picture of the day : Vividly colored giant hot spring

 That is the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, USA.

 According to Wikipedia:

The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world.

The vivid colors in the spring are the result of pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The bacteria produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature of the water which favors one bacterium over another. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green. The center of the pool is sterile due to extreme heat.

The deep blue color of the water in the center of the pool results from the intrinsic blue color of water, itself the result of water’s selective absorption of red wavelengths of visible light. Though this effect is responsible for making all large bodies of water blue, it is particularly intense in Grand Prismatic Spring because of the high purity and depth of the water in the middle of the spring.

The spring is approximately 250 by 300 feet (80 by 90 m) in size and is 160 feet (50 m) deep. The spring discharges an estimated 560 US gallons (2,100 L) of 160 F (70 C) water per minute.

Picture of the Day 009

The Most Epic Supercell Thunderstorm Footage 

After four years of unsuccessful storm chasing, Mike Olbinski finally found what he was looking for. A massive rotating supercell thunderstorm with complex structure and active movement.

The result was the epic time-lapse video embedded below. The storm was spotted on June 3, 2013, near Booker, Texas. It was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and Rokinon 14mm 2.8 lens.

Picture of the Day 008

THE MASKED OWL

The Australian Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.

Masked Owls show strong reverse sexual dimorphism (obvious differences between male and female). A male Masked Owl’s weight ranges from 420-800g, while females are typically much larger ranging from 545-1260 g. Length ranges between 330–410 mm for males and 390–500 mm for females. Wing span is up to 1280 mm for southern female Masked Owls.

They are nocturnal and their prey includes rodents, small dasyurids, possums, bandicoots, rabbits, bats, birds, reptiles and insects. Their population on the mainland is declining and several states have placed this owl on the Species Conservation Status list.