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spinat5000.bsky.social
Nat
@spinat5000.bsky.social
380 followers 1K following 41 posts
Mechanical engineer, working to reduce waste of energy, d/e/f
Here for beautiful and interesting things
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Reposted by Nat
wunderkammertales.bsky.social
“At last have mortal eyes gazed upon two reptiles of the great primitive ocean! I see the flaming red eyes of the Ichthyosaurus, each as big, or bigger than a man's head.”
 
(Jules Verne “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”)
 
🎨 Édouard Riou (1867)
 
#wyrdwednesday #bookillustration #booksky
Édouard Riou’s primordial terror for Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Two colossal aquatic dinosaurs, an ichthyosaurus and “Plesiosaurus, or sea crocodile”, their serpentine bodies coiled like living nightmares, rise from the depths, their flaming red eyes—each the size of a man’s head—burning with the cold fury of an ancient world. In the distance, a fragile boat of explorers trembles, mere specks against the monstrous grace of creatures that ruled the earth long before man
February 4, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Nat
ericlagadec.bsky.social
Quelle image extraordinaire depuis la station spatiale internationale !!!
En haut, des cercles d'étoiles, dus à la rotation de la Terre. En vert et rose, l'airglow de l'atmosphère terrestre ; en orange les lumières de villes; en bleu, des orages!

© Don Pettit
Quelle image extraordinaire depuis la station spatiale internationale !!! En haut, des cercles d'étoiles, dus à la rotation de la Terre. En vert et rose, l'airglow de l'atmosphère terrestre ; en orange les lumières de villes; en bleu, des orages! © Don Pettit
February 4, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Nat
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Artists have always loved to sketch!

Sketch of a sparrow from Egypt dated c. 1479–1458 BC.

Some 3,500 years ago in Egypt, artists used flakes of limestone as sketchpads!

MMA excavations 1922-23, Deir el-Bahri. 📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Met Museum photo of an Ancient Egyptian artist’s painting of a swallow on a flake of limestone, dated to the New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, c. 1479-1458 BC. The sparrow stands in profile with head to the right. It is delicately painted with a pinkish body. The outline and details are highlighted in a reddish/brown pigment. Its legs, eye, and beak are painted black. Limestone flake dimensions Height 6.6 cm x Width 10.6 cm. This may have been a practice drawing of the sparrow hieroglyph which was used for words meaning ‘small’, ‘poor’, or ‘bad’. Egyptian artisans who decorated tombs and temples made practice sketches on flakes of limestone which are known by egyptologists as ostraca (singular: ostracon). Sometimes the drawings were used as a template when transferring an image to the wall of a tomb or a temple. Limestone flakes were readily available for this purpose as by-products of the construction of temples and rock-cut tombs. A number of ostraca were recovered at Deir el-Bahri during the 1922-23 MMA excavations.
February 3, 2026 at 10:59 AM
spinat5000.bsky.social
Finally!
Snowdrops emerging from green foliage, surrounded by grass and fallen leaves.
February 2, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Nat
silverpebble2.bsky.social
Yesterday was the midway point between the winter solstice & the vernal equinox & today is Imbolc, the pagan celebration of the return of the light. We’re climbing out of winter & the whole botanical calendar (save snowdrops & aconites) is ahead. A very good thought in case you need it today 🌿:
A miniature posy I made from flowers in my garden in a tiny Victorian burst lip bottle
February 2, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Nat
dlr-next.bsky.social
Mit einiger Verspätung hier das gewohnte Bild der Sonne - soeben vom Satelliten GOES-19 zur Erde gefunkt. Credit: NOAA
Heute Morgen nicht zum gewohnten Sonnenbild gekommen, das hier nachgeholt wieder mal die ganze erdzugewandte Seite zeigt. Und zwar in weitgehend orangefarbenen Tönen, die allgemein als warm empfunden werden. Einige Gebiete etwas heller, andere dunkler. Insgesamt ein vergleichsweise friedlicher Anblick. Um den Rand auch nur ein dünner Saum aus Strahlung, also keine spektakulären Ausbrüche.
February 2, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Nat
chapps.bsky.social
A true rarity, this bronze goose was discovered in the ruins of Constantinople’s famed luxurious hippodrome. It has a pipe in its beak, so it was probably part of a fountain, providing water to the 100,000 spectators who could fit into the circus stands. 🏺 1/

Roman, 4th c. CE. #BritishMuseum
📸 me
Bronze figure of a goose with a dark patina, perhaps from a fountain. The neck section is removable and there is a pipe in the beak. The feathers are all delineated by engraving - it’s highly detailed. The webbed feet are missing. British Museum, London (1859,0601.1)
February 1, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Nat
kristenwixx.bsky.social
A peacock opening its tail in slow motion.
January 31, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Nat
christophermichel.com
At 70,000 feet, sealed inside a full pressure suit in the cockpit of a U-2, I made this photograph of Earth. For a brief stretch of time, the only people higher were the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. #SciArt
February 1, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Nat
drnwillburger.bsky.social
A child’s footprint frozen in time - pressed into a #Roman tile as it dried before firing nearly 1,800 years ago.

A tiny, timeless reminder of everyday life in the ancient world.

📷 online.landessammlungen-noe.at/objects/1306...

