My Science School

Sclater's guenon, Cercopithecus sclateri, is restricted to floodplain forests between the Niger river and the Cross river in southeast Nigeria. Eleven small populations have been confirmed to exist. Populations are known to exist in the states of Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Cross River State. The localities known for this species include Utuma, Stubbs creek, Akpugoeze, Osomari, Lagwa, Blue river, Enyong creek/Ikpa river.

Cercopithecus sclateri occurs in moist tropical forests and swampy floodplain forests. These are low elevation habitats along the coast of Nigeria. Although this species' natural habitat is probably secondary growth and primary forest, it seems to be surviving in some extremely degraded habitats. An important habitat for this species is Igbo villages and their sacred tree groves, which are mostly surrounded by non-native tree plantations and agricultural areas. In one town, Lagwa (Imo state), all the patches of forest which the monkeys formerly inhabited have been cut down, leaving the animals to inhabit villages, where they steal food from gardens and farms.

Sclater's guenon, like all guenons, is a very colorful monkey with a complicated facial pattern. The body is overall a dusky gray color with some greenish tinge on the back. The tail is very long (about one-half the total length) and is reddish colored on the ventral proximal part, gradually becoming white distally and ending in a black tip. The muzzle is brownish pink with a creamy white nose spot (above the nostrils on the bridge of the nose). The face is adorned with three major hair patches. The crown and cheek patches are yellow mixed with black. In addition, there is a large white throat patch extending almost to the ears. The ears have prominent white tufts. Finally, black temporal bars extend past the ears and meet at the back of the head.

Credit : Animal Diversity

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With its fiery-red body, quick black wings, and long, curved, salmon-colored bill, the 'i'iwi — or scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper — is one of the most recognizable birds of Hawaii. 

The spread of avian malaria and avian pox has limited its range to high-elevation areas where it's too cool for mosquitoes to deliver the diseases, and as climate change pushes colder temperatures farther and farther upslope, the bird will have fewer and fewer high-mountain refuges — and will eventually run out of room altogether. The 'i'iwi is also threatened by agricultural and urban development, as well as nonnative species that also contribute to habitat destruction and facilitate the spread of mosquitoes.

To save the 'i'iwi from extinction, in 2010 the Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list it as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, as well as to designate critical habitat. In 2011 we reached a historic agreement with the Service compelling it to make a listing proposal for the bird by 2012 — as well as move forward on protection decisions for 756 other rare species. The Service finalized Endanered Species protection in 2017.

Unfortunately — and illegally — the agency still hasn't set aside critical habitat for this species. In 2020 we filed a lawsuit to make sure this beautiful bird has the habitat protections it needs to survive.

Credit : Center for Biological Diversity

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Emus live only in Australia, where they are widespread. Subspecies once existed on Tasmania and King Island, but they are now extinct. Emus live in eucalyptus forest, woodland, heath land, desert shrub lands and sand plains. It is found in desert areas only after heavy rains have caused growth of herbs and grasses and heavy fruiting of shrubs. Emus also live close to Australia's big cities, but are no longer found where native vegetation has been cleared for agricultural land.

Emu migrations may be a result of human agriculture. The establishment of artificial but permanent watering points in the Australian inland, where cattle and sheep graze, has enabled emus to expand into places from which they were previously excluded by lack of water. In some areas, they are now considered pests.

In arid Australia, emus will travel hundreds of miles to find another source of food or water. They must have daily access to fresh water. When food is abundant, an emu stores large amounts of fat, and is able to use this while looking for more food. Birds may lose up to 50 percent of their weight while searching for food. Emus pattern their movements to track with recent rainfall. They appear to depend mainly on the sight of rain-bearing clouds but sound cues from thunder and the smell of wet ground may also be involved.

Emus eat the parts of plants that have the most concentrated nutrients: seeds, fruits, flowers and young shoots. They also eat insects and small vertebrates when they are easily available. They will not eat dry grasses or mature leaves. Emus ingest large pebbles up to 1.6 ounces (45 grams) to help their gizzards grind up food. They also often eat charcoal.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the emu is fed ratite pellets and occasionally greens such as kale and romaine.

