Astronaut Don Pettit is back in space, and that means lots of awesome microgravity experiments. Here, he grew thin wafers of ice in microgravity in a -95 degree Celsius freezer. Then he took the ice wafers and photographed them between crossed polarizers, creating this colorful image. The colors highlight different crystal orientations within the ice and give us a hint about how the freezing front formed and expanded. I can’t wait to see more examples! (Image credit: D. Pettit/NASA; via Ars Technica; submitted by J. Shoer)
Category: Art
“Chemical Somnia”
Under a macro lens, even a petri dish worth of fluids comes vividly to life. Here, artist Scott Portingale explores crystallization, Marangoni effects, and other phenomena alongside a haunting soundtrack from musician Gorkem Sen. Enjoy! (Image and video credit: S. Portingale et al.)
Eerie Aurora
This surreal image comes from an aurora on Halloween 2013. Photographer Ole C. Salomonsen captured it in Norway during one of the best auroral displays that year. The shimmering green and purple hues are the glow of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere reacting to high-energy particles streaming in from the solar wind. These geomagnetic storms can disrupt GPS satellites, compromise radio communication, and even corrode pipelines, but they also create these stunning nighttime displays. (Image credit: O. Salomonsen; via APOD)
“Last Breath of Autumn”
On a rainy autumn day, Agorastos Papatsanis headed to the forest in search of fungi. There he captured this fairytale-like scene with falling rain and drifting spores. Near the forest floor, any breeze is slight, so mushrooms use their own humidity to move air and spread their spores. As water evaporates from the mushroom’s cap, it cools the air nearby, causing it to spread outward. Since that water vapor is lighter than air, it rises, too, carrying the mushroom’s spores along with it. (Image credit: A. Papatsanis; via Wildlife PotY)
“Colors of Glacial Rivers”
As glaciers flow, they grind down rock, creating fine sediment that dyes waterways a milky color. In Jan Erik Waider’s aerial film, we get a bird’s eye view of the result, watching pockets of sediment move downstream in pulsating waves and swirls. Along the coast, ocean waves pass over the internal ones, creating a mesmerizing crisscrossed wavescape. You can also compare Waider’s aerial footage to Roman De Giuli’s tabletop-scale films and be amazed by their similarities. (Image and video credit: J. Waider; via Colossal)
The Crashing Waves of French Polynesia
Surfer and photographer Tim McKenna lives in the village of Teahupo’o on Tahiti’s southeastern coast. The area’s shallow coral reef system creates some of the world’s biggest barreling waves, which attract surfers from around the world. McKenna captures the majestic power of these surges in these black-and-white photographs; you can find more of his work on his website and Instagram. (Image credit: T. McKenna; via Colossal)
“Microscopic World”
So many natural processes take place right in front of us, but they’re too small and too fast to see. Here, the Beauty of Science team puts some of those processes — crystallizing solids, nucleating bubbles, and more — front and center. The shapes and colors draw you in, inviting you to engage with science we see daily but rarely appreciate. (Video and image credit: Beauty of Science)
“Ink In The Water. Mix One.”
In this ASMR video, black ink diffuses in water. When the video starts, the ink is so diffuse that it’s not apparent the video is playing backward. It’s only as specific structures — things like Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, plumes, and jets — coalesce from the background that we recognize the time reversal. Though it’s probably unintentional, this makes for a neat, subtle commentary on the nature of isotropic turbulence. (Video and image credit: Wryfield Lab)
“Starlit”
In “Starlit,” filmmaker Roman de Giuli leverages paint, ink, water, and oil to create astronomical views. Colorful droplets spin past like neon exoplanets. Shards of glitter form comets. Satellite droplets become moons about their larger sibling. (Video and image credit: R. de Giuli)
