Soh Kam Yung
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sohkamyung.bsky.social
Soh Kam Yung
@sohkamyung.bsky.social
67 followers 140 following 220 posts
Exploring one universe at a time.

Interested in #Nature, #Photography, #NaturePhotography, #Science, #ScienceFiction, #Physics, #Engineering.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
matthewberry.bsky.social
2nd day of December so I think 2 pics are justified!

'The Orchid of Light' - Ophrys lucis / Ophrys argolica subsp. lucis.

#Orchids #OrchidsOfRhodes #AdventCalender
December 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
reactorsff.bsky.social
Today we're talking about history and myth-making in Ada Palmer's "Inventing the Renaissance"–what rethinking the past can tell us about the present, as well as the fascinating speculative questions we find there.
Infernal Gravity and the Logic of Death Scenes: Ada Palmer’s Inventing the Renaissance - Reactor
A fascinating look at how societies manufacture the myth of a Golden Age
reactormag.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
xkcd.com
Can you power your computer by typing?

What the latest What If? video in collaboration with
@minuteearth.bsky.social!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L44...
Can you power your computer by typing?
YouTube video by xkcd's What If?
www.youtube.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
A lovely Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) spotted at Pujiang Countryside Park, Shanghai, China on 2 Nov 2025. It perched nearby and started calling, giving us time to get shots.

On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ].

#iNaturalist #Nature #China #Shanghai #Birds #Aves
A small bird with an orange underbelly, tail and lower back. It has a black face with a silvery crest. The wings are black with a patch of white. In this image, the bird is perched on a branch facing diagonally away from the camera to the left. In this shot, the bird in now perched facing diagonally towards the camera, facing right. The orange underbelly is prominent. In this shot, the bird is perched facing the camera and diagonally to the right. The head is turned more towards the right, showing off the silvery crest. In this shot, the bird is perched facing away from the camera and turned slightly to the right. The black back and wings can be seen with white patches in the middle of the wings. The top of the tail is black, while the underside of the tail is orange.
December 2, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
merisi-vienna.bsky.social
A shelf - or two? - of unread books? Seems we have good company:
"... literary texts that refer to books never read, including Robert Musil, Graham Greene, Paul Valéry, Anatole France, and David Lodge."

#Books #UnreadBooks #UmbertoEco
On Unread Books by Umberto Eco
November 2, 2017 – I recall, though my recollection may be faulty, a magnificent article by Giorgio Manganelli explaining how a sophisticated reader can know whether a book
www.theparisreview.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
alxnelson.bsky.social
As I've done the past couple years, I'll be posting my favorite images from 2025 throughout December, one a day. Here's a close image of a little blue heron with a green tree frog who's fighting for dear life, trying to pry open its beak. #birds
December 1, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
greenwingstours.bsky.social
Following on from our last post about donating to @europebutterfly.bsky.social we're going to share some images from the tours where those funds have been generated from.

Beginning with this, a gorgeous Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis lidderdali) in Bhutan, by guest Allan F.

#AdventCalendar
December 1, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
mikemelton.bsky.social
This male Resplendent Quetzal was a nice surprise at our cabin when we arrived at San Gerardo de Dota this afternoon.

#CostaRica #birds
A vibrant green bird with a red belly perches on a mossy tree branch in a forest, its long iridescent tail feathers hanging gracefully below it.
December 2, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
rosemarymosco.com
Wildlife tracking! I'm reposting things I made this past year. If you look closely at the deer tracks you'll see I added the hint that they're double registering (hind foot is stepping into the same spot as front foot).
A six-panel comic titled "Wildlife Tracking Tips". In panel 1, the text says "A white-tailed deer traveled through here," and there are white-tailed deer prints in fresh snow. In panel 2, the text says "An American Red Squirrel came by," and the leap marks of a red squirrel are in the snow. In panel 3, the text says "A Snowshoe Hare passed through," and there are the distinctive fluffy-footed marks from a snowshoe hare jumping across the snow. n panel 4, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare found a sword," and one of the front paw marks in the track has been replaced with a long thin line running alongside the track. In panel 5, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare is dual wielding," and both front paw marks have been replaced with long thin lines. In panel 6, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare tamed a mount, vastly increasing its jumping distance. You should run," and the Snowshoe Hare trail runs into a deer track and disappears.
December 1, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
wizentrop.bsky.social
A *teensy* baby Tityus scorpion (less than 2cm) enjoying a hard earned meal - a small cricket. Photographed in the Ecuadorian Amazon. These arboreal scorpions sit on bushes and trees and you can easily get stung by them simply when you brush against them without noticing. Ask me how I know.
December 2, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
compoundchem.com
A bit late kicking off #ChemAdvent day 1, but here we are!

This year I'm finding chemical connections between some previous ChemAdvent editions 🧪

First up, earthy pyrazines are the connection between the smells of chocolate and green bean casserole 🍫
Infographics on the chemistry of chocolate smell and the flavour chemistry of green bean casserole. The two are linked by the presence of earthy pyrazines. Infographics on the chemistry of chocolate smell and the flavour chemistry of green bean casserole. The two are linked by the presence of earthy pyrazines.
December 1, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
coreyspowell.bsky.social
China's huge JUNO neutrino detector turned on three months ago, and has already achieved new levels of sensitivity in studying these mysterious particles.

