Through The Waves

Top 10 Hubble Pix

Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years

...they illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful.'

Michael Hanlon/AH (Nov 25th, 2006)

After correcting an initial problem with the lens, when the Hubble Space Telescope was first launched in 1990, the floating astro-observatory began to relay back to Earth, incredible snapshots of the 'final frontier' it was perusing.

Recently, astronauts voted on the top photographs taken by Hubble, in its 16-year journey so far. Remarking in the article from the Daily Mail, reporter Michael Hanlon says the photos 'illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful.'

Enjoy!

Hubble Telescope's top ten greatest space photographs. Awesome!!!

The Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes... The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.

In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called 'Eskimo' because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.

At four is the Cat's Eye Nebula.

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a 'pinched-in-the-middle' look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).

The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements.

Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way.

The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.

The Trifid Nebula. A 'stellar nursery,' 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.

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You have just seen theTop 10 Hubble Pictures!!!

Singapore's Stunning Super Forest

The view from the treetops: Singapore's stunning super forest takes shape as its opening day nears

• Gardens By The Bay development unveils treetop walkway with panoramic views of the city

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 20:59 GMT, 30 April 2012 | UPDATED: 21:02 GMT, 30 April 2012

Towering above the city, these trees as tall as skyscrapers are beginning to take shape.

The man-made structures are part of an artificial woodland stretching 50 metres into the sky - soon to be one of Singapore's newest tourist attractions.

As the opening date draws near for the city's Gardens By The Bay, two new permanent features have been added to the skyway attraction in time for its launch date of June 29.

Visitors will be able to take in a panoramic view of the gardens via an aerial walkway, dubbed the OCBC Skyway, which is set against the backdrop of Marina Bay.

Walkway in the heavens: The aerial bridge suspended high in the 'tree' tops offer panoramic views of the surrounding area

Colossal: The imposing trees have concrete trunks weighing hundreds of tonnes, while thousands of thick wire rods have been used to create artificial branches and canopies

The walkway is suspended 22 metres above the ground - about seven storeys high - and links two Supertrees that reach 42-metres into the sky.

The opening programme of the gardens will also feature the second attraction - a dramatic OCBC Light and Sound Show, which is due to be unveiled on July 2. Featuring multimedia special effects, the show will run every night.

The imposing trees have colossal concrete trunks weighing hundreds of tonnes. While thousands of thick wire rods have been used to create artificial branches and canopies.

The incredible installation was created as a national landmark as the island looks to create a vast green space in its Marina South district that will become the 'botanical capital of the world'.

But the towering supertrees will be hard to miss for the thousands of people expected to descend on the recreation area.

Each Supertree will have added to it a canopy weighing around 20 to 85 tonnes, which is hoisted into place over three to four hours by a hydraulic-jack system.

Steel frames are then added onto the sides to represent the dark bark of natural woodland.

Domineering: The island's vast skyscrapers can be seen behind the trees while smaller, real real trees struggle to reach the same immense heights

'The botanical capital of the world': The incredible installation was created as a national landmark as the island looks to create a vast green space in its Marina South district

Looking skywards: Each Supertree will have added to it a canopy weighing around 20 to 85 tonnes, which takes three to four hours to hoist into place by a hydraulic-jack system

Environmental experts have even been drafted in to add solar panels to seven of the trees. The energy will then be used to light the areas below.

The entire structure will house a cluster of green conservatories when it is completed. Inside the trees there will be plants from around the world. The park will also become home to the Singapore Garden Festival.

Hanging gardens and rainwater catches will be added to the trees and a 22 metre high walkway will be made between two of the canopies allowing guests to take in a view of the scenery.

The Gardens at Marina South is one of three waterfront garden projects under the massive Gardens by the Bay initiative, with the other two in Marina East and Marina Center.

Leaders want to  create a continuous ring of greenery, with the three gardens wrapping around the Marina Bay area.

'They have to be lightweight, they have to be maintainable and hardy, and a great amount of effort has gone into looking for plants that can actually be sustained on this living skin,' Kenneth Er from Gardens by the Bay told Channel News Asia.

Horticultural heaven: The entire structure will house a cluster of green conservatories when it is completed where, inside, visitors can find plants from all over the world. The park will also become home to the Singapore Garden Festival

Upward bound: The towering supertrees will be hard to miss for the thousands of people expected to descend on the recreation area when it opens

Pic taken at the right moment

  

