#nebula!

[burningfudge]

a dysfunctional found family with dark pasts and no brain cells who saved the day with the power of friendship can be so personal

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Moon, Jupiter, and Venus Conjunction

[heycallmeplease]

Was your star next to mine ?

@skyrigel

[assassin1513]

⭐️💙⭐️Blue Royal Stars⭐️💙⭐️

[spacewonder19]

Hubble's new 35th anniversary images ©

[markscherz]

Meet the seven new frog species we just named after iconic Star Trek captains!

Artwork by A. Petzold, CC BY-ND 4.0

At the right time of year along rushing streams in the humid rainforests that stretch the length of Madagascar's eastern and northern mountain ridges, otherworldly trills of piercing whistles can be heard.

Are they birds? Insects? Communicator beeps? Tricorder noises?

No, they're little treefrogs!

Boophis janewayae. Photo by M. Vences, CC BY-SA 4.0

Until recently, we thought all of the populations of these little brown frogs across the island were one widespread species, Boophis marojezensis, described in 1994. But genetics in the early 2000s and 2010s showed that there were several species here, not just one.

Now my colleagues and I have shown that they are in fact eight separate species, each with unique calls!

These whistling sounds reminded us so much of Star Trek sound effects that we decided to name the seven new species after Star Trek captains: Boophis kirki, B. picardi, B. janewayae, B. siskoi, B. pikei, B. archeri, and B. burnhamae.

Photos of all new species described by Vences et al. 2024. CC BY-SA 4.0

I subtly and not-so-subtly built some Star Trek references into the paper, but probably the best one is this one:

'Finding these frogs sometimes requires considerable trekking; pursuing strange new calls, to seek out new frogs in new forests; boldly going where no herpetologist has gone before.'

— Vences et al. 2024

There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are at least two Trekkies amongst the authors (including yours truly). As fans of Star Trek, we are also just pleased to dedicate these new species to the characters who have inspired and entertained us over the decades.

On a personal note, this marks a milestone for me, as it means I have now described over 100 frog species! I am very pleased that the 100th is Captain Janeway's Bright-eyed Frog, Boophis janewayae (if you count them in order of appearance in the paper)—she is probably my favourite captain, and I really love Star Trek: Voyager.

You can read more about the discovery of these new species on my website! You can also read the Open Access paper published in Vertebrate Zoology here.

[space-dragon14]

King of Cosmos Ghidorah

with Nebula wings full of perpetual cosmic storms and a Black Hole for a heart, it consumes everything in it's path.

This is the biggest King Ghidorah i've drawn!

[dinchenix]

If you had the chance to join the journey through space, would you do it?

This artwork is also availabe as a wallpaper on my ko-fi here!💙

[morphic-abyss]

[letmeinimafairy]

First work for a space-themed exhibition, Fires above. I'm super emotional about early humans, them looking at the sky, telling stories about these lights up there. Stories older than the glacier. We've been looking for thousands of years, and it's impossible not to.

Painted on agate.

Sparks fly as the fires burn at midnight

[animatedtext]

requested by python-nebula

[aimeekb]

Milky Way arch over the Mojave desert, California

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 6357, Celestial Cathedral

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant Image Credit: Neil Corke

[spacewonder19]

Polaris in Dust Clouds © Miguel Claro

[ellohcee]

Star eater