Month: June 2019

As part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, they have selected their next mission – a drone-like lander that will explore the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. The Dragonfly mission will send a dual-quadcopter to the surface of Titan. About every 16 days it will fly tens of miles above the surface for about an hour before stopping to rest and recharge. During these “hops”, Dragonfly will sample the moon’s surface material and observe its weather patterns. The Huygens probe (carried by Cassini) was the first to give us a good view of the moon’s surface. It was found that Titan had a thick atmosphere and liquid methane coverings its surface. This interested NASA scientists who have been longing to send a lander to the moon to better

Stare at the red dot on the woman's nose for 30 seconds. Then look at a blank wall and blink repeatedly. Whoa! Sit back down and calm your heart. It's only science (see explanation below). This optical illusion uses a negative image of a woman's head. If you stare at the dots for about 15 seconds, then look at a blank wall, you'll see a full-color image of the same picture (well, at least most people will see it. Those with cosmic superhero eyes will just see right through the wall). Why does this happen? This illusion is known as a negative afterimage. Our eyes have cone cells called ganglion cells that help us see pairs of primary colors. We have channels in our eyes for black

Bang your head! Scientists at Stanford University created a sound that measures a whopping 270 decibels. The sound was created underwater and is believed to be the limit of how loud a sound can be. Ready to put on a pair of earplugs and give the sound a listen? Not so fast. Scientists say earplugs would do no good. The sound is so loud, eardrums, heart, lungs, and other internal organs would instantly rupture.

Unknown phylum Micrognathozoa Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms) Archiacanthocephala Eoacanthocephala Palaeacanthocephala (ancient thornheads) Acoelomorpha (simple soft-bodied flatworms) Acoela Nemertodermatida Annelida (segmented worms) Aelosomata Clitellata (earthworms) Myzostomida Polychaeta (bristle worms) Echiura (spoon worms) Sipuncula (peanut worms) Arthropoda (arthropods: insects, crustaceans, arachnids, centipedes, and millipedes) Chelicerata Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, and kin) Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs; only 4 extant species) Pycnogonida (sea spiders) Crustacea Branchiopoda (fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, water fleas, and clam shrimp) Cephalocarida (horseshoe shrimp; only 12 described species) Malacostraca (crabs, lobsters, crayfish, krill, various shrimp, woodlice, and kin) Maxillopoda (barnacles, copepods, fish lice, and other groups) Ostracoda (seed shrimp) Remipedia Hexapoda Entognatha (coneheads, two-pronged bristletails and springtails) Insecta (insects) Myriapoda Chilopoda (centipedes) Diplopoda (millipedes) Pauropoda Symphyla (pseudocentipedes) Brachiopoda ("lamp shells") Craniforma Rhynchonellata Bryozoa (moss animals) Gymnolaemata Phylactolaemata Stenolaemata Chaetognatha (arrow worms) Archisagittoidea Sagittoidea Chordata (vertebrates, tunicates, and lancelets) Cephalochordata Leptocardii (lancelet) Tunicata Appendicularia (larvaceans) Ascidiacea (sea squirts) Sorberacea Thaliacea (salps, pyrosomes, and doliolids) Vertebrata Agnatha Cyclostomata Myxini (hagfish) Petromyzontida (lamprey) Gnathostomata Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish, mostly sharks and rays) Tetrapoda Amphibia (amphibians) Amniota Mammalia (mammals) Aves (birds) Reptilia (reptiles) Osteichthyes Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish, which includes most familiar bony