The Milky Way so close you can almost taste it: Breath-taking snaps of galaxy seen with the naked eye

By LEE MORAN


Stunning: Photographer Alex Cherney has dedicated his life's work to capturing the night sky as it is rarely seen by humans by using just an ordinary digital camera

A star-gazer has come a little bit closer to the final frontier - after spending 18 months photographing the night sky.

With just an ordinary digital camera, Alex Cherney turned thousands of snaps into an incredible time-lapse video of the cosmos.

Using long exposures to allow more light in, these breath-taking pictures from the southern tip of Australia demonstrate how he captured the dramatic way the sky changes at night.

The pictures show planets, shooting stars, the Milky Way, the Moon, satellites and planes as well as rolling clouds, changing tides and passing ships on the horizon.



Starry eyed: This shot by Alex Cherney shows star trails above Elephant Rock on the Mornington Peninsula in South Victoria



Crystal clear: Alex Cherney takes advantage of the lack of light pollution on the southern tip of Australia to capture incredibly detailed pictures of the cosmos



Magnificent: Alex Cherney's photographs show planets, shooting stars, and even the Milky Way - features that are rarely seen from the polluted skies of the Northern hemisphere


He also took advantage of the lack of light pollution from a remote peninsula on the south coast of Australia to record the dazzling scenes rarely seen from the polluted skies of the Northern hemisphere.

Alex, an IT consultant, spent six separate nights over 18 months shooting the sky - each with a new or crescent moon to ensure minimum interference from light.

His spectacular images were then edited into a two-and-a-half minute video, which has now beaten 250 entrants to win the prestigious Starmus astro-photography competition.



Dedicated: It consultant Alex Cherney spent six separate nights over 18 months shooting the sky



Award winning: Alex Cherney's spectacular images were edited into a video the prestigious Starmus astro-photography competition.


The 36-year-old father-of-two from Melbourne said: 'It was my daughter who got me into astronomy. She came home from school with a project and asked if we could find aliens, so we went along to a local astronomy club.

'I looked through a telescope for the first time and there was no going back - I was hooked. Two years later I took my first photo of the night sky. It's amazing to me that you can record the stars and colours in the sky so clearly - even more than with the naked eye.

'So much of our sky is disappearing due to excessive light pollution. Most people in developed countries wouldn't see anything like this when they look up.



Incredible: This stunning photograph taken from the southern tip of Australia shows a meteorite near the Milky Way


'In Australia we're fortunate in that we don't have to go far to get away from the city lights, and I hope my pictures will help other people realise what's really out there. For this, I went out whenever there was a new moon and good weather - six nights over the course of 18 months.

'I set my camera up to take a sequence of pictures, with each exposure of 30 seconds. I took around 1,000 pictures a night, and then I put them together to demonstrate how the sky moves in relation to our position on Earth.

'I don't see it as a finished product - it's definitely a work in progress and I hope to carry it on as long as I'm able to. I hope my work will show people this incredible sky they may never normally see.'



Beautiful: This picture shows the Moon and the Milky Way

source: dailymail

Let's light her up one last time! Atlantis overcomes a shaky launch to become the final Nasa shuttle to blast into space

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

One last hurrah: Atlantis blasts off for the International Space Station on Nasa's last space shuttle mission


The space shuttle Atlantis thundered into orbit today, writing the final chapter in a 30-year story of triumphs, tragedy and, ultimately, unfulfilled expectations.

A million-strong crowd crammed into Cape Canaveral surrounding towns to bid an emotional farewell to the shuttle as they watched it lift off on its 135th and final mission.

They lined causeways and beaches around the central Florida site, angling for a last glimpse of the pioneering ship that has defined the U.S. space program for the past 30 years.

While there were nervy moments as the countdown stalled for two minutes at 31 seconds while engineers fixed a problem with launch pad equipment - nothing could stop the historic lift off.

