- A Bubbly Origin for Stars around the Sun (youtube.com)
This video describes new research linking an interstellar void known as the Local Bubble to nearby star-forming regions. It begins by zooming into an artist’s rendering of the Milky Way to our own galactic neighborhood. Next, an animation beginning 14 million years ago steps through time to show how a series of supernovas created the Local Bubble. As the bubble expands, it sweeps up gas and dust that condense to form star clusters. The video then resets to 14 million years ago and steps forward again to show how the Sun’s path through the Milky Way galaxy brought it into the Local Bubble about 5 million years ago. Today, we’re coincidentally close to the middle of the bubble. Finally, the video pans around a 3D model of the Local Bubble and associated star-forming regions as they exist today. Video Credit: STScI
- Sea of Galilee (Wikipedia)
The Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, Arabic: بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a salt lake), with its elevation fluctuating between 215 and 209 metres (705 and 686 ft) below sea level (depending on rainfall). It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 metres (141 ft). The lake is fed partly by underground springs, but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south with the outflow controlled by the Degania Dam.
- Pliocene (Wikipedia)
The Pliocene ( /ˈplaɪ.əsiːn, ˈplaɪ.oʊ-/ PLY-ə-seen, PLY-oh-; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Prior to the 2009 revision of the geologic time scale, which placed the four most recent major glaciations entirely within the Pleistocene, the Pliocene also included the Gelasian Stage, which lasted from 2.588 to 1.806 million years ago, and is now included in the Pleistocene.