SCIENCE | Adorable Kitten Toe Beans In Space!

Back in 1963, a tuxedo kitty from the streets of Paris, named Félicette showed to the world that there just might be some relation between cats and space. Fifty- four years from then, The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has finally proved that cats and space do belong together!

The ESO, a 16-nation intergovernmental research organisation for ground-based astronomy, has recently released an image depicting some astounding cat toe beans in space. Cat people would already be familiar with what cat toe beans are. For those who haven't yet experienced kitty- love, they are those cute, spongy little pads on the underside of a cat's paw.

Anyway, there is, in space, a "Cat's Paw Nebula", which according to the ESO was first viewed by UK scientist John Herschel in the year 1837. Since then, human eyes have been blessed with a fuller view of the gorgeous paw in space.

But that's not the end of it. The ESO's latest images also feature the neighbouring Lobster Nebula. Like Cat's Paw, it is made up of vast gassy (mainly hydrogen) regions energised by the light of newborn stars. Both nebulae (officially named NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, which are 5,500 and 8,000 light years away, respectively) are found right near the tail of the constellation Scorpius. 

Here's the full image:

ESO

In an explanatory statement, the ESO stated that "with masses around 10 times that of the Sun, these hot stars radiate intense ultraviolet light. When this light encounters hydrogen atoms still lingering in the stellar nursery that produced the stars, the atoms become ionised. Accordingly, the vast, cloud-like objects that glow with this light from hydrogen (and other) atoms are known as emission nebulae."  

The new images come from the Very Large Telescope's 250-megapixel OmegaCAM, a successor to its impressive Wide Field Imager (WFI). "Despite the cutting-edge instruments used to observe these phenomena, the dust in these nebulae is so thick that much of their content remains hidden to us," the statement declares. 

"The Cat's Paw Nebula is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the night sky, nurturing thousands of young, hot stars whose visible light is unable to reach us. However, by observing at infrared wavelengths, telescopes such as ESO's VISTA can peer through the dust and reveal the star formation activity within," the statement further clarified.

SCIENCE | NASA Releases Close- Up Views of Saturn's Rings

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

NASA has released high- resolution close- up images of the outermost rings of planet Saturn. The images were captured by the spacecraft Cassini as part of its penultimate mission. The spacecraft has been hovering in and out of the planet's rings every week since November, taking images depicting features as small as 550 metres, a measurement that may not seem so small to us, but is of huge interest when one considers the fact that the photos being taken are those of another planet.

One of the images has been shown above. The encircled parts in the image are bright disturbances called "propellers" which are caused by the gravity of moonlets embedded in the ring.

Images of "straws", which can be defined as a temporary clumping in the rings resulting from gravity from a group of embedded objects, have also been captured by Cassini. Moreover, it took images of density "waves" and "wakes" as well, capturing the sights in visible light with its wide angle camera. The photos were initially taken on December 18th, 2016, although it was back in the year 2004 that Cassini first reached Saturn and showed us the features of the planet's ring. However, the new images happen to be twice as sharp and clear than what the world witnessed before. 

More images of the ring could probably come out in the next few months as Cassini continues to make progress in its approach towards Saturn.

SCIENCE | 'Little Fish Fireworks' On Display Underwater

Representational image

Have you heard of bioluminescence? Well, according to BBC Earth, it is 'one of nature's most dazzling underwater displays.' And fortunately for us, a BBC film crew has managed to film this phenomenon as a form of self- defence.

The ocean- dwelling ostracods are animals that are known to give off light when they are disturbed. These organisms produce the chemicals luciferin and luciferase. which emit light when they combine. This process is called bioluminescence, an adaptation that makes animals visible in the pitch black darkness in the deepest regions of the sea.

To exhibit why organisms are able to give off light, ostracods were put into a tank along with cardinal fish, which, by the way, are plankton- eaters. The crew then observed that when a cardinal fish swallowed an ostracod, the latter emitted a burst of light, compelling  the fish to spit it out.

Physicist and BBC presenter Helen Czerski called this dazzling display as a 'little fish firework'.

Catch the light- emitting ostracods in action here:

When the cardinal fish regurgitates, it appears to be casting a Patronus.  (Photo by BBC Earth.) pic.twitter.com/mBjInfLCBc

— The QI Elves (@qikipedia) January 30, 2017

SCIENCE | The Newfound Secret Shortwings of The Sahyadris

Naturalists exploring the "sky islands" of The Sahyadri have stumbled upon some of its well kept secrets nestled in the forests of some of its highest peaks, confirming the founding of two new endemic genera and a new species of songbird.

The research team, comprising of V. V. Robin, Sushma Reddy, C. K. Vishnudas, Pooja Gupta, Frank E. Rheindt, Daniel M. Hooper and Uma Ramakrishnan, has published the reports of the undertaking in the latest issue of BMC Evolutionary Biology. 

The reports suggest that the team has designated two new genera: one, the Western Ghats shortwings identified under Sholicola (closely related to flycatchers), and second, the laughing thrushes as Montecincla (closely related to babblers). The newly described Sholicola ashambuensis is confined to the Agasthyar Malai mountain ranges.

The species in the Montecincla genera include Montecincla jerdoni, Montecincla cachinnans, Montecincla fairbanki and Montecincla meridionalis  and belong to the genus Montecincla. 

Sholicola major and Sholicola albiventris belong to Sholicola genus.

Mr. V. V. Robin, a member of the research team, stated,"Though many people had noted some differences in feather patterns across populations in different mountain tops or 'sky islands', they were still considered a single species. It wasn’t until we had genetic data that we realised the traditional story was wrong."

The taxonomy of the birds also posed a challenge to the researchers. "What used to be called Western Ghats shortwings actually turned out to be flycatchers, and what used to be called laughing thrushes are actually more closely related to other babblers," Mr. Robin added.

"When we reconstructed their genetic relationships, it was clear that these two lineages were very different from the genera in which they were previously placed," Ms. Reddy said.

Another lucky break was the discovery of old forgotten specimens in the Trivandrum Natural History Museum. “They were locked away in a cabinet and forgotten for nearly 100 years. When I found them in 2009, I never thought that it would lead to the discovery of a new species!” Mr. Vishnudas said.

"For Western Ghats, already known for its rich and unique biodiversity, we have just increased the number of bird species found nowhere else in the world and each of these now have narrower distribution," said Ms. Ramakrishnan.

The discontinuous patches of forests on the highest peaks of The Westers Ghats are home for these birds; and these happen to be some of the most vulnerable parts of the ecosystem crumbling under the increasing pressure from human activities and climate change. However, Ms. Ramakrishnan seemed hopeful of the fact that the knowledge of the distinct evolution of these birds, and of ecology would be helpful in increasing conservation efforts.

JUST IN| NASA Releases Stunning New Photo of Jupiter

This image rendered by citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko shows the spacecraft Juno
above planet Jupiter |Credit: AP

Long has planet Jupiter aroused our fascination with its gigantic size and the iconic Great Red Spot that it bears upon itself. To fuel that very fascination, NASA has released a captivating new view of a crescent Jupiter,  showing the Great Red Spot, along with the planet's 'string of pearls'- a series of storms shaped like white ovals. Below the Great Red Spot can be seen the Oval BA, a reddish long-lived storm.

The picture was rendered by a citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko using data from the JunoCam, an instrument on board NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft.

The image was taken on December 11, 2016, from a distance of about 4,58,800 kilometers, as Juno performed its third close flyby of Jupiter.

The Great Red Spot is a giant, spinning storm in Jupiter's atmosphere. It is like a hurricane on Earth. Only much bigger than our own planet; precisely, twice its size. It has been seen on Jupiter ever since telescopes allowed humans to have a peep into the universe about 400 years ago.