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FIRST-EVER FOOTAGE OF INDONESIAN COELACANTH IN NORTH MALUKU REVEALS NEW INSIGHTS INTO RARE SPECIES

The coelacanth, often dubbed a "living fossil," is one of the most iconic and mysterious marine vertebrates. Long thought extinct until its rediscovery in 1938, only two species are known today—Latimeria chalumnae in the western Indian Ocean, and L. menadoensis in Indonesia. The latter, the Sulawesi coelacanth, lives in deep, difficult-to-access reef habitats and has rarely been observed alive. For the first time, divers using advanced technical diving equipment have filmed a live Indonesian coelacanth in situ, at a depth of over 150 metres in North Maluku, a region where the species had not previously been recorded.

Left profile of the coelacanth, with its unique pattern of white dots. Photo by Alexis Chappuis.

- Localities from whence the Sulawesi Coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis, has been reported in black stars. White star shows the North Maluku Province, where the first in situ sighting by technical divers was made.

This sighting is more than just a milestone in exploration—it provides critical data on the ecology and distribution of an animal that is evolutionarily unique and highly vulnerable. With few individuals ever seen in the wild, each observation adds valuable insight into how these ancient fish live and where they might still be found. It also underscores the urgency of protecting deep reef habitats that are increasingly at risk from human activities. Understanding and safeguarding the ecosystems that support the coelacanth is essential if we hope to ensure its survival into the future.

Main photo: Deep diver about a meter behind the coelacanth discovered at a depth of -144 m in North Maluku, Indonesia. Photo by Alexis Chappuis.

Reference (Open Access): Chappuis et al. 2025 First record of a living coelacanth from North Maluku, Indonesia. Sci Rep

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DID THE UNIVERSE EXIST FOREVER??

Blog#511

Wednesday, June 4th, 2025,

Welcome back,

The Universe has not existed forever. It was born. Around 13.82 billion years ago, matter, energy, space – and time – erupted into being in a fireball called the Big Bang. It expanded and, from the cooling debris, there congealed galaxies – islands of stars of which our Milky Way is one among about two trillion. This is the Big Bang theory.

A universe popping into existence out of nothing is so bonkers that scientists had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the idea. But the evidence is compelling. The galaxies are flying apart like pieces of cosmic shrapnel. And the heat of the Big Bang is still around us.

Greatly cooled by cosmic expansion, this ‘afterglow’ appears not as visible light but principally as microwave radiation – the ‘cosmic background radiation’, which was discovered by radio astronomers in 1965.

When a stick of dynamite explodes, the detonation occurs in one place and shrapnel flies into the void. In the Big Bang, there was no centre and no pre-existing void, so it didn’t happen at any ‘location’. Space itself popped into existence and began expanding everywhere at once.

Astronomy books often liken the Universe to a rising cake, with raisins representing galaxies. As the cake grows, raisins recede from each other, with no centre of expansion – just like the Big Bang. But of course, a cake has an edge, unlike the Universe, which may go on forever. No analogy is perfect!

In the beginning of the Big Bang there was the inflationary vacuum. When it doubled its volume, it doubled its energy; when it tripled its volume, it tripled its energy. If banknotes were like this and you pulled apart a stack, ever more would appear. Physicists call inflation the ‘ultimate free lunch’!

The inflationary vacuum expanded ever faster. But it was a ‘quantum’ thing. And quantum things are fundamentally unpredictable. Randomly, all over the inflationary vacuum, parts of it ‘decayed’ into ordinary, everyday vacuum.

Think of tiny bubbles forming in a vast ocean. In each bubble, the inflationary vacuum disappeared, but its enormous energy had to go somewhere.

It went into creating matter and heating it. It went into creating a Big Bang. Our Big Bang Universe is merely one such bubble among a possible infinity of other Big Bang universes in the ever-expanding inflationary vacuum!

To start all this, a chunk of inflationary vacuum of only a kilogram was needed. Incredibly, the laws of quantum theory permit this to pop into existence out of nothing.

Originally published on https://www.sciencefocus.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, June 7th, 2025)

"WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MYSTERY IN SPACE??"

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Stunning Interstellar Turbulence

The space between stars, known as the interstellar medium, may be sparse, but it is far from empty. Gas, dust, and plasma in this region forms compressible magnetized turbulence, with some pockets moving supersonically and others moving slower than sound.  (Image and research credit: J. Beattie et al.; via Gizmodo) Read the full article

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SO THEY MADE WOOLY MICE AND I LOVE THEM

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In this video, take a flight through millions of galaxies mapped using coordinate data from DESI.

Credit: Fiske Planetarium, CU Boulder and DESI collaboration

astrohumanist

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she executive on my dysfunction till i. dont do anything

[undercreative]

stop ignoring yourself. fix your posture, get a new hair cut, do your nails, take care of your skin, brush your teeth, drink water, eat foods that give you energy. get strong, stop looking sloppy. when you feel good, you do good. invest in yourself.

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Officially decided I’m done waited for the “right opportunity” to wear things that make me happy. Who cares about being overdressed? Looking different? Being judged? I’m done.

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It takes 1 month to form a habit

2 months until you to feel it

3 months until you see the results

4 months until everybody sees it

Stop putting it off and start now!

⛧⋆ ˚｡🎀⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ⋆ ˚｡🩰⋆˚｡⋆౨ৎ⋆ ˚｡⋆🌷⋆ ˚⋆⚝˚⋆

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[undercreative]

I love this so much. Just. Stars... EVERYWHERE!! so many