Starship Asterisk*

VdB 152: Reflection Nebula in Cepheus
Credit & Copyright: Stephen Leshin
Explanation: Described as a "dusty curtain" or "ghostly apparition", mysterious reflection nebula VdB 152 really is very faint. Far from your neighborhood on this Halloween Night, the cosmic phantom is nearly 1,400 light-years away. Also

orin stepanek wrote:It may look ghostly; but to me it looks more like a bird waiting for mama to bring a nice juicy worm. It even has a twinkle in it's eye.

Orin

steermanc wrote:Just curious - I assume the faint reddish linear diagonal features in the upper right are artifacts. If not, what?

orin stepanek wrote:http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091031.html

It may look ghostly; but to me it looks more like a bird waiting for mama to bring a nice juicy worm. It even has a twinkle in it's eye.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus wrote:
<<The Platypus is a carnivore: it feeds on annelid worms and insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and yabbies (freshwater crayfish) that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. It utilises cheek-pouches to carry prey to the surface where they are eaten. The common name, Platypus, is Latin derived from the Greek words πλατύς ("platys", flat, broad) and πους ("pous", foot), meaning "flat foot." There is no universally agreed upon plural of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Colloquially, "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is technically incorrect; the Greek plural would be "platypodes".>>

jerbil wrote:Henceforth I shall definitely utilize the word "platypodes." Incidentally I learnt some time ago that they literally have a sting in their tail. Dangerous, though inoffensive, animals (and the only egg-laying mammal.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus wrote:It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans.