
an international crew observed the total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 on Enewetak Atoll in Marshall Islands and recorded fabulous images
The display of the solar corona, lunar surface and stars in the resulting image are highly beyond the ability of human vision during the eclipse. The weakest stars visible in the image are of about magnitude 10. The stars are a little bit blurred by the motion of the Sun during the very long eclipse.

link to full size images and more…
george orwell by Kevin Nowlan
great collection of artist-contributed works of favorite authors/characters/scenes at Hey Oscar Wilde! It’s Clobberin’ Time!!!!

Wired.com previews a sampling of images from upcoming book and MoMA exhibition featuring artwork by filmmaker, director, producer, writer, and concept artist Tim Burton.
link to Wired article
link to MoMA page

from Liams Pictures from Old Books
link

Donald Simanek
“It may be perpetual motion, but it will take forever to test it.”
link to the Museum of Unworkable Devices

link to more from Agan Harahap at DeviantArt


top judged microscopic images from the 2009 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.
link

a collection of satellite images of earth, processed during the month of August 09.
the image pictured here…
“Rainforests are not always wet and rainy. The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, actually has a dry season when the clouds clear and sunlight drenches the trees. It is during this period that the forest growth is the greatest. In June, July, and August , the thick blanket of clouds brought in by large-scale patterns in the atmosphere disappear, and smaller-scale processes that influence the weather become apparent. This image, captured on 19 August, shows how the forest and the atmosphere interacted to create a uniform layer of ‘popcorn’ clouds one afternoon”
link to guardian gallery

a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua, New Guinea has revealed many new discoveries and wildlife never seen before.
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.

link to guardian article