Credit : National Zoo

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The Formosan rock macaque, also known as the Taiwan macaque, is native to the temperate forests in the mountains of Taiwan. They are the only non-human primates native to Taiwan. The species also exists in parts of Japan due to a series of both deliberate and accidental introductions that occurred in the mid-20th century.

Formosan rock macaques sport a brown coat of fur in the summer and a gray coat in the winter. They have white or gray fur covering their chests. Their faces are naked and pink with large eyes and a long, flat nose. The macaque’s jaw is built for a diverse diet, featuring four large canine teeth and several strong molars.

Formosan rock macaques are one of the 45 species of monkeys found in the subfamily Cercopithecinae. This group, consisting of macaques, baboons, and vervets, can be characterized by their cheek pouches. Monkeys with cheek pouches can quickly take large amounts of food, store them in their cheeks, and retreat to a safe place to eat without having to worry about predators or thieves. Although this adaptation did not come about with humans in mind, cheek pouches are particularly useful when hurriedly raiding human houses or trying to get as much food as possible from a tourist.

These macaques have an incredibly varied diet. Fruits make up about half of their diet. Seeds, leaves, and insects also make up significant parts of their diet. Formosan rock macaques forage from up to 300 different plants. They have also been known to raid farms and houses for foods such as sweet potatoes and peanuts.

Credit : New England Primate Conservancy

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Grey crowned crane is one of the 15 crane species found in eastern and southern Africa. It has a grey body, white wings with brown and golden feathers, white cheeks, and bright red gular sacs underneath its chin. A spray of stiff golden feathers forms a crown around its heads.

Its diet includes eating plants, seeds, grain, insects, frogs, worms and snakes. It is known for its courtship display which involves dancing, bowing, and jumping. It does not have set migration pattern. Birds nearer the tropics are typically sedentary.

It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats. They can also be found in marshes, cultivated lands and grassy flatlands near rivers and lakes in Uganda and Kenya and as far south as South Africa. This animal does not have set migration patterns, and birds nearer the tropics are typically sedentary. Birds in more arid areas, particularly Namibia, make localised seasonal movements during drier periods.

The grey crowned crane has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red gular sac. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. Both sexes dance, and immature birds join the adults. Dancing is an integral part of courtship, but also may be done at any time of the year.

Flocks of 30-150 birds are not uncommon.

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Golden lion tamarin is a species of monkey, found in the rainforests of the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Its body is covered with golden colour fur. Its face is dark and hairless.

It is an omnivore. It eats fruits, flowers, eggs, insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. The young are usually twins and males often carry their young on their backs.

It is a territorial animal and defends its area with scent markings. Signs of aggression include an open mouth, an arched back, and staring.

Golden lion tamarins are omnivores. They feed upon insects, spiders, snails, amphibians, nectar, small lizards, gum, birds and their eggs and fruit.

They forage for insects within leaf litter, logs, bark and a range of plants using their elongated hands and fingers. They prefer areas with plants which attract insects to help with this.  When fruit is in abundance this forms much of their diet. When it is dry, the fruit is not readily available and they supplement their diet with other foods.

Sharing food acts as a method of reinforcing bonds between golden lion tamarins.

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When Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, was discovered in 1781, it expanded the known limits of our solar system. It was also the first planet to be discovered using a telescope, as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were all bright enough to be easily visible to the naked eye.

In fact, because these planets had been known to people for millennia, Uranus was arguably the first planet in recorded history to have been ‘discovered’ at all.

The observations that established Uranus as something other than a regular star were made on 13 March 1781 by Sir William Herschel. He was using a state-of-the-art 2.1-m-long (7-ft) reflecting telescope with a 15.2-cm (6-in) mirror, which he made and installed at his home in Bath, UK. He realized that the point of light known in older star catalogues as "34 Tauri" was in fact something much closer.

