Wikipedia:Picture of the day/October 2012

The moon jelly (Aurelia aurita) is a widely studied species of jellyfish found throughout most of the world's oceans. It is translucent, usually about 25–40 cm (10–16 in) in diameter, and can be recognized by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads, easily seen through the bell. It is capable of only limited motion, and drifts with the current, even when swimming.

Photo: Dante Alighieri

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Photo: JJ Harrison

Sublimed dendritic thulium, with an argon arc remelted 1 cm³ cube for comparison. Thulium is a bright silvery-gray rare-earth metal that was discovered by Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve in 1879. It is never found in nature in pure form, but it is found in small quantities in minerals with other rare earths.

Photo: Alchemist-hp

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Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts.

Photo: Henry Van der Weyde; Restoration: Smalljim/PLW

The Nicholas Delmas, a 196 m (643 ft) long container ship operated by Delmas, unloading at the Zanzibar port in Tanzania. Container ships carry all of their load in large intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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An aerial view of Laguna Beach, a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, US. The region was originally known to the Spanish as "La Cañada de Las Lagunas" which means "The Canyon of the Small Lakes", in reference to two lakes found near the head of Laguna Canyon.

Photo: D Ramey Logan

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Photo: JJ Harrison

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HMCS St. John's (FFH 340) is a Halifax-class frigate that serves in the Royal Canadian Navy. She is named after the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, a port city associated with Canadian naval history and heritage, and is the first ship in the Royal Canadian Navy to bear the name.

Photo: Łukasz Golowanow

Photo: Alchemist-hp

The Upper Belvedere, a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria, part of a four-building complex built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The entire complex was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling dynasty.

Photo: Murdockcrc

The red rock crab (Grapsus grapsus) is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. Adults are quite variable in color, including brownish-red, mottled or spotted brown, pink, yellow, bright orange and red. It feeds on algae primarily, sometimes sampling other plant matter and dead animals.

Photo: Lt. Elizabeth Crapo,

An immature

A view of the internal components of a 1998

Photo: Eric Gaba

The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons and 5th Dragoon Guards engage the Russians in this lithograph of the "Charge of the Heavy Brigade", a short engagement during the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. Russian cavalry had attacked the British camp, but in roughly ten minutes of fighting, they suffered 40 to 50 killed and more than 200 wounded and were forced to retreat.

Artist: William Simpson; Restoration: NativeForeigner

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The orange-lined triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus) is a triggerfish of the tropical Indo-Pacific area. It grows up to 30 cm (12 in) in length and feeds on coral, crabs and invertebrates.

Photo: Hans Hillewaert/PLW

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An aerial view of Tartini Square, the largest and main town square in Piran, Slovenia. It is named after violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, who was born in Piran. The square was once an inner dock for smaller vessels such as fishing boats, and was located outside of the first city walls. The dock was replaced by a formal town square in 1894.

Photo: Plamen Agov

Photo: Murdockcrc

Enzifer, the guitarist of the Norwegian black metal band Urgehal. Urgehal are known for their extensive use of the traditional corpse paint and for Enzifer's striking on stage appearance, which incorporates facial spikes as well as traditional arm and body spikes. Their musical style and sound resemble that of the Norwegian black metal bands that arose in the early 1990s.

Photo: Vassil