'Good luck to you and your crew on this final flight of this true American icon,' shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach radioed to the crew minutes before takeoff, adding: 'Have a little fun up there.'



Up, up and away: The shuttle almost didn't get off the ground though, as the giant countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center stuck at 0.31seconds for what seemed like



Just as the spectators at Cape Canaveral in Florida and tens of millions of television viewers around the world had given up hope, Atlantis began to rise



Off to the ISS: The shuttle was visible for 42 seconds before disappearing into the clouds



The final countdown: The shuttle lifts off as hundreds of fans watch a giant clock countdown with 13 seconds to go


Best view in the house: Some of an estimated one million spectators watch the launch


Emotional: Kennedy Space Centre employee Lisa Gorichky, right, cries as the shuttle lifts off while children watch from a nearby park


Fond farewell: The blast-off marks the beginning of the end for Nasa's shuttle programme


Soaring high: Thousands gather in the surf and on sand at Cocoa Beach, Florida to watch the shuttle pierce the clouds


Aerial view: The shuttle seen from a nearby Nasa aircraft as it lifts off. The plane subsequently flew through the remaining exhaust plume, left


One last time: The shuttle left a huge exhaust plume as it lifted off



No stopping now: A plume of smoke rises from the launch pad as Atlantis blasts into space


The final countdown: Commander Chris Ferguson gestures as he is strapped into his seat aboard Atlantis in footage screened on Nasa TV


Breakaway: Atlantis iseparates from its external fuel tank shortly after launch


Ready to roll: Atlantis crew members (from right to left) Commander Chris Ferguson, Rex Walheim, Doug Hurley and Sandra Magnus, head to shuttle Atlantis on launch pad 39-A for the final launch of the shuttle programme


Astrovan awaits: The astronauts wave to photographers before making the short journey to the launch pad





Hope: Nasa engineers fill Atlantis's tanks with rocket fuel this morning ahead of the shuttle's final flight



Lightning: A bolt struck about a third of a mile from Atlantis today. Nasa engineers didn't detect any damage


Wet: The Vehicle Assembly Building is seen through a window during a downpour at Space Center earlier today


Cover: Up to one million people are expected to try to watch the final shuttle launch live. Many are now ducking for cover in bad weather


Raincheck: A TV journalist is shielded by an umbrella as he reports from beside the launch pad


STS-135 Launch






source : dailymail

Thinking inside the box: Young inventor creates world first CARDBOARD vacuum cleaner using recycled packaging

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Clean and green machine: Jake Tyler with vacuum cleaner made from recycled cardboard


A British inventor has made the world’s first cardboard vacuum cleaner from the packaging of another model.

Jake Tyler's innovative machine so impressed cleaning giant Vax that it intends to put the model into production.

The 22-year-old an industrial design student at Loughborough University said: ‘I have really high hopes for the product, especially in Asian markets such as Hong Kong and China. It is very cheap to manufacture.


What a card: The cleaner, shown close up, is to be produced by vacuum giant Vax


‘I've been given a job at Vax as well so I can see the production through to the end.’
Mr Tyler developed the ‘ev’ model for his final-year degree project.

He was supported by the product design team at Vax's headquarters in Worcestershire, where he worked for a year under the company's student placement scheme.

He said: ‘I got the idea when we were looking at the manufacture of vacuum cleaners and thinking how to cut out as much waste as possible.

‘It is about being environmentally conscious by using cardboard and making it as recyclable as we possibly can.’

The Vax ev is made from corrugated cardboard panels, which come as part of the packaging.

They can be replaced if damaged and cost a 10th of the price of an equivalent plastic panel.

Jake said: ‘When people's vacuum cleaners go wrong they just throw them away, but this can be repaired very easily.

