One wouldn’t think that in the Antarctica it would be too hard to find emperor penguins given that is their home turf and really how the hell to hide is all the great white expanse?

Well apparently it is harder than you think since Antarctica is about 1.5 times larger that the United States there is actually lots of places to hide. This has made it harder for scientists trying to locate all the penguin colonies on the continent.

Then totally by accident the scientists at the British Antarctic Survey were looking over satellite images of their bases discovered how to find them. Look for the penguin shit. Seriously, I’m not kidding. It seems that because the penguins stay on the same ice for months their excrement leaves a large reddish-brown stain on the ice.

Look for the stain – find the penguins.

Just something for you to file away for that trip you might take to the Antarctica.

picture via DiscoveryNews

Satellite Collision: New Details

One satellite was an American Iridium satellite, used to provide communications for the data services company. It weighed 1,200 pounds and was more than 12 feet in length. The second satellite was a nonoperational Russian device. No further details are known about its previous purpose.

The two satellites crashed about 490 miles above northern Siberia on Tuesday and immediately cracked into pieces. Scientists say this is the first time a satellite collision of this magnitude has occurred.

Satellite Collision: Space Station Impact

Investigators believe the threat to the International Space Station is now small, though they say it’s still too soon to know how many fragments are still floating around. Early estimates put the number at “many, many dozens, if not hundreds.”

NASA officials say some of the debris is already near the station’s altitude. They remain confident, however, they’ll be able to avoid the pieces if need be.

“We’ll just dodge them if we have to,” an official tells The New York Times. “It’s the small things you can’t see that are the ones that can do you harm.”

International Space Station controllers say they’ve now tweaked the station’s orbit to make sure it doesn’t cross paths with the debris.

Satellite Collision: Video Report

The following video report from Russian news agency Russia Today provides more details, as well as additional images of the satellites involved in the collision.