The detector weighs 20,000 tons & contains 45,000 sensors watching for rare neutrino interactions. 🧪🔭

www.prisma.uni-mainz.de/outreach/pre...
JUNO's central detector (at the top of the picture) is filled with scintillation fluid and surrounded by photomultiplier tubes The JUNO detector seen from outside (Image/©: Yuexiang Liu/JUNO Collaboration)
December 1, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
markwitton.bsky.social
New at #Patreon: an illustrated review of what we know, and some of what we don't, about the colours and patterns of ancient marine invertebrates (ft. trilobites, orthoceratoids, ammonites and Cambrian critters). Check it out at www.patreon.com/c/markwitton #paleoart #fossils #paleontology #sciart
The orthoceratoid Michelinoceras anguliferum, sporting a natty set of zigzags along its shelll, is probably better dressed than most of us today. Here, it's inflicting a fashion attack on a buried worm. Cambrian polychaete Canadia spinosa is shiny, thanks to structural colouration. A minor pile up between three migrating trilobites, Eldredgeops rana. The red dots on these animals are strange translucent lenses that might, it's speculated, be windows for pigmentation through their carapaces. Two Dieneroceras subquadratum conversing about life as drifters in Triassic plankton. The banding pattern on their shells is fossil accurate, although the exact colours are unknown.
December 1, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Rabbit rabbit! December 1st came early, thanks insomnia! Here's a White-spotted Salamander (Plethodon cylindraecus) from central North Carolina this fall. #herps #salamanders #NaturePhotography 🌿
Angled-down image of a salamander posed on greenish-yellow moss, facing right with its tail curled in a near circle back to the right. The salamander's ground color is black, and covered with white spots of variable size on all visible surfaces. Most of the larger spots are on the flanks. The end of the tail has few spots and gradually turns to a brownish-black.
December 1, 2025 at 12:08 PM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
A Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) spotted at Pujiang Countryside Park, Shanghai, China on 2 Nov 2025. It was fishing in a lake. Locally, it can be seen fishing in storm drains.

On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ].

#iNaturalist #Nature #Photography #Shanghai #China #Birds #Aves
A white egret looking for food in a lake. It has white feather, black lower legs and a long dark upper beak.
December 1, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
wrenandbee.bsky.social
Moving location for the next few entries of #BestOfNature2025

Here is the wonderfully spiky Spanish Festoon larva ❤️ 🛡️

(May, Algarve Portugal 🇵🇹)

#NatureWithin #TeamMoth
December 1, 2025 at 7:29 AM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
"Today, for most people, watching a movie has gone from being a shared experience to a siloed and personalised act of private, if not solitary, consumption"

#History #Singapore #Cinemas
A Century of Singapore’s Cinemas
biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg
December 1, 2025 at 12:14 PM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
"[T]he Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) announced that all trading on the stock market would be suspended from Thursday, 2 December 1985 [for three days], until further notice.
[...]
What caused the shutdown was the collapse of Pan-Electric Industries"

#History #Singapore #Companies
Fridge Maker Freezes Stock Market
biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg
December 1, 2025 at 12:07 PM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
"Jan Beránek embarked on an eight-year quest [...] to uncover the life of his granduncle.
[...]
My granduncle Silvestr went to Singapore at a very young age, with a mission to establish and develop the business of the Bata Shoe Company in Southeast Asia."

#History #Singapore #Czech #Bata
In Search of Silvestr
biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg
December 1, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
gregegansf.bsky.social
Great writeup from @startswithabang.bsky.social of an extraordinary hypothesis: the reason the two sides of the moon are so different might come down to tidal locking when the moon was still forming, and chemical gradients in the proto-lunar material due to radiant heat from the Earth!
The Moon's two faces don't match, and we think we know why
The far side of the Moon is incredibly different from the Earth-facing side. 66 years later, we know why the Moon's faces are not alike.
bigthink.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
franzanth.bsky.social
46 submissions! We're halfway there for this season's art book. Get in while you can!
franzanth.bsky.social franz @franzanth.bsky.social · 21d
#InverteFest season is almost here, which means it's time to submit your bug & slug art! The form closes at 100 entries.

Find more info, download past art book, and submit here:
invertefest.com/#artbook
announcement image that says Have bug & slug art? Submit to #InverteFest Digital Art Book. Publishing every April, August, December. Download previous editions & find the submission link at InverteFest.com/#Artbook the image is decorated with artwork of various animals from various artists, featuring insects, slugs, and so on.
December 1, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
tjalamont.bsky.social
Another from the archives, a baby Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) peeking out amid just-sprouting grass. These are common lizards in my yard, and a favorite detail is the shape of their pupils - the points top and bottom remind me of two Hershey's kisses stacked base-to-base. 🦎🌿📷
A macro photo of the front half of a baby alligator lizard on the ground amid light green shoots of just-sprouting grass. The lizard is tan, with a bright orange eye.
November 30, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
nickybay.bsky.social
This is the Sunburst Candy Spider from Thailand. Not AI (sucks to have to declare this). Very real and had been on my wish list for a long time.

The taxonomic placement is unclear, so we are leaving it at Cyrtarachninae.
November 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Soh Kam Yung
nature.com
The Perseverance rover on Mars has serendipitously recorded sounds and electromagnetic signals that are characteristic of lightning in dust storms

go.nature.com/4oj1wLF
Is there lightning on Mars?
The Perseverance rover on Mars has serendipitously recorded sounds and electromagnetic signals that are characteristic of lightning in dust storms.
go.nature.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
sohkamyung.bsky.social
“The Hexologists: A Tangle of Time” by Josiah Bancroft is another interesting book in the series that reveals more about the world of the Hexologists. But the plot meanders over the landscape, with abrupt shifts.

Full review at [ sohkamyung.github.io/.../20251124... ].

#Review #SFF #Books
Cover of the book. It features an elaborate hex with figures of wasp shaped fairies in a circle in the middle. The bottom shows profiles of the two main characters of the book.
November 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM