Tag Archives: capturing

Insightful Images Capturing the ADHD Experience: A Visual Journey

Posted on by
Reply
New Scientist - a hub for science news exploring technology, health, and environmental developments through expert journalism.

This self-portrait represents Daniel Regan’s exploration of his ADHD experience through art.

Daniel Regan

These surreal images provide a captivating insight into the journey of an individual living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Just before his 40th birthday, visual artist Daniel Regan was diagnosed with ADHD. After starting treatment with the medication lisdexamfetamine, he noted significant changes in his perception, leading to a reduction in distractions. Regan describes his former mental state as “watching five movies in my head, each with its own soundtrack and subtitles.”

“Taking medication is like turning down the volume; it enables me to focus on one or two movies instead,” he continues. “This has helped me feel calmer and more present in the moment.”

During this transformative period, Regan photographed himself and his surroundings while hiking in Australia. By submerging these Polaroids in various ratios of ADHD medication and water for up to three months, he crafted distorted interpretations of his original images, saying, “It felt instinctive to process my diagnosis and medication artistically.”

In the main self-portrait, his form appears enveloped in a delicate silk shroud, exhibiting the fragile beauty surrounding these artistic interpretations.

Regan’s innovative process converts Polaroid images of the Australian bush.

Daniel Regan

Another piece reveals the vibrant chaos of Australian bushland, embodied in a bubble-like aesthetic. Regan states, “This image encapsulates the heightened sensory experience often associated with ADHD symptoms.”

Originally a self-portrait, this image transformed after immersion in medication.

Daniel Regan

The stunning blue image above began as a simple self-portrait but evolved dramatically from the infusion process involving ADHD medication, resulting in fascinating biological and molecular effects. Regan explains, “This process reflects how medication influences neurotransmitters within the brain, as lisdexamfetamine elevates dopamine levels.”

This artwork still retains elements of nature despite Regan’s modifications.

Daniel Regan

Highlighted elements of leaves and branches exhibit vivid yellows and greens. The penultimate image reminds Regan of his late mother, reflecting on how she would perceive his recent diagnosis and its implications for his past challenges.

The vivid greens become even more pronounced following Regan’s artistic process.

Daniel Regan

These striking visuals form a collection titled “C.”15H25N3, representing the molecular formula of Regan’s medication. His work, showcased in the Belonging exhibition, arises from a deepening understanding of ADHD. Characterized by persistent symptoms such as impulsivity, forgetfulness, and difficulty managing time, ADHD often manifests in childhood, as highlighted in this National Institute of Mental Health guide.

“Describing the internal experience can be challenging; my images aim to convey some of that inner turmoil and complexity,” Regan shares.

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

First-Ever Discovery: Capturing the Change in Comet Rotation Direction

Posted on by
Reply
Artist's concept of Comet 41P approaching the Sun

Artist’s Impression of Comet 41P Approaching the Sun.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralph Crawford (STScI)

A recently observed small comet has made history by changing its rotation direction, a first for astronomers. This intriguing phenomenon provides insights into the comet’s interior, potentially illuminating the composition of the early solar system.

Known as Comet 41P/Tuttle-Jacobini-Krezak or simply 41P, this comet spans about 1 kilometer in diameter and completes an orbit around the Sun approximately every 5.4 years. It becomes visible as it approaches the inner solar system, with its last appearance recorded in 2017.

In March 2017, Comet 41P was observed spinning roughly every 20 hours. However, astronomers noted a significant deceleration by May, with a rotation period extending to between 46 to 60 hours. A team led by David Jewitt from the University of California, Los Angeles, analyzed Hubble Space Telescope data from December 2017 and discovered that the comet’s rotation has accelerated again, now completing a rotation roughly every 14 hours.

The prevailing theory suggests that the comet’s rotation slowed to a halt, at which point it began rotating in the opposite direction. This dramatic shift is attributed to sunlight sublimating ice on its surface, transforming it into gas that behaves like a jet. If this jet propels in the opposite direction, it can decelerate the comet and eventually reverse its rotation.

“This is the first documented instance of a rapid change in the rotation direction of a celestial object,” asserts Dmitri Vavilov, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. Typically, substantial changes in celestial body rotations, even for a small comet like 41P, span decades or centuries.

