Sedna
90377 Sedna is a dwarf planet in the outermost reaches of the Solar System, orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was discovered on 14 November 2003 and named after the goddess Sedna from Inuit mythology.
Thor the walrus ruins New Year celebrations. FILE PHOTO: Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev
The arrival of a huge walrus in the British port town of Scarborough on the North Sea thwarted the local authorities' New Year celebration plans.
Venus (responsible, considerate (the well-being of the walrus came first)) trine Sedna (sea creatures ("It's extremely rare that an Arctic walrus should come ashore on the Yorkshire coast")).
The huge mammal, nicknamed Thor, was seen resting in the harbor area on Friday and had previously been spotted on the beaches of Hampshire in early December, as well as in the Netherlands and France.
On Saturday, Scarborough Borough Council announced that it had decided to cancel the New Year's Eve fireworks display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). "There are concerns that the display could cause distress to the mammal," it explained.
Pink Flocking | Flamingos return to Kazakhstan's Lake Karakol.
Lake Karakol welcomes the flock of pink and white flamingos as it returns from seasonal migration.
Sun (conscious awareness (drone)) square Sedna (flight of the birds).
Approximately 50 pink flamingos were caught on camera flying back to Lake Karakol in western Kazakhstan two months ahead of schedule, reported Khabar TV channel.
Guirec Soudee Adventure, March 22, 2018. Photo: Guirec Soudee
What a weekend! Friday night I saw something not normal on the radar. One more time, it was huge ! A piece of pack ice from Antarctica drifting 55 degrees South!
Salacia (things (Yvinec) that take refuge in the sea) conjunct Sun (men, self dependence) square Mars (self-reliant (I did the best I could. At this time, it was me and my luck)) trine Varuna (competent). Sedna (diving bells that go into the dark of the sea) quintile Neptune (the sea, chaotic) bi-quintile Mars (destructiveness (on board, it was chaos. There was cereal and pasta on the ceiling, lots of things were broken including the navtexe screen)).
I was nervous, a huge storm was supposed to come on us in few hours. I absolutely had to get away fastly from this piece of ice!
I decided to go downwind to save time. There was still some light outside. It would allow me to watch out and avoid this drifting ice. This continent of ice seemed endless to pass. It was impossible to see the end of it!!!
SeaWorld to phase out orca captivity. Photo: Reuters
Bowing to years of pressure from animal rights activists, US theme park operator SeaWorld has said it will stop breeding orcas and that those currently in captivity at its parks would be the last.
Sun (men (advocates) conjunct Salacia (things that take refuge in the sea (activists have called for SeaWorld to release its orcas into coastal sanctuaries)) sextile Admetos (narrowing or specialization, the beginning and the end (SeaWorld Entertainment Inc, said it would replace its signature killer whale shows with displays focused on conservation)). Mercury (reason, speaking, writing (California Congressman Adam Schiff, author of the ORCA Act, which seeks to phase out captivity of orcas, said in an email) sextile Sedna (responsible, propitiation to the sea, sea creatures (visitors will reward their actions with a renewed interest in the parks)).
Orlando-based SeaWorld has faced sagging attendance along with criticism about its treatment of the captive marine mammals, and some activists had called for the end of public exhibition of killer orcas altogether.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc, which has parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, said in November it would replace its signature killer whale shows in San Diego with displays focused on conservation.
This particular seal—likely a juvenile, judging by its size and especially brazen interest—showed no signs of fear or aggression, instead seeming to enjoy a novel adventure.
Let's get one thing straight right away: seals are adorable. Even scientists agree. "Pretty much anything they do is cute," admits Leanna Matthews, a seal biologist at the University of Syracuse.
Sun (exuberance (once he realized the seal wasn't injured or in danger, however, his thoughts changed to "sheer elation")) square Sedna (sea creatures).
After following the group for about a mile, the seal eventually took its investigation one step farther, and 'undaunted by a few fumbles' hauled itself up several times to balance on the group's rafted kayaks.
"Initially I was nervous. It being a wild animal, you never know how it could react," says Alistair Forrest, who captured this video during one of his regular paddles on the Forth, where seals are a familiar sight. Once he realized the seal wasn't injured or in danger, however, his thoughts changed to "sheer elation."
The encounter captured in this video ended peacefully, but it hints at a broader issue. With its large, dark eyes and twitching whiskers, this seal might remind you of a pet dog begging to jump onto forbidden furniture, just this once. But seals are wild animals, and should be regarded as such.
Dolphins use human shields against orcas. Photo: 3 News
A pod of bottlenose dolphins was seen apparently trying to use people swimming near Picton as human shields to protect themselves from something else in the water.
Sun (men (Dolphin Watch guide)) conjunct Salacia (things that take refuge in the sea, affiliation with dolphins) sextile Sedna (sea creatures).
The dolphins were in panic. "They are seeking refuge behind the people and behind the sailors," says Dolphin Watch guide Paul Luxton. Twenty-five kilometres away is a pod of orcas.
Discovery
2003 VB12/90377 Sedna is a large minor planet in the outer reaches of the Solar System that was, as of 2015, at a distance of about 86 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, about three times as far as Neptune. Spectroscopy has revealed that Sedna's surface composition is similar to that of some other trans-Neptunian objects, being largely a mixture of water, methane, and nitrogen ices with tholins. Its surface is one of the reddest among Solar System objects. It is most likely a dwarf planet.
For most of its orbit, it is even farther from the Sun than at present, with its aphelion estimated at 937 AU (31 times Neptune's distance), making it one of the most distant known objects in the Solar System other than long-period comets.
Sedna has an exceptionally long and elongated orbit, taking approximately 11,400 years to complete and a distant point of closest approach to the Sun at 76 AU. These facts have led to much speculation about its origin. The Minor Planet Center currently places Sedna in the scattered disc, a group of objects sent into highly elongated orbits by the gravitational influence of Neptune. However, this classification has been contested, because Sedna never comes close enough to Neptune to have been scattered by it, leading some astronomers to conclude that it is in fact the first known member of the inner Oort cloud. Others speculate that it might have been tugged into its current orbit by a passing star, perhaps one within the Sun's birth cluster (an open cluster), or even that it was captured from another star system.
