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This is an AMAZING video that starts on planet Earth and zooms out to show the entire universe and then back again. Nothing demonstrates better how insignificant we are in the scope of things.
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The West Mata Volcano sits in the Pacific Ocean between Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa almost 4,000 feet below the ocean's surface. The eruption was first spotted in May as it spewed out boninite lavas that are among the hottest recorded in modern times. The water from the volcano was as acidic as battery acid. This video was obtained by using a remotely operated submarine. The pressure of the sea water at that depth was able to suppress the explosive quality of the eruption and allowed the submarine to get quite close.
Boninite lava was previously only found in extinct volcanoes in samples that were at least a million years old. This eruption is the first time scientists could watch the material being created and witness the molten lava flowing on the ocean floor before it was cooled and hardened by the cold water.
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NASA/BioServe, Univ. of Colo.
Two kinds of caterpillar larvae arrived at the International Space Station last month - Monarch and Painted Ladies. After completing their pupa stages, the first butterflies emerged as the newest kind of residents on the space station. This is the first time that the colorful insects went through all stages of their development (larva, pupa, butterfly) while in orbit.
On Earth, a newly emerged butterfly's wings take about 3 - 5 minutes to dry. In space it took closer to 15 minutes. Their lifespan on the space station is expected to be about half of what it would be on Earth. One thing is the same: you can see lots of larvae poop floating around in the enclosure.
NASA attempted this same experiment a year ago, but the caterpillars never developed into butterflies due to a bad batch of food.