Who Lives in A Pineapple Under the Sea?

Above - SpongeBob SquarePants character (Wikipedia)

Are you ready, kids?

Aye, aye, Captain!

I can’t hear you!

Aye, aye, captain!

Oh!

During a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive at a depth of about 1.2 miles, marine scientists from NOAA (see below) discovered a real life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star!

Above - SpongeBob and Patrick Star are best friends and neighbors, living under the sea in Bikini Bottom city.

Below - The real-life SpongeBob and Patrick side by side at the Retriever Seamount. (Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration/Christopher Ma)

"SpongeBob” (the yellow glass sponge) and “Patrick” (the pink sea star) were found one next to the other. These two animals might actually be new (i.e., undescribed) species!

“SpongeBob” is a glass sponge. Its bright yellow color is unusual for deep-sea animals, which are often white or orange. Glass sponges are animals commonly found in the deep ocean. Their tissue contains glass-like structural particles, called spicules, that are made of silica (hence their name). “Patrick” is a sea star - many sea stars in the deep ocean are predators of sponges and corals.

But, unlike the cartoon, the real “SpongeBob” and “Patrick” are not best friends. Actually it looks like “Patrick” is feeding on its yellow “friend"............

Video of a yellow sponge (genus Hertwigia) and pink sea star (genus Chondraster) collected during Dive 19 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Images of the pair have captured the attention of the public and the media due to their resemblance to the cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration,

NOAA - (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) - provides data, tools, and services that support coastal economies and their contribution to the national economy.

ROV - Remotely Operated Vehicle - is a machine that is used to explore the deep ocean with someone controlling it at the water's surface. ROVs allow us to explore the ocean without actually being in the ocean. They have cameras (still and video), lights, water sampler, and other instruments.

VIDEO: What's the difference between an AUV and an ROV? Here's what you need to know in one minute. NOAA

Baby Yingliang - A 70 Million Years Old Baby Dinosaur

Nestled inside its egg, the baby dinosaur was getting ready to hatch when a sudden unknown event buried the egg under mud or sand . Over million of years, the egg became a fossil, and when it was discovered in 2000, no one knew what a big surprise was waiting inside.

The egg was discovered in Ganzhou, Southern China, and scientists estimate it is about 70 million years old. The fossilized egg sat quietly in a museum storage in Yingliang until construction work began and old fossils had to be sorted. Bones were noticed through a crack in the egg and the researchers discovered they were holding a treasure - there is a fossilized embryo inside. It was named Baby Yingliang (after the museum where the egg was stored).

Above - The Oviraptorosaur embryo known as Baby Yingliang, one of the best-preserved dinosaur embryos ever reported! Xing et al., 2021

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs were animals that lived on Earth for more than 150 million years and disappeared about 65 million years ago. They were lizard-like reptiles; like other reptiles, they laid eggs. Some of them were the largest and scariest creatures that ever lived on Earth.

Reptiles begin its life in an EGG. When the reptile is ready to hatch, it uses an egg tooth to break the shell of the egg. Once opened, the baby (or the HATCHLING) will stay in the egg for 12 to 48 hours. The JUVENILE reptile looks exactly like the ADULT but smaller. It will grow slowly until it reaches adult size.

Above - Reptiles life Cycle

Just like turtles and crocodiles, baby dinosaurs are called hatchlings. Young dinosaurs - beyond the hatchling stage - are referred to as juveniles.

From left to right - eggs, Hatchling, Juvenile turtle.

Baby Yingliang

• Its one of the most well-preserved dinosaur embryos ever found.

• It is estimated to be about 70 million years old.

• It is a type of Oviraptorosaur, a group of beaked therapod dinosaurs closely related to modern birds that lived about 130 million to 66 million years ago, according to National Geographic

Oviraptorosaus which means egg thief lizards were feathered dinosaurs group closely related to modern-day birds, that used to live in Asia and North America between 100 million to 66 million years ago.

The fossil below shows the embryo in a curled position like we see in birds shortly before they hatch:

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)01487-5

Dinosaurs quiz

1. When did the dinosaurs live?

2. What does the word dinosaur mean?

3. What did the dinosaurs eat?

4. Were all dinosaurs big?

5. Can you have a pet dinosaurs?

6. Which dinosaur had a giraffe-like neck?

Answers

1. 245 and 66 million years ago

2. From Greek “deinos”, means terrible, and “sauros”, means lizard = Terrible Lizard

3. Some were carnivores - meaning they ate meat (like T Rex) and others were herbivores - plant eaters (like Stegosaurus)

4. No. Dinosaurs varied in size. While some were huge, others were small, like Compsognathus, which was the size of a chicken

5. No. They are extinct

6. Brachiosaurus

Vocabulary

• Dinosaur - - from Greek “deinos”, means terrible, and “sauros”, which means lizard - The word was coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842 and was meant to refer to Dinosaurs impressive size rather than their scary appearance.

• Paleontologist - a scientist who studies the history of life on Earth through the fossil record.

• Fossils - the evidence of past life on the planet and can include those formed from animal bodies or their imprints (body fossils).

• Extinct - no longer existing - the dying out or disappearance of a species from Earth.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Folded origami-style inside its rocket cocoon, the James Webb Space Telescope is patiently waiting. While people around the world are getting ready for the holidays, the scientific community is holding its breath and crossing its fingers in anticipation for an astronomic (pun intended) event. On December 24th, very early in the morning (US time), the new space telescope is scheduled to be launched into space from French Guiana. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It is the most complex and powerful space telescope ever built. It took 20 years to build it, and it is finally ready!

