The Fish That Nearly Sank Isaac Newton’s Career
by Stephanie Pappas
An intricate image of a flying fish is one of hundreds of images now searchable online courtesy of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of science.
This striking wood engraving appeared in the 1686 text “Historia Piscium” or “The History of Fishes” by John Ray and Francis Willughby. Now mostly forgotten, the book was groundbreaking for its time. Unfortunately, “The History of Fishes” almost prevented another groundbreaking work from being published: Isaac Newton’s “Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica” (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”).
The lavish engravings in “The History of Fishes” were so expensive to publish that they nearly bankrupted the young Royal Society, at that time only 26 years old. Short of cash, the Society had to rescind its promise to help pay for the production of Newton’s masterpiece.
Fortunately for Newton (and for science), his “Principia” caught astronomer Edmond Halley’s eye. Halley would be remembered mainly for computing the orbit of the comet that bears his name, but at the time he was a young Royal Society clerk. Halley took on the “Principia” as a personal project, raising funds (many from his own pocket) to get the work published in 1687…
(read more: Live Science)
(image: John Ray and Francis Willughby, 1686, courtesy of the Royal Society)
(via scientificillustration)
amazing gif autoreblog
(Source: r3d-s0l0-cup, via imgfave)
Pithecophaga jefferyi - Philippine Eagle by ~UndeterminedBre
this is some badass eagle. ;)
now we need this pet.
(Source: bianca376, via traumahead)
The Otherworldy Flora and Fauna of the Coral Triangle
1. Mantis Shrimp
Stretching from Indonesia to the Philippine Islands, the Coral Triangle is home to a vast array of coral species and fish life.2. Coral Polyps
Roughly 1.5 billion acres in size, the region is home to more than 75% of the world’s coral global species.3. Organ-Pipe Coral
Like several other biodiverse marine regions, the area is under threat from overfishing and higher water temperatures that interfere with the coral’s life cycles.4. Denise’s Pygmy Seahorse
The reef also features the highest diversity of coral reef fishes in the world.
(via scinerds)
Photograph: Vu Dinh Thong. Strange New Leaf-Nosed Bat Found in Vietnam
that is not a vagina
that is not a vagina
that is not a vagina on the bat’s face.
smallest chameleon in Madagascar!
(Source: chopstickgirl, via imgfave)
A wasp looks like it is doing a daring trapeze act while being dangled from a blade of grass by four red ants. The insects lifted the wasp by his wings as they carried him back to their nest. Photographer Uda Dennie captured the team work outside his home in Batam Island, Indonesia. He said: “I love taking close-up photos of insects because it reveals things you rarely see. I went outside to look for insects and found these ants working together to carry the dead wasp back to their nest.” Picture: Uda Dennie/solent
Horse fly named in honor of Beyonce »
ScienceDaily (2012-01-13) — A previously unnamed species of horse fly whose appearance is dominated by its glamorous golden lower abdomen has been named in honor of American pop diva, Beyonce — a member of the former group Destiny’s Child, that recorded the 2001 hit single, “Bootylicious.”