Fish Eye Lens Photography

Who needs Instagram? Extraordinary landscapes of America captured with good old fish-eye lens By Tom Gardner PUBLISHED: 15:59 GMT, 18 April 2012 | UPDATED: 17:14 GMT, 18 April 2012 These stunning images should certainly give you a new perspective on the world. Photographer Randy Scott Slavin spent months taking hundreds of shots from some of the most iconic and beautiful parts of the U.S. to create his amazing collection of landscape pictures. The 34-year-old New Yorker used hi-tech computer software to stitch a series of snaps taken with a super wide angle 'fisheye' lens into one jaw-dropping 360 degree image to make. Curved: Photographer Randy Scott Slavin captured this stunning picture of the Empire State building in New York with a fisheye lens which enables him to get all 360 degrees of the city into view Topsy turvy: This amazing photographs shows Battery Park in New York as it's never been seen before with the ground warped around the sky His post-production work can take from a full day up to a couple of weeks to finish, but resulted in the stunning Alternate Perspective series which will be exhibited in July. Randy explains: ‘In my music videos, I've continually tried to take concepts to the next level, to push the ideas to be more engaging, moving and stimulating-and I approach photography with the same philosophy. ‘When I began shooting landscapes, I was compelled to push the perspective. After experimenting heavily with panoramic photography, I developed a technique that could realise my desire to turn the real into the surreal. The result is something rebellious, beautiful and provocative. My 'Alternative Perspectives' series is a collection of the works culled from these photographic explorations.’ Randy - a cutting edge filmmaker and music video director for bands including Foo Fighters - travelled across America to seek out landscapes for his work, taking in views ranging from California to Florida. He says that the calming nature of the work is an antidote to his fast-paced New York lifestyle. Creative: Snapper Randy Scott Slavin not only used his technique to photograph iconic landmarks across the U.S. he also captured other picturesque locations, including this dock in Westport, Connecticut On tour: The 34-year-old headed to all four corners of the U.S. as part of his Alternate Perspective, taking this picture of the Big Sur, in California He said: ‘I do the work that I do because it inspires and motivates me. I will eagerly jump out of bed at 4am to catch a sunrise, to hike, climb or endure treacherous weather for the good of the shot. The effort is always worth it. ‘Taking great landscape photos are extremely difficult. The photographing of the images is the actually least time consuming part of the process. What takes the longest is finding the places that are worthy of shooting and getting to the spot that's best to shoot them from. ‘You can't light landscapes so it's important to figure out what the best time of day is to take a photograph. Sometimes this means long hours of waiting and watching... This is one of the most meditative parts of the process and one which I really enjoy. Being from New York City, where the pace is blistering, there's nothing better than finding a beautiful spot and just watching the light change throughout the day. Randy chooses his location in different ways; sometimes stumbling onto an ideal shot or at other times knowing exactly what he is trying to capture. ‘While on a vacation with my fiancé I took the image entitled Big Sur. Northern California is a magical place where epic elements collide. It's really hard to take a bad photograph there. Vision: The New Yorker, who has also directed music videos for bands including Foo Fighters, took himself out of his comfort zone with this landscape photography project Enveloping: The Everglades, in Florida, appear to close in on the viewer in this picture, which forms part of the Alternate Perspective series by photographer Randy Scott Slavin 'We spent the day on top of a cliff and the clouds had rolled in below us. It was like being in an airplane. I ran to get my gear and just barely caught the sunset. The scene was surreal even before I touched it in post. ‘I found the location for Sea and Moon while driving on the Florida coastline. I saw a jetty that looked beautiful and the sun was about an hour from setting. Perfect timing. I ran out to the end and set up my gear. 'It was beautiful and warm with a light drizzle but the sky was heavy with dark clouds. As the sun was setting there was a moment maybe lasting for ten seconds where the sunlight was so golden It felt unreal. A minute after I got the shot the clouds opened up and it started to pour.’ In July, Randy will exhibit his Alternate Perspective series at the opening of a new boutique by celebrity jewellery designer and goldsmith Kristen Farrell in Soho, New York. Painstaking: Randy Scott Slavin can take up to a hundred pictures of a scene to build up a 360 degree image before using clever computer software to stitch them together to make what is called a stereographic projection Clever: Technology is used to turn sometimes hundreds of pictures, in this case Redwood trees in Big Sur, California, into a single image

   

Dunia lain.. Tasik Biru di Russia

Underwater photographer Viktor Lyagushkin explores the Blue Lake in Russia

 

National Geographic photographer Victor Lyagushkin accompanied a team of divers to explore the underwater cave network of the Blue Lake, near the Caucasus Mountains in Russia.



At 770 feet long, 400 meters wide and 800-feet-deep, the Blue Lake is currently considered to be the deepest type of lake in the world, called a Karsk lake. Karsk lakes are usually formed from limestone rock which is eroded by water from below.



"Russian divers attempted to locate the cave system and source of the spring leading into one of the deepest underwater cave systems in the world," said Victor. "Such complicated and deep dives need a big team of well-educated and experienced divers who work together as a team."



"The problem is that this unique natural object was not explored at all - we know almost nothing about it. The aim of the project was to make scientists pay attention to this lake and to make them start researching it. We wanted people to understand that this is not a puddle, but an unknown and wonderful world under the water."



The Blue Lake, near the Caucasus Mountains in Russia



Obseving underwater shrubs



Plant like growths



This can be a totally new experience and adventure



Sunlight shows through water



After the exploration, it is time to head for the surface