Latest news with #naturalhistory
BBC News
6 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Mars meteorite sells for whopping $4.3m at auction
Are you ready for a price that's out of this world?A very rare piece of Mars rock has sold for a whopping $4.3 million (£3.2 million) at auction on meteorite was first discovered in 2023, in the country of Niger in known as NWA 16788 – not the most memorable name for a rock worth that much money!Sotheby's - the auction house which sold the meteorite - says it weighs 54lb (24.5kg) and is nearly 15in (38.1cm) long. What is a meteorite? A meteorite is a piece of rock that has come from outside of has survived falling through space and Earth's atmosphere to arrive on our come from meteoroids - rocks that exist in can read more about the differences between meteors, meteorites and asteroids here. We do not know who purchased this small chunk of the Red Planet, and the details of the owner are expected to remain date, there have only been around 400 Martian meteorites found on Earth that we know of."This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth. The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small," said Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby's."Remember that approximately 70% of Earth's surface is covered in water. So we're incredibly lucky that this landed on dry land instead of the middle of the ocean where we could actually find it."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Huge sum former BBC wildlife presenter Tony Soper left to his family in his will after dying aged 95
Former BBC presenter Tony Soper left his family a huge £628,000 fortune after his death. The author and naturalist passed away in September 2024 at the age of 95, with a host of former colleagues flocking to social media to pay tribute to him. Tony was survived by his wife Hilary, their two sons Tim and Jack, and five grandchildren, and it's now been revealed that he left the family more than £600,000. He enjoyed a long career with the BBC having joined the company at the age of just 17 as a 'youth-in-training' before progressing onto radio and producing. He later moved over to television, where his big break came when he filled in as an unofficial assistant floor manager for Wild Geese in Winter in 1954. Tony went on to found the BBC's Natural History Unit a couple of years later in Bristol where he became its first film producer alongside Patrick Beech. The unit has gone on to become known on a global scale for its iconic wildlife programmes, most notably the Planet Earth series, narrated by another wildlife great, Sir David Attenborough. The 1960s saw Tony's career really take off, beginning with a gig hosting Animal Magic alongside Johnny Morris. Tony then went on to front a number of shows including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals. He also presented Beside the Sea, Wildtrack, and Nature. His wildlife career took him as far as Arctic and Antarctica, with Tony also penning several wildlife books. Following his sad passing last year, those who knew Tony flocked to social media to remember who they described as a 'joy and delight'. One of those was Good Morning Britain presenter Lorraine Kelly, who wrote on X: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' While wildlife presenter Stephen Moss penned: ' Very sad news - Tony Soper was a huge influence on generations of birders and broadcasters. Taking to X, formerly known as X, she penned: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' 'I had the huge privilege of working with Tony and getting to know him. 'The last person who was there at the start of the BBC Natural History Unit. A lovely man.' Robbie Martin, a reptile specialist penned: 'RIP Tony Soper. Such a lovely inspirational man. Nature has lost a good friend.' Nick Randell, who works for BBC New wrote: 'A true pioneer of natural history output & memorably children's TV during 70s/80s. Wildtrack (co-presented by Su Ingle) took a UKcentric look at the animal world. Years later I got to work with his son, who was a fellow BBC Studio Manager. RIP Tony Soper.' With another mourner adding: 'I am saddened to hear about the death of a conservation hero of mine - Tony Soper aged 95. He inspired me as a child with his smooth knowledgeable style. He was a wonderful man. Rest in nature Tony Soper.'
