November Gallery

10 Nov 1997

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Nuclear, Nuclear Power Station, Nuclear Reactor, Power Station, Pressurised Water Reactor, Pwr, Reactor, Sizewe, Sizewel, Sizewell B, Sizewell Nuclear Power Station, Uk, United Kingdom

Coloured X-ray of a stick insect with eggs

Stick insect. Coloured X-ray of a stick insect belonging to the Phasmida order. In the abdomen are oval-shaped eggs. Stick insects have elongated legs and bodies, and so closely resemble the twigs of the plants on which they feed. By staying motionless, the stick insect is camouflaged and protected against predators. Some species of stick insect even have eggs which resemble the fruit of the plants on which they live. Stick insects are found around the world in tropical and sub- tropical regions. Some species can reach up to 35 centimetres in length

© D. ROBERTS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Artwork of comets passing the Earth

Nemesis comets. Artwork of comets passing close to the Earth. The Nemesis star, which caused them, is seen in a dark lane of the Milky Way at upper right. Nemesis is a hypothetical companion star of the Sun. It is claimed to be a low-mass, dim red or brown dwarf star which has an eccentric orbit. It is claimed Nemesis perturbs the orbits of lumps of ice in the Oort Cloud at the edge of our solar system. These perturbed comets enter the inner solar system and become comets. The comets tails are formed from gas and dust which has evaporated from their surface due to the Sun's heat. Impacts from Nemesis comets could be the cause of the periodic mass extinctions in Earth's history

© JOE TUCCIARONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY