Amity School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Isn’t it downright staggering? The carapace (top shell) of various turtle/tortoise species can be so intricately marked that we as humans find them incredibly conspicuous. In truth, they are able to effortlessly blend in with their environments despite what we see as vibrancy.

Top row left to right: eastern box turtle, pancake tortoise and Bell’s hingeback tortoise. Middle row left to right: radiated tortoise, Florida box turtle and Burmese star tortoise. Bottom row left to right: spotted turtle, Bourret’s box turtle and European pond turtle.

Post credit: Garden State Tortoise

Amity School of Earth and Environmental Sciences wishes everyone a very Happy Deepawali 🌼🌻🌼

“Daisugi” 台杉 is an ancient Japanese forestry technique (think of it as a giant bonsai)

One of the rarest and most endangered mushroom species on this planet.

It's the elusive wrinkled peach mushroom (Rhodotus palmatus).

Moth eggs are pretty satisfying to look at.

An Iridescent Pileus Cloud over China (2022 Sep 06)
Image Credit & Copyright: Jiaqi Sun（孙嘉琪）

Explanation: Yes, but how many dark clouds have a multicolored lining? Pictured, behind this darker cloud, is a pileus iridescent cloud, a group of water droplets that have a uniformly similar size and so together diffract different colors of sunlight by different amounts. The featured image was taken last month in Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China. Also captured were unusual cloud ripples above the pileus cloud. The formation of a rare pileus cloud capping a common cumulus cloud is an indication that the lower cloud is expanding upward and might well develop into a storm.

Post credit: APOD

Bluest Blue: This is a slab of larimar, a mineral only found in the Barahona City in the Dominican Republic. Some people say it reflects the beauty of the ocean surrounding the island. Sometimes this material is associated with petrified wood traces in the form of limb casts (where the space initially occupied by burried wood is hollowed out and filled in by minerals). It is not entirely clear whether this one is a limbcast. The shape of the initial material certainly looked like it and there may be some residual petrified plant material around the periphery. In any circumstances this is about as blue and as beautiful as it gets. Very rare in this form.

Phenomenal lightning occurring in the volcanic plume during the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile in 2015.

This dramatic scene was captured through long exposures by landscape photographer Francisco Negroni who is known for his spectacular images depicting extreme weather conditions. This technique allows him to capture the details and intensity of the event.
Volcanic lightning is caused by the collision of ash, rock, and ejecta, which then generates static electricity that builds up in the atmosphere before being released in the form of a lightning bolt.

📷 Francisco Negroni

The frilled lizard, also known commonly as the frill-necked lizard, frilled dragon or frilled agama, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is endemic to northern Australia and southern New Guinea.

This variety of Orchids (Dracula Simia) is so amazing looks like baby monkeys. 🐵🐒😍

These mysterious stones in Romania called 'trovants' grow, move and even breed. After every heavy rain shower, they absorb the rain's minerals, which then mix with the chemicals already present in the rock, creating a reaction and pressure inside - ultimately making the stone grow and multiply.

The Golden One is the name given to a massive citrine quartz crystal unearthed in Zambia,(900 kilograms)

Photo Copyright ©️ Lawrence Stoller