He published his findings in a letter to the Royal Society the following month, initially reporting it as a probable comet. Later that year, Anders Johann Lexell (working in St Petersburg, Russia) and Johann Elert Bode (working in Berlin) made follow-up observations that led to the conclusion that the object was in a near-circular orbit, and therefore almost certainly a planet.

Herschel initially suggested calling the new planet Georgium Sidus (George's Star) after the British King, but unsurprisingly this was not a popular choice internationally. Most astronomers called the planet "Herschel" until 1782, when Bode suggested naming the planet after Ouranos, the Greek god of the sky. The name was quickly accepted, although the British government's Nautical Almanac insisted on referring to the planet as Georgium Sidus until 1850.

Credit : Science Museum 

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The Fermi bubbles are two large structures in gamma-rays above and below the Galactic center.  They are associated with the microwave haze around the Galactic center discovered in the WMAP data and recently confirmed in the Planck data.  At the moment, there are several theoretical models and simulations developed to explain the shape and the energy spectrum of the bubbles.  In order to distinguish among the different models, a detailed comparison between the theory and the observations is necessary.  The main purpose of the meeting is to foster a collaboration between the scientists working on the theoretical and observational sides of the problem in order to deepen our understanding of the origin and the emission mechanisms associated with the bubbles.  The topics include: observational results related to the Galactic halo region, models and simulations designed to explain the bubbles, and related systems in other galaxies.

The bubbles may be related to the release of vast amounts of energy emitted from the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. We know that in other galaxies, supermassive black holes that ingest large amounts of matter can power high-energy jets. It's possible the Milky Way's central black hole went through such a phase in the past, producing jets responsible for the Fermi Bubbles we see today.

A completely unexpected discovery like the Fermi Bubbles is a special treat. However, scientists know that there are many more surprises waiting to be uncovered by Fermi. In the most recent catalog of sources from Fermi's Large Area Telescope, fully a third of detected source positions are not known to have a gamma-ray emitting object at that location. 

Credit : Space.com

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Putting on a spacesuit takes 45 minutes, including the time it takes to put on the special undergarments that help keep astronauts cool. After putting on the spacesuit, to adapt to the lower pressure maintained in the suit, the astronaut must spend a little more than an hour breathing pure oxygen before going outside the pressurized module.

Initially, it may look like the most expensive item on the space suit is the Primary Life Support System. This unit, which is responsible for adjusting the oxygen and the temperature levels, contains several electronic devices. However, in terms of cost, the parts that NASA spends the most are the gloves of the astronauts. Spacesuit gloves are the main limiting factor when it comes to working in space. Astronauts usually handle from 70 to 110 tools, tethers and associated equipment for a typical spacewalk. Like an inflated balloon, the fingers of the gloves resist the effort to bend them. Astronauts must fight that pressure with every movement of their hand, which is exhausting and sometimes results in injury. Furthermore, the joints of the glove are subject to wear that can lead to life-threatening leaks. For this reason, the gloves are specially designed to aid astronauts' mobility.

In a nutshell, spacesuits are basically wearable spacecrafts and can not only keep astronauts alive, but also feed them, allow them to communicate, and even be used as a toilet.

Credit : Space Camp Turkey

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Armalcolite is a titanium-rich mineral with the chemical formula (Mg,Fe2+)Ti2O5. It was first found at Tranquility Base on the Moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission, and is named for Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, the three Apollo 11 astronauts. Together with tranquillityite and pyroxferroite, it is one of three new minerals that were discovered on the Moon. Armalcolite was later identified at various locations on Earth and has been synthesized in the laboratory

