The circle of life never ends.
When a whale dies, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and creates a phenomenon called a “whale fall”. Through several stages of decomposition, the whale’s body provides food for all the living beings hidden at the bottom of the ocean, from scavengers like sharks to opportunists like crabs. There are plenty of valuable nutrients for everyone in this newly formed “oasis”. The ecosystem this event creates can last for years before the nutrients run out. Finally, the whale’s skeleton reaches its “reef” stage, where suspension feeders use its hard surface to attach themselves. It stays there as a monument and a reminder that even though a life coming to an end is sad, in nature it never goes in vain. Because the end of one cycle is also the beginning of many new ones.
Follow the life of a star from its birth to what comes after its death - with our The Stellar Life Cycle Poster (extra shiny). It's not only a real stunner, but also scientifically accurate and offers an overview of important astrophysical processes. Duck, our main quality inspector, approves!
You can get this very special poster along with many other science-y and space-y things created with love and care from our shop: shop.kgs.link/products/stellar-life-cycle-poster
What’s the distance to the farthest things we can see?
Our sight limit defines a sphere with us at the center – we call it “Observable Universe”.
But how big is it? The universe is 13.8 billion years old, so the furthest things we can see are those whose light has been travelling for 13.8 billion years. Does the Observable Universe have a radius of 13.8 Bly, then? Well, not quite – since the Universe is expanding, those 13.8 Bly have now become about 3 times larger – some 45 Bly. That's the size of the Observable Universe – for now!
Quick! What ended the era of the dinosaurs?
A) Deadly asteroid impact 🦕☄️
B) Violent volcanic activity 🦖🌋
What answer did you pick?
Because neither answer is wrong: Experts have found evidence for both theories!
Pick your favorite theory and show it to the world - with our brand-new Dino Pin Set: shop.kgs.link/collections/dinosaur-posters
One of life's great questions: What are you made of?
Let's look at it from the biological point of view.
Your body is made of 65% water, 20% proteins, 12% fat, 1% RNA and DNA and 2% of other inorganic and organic matter. These are the ingredients of a potent cell factory that manages to produce your bodyweight in cells every 1000 days. After about 10 years, most of the cells in your body are replaced at least once. Instead of asking what you are made of, you should better ask, what “you” actually are then…
We woke up to 22 million birbs on YouTube today! We’re very grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing our passion for the universe and the world we live in! 💖
The new ✨LIMITED EDITION PIN ✨ is here!
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This limited pin contains the end of the universe. Because one day the universe will die and only darkness will remain. But you're lucky: Now is just the right time to enjoy the night sky - just before all light vanishes 🌟 Made from high-quality enamel and plenty of celestial sparkle, wear this pin as a reminder that you are exactly where you belong ✨
Embrace existential dread with this stylish reminder of the universe’s inevitable end.
Pre-Order is available until Friday, the 1st of March 2024, 16:00:00 CET – and then never again.
Is there a limit to loudness?
At a concert of your favorite band you might think it can’t ever be loud enough. Well, it cannot exceed 194 dB in air, which is 5000 times louder than a fire alarm.
Sound is a propagation of pressure waves through a medium. A sound source sends ripples through the air, like a mosh-pit in a crowd of people at a concert. Waves of higher pressure are followed by waves of decreased pressure. But you can only take away as much pressure as there originally was: 1 atmosphere. Anything above 194 dB is actually a shockwave and in the crowd at a concert, this would mean people would fall over, like dominoes. In 1883 Krakatoa erupted, sending shockwaves around the globe. Instruments 160 km away recorded the loudest sound ever with 172 dB.
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You won’t live to see this!
Everything is changing, even our Solar System. Above you can explore the far future of some of our Solar System's favorite objects. As time goes by, Mars will lose a moon, win a beautiful ring and eventually end up being a possible refuge for life. Saturn will lose its rings as the Sun grows brighter and bigger over the coming millions of years. Ravaged by asteroid impacts, the Earth will assemble a supercontinent, heat up to insane temperatures and probably be gobbled up by a red giant Sun.
Like we said, you won’t live to see this – but we’re kind of glad about it.
Animation videos explaining things with optimistic nihilism since 12,013.
We’re a team of illustrators, animators, number crunchers and one dog who aim to spark curiosity about science and the world we live in. To us nothing is boring if you tell a good story.
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