CLICK TO JOIN THE COUNTDOWN

From left to right :

• The James Webb Space Telescope, the premier space science observatory of the next decade, is targeted for launch Dec. 24 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn

• On Saturday, Dec. 11, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was secured on top of the Ariane 5 rocket that will launch it to space from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Credit: ESA-M.Pedoussaut

• Engineers posed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shortly after it emerged from Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 1, 2017. Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn

What is a telescope?

A telescope is an instrument that allows people to see far away objects. Telescopes are very important tools in Astronomy that are usually used to view and study planets and stars.

Galileo used a telescope about 400 years ago to make his discoveries. He saw the four large moons around the planet Jupiter, learned that the moon has craters, saw sunspots, and more!

In the late 1600s, Isaac Newton used mirrors instead of lenses to develop the reflecting telescope.

From left to right - Galileo Galilei, Newton's telescope, Isaac Newton (Wikipedia).

To learn more about how telescopes work see HERE.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

The Hubble Space Telescope is the most famous space observatory ever flown. It is named after Edwin Hubble (1889–1953) - a pioneer of modern astronomy.

The Hubble is powered by solar panels and was designed in a way that astronauts would be able to fix problems or replace old instruments.

This 11 ton telescope was placed in an orbit 350 miles high around Earth in April,1990. it completes a full circle around Earth every 96 minutes, and so far it has traveled more than 5 billion miles! Since it is located outside Earth's atmosphere, the Hubble has a good view of outer space without any background light; during its 30 years of work, it took amazing pictures of far away stars and galaxies.

From left to right: The Hubble Space Telescope; Edwin Hubble; Hubble Captures the Shredded Remains of a Cosmic Explosion. (NASA)

The James Webb Space Telescope

(AKA JWST or simply the Webb)

The James Webb Space Telescope that is planned to be launched on Friday December 24 is predicted to work for 5-10 years.

How much did it cost?

10 billion USD

How much does it weigh?

14,000 pounds

How big is it?

VERY VERY BIG!!!

The Webb telescope is as tall as a 3-story building and as long as a tennis court! It is so big that it has to be folded to fit inside the rocket to launch. The telescope will unfold (sunshield first) once in space.

How will it be launched?

The Webb will be launched using the Ariane 5 rocket that NASA has already used multiple times to send missions to space. It is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency.

Where is French Guiana and why is it launching from there?

The Webb will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. French Guiana is located on the north Atlantic coast of South America.

• It is near the equator, so less energy is required to steer a spacecraft into an orbit.

• Rockets launch to the east to take advantage of Earth's rotation momentum. French Guiana has open sea to the east, so if a launch fails (or if there is any debris), it is less likely to fall on people or buildings.

From left to right :

• French Guiana is on the north Atlantic coast of South America

• Ariane 5 Ariane 5 ES with ATV-4 on board on its way to the launch pad in June 2013 (Wikipedia)

• The James Webb Space Telescope is about the same size as a tennis court and about as tall as a 3-story building! Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

How far will it go?

While the Hubble is orbiting the Earth 354 miles above us, the Webb destination is almost one million miles away, and will orbit the Sun just like Earth and all the other planets.

Above - Webb will orbit the sun 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) away from the Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point or L2. (Note that these graphics are not to scale.) (NASA)

How long will it take for the Webb to reach its destination?

Timeline:

• Cross your fingers - and countdown together for liftoff

• 206 seconds after liftoff, the fairing that protects the space telescope from the wind and friction of launch will open, exposing Webb to space for the first time.

• Shortly after this happens, Webb should send its first communications to operators on the ground.

• At 28 minutes after liftoff, Webb will separate from the launch vehicle.

• Between 31 and 33 minutes after separation, the telescope’s solar array will extend and begin powering Webb’s systems.

• Two days after the launch, the telescope will pass by the Moon.

• 12 days after launch, the main mirror will begin to unfold, followed by 10 days of opening up all 18 mirrors (this will be done from the control center on Earth).

• We are still crossing our fingers - lots of things need to go right in order for the Webb to reach its destination.

• The telescope will take 29 days to reach its destination (a million miles from Earth).

• 5 months of checks and adjustments.

• 6 months after the launch the Webb will be ready to start studying the universe, collect data adn send pictures! - SO EXCITING!!

More about the the James Webb Space Telescope:

How to watch:

Even if you are not an early riser - consider setting your alarms on Christmas Eve and waking up (super early) to watch the launch live ( https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)

Dec. 24, Friday (all times are Eastern US time zone) 3 a.m. – Update on the fueling of the Ariane 5 rocket for the James Webb Space Telescope launch from Kourou, French Guiana. 3:15 a.m. – James Webb Space Telescope highlights and launch pad views from Kourou, French Guiana. 4:45 a.m.– Ariane 5 rocket/James Webb Space Telescope launch pad views and James Webb highlights from Kourou, French Guiana. 6 a.m. – Coverage of the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana (launch scheduled at 7:20 a.m. EST) Goddard Space Flight Center/Space Telescope Science Institute/Kourou, French Guiana. 9 a.m. – Webb Space Telescope post-launch briefing from Kourou, French Guiana (All Channels).

What will happen to the Hubble in the future?

NASA predicts that Hubble will last for many more years, continue its observations, and work together with the Webb.

The James Webb Space Telescope has been designed to explore and answer many questions.

What would you like the Webb to explore?

Please add your answers in the comments below!

Vocabulary

Astronomy - the study of the Universe and everything in it, including planets, stars, galaxies, comets, and black holes. It's full of huge distances, gigantic sizes, and long periods of time.

Telescope - an instrument that uses lenses and sometimes mirrors to make distant objects appear larger.

NASA - United States organization that conducts space travel and research. NASA stands for "National Aeronautics and Space Administration".

Galaxy - A huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems, all held together by gravity.

Read more:

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/countdown.html

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/news.html

https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/orbit.html

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/james-webb-space-telescope/en/