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Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing - A Bug Bigger Than Your Average Phone

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When you think ‘butterfly’, what is the first image that pops up in your head? A ditzy little monarch fluttering in your garden? The tiny white ones that may be moths, but they are so small it’s difficult to tell? Well thinking that a butterfly is a small thing that you can go see at those great science centers is slightly stereotypical. The Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing holds the title for the world’s biggest butterfly, displaying a wingspan of up to 11-12 inches. This insect has had an interesting journey from its discovery funded by bankers in the 1900s to being endangered now. Read on to get the full story of this queen. Discovering The Blue Planet’s Biggest Butterfly Ornithoptera alexandrae, or as it is more commonly known, the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, was discovered in 1906 by naturalist Albert Stewart Meek. Walter Rothschild, who was a British politician and banker, also had a passion for recreational zoology. To pursue this, he employed Meek to collect butterflies for him
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Little Known Truths About Coral Reefs - And Why They Matter

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Coral What? Coral reefs are vital aquatic habitats that provide a significant percentage of Earth’s biodiversity, or various diverse organisms living within a given area. Scientists’ evaluations show that 25% or more of the world’s marine species live around or in a coral reef. Coral itself is not a plant, as many people mistakenly assume, but rather an animal. There are six thousand species of coral all over Earth, and they live in various places, from shallows to the deepest depths. Corals are colonial organism since they are actually many microorganisms and individual creatures linked together in order to survive. These fascinating creatures are polyps and use ions in seawater to make themselves limestone exoskeletons. Look What Humans Did Now…... Seeing that humans (no offense people) began to - in some way, shape, or form - slowly destroy the earth whether it’s the air or the sea, it’s no wonder coral reefs have been affected too. Human-caused, or anthropogenic activities, pose hu
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Comets vs. Asteroids vs. Meteors: Synonymous or Different?

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Our universe is unimaginably vast and contains hundreds of thousands of objects. Some of these can be very easily mistaken as another because a lot of them overlap traits. A quite common example of this is comets, asteroids, and meteors. A lot of people use these terms synonymously, which is a mistake considering their distinct differences. This post will discuss these differences and hopefully clear up common misconceptions. Comets Comets, by definition, are small, icy, solar system bodies that make the sad mistake of getting too close to the gigantic ball of gas and plasma that we call our sun. When comets pass too close, they start heating up, releasing gases, which scientists refer to as 'outgassing' (no, for real). This creates a 'gravitationally unbound atmosphere', or a coma. The dust, gas, and ice particles start streaming behind the comet, creating the symbolic tail. Fun Facts: The name comet comes from Kometes, which means long hair. In this case
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8 Questions You May Have About Black Holes

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A lot of people have heard the term 'black hole'. But like most things in space, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Humans have a tendency to assume the unknown, so here are 8 questions that are often asked by the general public. 1) What is a black hole? A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong, anything that gets in, even light, can’t get out. The gravity of a black hole is this strong because a large quantity of matter has been compressed into a small space. Black holes form when a star dies. Due to the fact that light cant bounce back out of a black hole, we can’t see them. Special tools that are used to identify black holes have special features that enable the user to identify how certain stars, which are closer to black holes, act differently compared to other stars. 2) How can black holes be studied when they are black? Nothing, as in even x-rays and other forms of light, can escape from the inside of the event horizon of a black hol
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Turkey's Deadly Earthquake: What, Why, and How to Help

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     Earthquakes have been a natural force feared by human beings since they were initially encountered. On February 6, 2023, a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Turkey/Syria area. Turkey, which sits on a major active fault line (the North Anatolian fault), is prone to earthquakes. according to  Global News . Earthquakes are caused when two tectonic plates interact or push against each other. On February 6 th , the African, Anatolian (where Turkey sits), Arabian and Eurasian plates all interacted on the North Anatolian Fault, causing the disastrous earthquake.   Data derived by  USA Today  says that “authorities say the death toll has surpassed 11,000 and probably will keep climbing. An estimated 6,000 buildings were toppled”. Hundreds are still believed to be buried under the rubble. According to Brian Olson, who’s Twitter conversation was displayed by  USA Today,  “Yesterday's M7.8 earthquake in southern Turkey ruptured along segments of the East Anatolian Fault zone tha
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How the Universe Began: 7 (Of the Many) Theories

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     Have you ever wondered how it all began? How our universe itself was formed? I know I have. People have tried to contemplate the answer to this mind-bending question since the beginning of time itself. And after years of wondering, they came up with 7 popular theories in response to one of humanities greatest mysteries. ** Note: These are in no shape or form all known theories, but merely the widespread or most popular ones 1. White Holes In order to understand a white hole, you need to know how a black hole works. Black holes are created by a star that died. This star then creates a hole that sucks all light and matter into itself, where it cannot escape. A white hole does the opposite thing; It spits out the matter. So, a white hole lives in the hypothetical region in spacetime, where it can’t take any material in, but only expel it. But white holes haven’t yet been proven to exist, and are a hypothesis created by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. 2. Mirage of the Black H
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Radio Astronomy – Listening to Space

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     It is said that there is no sound in space. But radio astronomy allows people to literally listen to it. “Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that give off radio waves” (NSF). It is a branch of astronomy solely focused on the ‘radio’ part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Using this, scientists’ study celestial objects which give off radio waves. Radio astronomy helps people analyze cosmic happenings that are invisible on the electromagnetic spectrum. It’s the study of the universe using radio emissions.  History      Radio astronomy started in 1932, when Karl G. Jansky, engineer, solved a puzzling problem: there was noisy static that was interfering with the short-wave radio for the transatlantic voice communications. After trying to find the source for moths, he discovered that it was moving across the sky. After discussing with some astronomers, he found that some radio waves from outside the solar system – in the center of the Milky Way – were the cause of the pro
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