Armalcolite was originally found on the Moon, in the Sea of Tranquility at Tranquility Base, and also in the Taurus–Littrow valley and the Descartes Highlands. The largest amounts were provided by the Apollo 11 and 17 missions. It was later identified on Earth from samples of lamproite dikes and plugs taken in Smoky Butte, Garfield County, Montana, US. On the Earth, it also occurs in Germany (Nördlinger Ries impact crater in Bavaria), Greenland (Disko Island), Mexico (El Toro cinder cone, San Luis Potosí), South Africa (Jagersfontein, Bultfontein and Dutoitspan kimberlite mines), Spain (Albacete Province and Jumilla, Murcia), Ukraine (Pripyat Swell), United States (Knippa quarry, Uvalde County, Texas and Smoky Butte, Jordan, Montana) and Zimbabwe (Mwenezi District). Armalcolite was also detected in lunar meteorites, such as Dhofar 925 and 960 found in Oman.

Armalcolite is a minor mineral found in titanium-rich basalt rocks, volcanic lava and sometimes granite pegmatite, ultramafic rocks, lamproites and kimberlites. It is associated with various mixed iron-titanium oxides, graphite, analcime, diopside, ilmenite, phlogopite and rutile. It forms elongated crystals up to about 0.1–0.3 mm in length embedded in a basalt matrix. Petrographic analysis suggests that armalcolite is typically formed at low pressures and high temperatures.

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Before there was the International Space Station, before there was Mir, there was Skylab. Established in 1973, and remaining in orbit until 1979, this orbital space station was American's first long-duration orbital workshop, and the ancestor of all those that have followed.

Skylab was launched on May 14th, 1973 on a mission that is sometimes referred to as Skylab 1 (or SL-1). Severe damage was sustained during the launch when the station's meteoroid shield and one of the two solar panels tore off due to vibrations.

Since the station was designed to face the Sun in order to get as much power as possible, and the shield was ripped off, the station rose to a temperature of 52°C. As a result, scientists had to move the space station and effect repairs before astronauts could be dispatched to it.

The first manned mission (designated Skylab 2, or SL-2) took place on May 25th, 1973, atop a Saturn IB and involved extensive repairs to the station. This mission last four weeks, and astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Paul J. Weitz, Joseph P. Kerwin were the crew members. During the mission, the crew conducted a number of experiments, including solar astronomy and medical studies, and three EVAs (extra-vehicular activities) were completed as well.

The second manned mission, also known as Skylab 3 (SL-3), was launched on July 28th, 1973. The crew consisted of Alan L. Bean, Jack R. Lousma, and Owen K. Garriott. The mission lasted 59 days and 11 hours, during which time the crew carried out additional repairs as well as performing scientific and medical experiments.

The third and final mission to the Skylab (Skylab 4, SL-4) was the longest, lasting 84 days and one hour. Gerald P. Carr, William R. Pogue, Edward G. Gibson were the crew, and in addition to performing various experiments, they also observed the Comet Kohoutek. The crew conducted three EVAs which lasted a total of 22 hours and 13 minutes.

Skylab was occupied a total of 171 days and orbited the Earth more than 2,476 times during the course of its service. Each Skylab mission set a record for the amount of time astronauts spent in space.

Credit : Phy.org

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Max Planck received his Nobel Prize one year later, in 1919. During the selection process in 1918, the Nobel Committee for Physics decided that none of the year's nominations met the criteria as outlined in the will of Alfred Nobel. According to the Nobel Foundation's statutes, the Nobel Prize can in such a case be reserved until the following year, and this statute was then applied. Max Planck therefore received his Nobel Prize for 1918 one year later, in 1919.

Planck’s earliest work was on the subject of thermodynamics, an interest he acquired from his studies under Kirchhoff, whom he greatly admired, and very considerably from reading R. Clausius’ publications. He published papers on entropy, on thermoelectric ity and on the theory of dilute solutions.

