus. Struik Pocket Guides for South Africa: Mammals. Written by John Skinner. Illustrated by Penny Meakin. 1988.

Internet Archive

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Vilhelm Gunnarsson, Iceland

Sony World Photography Awards

[herpsandbirds]

Southern Gaudy Commodore (Precis octavia sesamus), family Nymphalidae, Eastern Cape, South Africa

photographs by The Dusty Path

[libutron]

Ladybird Crab Spider - Camaricus nigrotesselatus

The brightly colored Ladybird Crab Spider, scientifically named Camaricus nigrotesselatus (Thomisidae), is a free-living spider and found on vegetation, usually on a layer of grass or young green plants. This species occurs in Central, East, and South Africa.

Crab spiders excel as ambushers. Their gait is sideways or crab-like, hence their common name. Although they have weak fangs they secrete potent venom that enables them to attack prey 2-3 times their own size. They are very commonly found on crops and play an important role as natural enemy of various pest species in agro-ecosystems.

References: [1] - [2] - [3]

Photo credit: [Top: ©Gabri Mtnez | Locality: South Africa, 2014] - [Bottom: ©Neil Parkin | Locality: not indicated]

[hematitehearts]

Rhodochrosite

Locality: NChwaning II Mine, Kuruman, North Cape Province, South Africa

[worldsandemanations]

Eliot Porter. Fractured Obsidian, Landmannalauger, 1972.

[whirligig-girl]

The Carrington Event

The September 1859 Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm ever recorded on Earth, the result of an eruption of solar plasma towards the Earth. The geomagnetic storm resulted in low-latitude daytime auroras, and caused telegraph operators to get electric shocks and to be able to operate their telegraphs with the power source disconnected. If it happened today, there would be mass devastation to all electronic infrastructure. This event was important in heliophysics as it resulted in the discovery of Solar Flares.

This digital painting is a reproduction of what the Sun would have looked like with adequate filtration on 1859 September 1st at 11:20 AM GMT, for about 5 minutes or so. The drawing has been dimmed to adequately represent the difference in intensity between the photosphere and the flare with the limited dynamic range available to computer screens. To Carrington, the flare would have appeared on his projection screen more like a brilliantly luminous star upon the face of an already quite bright white sun.

White light flares occuring on the Photosphere (or surface) of the Sun like this are incredibly rare (thank goodness), although in modern times it is not unusual to see flares in the Sun's atmosphere, or Chromosphere, using specialized filtered telescopes. I have seen one or two myself.

Image variants below the cut:

non annotated variant.

Exposure increased to match a more typical white light Sun image.

[expressions-of-nature]

Yankicha Island, Russia by Andrey Grachev

[herpsandbirds]

May I ask for some buntings? The brighter the better!

Rose-bellied Bunting (Passerina rositae), family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to a small area of southern Mexico

photographs: Birdquest & Saad Towheed

Orange-breasted Bunting (Passerina leclancherii), family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Mexico

photograph by Greg Lavaty

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes

photograph by Robert S. Parker

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, Eastern U.S.

photograph by David Morgan & Joseph Morlan 

Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, West TX, USA

photograph by David Hollie

Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, Idaho, United States

photograph by Ceredig Roberts

[sitting-on-me-bum]

“(In)visible Path”

When the first snow of the year falls it reveals the intricate path of this mountain stream. Later in the winter, the stream freezes and becomes completely invisible against the white field. Legend has it that the stream was created by the movement of an ancient snake-like beast.

© Sanja Vrzić, Bosnia And Herzegovina

Sony World Photography Awards

[porterdavis]

Queuing for Departure. A group of gentoo penguins lines up to jump into the antarctic sea.

Photo - (© Martin Schmid / Sony World Photography Awards 2026)

[mammalianmammals]

Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus musangus), juvenile, family Viverridae, Malaysia

photograph by Husni Che Ngah

[been-here-b4]

[inatungulates]

Southern gerenuk Litocranius walleri walleri

Observed by wayneosborn, CC BY-NC

[robinboardman]

An albino turtle hatchling sits among other Arrau turtles Tapauá, Brazil Photograph: Edmar Barros