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Experience the eerie serenity of 100,000 asteroids in orbit
Located at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has collected imaging data for more than 3 million astronomical objects since it began operating in 2000. Created by the US planetary astronomer Alex H Parker using data from the SDSS, this intricate, awe-inspiring visualisation reveals the colours, relative sizes and orbital paths of more than 100,000 asteroids located in our solar system. Learn more about the research behind the visualisation here.
Video by Alex H Parker
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Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
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Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
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Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
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Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
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Genetics
Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals
22 minutes
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Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
60 minutes
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Physics
The rhythms of a star system inspire a pianist’s transfixing performance
5 minutes
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Art
Watch as Japan’s surplus trees are transformed into forest-tinted crayons
4 minutes