At the same time also the problems of radiation processes engaged his attention and he showed that these were to be considered as electromagnetic in nature. From these studies he was led to the problem of the distribution of energy in the spectrum of full radiation. Experimental observations on the wavelength distribution of the energy emitted by a black body as a function of temperature were at variance with the predictions of classical physics. Planck was able to deduce the relationship between the ener gy and the frequency of radiation. In a paper published in 1900, he announced his derivation of the relationship: this was based on the revolutionary idea that the energy emitted by a resonator could only take on discrete values or quanta. The energy for a resonator of frequency v is hv where h is a universal constant, now called Planck’s constant.

This was not only Planck’s most important work but also marked a turning point in the history of physics. The importance of the discovery, with its far-reaching effect on classical physics, was not appreciated at first. However the evidence for its validi ty gradually became overwhelming as its application accounted for many discrepancies between observed phenomena and classical theory. Among these applications and developments may be mentioned Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect.

Credit : Nobel Prize

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Planck’s constant, (symbol h), fundamental physical constant characteristic of the mathematical formulations of quantum mechanics, which describes the behaviour of particles and waves on the atomic scale, including the particle aspect of light. 

The significance of Planck’s constant in this context is that radiation, such as light, is emitted, transmitted, and absorbed in discrete energy packets, or quanta, determined by the frequency of the radiation and the value of Planck’s constant. 

The dimension of Planck’s constant is the product of energy multiplied by time, a quantity called action. Planck’s constant is often defined, therefore, as the elementary quantum of action. 

Planck's constant was formulated as part of Max Planck's successful effort to produce a mathematical expression that accurately predicted the observed spectral distribution of thermal radiation from a closed furnace (black-body radiation). This mathematical expression is now known as Planck's law.

In the last years of the 19th century, Max Planck was investigating the problem of black-body radiation first posed by Kirchhoff some 40 years earlier. Every physical body spontaneously and continuously emits electromagnetic radiation. There was no expression or explanation for the overall shape of the observed emission spectrum.

Credit : Britannica

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Special clouds are Mammatus clouds which are actually altocumulus, cirrus, cumulonimbus or other types of clouds that have a pouch like shapes hanging out to the bottoms. In these cases, clouds may form or grow as a consequence of certain, often localized generating factors. Orographic clouds get their shape from mountains or hills that force the air to move over or around them. The lenticular clouds are shaped like lenses or almonds. They may get their shape from hilly terrain another type of orographic cloud or just the way the air is raising over a flat terrain.

When moist, warm air rises to a cooler elevation, and water condenses onto microscopic dust-like seeds, bacteria or ash. Air and seeds that updraft the clouds. Every planet with an atmosphere has clouds. That includes the moon. Clouds reflect the suns light, which causes them to appear white. Big clouds are normally made up of water droplets and have a base under 2000 meters. High altitude clouds are usually made up of ice crystals, which can also serve as seeds, and have a base somewhere between 5,500 and 14,000 meters. If those crystals take on moisture, they may become too heavy for updrafts to support, which is what causes rain. So, it makes sense that shooting those so-called seeds” to clouds should make them rain out.

Credit : e-School

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An accessory cloud is a cloud which is dependent on a larger cloud system for its development and continuance. It is often an appendage but also can be adjacent to the parent cloud system.

The arcus and roll clouds, shelf cloud, wall cloud, and scud are examples of low level or vertical accessory clouds whilst the anvil, and overshooting top, are examples of high level accessory clouds. The condensation funnel of funnel clouds and tornadoes are also accessory clouds. They are associated with deep moist convection and especially cumulonimbus, the primary cloud producing thunderstorms. The pileus and mammatus types can form at various altitude ranges depending on the main clouds with which they are associated. The World Meteorological Organization classifies most accessory clouds as supplementary features. The height range classification of a supplementary feature is the same as the parent cloud. As an example, the anvil cloud (supplementary feature incus) forms at high altitude but is not classified by the WMO as a high cloud because of its association with the genus cumulonimbus.

It is very rare for any accessory cloud to generate its own precipitation. However, the parent cloud may generate precipitation. Precipitation from the parent cloud is often confused with the accessory cloud and observers think that the precipitation is actually falling from the accessory cloud.

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