‘The cardboard panels have a flame-retardant coating and are also water repellant.
‘People can personalise their vacuums by drawing pictures on the cardboard.’

source: dailymail

Hide 'n' peek! The damselfly who thought he was hidden... but was given away by his bug eyes

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Peek-a-bug: This little Damselfly was caught hiding behind a blade of grass in Fordwich Lakes, near Kent


This little damselfly thought it was cleverly hiding behind a blade of grass at a British lake, but didn’t realise its big bug eyes gave away its disguise.

The tiny insect concealed its two-inch body and transparent wings by clinging onto the grass with its black legs.

But instead of being incognito, photographer Tony Flashman captured the common blue damselfly’s piercing eyes with his camera at Fordwich Lakes, near Kent.

Mr Flashman crawled around the lake’s meadows at 5am to try and photograph the flies before they become too active at sunrise.

And the Kent-born photographer said: ‘This little fly thought it was being clever by hiding behind the grass in a game of hide and seek but he didn’t do a very good job.

‘I could see his eyes peeking out from either side and its legs wrapped around the grass.
‘It needs to move from the thin long grass to the reeds, where it will have a bit more cover.’



We can see you! The long blue damselfly was captured by photographer Tony Flashman, from Kent


He added: ‘This fly behaved himself and allowed me to get a good photograph but I had to get there early.

‘As soon as it warms up, they start to move around too much.’

From another angle the slender damselfly is seen holding itself up against the grass as morning dew drops trickle down onto its wings.

Damselflies are similar to dragonflies but the adults differ by holding their wings long and parallel to the body when resting.

They are also usually smaller and weaker fliers than dragonflies and their eyes are wide apart – as seen poking out from behind this blade of grass.

Damselflies eat flies, mosquitoes and other small insects.


source: dailymail

World's first flying motorbike: Helicopter pilot invents the 'hoverbike' in his garage

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Futuristic: Helicopter pilot Chris Malloy tests his incredible contraption - the world's first flying motorcycle



Traffic jams could soon become a thing of the past thanks to an amateur inventor who has built the world's first flying motorcycle in his garage.

Australian Christopher Malloy ploughed his entire life-savings into the project which took him two and a half years to complete. His futuristic creation - dubbed the Hoverbike - can reach an altitude of 10,000ft and speeds of over 100mph.

Fans of the design have already compared Mr Malloy's work to the 'speeder bikes' from the Stars Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi or the hovering car from Back To The Future.


Big screen: Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) battle a baddie on their speeder bike in Star Wars Return of the Jedi


The 32-year-old former helicopter pilot built the incredible machine in his Sydney garage using a custom-built carbon-fiber airframe and a BMW engine.


Nice wheels: The Hoverbike is built from carbon fibre and can reach an altitude of 10,000ft and speeds of over 100mph


Flew beauty: The Australian inventor has ploughed his life-savings into the project


Mr Malloy is unwilling to reveal exactly how much he has spent on the project, but claims it is costing him roughly £140 a week.

He said the basic principle was similar to that of a Chinook helicopter and a normal motorbike.

He added: 'To lift off into a hover you just need to increase the thrust via a throttle grip with the right hand - exactly the same as the throttle on a motorbike.

'Flying forward involves a combination of an increase in thrust and the deflection of air from the front control vanes by twisting the left handle grip. You twist forward to accelerate and backwards to reverse.


Inspiration: the Hoverbike works along the same principle as Boeing's twin-propeller Chinook helicopter


'To to make the bike turn left and right, all one needs to do is push the handle bars down on the side you wish to turn just like a bicycle.

'You could lean in the appropriate direction as you would on a motorbike but this isn't proving to be very sensitive.

'Having previous experience in a helicopter or plane would be a great help. That said, this is a new way to fly and one would need to learn to ride the hoverbike in much the same manner as a helicopter or riding a motorcycle.


Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads: The hovering car from the Back to the Future films


'If you live in the USA or your country has similar civil aviation regulations, then the hoverbike will be classed as a 'ultralite' which means you do not need a pilot's license to fly it.'




source : dailymail

Are aliens getting less camera shy? UFO's filmed above BBC building in London

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

UFOs? In the video, three fast-moving white dots streak across the London skyline


If UFO's are real and trying to get our attention perhaps they are getting a little more savvy about the way we humans work.

A new video has emerged purporting to show 'a mothership and its fleet' zipping around in the clouds above a BBC building in West London.

Perhaps the group of intergalactic travellers was hoping for some coverage from Auntie.


Crowd puller: By the time the cameraman arrives on the scene there are already three other people observing the 'phenomenon'


Instead they were caught on camera by a passer-by, and at least one other person who can be seen filming or taking pictures on his camera phone while the video is filmed.

In the video, the cameraman runs towards the corner of Bolsover Street and Clipstone Street where two other men are already standing, gazing skywards, one of whom is using a mobile phone camera.

As the camera is pointed upwards, over the BBC's Yalding House, three white dots flash across the sky at great speed in a triangle formation, they are very quickly followed by two similar sized white dots.

As the camera pans down again, two people on the opposite side of the road can also been seen watching events unfold above them.


Mothership: After the five white dots are seen whizzing around, one larger brighter disc-shaped white object movers around slowly in the sky


Then one larger, bright and more slow moving disc-shaped white object appears, circles around briefly and zips off.

By this time a crowd of five people have gathered on the street corner to observe. A Scottish man's voice is heard off camera saying the word 'UFO'.

Shortly after another Scottish man's voice is heard saying: 'Are you getting that up there? I couldn't see before because the sun as flashing by.'

Far be it from us to suggest that the video is a hoax, but were people so minded then that part of London is home to a great many production houses offering both the expertise and facilities to mock up a convincing video.

Another similar video posted by alymc01 appears to have been filmed from the office of The Mill, a company which creates visual effects for the film industry.

But as the person who circulated the footage wrote in order to circumvent the cynical naysayers: 'If you believe it's easy photoshopped why don't you make a video & show us all.'


Close-up encounters: The three white dots that appear at the beginning of the video


The video was originally uploaded to YouTube by 31-year-old user alymc01, but it has been more widely circulated by a user called EllasVirgo, who on his YouTube profile describes himself as a farmer from Australia.

Virgo's YouTube channel is filled with space, asteroid and UFO-related snippets, including videos with titles such as 'More proof Nasa is lying'.

In the brief text accompanying the video Virgo wrote: 'UFOs Over London BBC Radio 1 Building.

'Right - took over a week to get it....but finally managed to get these critters on camera on a clear day, and even get a close-up

'It seems to be attracting quite a crowd now when they appear

'Can anyone explain what on earth these lights are please?'

The video was uploaded on June 26 and, given that Virgo says it took more than a week to source, and that he states in the description that it was shot on a Friday in June, the film was made on either June 3, 10 or 17.




source: dailymail

Midnight feast: Incredibly patient photographer uses own hunter's instinct to capture bat swooping down on a scorpion

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hunting sting: This fantastic photo captures the very moment the hungry bat swoops in to capture this scorpion


As it majestically swoops down to capture its scorpion prey this incredible picture shows the sheer power and stealth of this bloodthirsty bat.

Celebrated U.S. photographer Tom Whetten, 64, spends hours each night working in his 'studio in the wild' patiently waiting for the perfect moment to capture these creatures of darkness.

Using skills he has picked up while hunting other animals he painstakingly plans each of his shots to get the perfect wildlife picture.

Mr Whetten has developed his own stealthy system using four flashes and a laser beam, which triggers a camera and flash guns when broken by one of the bats.

Set up at his home, he has produced some amazing results, showing bats swooping at its prey, or simply taking a dip or drink in a pond surrounded by his equipment.

He said: 'I'm a hunter so I use the same skills I learned from that - it's exactly the same thing.