🏺
A close-up photo of a Roman tile, featuring a clearly imprinted footprint of a small child's right foo. The tiles shows a rough, broken edge on the left and top, with the detailed five-toed impression visible on the worn surface against a neutral gray background.
January 31, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Nat
thestarshipentity.bsky.social
NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26012...
Distorted galaxy NGC 2442 can be found in the southern constellation of the flying fish, (Piscis) Volans.
January 31, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Nat
banditelli.org
Here it is fully edited, the first harbor seal pup of 2026 pupping season in La Jolla, California kissing a VERY PROUD mama.

Full resolution: youtu.be/vDbShVpqvzk #sealsky 🦑 🦭
January 31, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Reposted by Nat
stim3on.bsky.social
You may have seen pictures, but have you ever seen video of a gigantic jet #TLE from space?

Astronaut Jeanette Epps captured this incredible sequence on July 20th, 2024 for the DTU/@science.esa.int Thor-Davis experiment. 🧪🔭

youtu.be/xN2J7_rOBJY

Credit: ESA/NASA/J. Epps
Processing: Simeon Schmauß
January 30, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Nat
ahistoryinart.bsky.social
Ever since his childhood visits to Kensington Gardens, Paul Nash had been drawn to trees - they held a spiritual quality for him. The tranquillity in this work from 1911, is heightened by the inclusion of birds which he saw as an emblem of freedom.
January 31, 2026 at 12:40 PM
spinat5000.bsky.social
A bit late to the game, but thanks to and inspired by @drspacejunk.bsky.social I got to read a lot of interesting things, I‘d saved for later.

#TabClosed2026
January 31, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Nat
davidbflower.bsky.social
Stunning image! 🔭 🧪
networkingnomad.net Jordan Martin @networkingnomad.net · 7d
The Pleiades star cluster (M45) captured over 25 hours. The blue glow is starlight reflecting off interstellar dust. The surrounding brown structures are the Integrated Flux Nebula, incredibly faint clouds lit by the glow of our entire galaxy.
#astrophotography #astronomy #space #m45
January 31, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Nat
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🏖️ Museum Carlsonianum, in quo novas et selectas aves, coloribus ad vivum brevique descriptione illustratas, suasu et sumtibus generosissimi possessoris /.
Holmiae: Ex Typographia Regia, 1786-1789..

[Source]
Illustration of a Loxia ferruginosa bird perched on a short, textured branch. The bird has a striking color pattern with a rusty brown body, a white head, and a prominent black throat patch. Its beak is short and pointed, and it appears alert, facing slightly upward. The background is plain, focusing attention on the detailed and lifelike depiction of the bird and branch. The image is a historical ornithological print from the late 18th century, emphasizing the bird's coloration and posture. The connection to "beach" is not visually evident in this image.
January 31, 2026 at 11:23 AM
Reposted by Nat
lyndie.bsky.social
See the solitary bright crater on the lower left? It's named after Aristarchus of Samos, who proposed that the Earth orbits the sun 1,800 years before Copernicus. An unbelievably insightful idea for its day (sadly ignored).

Image taken tonight by my tiny telescope.

#science #history 🔭👩🏾‍🔬
An 87% full moon with a bright spot on the lower left.
January 30, 2026 at 3:57 AM
Reposted by Nat
margogontar.bsky.social
I know many things are happening but please take a minute to read this: we are in full blackout in Kyiv, metro stopped, for the 1st time like this, power outages for the whole Ukraine and even in neighbouring Moldova now too. all because of Russia bombing our power stations , while it’s -19 outside
January 31, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Nat
esa.int
🚀 Date/time for Ariane 6 #VA267, the first flight of Ariane 6 in four-booster configuration (64). Launch window opens 12 February, 16:45 GMT/17:45 CET.

www.arianespace.com/news/mission... @transport.esa.int @cnes.fr
Arianespace's official mission patch for the VA267 mission, dedicated to the first Ariane 6 launch of 32 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit, and the first launch of Ariane 6 in four-booster configuration.
January 31, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Reposted by Nat
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
It's hard to grasp how large this grouper is until you see it in comparison to the ship's toilet on the left.

This appears to be an Atlantic goliath grouper or 'itajara' (Epinephelus itajara). They can reach 800 lbs (350 kg) & 8 feet long (2.5 m)

Let's talk about these gentle giants.
January 30, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Nat
greciangirl.bsky.social
🏛️ The beautiful mosaic floor of the Roman baths at the sanctuary of Poseidon, Isthmia, Greece. The baths were built in 150 CE on the site of pre-existing ancient Greek baths. 📹 My own.
January 30, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Nat
dlr-next.bsky.social
Guten Morgen zusammen - wie gewohnt mit einem aktuellen Bild der Sonne per Satellit GOES-19. Credit: NOAA
Die ganze erdzugewandte Seite der Sonne in orangefarbenen Tönen. Vergleichsweise ruhig wechseln sich hellere und dunklere Gebiete ab, wobei ein Saum aus Strahlung die Sonne umgibt, der mit zunehmender Entfernung ins Schwarz des Alls übergeht.
January 30, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by Nat
dancingsue.bsky.social
#fungifriends #mushrooms #mycology #nature #fungi #biology #photography
One more photo of Marasmius hudsonii (Holly parachute). This leaf had as many on the underside as the top!
January 29, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by Nat
marwellaspaceart.bsky.social
Waxing gibbous 85.6% on Thursday evening at 9.34 PM (UTC 2.34 PM).
January 29, 2026 at 9:44 PM