These are the first photos ever taken of the clearest lake in the world. In the water of Blue Lake in New Zealand's South Island you can see for around 76 metres - in distilled water you can see 80 metres.

Funnily enough, our planet apparently did once have rings. According to current theories, millions of years ago a planet-sized body called Theia collided with Earth. A huge amount of material from Earth was blown up into orbit by the impact, where it formed a ring. Because this material was orbiting outside of earth's Roche limit, it eventually coalesced into the Moon.

These illustrations by Ron Miller show what our skies would look like if we had rings that were the same proportional size and position as Saturn's. ...

Did you know there is an island floating in the Pacific Ocean made entirely of garbage?


The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of trash and debris in the North Pacific Ocean. The center of this region of water is very calm because it lies within a gyre. A gyre is a circulating current in the ocean formed by wind patterns and the Earth’s rotation. Garbage does not escape easily from this region, and the rotation of the water here tends to draw trash in. The majority of the debris is composed of small plastic pieces that may not be visible to the naked eye but also do not biodegrade. Similar areas also exist in the Atlantic Ocean. This phenomenon is well-documented in shallow ocean depths. Now, according to scientists at the Montere ...

A manned mission to Mars will inevitably consist of a few people living in incredibly close quarters in a constantly stressful environment.

Starting next summer, Mars Society will be conducting a mock Mars mission in the Canadian Arctic. Six participants will live in a facility 7.6 meters tall (25 feet) and 8.3 meters wide (27 feet). For one full year, they will perform a great deal of geological experiments similar to work that would be done on Mars. Spacesuits will be worn to help simulate Mars-like conditions.

Though similar studies have been done in the past, this is the most stressful and will be more true to actual conditions on Mars. The goal of the experiment is to determine leadership structure and what equipment will be necessary. ...

Roll cloud over Uruguay. This low, roll cloud formation occurs when sinking cold air causes warm, moist air on the planet's surface to climb to higher altitudes, where the moisture condenses into cloud form. Roll clouds aren't dangerous in themselves, though, and many roll clouds form in relatively calm weather as a result of sea breezes.

Developed in the University of California, Berkeley, lab of Daniel Fletcher, the CellScope, here trained on an algae sample, turns the camera of a standard cell phone into a diagnostic-quality microscope with a magnification of 5x–60x.

The Amazonian giant centipede is the largest centipede alive, reaching lengths of 30 centimeters. They are carnivorous and feed on lizards, snakes, mice, and even bats. While their venom is not enough to kill an adult human, it may cause reactions with the skin.

Assassin bugs use a mouth tube to inject toxin into their prey. This toxin acts as an anaesthetic and also liquifies tissues, the easier to suck you dry with. There are thousands of assassin bug species; some eat only other insects and some attack reptiles, birds, and mammals. This assassin bug is turning the tables on a vampire bat. Notice how you can see the blood entering the young insect.