Cool Pictures 14: no , it wasn't me who painted Mona Lisa

[Birdjaguar]

Space debris surrounding Earth. Source: ESA

The problems posed by human-made junk in space worsened significantly in 2024, according to a new report by the European Space Agency. It follows a Chinese launch last August that raised alarms after a rocket exploded and created one of the biggest sources of space debris in decades. Pieces of old rockets, satellites or other spacecraft create collision risks for satellite operators such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsat’s OneWeb that provide internet connections from low-Earth orbit.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm reminded of that old TV series from the '70s, Salvage One. Andy Griffith plays a guy who flanges up a homemade rocket from stuff in a junkyard and goes to the Moon and into orbit, cleaning up the junk NASA and the Russians have left behind.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Gannets in Heligoland

 

[Samson]

Glastonbury tor at sunrise today

 

[Arakhor]

Oh, very impressive.

 

[Samson]

Once a year sunset at the South Pole. In the foreground of the pic, taken from NOAA's South Pole Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, is an upwind-facing sastrugi wave of snow, sculpted by polar surface winds. In the distance to the right are silhouettes of telescopes in the Dark Sector incl. the South Pole Telescope.

 

[Samson]

The 2025 World Press Photo of the Year has been awarded to Samar Abu Elouf, a Doha-based Palestinian photographer, for her poignant image of Mahmoud Ajjour, a young boy severely injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Herculaneum, buried by pyroclastic flows.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Smile!

Here's why cats' tongues feel like sandpaper:

(once you get used to it, it can feel either relaxing or ticklish)

 

[bene_legionary]

Some photos I've taken in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan up country. Tea plantations as far as the eye can see.

One of the arrangements of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kandy.

Galle Fort, originally built by the Portuguese four hundred years ago.

Tamil New Year celebrations. (Guess what's going on here.)

Finally, something more grounded to wider Sri Lankan society... the outskirts of Hatton town. But it could be any town, village, city in Sri Lanka.

 

[Samson]

Maletsunyane Falls in Lesotho.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Non public grounds within Vatican City.

 

[Samson]

A mural in Helsingborg, Sweden

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I ran across a page on FB that posts about beavers. This is a local beaver, whom the photographer has named ChewBarka. Apparently the beaver has lived in the area for at least 5 years (not as a pet, of course). The photographer has posted a lot of things about him lately.

So I guess it's not enough that I watch cat videos and penguin videos and occasional elephant videos. Now I'm watching beaver videos.

This is a screenshot I took of a video. Some of those dark round areas are actually raindrops falling into the lake.

ChewBarka's really cute:

 

[soundjata]

Ecosystems are beautiful
The forest and the beaver, the beaver and the forest... Much harmony!

 

[Birdjaguar]

People vote in Australia's general election at a polling station at the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club in Sydney on Saturday, May 3.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

They don't have to wear shoes indoors?

 

[Birdjaguar]

It is on a beach so apparently not.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My point is that most places don't let people wander around barefoot, for hygienic reasons. I'm just surprised these two didn't have to at least wear flip-flops. I'm not suggesting they need real shoes and socks.

 

[Samson]

My point is that most places don't let people wander around barefoot, for hygienic reasons. I'm just surprised these two didn't have to at least wear flip-flops. I'm not suggesting they need real shoes and socks.

That may be most places where you are, but I think this "bare feet are unhygienic" idea is a north american thing.

Torrefarrera, Cataluna, Spain

Banff, Canada