Tidepool to Stars

Update 7: 12:58 p.m.

Here’s what Philae saw on its approach, from about two miles above the comet’s surface. The lander appears to have been right on target. 

Breathtaking! Enjoy this beautiful Space Vine time lapse captured by NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman aboard the ISS. October 5th 2014

In Rare Sea Snail, Scientists Find Compound That Could Help Cancer Patients

“Frank Oakes is betting his future on a snail. Thousands are suctioned onto the walls of 19 outdoor aquaculture tanks behind his office in Port Hueneme, California, south of Santa Barbara.

Shaped like oblong cinnamon rolls, the black, tan, and striped snails may live up to 60 years, although their population may be dwindling.

“This fragile California resource could be the basis of multiple life-saving drugs,” said Oakes, who is the CEO of Stellar Biotechnologies Inc., a biomedical company.”

There is also a death for the immortal jellyfish. He is very bored.

That’s a good glyptodon!

Image from Catalogue of casts of fossils, from the principal museums of Europe and America, with short descriptions and illustrations (1866)

Gaze In Wonder at the Best Astronomy Photographs of the Year

“A total solar eclipse is one of nature’s greatest spectacles so it is no wonder that many people will go to extreme lengths just to experience one. Down on the ground the period of totality, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun, lasts for just a few minutes. Bad weather can completely wreck your chances of seeing it. This is where a plane can come in handy: you can fly above the clouds and chase the Moon’s shadow as it races across the Earth.”

The Last Summer ‘Supermoon’ Of 2014 Is Also A Harvest Moon

“Skywatchers, you’re in for a treat. Tonight’s “supermoon” is a pretty special one.