Scientific: Celebrated wildlife photographer Tom Whetten uses several flashes and a laser beam to capture the beautiful bat shots


'The skills, the understanding what wildlife does - I take time to learn about what they are doing and what they might do next before I start trying to take my pictures.

'I was hunting for 25 years. I just started walking around as a young kid studying their movement which then went to the next level when I was hunting.

'All I have done is transfer the knowledge of wildlife it taught me into my photography.

'When I got my first camera as a middle-aged guy I decided to give up hunting and became a full time photographer - it was a pretty seamless transition.'

Tom Whetten is from the U.S. city of Tucson, Arizona, and uses his lengthy research and experience to help plan his set-up in the wild.


Graceful: The bat, photographed in the heart of the Arizona desert, is captured using the hunting instincts of the photographer


He added: 'For these shots it can take several nights of work to get the ones I want.

'I will get 10 shots a night maybe, but because I pre-focus the camera if the bats don't fly through the trigger at the right angle the shot is out of focus.

'I have just a thin white line beam so if one flies through it a little too high then it isn't sharp.

'I might get a good picture but not a great picture, and a great picture is what I strive for.


Thirsty work: The bat washes down his scorpion dinner with a drink of water from this pond


'Part of my work is to create a mini studio out in the wild with four flashes and a photo trap triggering device to get it at the right moment.

'These kinds of pictures cannot be staged or corrected afterwards so it's a long, hard process, but when you get home and you realise you nailed the shot it's amazing.'

He now takes groups of amateur photographers on tours everywhere from his local haunts all the way to Africa.

He said: 'If I can pass on some of the unique skills I learned over the years to help them take brilliant pictures it's just as good a feeling as getting a great picture myself.'


source: dailymail

Beats a suit and tie! Telecoms worker storms office wearing Iron Man costume

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Ready for anything: Telecoms worker Wang Kang wears his Iron Man armour to his workplace in Shanghai, China. The foam costume took three months and $450 to make and weighs 50kg


Well it's certainly one way to get your boss to notice you.

A telecoms worker has become an internet sensation in China after ditching his shirt and tie and wearing this home-made Iron Man costume to work instead.

Wang Kang left his colleagues stunned when he strolled through the Shanghai office entrance unannounced and began strutting along the corridors in the formidable ensemble.


Making a statement: Wang's costume attracts a quizzical stare from a co-worker. Others were frightened when he turned up wearing it announced, and some even screamed


'No colleagues knew my mission, and some of them froze there in seeing me approach,' he said.

'Some were even screaming for being scared.'

The 25-year-old came up with the idea after seeing the 2008 hit movie starring Robert Downey Junior.

He began building the costume at the end of February and it took him around three months to complete, at a cost of around $450.


Hot property: Wang's costume has attracted praise from his boss and compliments from women


But Wang said the effort had been well worth it - with his costume drawing praise from his bosses and compliments from women.

He claimed some had even 'fallen in love' with him because of it.

'They said I am a happy and creative man, and they wanted to know me,' he said.

The main material he used was EVA foam, which was glued onto an aluminium frame.
Soldering irons were used to create the effect of rough iron plates and the whole armour was then painted the colour of aged iron.


Inspiration: Robert Downey Jr in costume for the 2008 film Iron man


After the frame and plates were completed, installed wires, pipes and circuits.
He said: 'I sometimes thought of quitting it, as the project was very time and energy-consuming and I had to do it during my free time.

'I just wanted to share the happiness with friends.

'Life needs passion, and I hoped my armour could trigger their passion for life.'

Wang is determined the first costume - the Mk1 - will be the start of many, and hopes to improve the design so it is lighter and more user-friendly.

The current model weighs 50kg and takes ten minutes to put on.

'I want to accumulate more experience via making the MK1 so I can make the MK2 armour really well,' he said.

IRON MAN - MARK 1 - COMPLETE - Foam Armor Costume - Artist - Wang Kang - ( Shanghai, CHINA)



source :dailymail