Science!
-
@stargazer so what do you for a job...oh I fly drones...for NASA...on Mars.
-
@taniwharugby Unique work stories!
-
@stargazer said in Science!:
Well - that led me to ask "Helicopter? What? Does Mars have an atmosphere?" - and rather than taking the normal approach and just ask here - I actually bothered to type it into a different tab, and get an immediate answer, which led to...
- So yes, Mars has an atmosphere - albeit much thinner than Earth's
- But - it used to have a much thicker atmosphere, much more like Earth's (which meant water, blah blah, the dry riverbeds, blah blah, building blocks of life, blah whatever)
- So... if Mars lost most of its atmosphere, ending up a dry husk of a planet... could Earth do the same...?
- Yeah... that's already happening - but likely to take about a billion years, so... probably not Greta's priority just yet
Science!
-
Had no idea they disappeared for this long... crazy.
https://this.kiji.is/767046768387915776?c=432846504552744033
Periodical cicadas burrow into the ground after hatching, some digging as far as 8 feet (2.4 meters) below ground. While underground, the nymphs suck the sap from tree roots for nourishment and after 17 years, they emerge and climb trees and shrubs, where they shed their crunchy skins and harden into maturity. The males make a cacophony of sounds in the tree tops as they look to mate.
-
@machpants said in Science!:
@bones The cool thing is how the different species stay under for prime number years, so they don’t come out at the same time and compete for food.
That fucks with my head... maybe there really is a Sky-Fairy who intelligently designed all this shit.
Until he got to mankind - he was pissed and/or hungover that day. -
@machpants said in Science!:
@bones The cool thing is how the different species stay under for prime number years, so they don’t come out at the same time and compete for food.
That fucks with my head... maybe there really is a Sky-Fairy who intelligently designed all this shit.
Until he got to mankind - he was pissed and/or hungover that day.It is butterflies that get me.
- cocoon yourself and emerge as a completely different looking creature
- monarchs able to remember where 3 generations ago were born and returning to the same spot
- monarch caterpillars that survive only eating the milkweed plant. That plant is poisonous, and kills many of the caterpillars, but those that survive are left alone by predators, because they carry the milkweed toxin even as butterflies
Recommended reading is The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams
-
@stockcar86 said in Science!:
@machpants said in Science!:
@bones The cool thing is how the different species stay under for prime number years, so they don’t come out at the same time and compete for food.
That fucks with my head... maybe there really is a Sky-Fairy who intelligently designed all this shit.
Until he got to mankind - he was pissed and/or hungover that day.It is butterflies that get me.
- cocoon yourself and emerge as a completely different looking creature
- monarchs able to remember where 3 generations ago were born and returning to the same spot
- monarch caterpillars that survive only eating the milkweed plant. That plant is poisonous, and kills many of the caterpillars, but those that survive are left alone by predators, because they carry the milkweed toxin even as butterflies
Recommended reading is The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams
And the adult butterfly only lives for 60-70 days usually, just enough time to mate then dead!!
-
@canefan Puriri moth has an even sadder story
It spends the first five to six years of its life as a grub in a tree trunk (common host plants are the puriri tree (Vitex lucens) and putaputawētā (Carpodetus serratus), but puriri larva also inhabit non-native species such as Eucalyptus), with the last 48 hours of its life as a moth.
We lived in a rental many years ago surrounded by Puriri trees and at night the high ceilings and high glass window attracted moths, and you could see the MOrepork swoop in to take them, at upto 15cm wingspan they are a sight!!
-
@stockcar86 said in Science!:
@machpants said in Science!:
@bones The cool thing is how the different species stay under for prime number years, so they don’t come out at the same time and compete for food.
That fucks with my head... maybe there really is a Sky-Fairy who intelligently designed all this shit.
Until he got to mankind - he was pissed and/or hungover that day.It is butterflies that get me.
- cocoon yourself and emerge as a completely different looking creature
- monarchs able to remember where 3 generations ago were born and returning to the same spot
- monarch caterpillars that survive only eating the milkweed plant. That plant is poisonous, and kills many of the caterpillars, but those that survive are left alone by predators, because they carry the milkweed toxin even as butterflies
Recommended reading is The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams
Yeah, maybe the Big Guy was on acid when he got to the butterflies.
That would actually be a sweet book, or at least essay... the true 7 Days of Creation...
Day 1 - God was sober, straight, and enthused - created.... some plant-life, the nice little fishies, some mammals
Day 2 - He was into the groove of things - created... some of the basic insects, same cleverer mammals, some birds and shit. Celebrated with a glass of wine or 2.
Day 3 - Still into it, but feeling a bit tired, and wanting to have some fun with it - created... plants that eat shit - Venus Fly-Trap, etc; some poisonous fishes, insects, whatever... has a few bevvies to take the edge off, and then... celebrate
Day 4 - Feeling a little over it all, but fuck it... let's create... all sorts of shit with camouflage instincts, a subconscious reaction to feeling shit. Shit, that was smart, maybe a couple of whiskies to send me to sleep
Day 5 - Feeling rough, fuck it - let's kick off the day with a wee toot of the sweet Coca I created... then make an Octopus... fuck yeah, then... ahhh... fuck, those mammals are loud... let's get a Candiru in there to fuck that shit up.
Day 6 - Still awake... let's drop a tab, on top of some constant cocaine... and just fuck shit up... a mammal based on me... a real sociopath type, but with opposable thumbs and the ability to just destroy everything else I've created.
Day 7 - rest. Just... let me fucking rest, The fucking snails are hurting my ears.