10 Mind Blowing Images of This Week’s Supermoon

November 15, 2016 risahopeearth, photography, space, supermoonLeave a comment

space-news In case you missed it, this week’s supermoon was epic! On November 13 and 14, sky gazers were treated to the biggest and brightest supermoon in almost 70 years. A supermoon refers to a full moon that falls on a night when the moon is closest in its orbit around the Earth, making it appear almost 30% bigger.

We aren’t going to see another one this spectacular until 2034. Lucky for us, eager space lovers around the globe stopped to take pictures. Enjoy! 🌔

Bill Ingalls/NASA

Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, Associated Press

David Carson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Associated Press

Adrian Dennis/AFP, Getty Images

Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News, Associated Press

Aris Messinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Credit Dean Lewins/European Pressphoto Agency

Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency

Gerard Julien/AFP, Getty Images

Miguel Morenatti/Associated Press

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Space Photos: NASA’s Hubble Turns the Universe into Eye Candy

January 28, 2016 risahopegalaxies, Hubble Telescope, nasa, photography, science, space, stars, universeLeave a comment

space-news How incredible is this photo?? This galaxy is the universe’s version of a hot mess. Roughly a quarter of galaxies don’t take on any recognizable shape; they are known as irregular galaxies. Most galaxies rock a crazy spiral or elliptical structure – but not NGC 5408, which is located about 16 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur).

hubble-nasa — Known as irregular galaxies, this group includes NGC 5408, the galaxy that has been snapped here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The photo above was taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Launched in 1990, Hubble has traveled over 3 billion miles around Earth, made 1.2 million observations, and snapped pics of locations more than 13.4 billion light years from our planet. I’ve collected a few amazing photos taken by Hubble. Enjoy! ✨

Hubble snapped this view of a colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of a giant star cluster. The image reveals a small region inside the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194) appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

This dramatic image offers a peek inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas where thousands of stars are forming. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image of the Orion Nebula. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Saturn is seen here in ultraviolet light. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Composed of gas and dust, the pillar resides in a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302)! What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit – due to a dying star. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Hubble peered into a small portion of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074 in this 18th anniversary image. The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

The Hubble Deep Field surveys will likely be thought of as Hubble’s most lasting science legacy. These observations continue to supply a wealth of understanding about the universe as a whole, Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

The starburst galaxy is remarkable for its bright blue disk, webs of shredded clouds, and fiery-looking plumes of glowing hydrogen blasting out of its central regions. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

This snapshot of MyCn18, a young planetary nebula, reveals that the object has an hourglass shape with an intricate pattern of “etchings” in its walls. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

10 Crazy New Species Discovered in 2015: Dracula Ants, Shape-Shifting Frogs, and Dwarf Dragons

January 1, 2016January 1, 2016 risahopeants, frogs, Hog-Nosed Rat, microbes, new species, nudibranchs, peacock spider, science, strange science, taxonomy, UnderwaterLeave a comment

KS Strange Science I live in San Francisco and the California Academy of Sciences is one of my favorite places to visit! Who doesn’t love penguins, rainforests, albino alligators, and a rad planetarium all under one roof??

In 2015, researchers at the Academy added 102 new plant and animal species to our family tree. The new species include two frogs, 23 ants, three beetles, eight wasps, 11 spiders, 26 fishes, nine sea slugs, two corals, nine plants, one water bear, and eight new viruses.

Given that we have found less than 10% of the species on our planet, the Academy has inspired me to share ten of my favorite wild new species discovered in 2015. Meet the hog-nosed shrew rat, sparklemuffin spider, and water bear. Happy New Year! 🎉

Behold sparklemuffin (Maratus jactatus), a peacock spider found in Australia.

Enyalioides sophiarothschildae, one of the three new species of dwarf dragons discovered in the Andes of Peru and Ecuador.

“Water bear” is a cuddly name for a microscopic water-dwelling organism with eight legs topped by tiny claws.