Washington Post
13-07-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
NEW YORK — For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It's the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth. Sotheby's in New York will be auctioning what's known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that's more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jen Bartlett obituary
Jen Bartlett, who has died aged 93, was part of a husband-and-wife team that brought groundbreaking natural history films to television audiences around the world, including to ITV as part of its long-running Survival series. Des Bartlett did most of the cinematography, and Jen was the stills photographer. Five of her photos were selected by National Geographic magazine for their top 100 wildlife images of the 20th century. Their first Survival films were shot in North America and helped establish stand-alone wildlife documentaries as components of peak-time television schedules on both sides of the Atlantic. Leading the way was The World of the Beaver (1970), described by the producer Colin Willock as 'the film that really gave birth to the one-hour Survival Special'. Even more striking was The Flight of the Snow Geese (1972), for which Des and Jen followed 300,000 geese on their 2,500-mile migration from Hudson Bay in north-eastern Canada to the Mississippi Delta in the American south. They took parental responsibility for 14 orphaned goslings and filmed the birds in close-up migratory flight from the back of a moving station wagon. The footage was accompanied by the ballad Fly High and Free, sung by Glen Campbell, and the Bartletts won an Emmy for the cinematography. They made documentaries for Survival for more than 20 years, taking footage of whales off the coast of Patagonia and wildlife on and around the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. They also went back to their native Australia to make The Wonderful Kangaroo (1977). Eventually they settled in Africa, after filming the extraordinary diversity of coastline, desert and wildlife of Namibia in 1978. They made more than 20 films there, starting with The Waterhole (1980) and Lions of Etosha (1981) for Survival, both shot in Etosha National Park. Survivors of the Skeleton Coast, for National Geographic, set in north-west Namibia, earned them their second Emmy in 1993. Memorable footage included desert elephants sliding down sand dunes, the first time such behaviour had been filmed. Many of their Namibian films aired in prime time across the US and Europe, and the Bartletts' work has been credited with placing Namibia on the map as a beacon for conservation and environmental tourism. Born in Wahroonga, near Sydney, Jen was one of the three children of Zeta (nee Wellwood), a dance teacher, and Leslie Edmondson, a sales rep. The couple had moved to Australia from New Zealand. On leaving Hornsby girls' high school in Sydney, Jen initially worked as a dental assistant. A promising young tennis player, she competed in tournaments in Australia and Europe, winning a couple of minor titles, and also played in mixed doubles with her fellow Australians Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver. In 1954 she was introduced to Des by her brother, Pat, who got to know him while he was filming in Australia for the documentary-maker Armand Denis. Their respective international commitments kept Jen and Des apart for two years until they met again in London, where Jen was competing in the 1956 Wimbledon tournament. They married later that year, and Jen joined Des in Kenya and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) where he was filming for Armand and Michaela Denis's popular BBC wildlife documentary series On Safari. In 1957 Jen gave birth to a daughter, Julie, who spent her early life on location in the wilds of Africa. Jen had no formal training in photography but soon became highly proficient behind the lens. During their African adventures Jen and Des documented Louis and Mary Leakey's discovery of early human fossils; they got to know George and Joy Adamson (Elsa, the 'Born Free' lioness, once nearly licked the skin off Des's face), and they filmed the capture of Samson, an orphaned elephant, which inspired David and Daphne Sheldrick to open an animal orphanage in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya. After Armand Denis retired in the mid-1960s, the Bartletts signed up with Survival Anglia, a bright new natural history production company making programmes for ITV. It was part of Anglia Television, the regional company that had set out its stall to produce top-class drama and wildlife shows for the network. Jen and Des both learned to fly to facilitate their film-making. Jen first piloted a Tiger Moth, and later flew microlights and an AirCam. In 1995, when a microlight that Des was piloting crashed in a remote region of Namibia, Jen was flying another microlight and landed nearby to find Des unconscious and a passenger badly injured. She then flew 30km to radio for help. As a medical rescue team flew 550km up from the Namibian capital, Windhoek, Jen returned to the crash site and was there to guide the helicopter in with a smoke flare. Eleven hours after the accident, Des and his passenger reached hospital, where they began a long period of recovery. Jen and Des authored three books, Growing Up With Animals (1966), Nature's Paradise (1967) and The Flight of the Snow Geese (1975). They also wrote and illustrated 12 articles for National Geographic magazine (including four cover stories), as well as contributing to other publications. Des died in 2009. Jen is survived by Julie, a grandson, Tarl, and great-granddaughter Freya, and her two elder brothers, Pat and Terry. Jennifer Rowan Bartlett, wildlife photographer and conservationist, born 3 February 1932; died 20 May 2025
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Signpost exhibit shows nature thrives in clean air
An old wooden signpost from a national park is on display in the Natural History Museum, due to having 12 species of lichen living on it. The fingerpost from Exmoor has been part of the 'Fixing Our Broken Planet' exhibition at the museum since April to act as an example of an item recovered from an area with clean air. Organisers said the aim was to help educate people and "explore nature-based solutions that can help create a more sustainable world". Ranger Charlotte Wray, who assisted in the recovery of the post, said it was "such a joy to help tell the story of Exmoor". There are currently over 3,000 wooden fingerposts on Exmoor. The post was originally installed near Trentishoe Common in April 2010, before being collected and transported to the London exhibition. Ms Wray said: "Some of the lichens growing on this fingerpost indicate the high air quality on Exmoor, which is made possible through the lack of pollution and the presence of these highly functioning woodland ecosystems. "It's such a joy to help tell the story of Exmoor and we look forward to visiting the museum to see how the skilled conservators have gone about preserving these unique specimens." The Natural History Museum has been working with the National Park for some time to select the best exhibit. More news stories for Devon Listen to the latest news for Devon Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Trees felled in storm 'helping support nature' Audio archive tells personal stories of rural life Exmoor National Park Natural History Museum