“Tracking 41P’s next appearance from late 2027 to early 2028 will be fascinating,” says John Noonan from Auburn University in Alabama. “Our goal is to determine whether these comets risk destruction due to rotational stress.” If Comet 41P spins too rapidly, it risks disintegrating.

“This comet’s core is anticipated to self-destruct shortly,” explains Jewitt in a recent statement. In fact, such disintegration might already be occurring. This event could present a remarkable opportunity to examine the inner composition of comets that have remained unchanged since the solar system’s formation, yielding critical insights into the early solar system’s chemical landscape.

Topics:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Capturing a Woman’s Triumph on Her Journey to New Heights

Posted on by
Reply

Kyrgyzstan’s Ines Papert,

INES PAPERT

For many, the imposing 1,200-meter ice wall at the summit is quite daunting. However, for accomplished ice climber Ines Papert, it represented a thrilling opportunity to scale the peak of Kiziruskar, a remote mountain straddling the border between China and Kyrgyzstan. In 2016, she and fellow climber Luca Lindichi succeeded after three attempts to conquer this challenging ascent, subsequently becoming the first known individuals to navigate the steep routes they coined “Lost in China.”

Papert is among over a dozen female climbers celebrated in a daring expedition to tackle the world’s tallest peak. Climbing Women: Climbing History by Joanna Croston.

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Le Blonde

Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute, Kansas

Another significant figure is Lizzy Le Blonde, who, in 1889, ascended a mountain in the Swiss Alps while wearing a full skirt (as shown above). Le Blonde, known for her remarkable achievement of guiding 20 individuals, played a key role in establishing the Ladies Alpine Club in 1907, an organization dedicated to supporting women climbers in a male-dominated field.

Lydia Brady on the first female ascent of Zenith at Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

Steve Monks

Croston’s work also highlights Lydia Brady, who achieved a series of significant first ascents in Yosemite National Park during the 1980s. As shown in the image above, she is seen on the famed face of Half Dome. In 1988, she made history as the first woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. The Tibetan designation for Everest is QOMOLANGMA, which translates to “Mother of the Goddess of the World.”

Climbing Women: Climbing History will be published in the UK on August 7th and internationally on September 16th.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Vista achieves unprecedented detail in capturing images of the RCW 38

Posted on by
Reply

The astronomer using it Telescope for ESO visible infrared investigation telescopes (Vista) created something amazing 80 million pixel images Star cluster RCW 38.

This Vista/Vircam Image shows the Superstar Cluster RCW 38. Image credit: ESO/VVVX survey.

RCW 38 is an approximately superstar cluster 5,500 light years They are separated by Vera's constellation.

It is the youngest of the 13 superstar clusters in the Milky Way (less than one million years) and is the dense stellar system in 13,000 light years from the Sun.

Includes hundreds of young, hot, giant stars and brown dwarfs.

RCW 38 is a “embedded” cluster in that new clouds of dust and gas still envelop the stars.

The intense radiation poured from the newly born stars makes the surrounding gas bright and bright.

This is in stark contrast to the cool, cosmic dust streams that engulf the region.

“Compared to our Sun, which is at a stable stage in that life about 4.6 billion years ago, the RCW 38 star is still very young,” the ESO astronomer said in a statement.

“In less than a million years, RCW 38 contains around 2,000 stars, creating this psychedelic landscape.”

“The cluster of stars is like a giant pressure cooker, and contains all the ingredients for star formation: dense gas clouds and opaque masses of cosmic dust. This mixture of gas and dust itself If it collapses under the gravity of the 'stars','

“The strong radiation from these newborn stars creates the gas that brightens up the glow of the star cluster, creating the pink tint you see here.”

“It's a truly spectacular sight! But in visible light, many of the stars in the RCW 38 cluster remain hidden from us, and dust blocks those views.”

That's where the Vista telescope appears. Its Vircam camera observes infrared rays that can pass through almost unobstructed dust, unlike visible light, and reveals the true richness of the RCW 38.

“We also see a cold “failed” star known as a young star, or a brown dwarf, in a dusty coco,” the astronomer said.

“This infrared image was taken during that time. Vista variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) surveycreated the most detailed infrared map of Home Galaxy ever made. ”

“Studies like this either reveal unknown astronomical objects, or give us a new perspective on known objects.”

Source: www.sci.news