Shape-shifting frog. This species, found in Ecuador, can change the texture of its skin in a matter of minutes.

Like other horseshoe bats, this newfound animal has a large structure on its face that is shaped somewhat like a (surprise!) horseshoe.

The hog-nosed rat (Hyorhinomys stuempkei) was found on a mountain in Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia.

A face only a mother could love. A close-up view of the electric ray Tetronarce cowleyi, which feeds on bony fish and small sharks.

This marine pill bug (Exosphaeroma pentcheffi), found in a seaside park in Los Angeles, is just one of many species discovered in 2015.

Researchers from the Academy described six new species of strange subterranean ants from the genus Prionopelta in Madagascar and Seychelles – known as ‘Dracula’ ants.

Another newly discovered species of nudibranch, or sea slug: the pink-and-orange Doto splendidisim.

You’ve Never Seen the Sky Like This: Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 Winners Announced

September 25, 2015 risahopeLeave a comment

Krystian Science Space ‘The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. In 2015 the competition launched for its seventh year with new categories and more prizes up for grabs. The winning images are showcased in an exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich until 26 June 2016.’

Overall Winner - Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen by Luc Jamet (France) - 20 March 2015 - Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway — Overall Winner – Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen by Luc Jamet (France) – 20 March 2015 – Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway

‘This year the annual Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition received a record 2700 entries by astrophotographers from 59 countries around the world. These astonishing pictures reveal fresh perspectives on astrophotography favourites alongside some of the great astronomical events of the last year.

The prize-winning images displayed here combine art and science, passion and dedication. They remind us that the more we learn about our universe, the more beautiful it becomes.’ – Royal Museums Greenwich

Skyscapes Runner Up – Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display by Matt Robinson (UK) – 7 July 2014 – Seaburn Beach, Sunderland, UK

Aurorae Winner – Silk Skies by Jamen Percy (Australia) – 19 February 2014 – Abisko National Park, Lapland, Sweden

Aurorae Runner Up – April Aurora by Kolbein Svensson (Norway) – 20 April 2014 – Hitra, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway

Galaxies Winner – M33 Core by Michael van Doorn (Netherlands) – 28 October 2014 – Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands

Galaxies Runner Up – The Antennae Galaxies – Extreme Deep Field by Rolf Olsen (Denmark) 75 Hours – 20 July 2014 Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

Our Moon Winner – Full Face of our Moon by András Papp (Hungary) – 8 March 2014 – Veszprémvarsány, Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary

Our Moon Runner Up – ISS Terminator Moon by Daniel Fernández Caxete (Spain) – 8 April 2014 – Los Ranchos, Colmenarejo, Madrid, Spain

Our Sun Runner Up – Totality Ends by David Wrangborg (Sweden) – 20 March 2015 – Slakbreen, Svalbard, Norway

Our Sun Winner – Huge Prominence Lift-off by Paolo Porcellana (Italy) – 27 March 2015 – Costigliole d’Asti, Italy

Planets, Comets & Asteroids Winner – The Arrow Missed the Heart by Lefteris Velissaratos (Greece) – 21 August 2014 – Strethi Mountain, Corinthia, Greece

Planets, Comets & Asteroids Runner Up – Saturn by András Papp (Hungary) – 13 May 2014 – Gamsberg Pass, Windhoek, Namibia

People & Space Runner Up – Eternity and Astrophotographer by Yuri Zvezdny (Russia) – 14 April 2015 – San Pedro de Atacama, El Loa Province, Chile

People & Space Winner – Sunset Peak Star Trail by Chap Him Wong (Hong Kong) – 1 November 2014 – Sunset Peak, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Stars & Nebulae Runner Up – Sirius 9798 by David Pye (UK) – 16 January 2015 – Finchley, London, UK

Stars & Nebulae Winner – The Magnificent Omega Centauri by Ignacio Diaz Bobillo (Argentina) – 31 May 2014 – San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Young Competition Winner – A Celestial Visitor by George Martin (UK) aged 15 – 18 December 2014 – Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK

New Guinness World Records 2016 Winners Revealed: The Fastest Tortoise, the Man with the Most Teeth, the Heaviest Carrot, and a Huge Gnome Collection

September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 risahopeawards, Guinness World Records, pop cultureLeave a comment

KS_LOGOs2_PopCulture

Guinness World Records has finally released the record holders in the Guinness World Records 2016 edition! They scoured the globe for this year’s biggest achievements, even if some of the awards border on quirky and a little strange (i.e. the giant gnome collection). Scroll through the photos and enjoy. 🏆

“The Guinness World Records 2016 book keeps readers up to date and in the know about the best and brightest in science, sports, entertainment, animals, human achievement and more,” says Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday. “By providing a mix of the newest, most amazing records and a splash of the classic titles that readers know and love, the 2016 edition is a great cross-section of humanity’s greatest accomplishments.”

Bertie, a South African leopard tortoise, has raced his way into the records book by traveling 0.28 meters per second (0.6mph) in Durham – the greatest speed achieved by one of his kind – smashing the previous record that stood since 1977.

GWR2016-Packshots-2016Spine-website_tcm25-394603

Devon artist Ann Atkin, 78, has a staggering 2,042 gnomes in her four-acre garden. She opened her ‘gnome reserve’ near Bradworthy to the public in 1979.

John Evans, 70, faces little competition in the 33 weight-bearing categories for which he repeatedly sets records. Honoured here for ‘heaviest car balanced on the head’ (a gutted 352 lb Mini for 33 seconds).

Purin, the nine-year-old Beagle from Chiba, Japan, has broken her own previous record of 11, taking the number of balls caught by a dog with paws in one minute up to 14.

The Largest feet on a living person are 40.1cm (1 ft 3.79 in -right foot) and 39.6cm (1 ft 3.59 in – left foot) and belong to 20-year-old Jeison Orlando Rodriguez Hernandez, pictured above, of Venezuela.

Amateur gardener Peter Glazebrook, 69, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, holds the record for the heaviest carrot (above) which made up in weight what it lacked in beauty — tipping the scales at 20lb 1 oz.

The Largest hot dog cart measures 2.81 m (9 ft 3 in) in width, 7.06 m (23 ft 2 in) in length, 3.72 m (12 ft 2.75 in) in height from the ground to the handle, and the wheels’ diameter is 1.86 m (6 ft 1.5 in).

The Most teeth in the mouth are 37, achieved by Vijay Kumar V.A, 27, as verified in Bangalore, India.

The Tallest cowboy boot sculpture measures 10.4m (35 ft 3 in) in height and was constructed by Bob Wade, 72, (USA) of San Antonio, Texas.

With a combined height of 13 ft 10.72 in (423.47 cm), Sun Mingming, 33, and his wife Xu Yan, 29, of China, claim the title for Tallest married couple, measuring 7 ft 8.98 in (236.17 cm) and 6 ft 1.74 in (187.3 com) respectively.

The first people to row the navigable length of the Amazon River, Briton Anton Wright, left, and Dutch-born Mark de Rond, took just 32 days to cover 2,077 treacherous miles in often hostile conditions.

‘Daring Doris’ Long, from Hayling Island, is the oldest abseiler — she took up the sport at 85 and marked her 100th birthday by bouncing down Portsmouth’s 94m Spinnaker Tower. This year, at 101, she broke her own record and hopes to repeat the feat at the tower in 2016.

the longest fur on a rabbit, which has been measured as 36.5 cm (14.37 inches) and belongs to two-year-old English Angora rabbit Franchesca from California.

Acharya Makunuri Srinivasa, 56, from Nizamabad, India, features in the Guinness World Records 2016 edition for the longest ballpoint pen at 5.5m (18 ft 0.53 ins) long and weighing 37.23kg (82.08lb 1.24oz).

