Rosette Nebula HaRGB By Neil’s Astro On Flickr.

Cut Timber

Solstice

About 12 hours ago we passed the solstice, the start of Winter for the Northern Hemisphere and Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. I’d have had this post done but my computer was misbehaving.

Anyway, one of my favorite things to check out on the solstice is the view from the Japanese Himawari-8 weather satellite. That satellite, launched a few years ago, sends back HD pictures and video from a geostationary orbit over the Pacific. That means it can watch as the earth rotates into shadow each night. Here’s its lovely solstice view from today – a thin band of light is always present at the south pole, and the north pole never appears.

-JBB

Video credit: https://twitter.com/himawari8bot/status/943853755753263104

Little Stars ♥

NGC 281

Hey!! I find marine biology super cool, but everyone tells me I won't get a stable salary from it. Any advice?

Hello!! So sorry about the late reply. Anyway, I understand your struggle with people constantly wondering about the financial stability of a scientific career. For some scientific careers, especially those relating to marine biology, it is hard to estimate earnings because there are so many different pathways to chose from. What I mean by this is that your could take your passion for the ocean and work in many different places doing vastly different things. For example, you could work at a university teaching students and researching, or you could work in an aquarium taking care of animals, or you could work at a private research company/consulting firm. Each of these paths have different salary ranges. Another thing about marine biology is that it is a highly competitive field (and may be one of the reasons why people see this career as less stable than others.) 

I will not lie to you and say that marine biology careers are the most lucrative option out there; however, this does not mean that you cannot make a stable salary! Marine science careers, in my opinion, are more about your passion and drive to discover, educate, or conserve. So my main advice would be to continue doing what you love. If you are passionate about marine biology you will find that the advantages far outweigh the few downfalls. Also if you are not quiet sure if a career in marine sciences is your calling then you still have plenty of time to figure it out. Try interning or volunteering where you may be able to earn some experience.

Sorry about my rambling!! I hope it helped at least. 

And if it didn’t I highly suggest you check out SciAll.org’s YouTube channel. He has some cool videos. The video I linked here may help to answer your question.

Thank you so much and have a Thresher Shark for the road!!

Infraphylum Agnatha

Agnathans are a group of jawless fishes that include Myxini (hagfish) and Petromyzontidae (lampreys). Pictured above are Petromyzontidae, also known as lampreys.  The name “lamprey” is derived from Latin meaning “stone licker.” The most well known lamprey species are a parasitic and feed by boring into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood. However there are a some species of lamprey that non-parasitic.