The
Sumatran rhinoceros is one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the
smallest rhinoceros, with 2 horns, a larger nasal horn and a stubby
posterior horn. Two thick folds of skin encircle the body behind the
front legs and before the hind legs. There is also a smaller fold
of skin around the neck and a patch of long hair around the ears.
It is fast and agile but has poor vision. It used to inhabit rainforests,
swamps and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. Now it is critically endangered
with only six substantial populations in the wilds of Sumatra, Borneo
and the Malay Peninsula. Its main threat comes from loss of habitat
and poaching.
Medusa Nebula (Abell 21) is a planetary nebula. The braided serpentine
filaments of glow gas gives the nebula its name. It represents a final
stage in the evolution of low mass stars like our Sun. The nebular
glow comes from ultraviolet radiation of the hot star. |