Humpback Whales, Camel Racing, and a Sauna in the Sky: View the Winners of National Geographic’s 2015 Traveler Photo Contest

August 5, 2015 risahopecontest, National Geographic, nature, photography, pop culture, science, travelLeave a comment

KS_LOGOs2_PopCulture The winners of the 27th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest have just been announced! 🎉

First place went to Anuar Patjane for his photo of divers swimming with a humpback whale and her newborn calf off the coast of Mexico. He won an eight-day photo expedition for two to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal. Not a bad deal!

Winner of the 2015 Traveler Photo Contest. Credit: Anuar Patjane

The 2015 Traveler Photo Contest judges reviewed nearly 18,000 photographs, and ten pictures won top prizes. Photographers entered pictures into four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments. You can view the top ten below – click here to browse all of the entries and pick your favorites!

National Geographic 2015 Traveler Photo Contest Winner

2) [This] gravel-crush working place remains full of dust and sand. Three gravel workmen are looking through the window glass at their working place. Chittagong, Bangladesh. Photo and caption by faisal azim

3) Camel Ardah, as it [is] called in Oman, is one of the traditional styles of camel racing … between two camels controlled by expert men. Photo and caption by Ahmed Al Toqi

4) A sauna at 2,800 meters high in the heart of Dolomites. Monte Lagazuoi, Cortina, eastern Italian Alps. Photo and caption by Stefano Zardini

5) Romania, land of fairy tales. White frost over Pestera village. Photo and caption by Eduard Gutescu

6) The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadvlei. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. Photo and caption by Beth McCarley

7) The night before this photo, we tried all day to get a good photo of the endangered white rhino. Skulking through the grass carefully, trying to stay 30 feet away to be safe, didn’t provide me the photo I was hoping for. In the morning, however, I woke up to all three rhinos grazing in front of me. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda. Photo and caption by Stefane Berube

8) Kushti is the traditional form of Indian wrestling. Wearing only a well-adjusted loincloth (langot), wrestlers (pelwhans) enter a pit made of clay, often mixed with salt, lemon, and ghee (clarified butter). Photo and caption by alain schroeder

9) Two boys are trying to catch a duck at the stream of the waterfall. Nong Khai Province, Thailand. Photo and caption by sarah wouters

10) Traditional haymaking in Poland. Many people continue to use the scythe and pitchfork to sort the hay. Photo and caption by Bartłomiej Jurecki

The Only Thing Better Than One Great White on Camera is TWO: Watch Massive Shark Photo-Bomb

July 10, 2015 risahopegreat white sharks, nature, ocean, photography, science, sea, sharks, Underwater, video1 Comment

KS_LOGOs2_Underwater Great white sharks are only cool when they are gnawing on someone else’s boat. This week, tourists on a South African shark-diving tour got the shock of their lives when they watched one great white take the bait next to their boat – just as a second great white leapt out of the water behind it! I knew sharks couldn’t take selfies, but apparently photo-bombing isn’t out of the question.

RemoSabatini posted the video below to YouTube on July 6, 2015.

In honor of this weeks gnarly shark footage I’d like to post a few amazing pics from Chris and Monique Fallows – who spend 200 days a year at sea.

Photographing great white sharks for 20 years gives Chris and Monique Fallows front row seats on the amazing behavior and secrets of formidable predators few people see. In this post they share ten of their favorite images of great whites.

These Red, White, and Blue Creatures Don’t Need July 4th Costumes!

July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 risahopeanimals, birds, butterfly, celebrate, colors, fish, holiday, insects, jellyfish, July 4th, natureLeave a comment

KS Nature This weekend Americans will be celebrating our country’s independence, but these creatures are one step ahead of us! Check out nature’s version of the good ol’ red, white, and blue 🗽🇺🇸 Happy Fourth of July!

The crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens.

The Wire-tailed Swallows are swallows found in Africa and Asia. Their common name is derived from their very long, fine outer tail feathers which trail behind like two wires; and their scientific name honors Professor Chetien Smith, a Norwegian botanist, who was a member of the expedition that discovered this species.

The red-crested cardinal gets its common name from its prominent red head and crest. Also known as the Brazilian Cardinal, it was introduced around 1930 from South America. It feeds on seeds, plant matter, insects and fruit.

The lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), also known as hair jelly, is the largest known species of jellyfish. Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans.

The Siamese fighting fish, or betta, is a vibrantly-colored fish often seen swimming solo in ornamental vases in both the office and home.

Butterflies use brilliant colors for a variety of purposes – to attract potential mates, to advertise their unpalatability, or to warn avian predators. They tend to occupy sunlit areas. Not so with the Malay Red Harlequin, which is normally seen only as a silhouette in the shadowy undergrowth.

An independent German researcher has for the first time described this crayfish as a new species. The blue, pink and white crayfish from Indonesia has been dubbed Cherax pulcher. “Pulcher” is Latin for “beautiful.”

Composia fidelissima sometimes known as the faithful beauty or Uncle Sam moth is a moth in the Erebidae family. It is found in southern Florida and the West Indies, including Cuba.

Monkey hoppers are brightly colored grasshoppers, many with lovely blue, teal, orange, or red highlights on their bodies. They also have the odd nickname of “matchstick grasshoppers”, probably because their long hind legs always seem to be awkwardly sized for their bodies.

The blue crab is so named because of its sapphire-tinted claws. Its shell, or carapace, is actually a mottled brownish color, and mature females have red highlights on the tips of their pincers.

Designer Tweaks Typeface to Show What It’s Like to Read with Dyslexia

June 18, 2015 risahopeart, awareness, Daniel Britton, dyslexia, education, health, science, typography1 Comment

KS Health Daniel Britton, a graphic designer in London, has created a typeface that looks like an alien language. It’s not from another planet, but it is designed to give the average reader an out of body experience. Britton has managed to recreate what its like to read with dyslexia.

The image below is as disorienting as it is enlightening. See how you might process words if you were dyslexic.

Britton was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 18 years old. He quickly realized he wasn’t alone. According to Dyslexia International, one in ten people are dyslexic, which equates to roughly 700,000,000 adults and children around the world.

“What this typeface does is break down the reading time of a non-dyslexic down to the speed of a dyslexic. I wanted to make non-Dyslexic people understand what it is like to read with the condition and to recreate the frustration and embarrassment of reading everyday text and then in turn to create a better understanding of the condition.” – Britton

Dyslexia is often greatly misunderstood. Britton hopes his typeface will help non-dyslexics empathize with those who struggle. And, if all goes to plan, his artwork will eventually lead to faster more effective treatment for dyslexia. That way, dyslexic students can learn at the same pace as their peers, giving them an equal chance to succeed! 👏

IMAGE: Daniel Britton

Hell Hath No Fury Like STEM Women Scorned by Tim Hunt – Twitter Loves #DistractinglySexy

June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 risahope#DistractinglySexy, engineering, feminism, girl power, hashtag, math, pop culture, science, STEM, technology, Tim Hunt, Twitter, women1 Comment

Women in STEM are awesome. For those of you who don’t know, STEM = an acronym referring to the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. While most people respect and support women in STEM, there are still a select few who are determined to undermine their smarts and hard work.

One of these people happens to be Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Sir Tim Hunt, who made headlines this week for discussing the ‘problem’ with women in the lab. He allegedly said, “let me tell you about my trouble with girls … three things happen when they are in the lab … You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticize them, they cry.”

In response, rad lab ladies around the world decided to take to Twitter to share their thoughts about their jobs and the lovely Tim Hunt. The hashtags below have proven to be both enlightening and highly entertaining. I’ve selected a few of my favorites – in no particular order. Enjoy! 👏

#distractinglybeautiful #distractinglysexy #distractinglyawesome #timhunt