“The scientists behind NASA's $2.5 billion Curiosity rover mission on Mars on Tuesday explained the nature of a tiny, gleaming "flower" embedded in Red Planet rock, and revealed where they'll be using the SUV-sized robot's drill for the first time”. – Alan Boyle via NBCNews.com

Photo: Scientists say that a “Martian flower”, seen here in an image from the Curiosity rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager, is a 2-millimeter-wide grain or pebble that's embedded in the surrounding rock. Another, darker-colored mineral grain can be seen above and to the left. (Photo by NASA)

If we were to burn NH4Cr2O7 with HgSCN in the Dark Ages in Europe and show it to anyone, it is us who would be burning next on a fiery cross of Inquisition. And it’s no wonder, since this experiment produces a truly marvelous result. At first, as you ignite the mixture of NH4Cr2O7 and HgSCN, all you can see is that it is slowly burning with a reddish flame. After a while, however, a crater is formed in the middle of the burning pile, and then, suddenly, tentacle-like appendages start sprouting from the burning mixture. And you can almost hear the scream of the mad occultist – “Come forth, Kraken! Come forth!” But of course, this is simply a chemical reaction that is called the "Pharoah's Serpent". It was also often sold in firework stores until people realized that it was toxic.

In this October 18, 2015 photo, contestant Carlos Angevil, Miss Gay Vargas, competes in the swimsuit category of the ninth annual Miss Gay Venezuela beauty pageant in Caracas, Venezuela. Miss Gay Venezuela requires contestants be younger than 37 and be at least 1.7 meters (5' 6" feet) tall. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Men wearing masks and dressed as military members take part in a festival honouring San Silvestre, in the town of Catarina, Nicaragua January 1, 2016. The placard reads, “I'm not afraid, young people off the streets, Ortega you sell our country”, in reference Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega. (Photo by Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters)

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as Golden Rock is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Burma. It is a small pagoda (7.3 metres (24 ft)) built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by devotees. According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's hair. The balancing rock seems to defy gravity, as it perpetually appears to be on the verge of rolling down the hill. The rock and the pagoda are at the top of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma after the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Mahamuni Pagoda. A glimpse of the "gravity defying" Golden Rock is believed to be enough of an inspiration for any person to turn to Buddhism.

Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km² in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces. The national park, named after Mount Leuser (3,381 m), protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary of Bukit Lawang is located inside the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a World Heritage Site, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.

Is it the surface of the Mars or Venus or an undiscovered planet? Not at all. These pictures aren’t what you think they are. Christopher Jonassen, a Norwegian photographer shot these beautiful and otherworldly series called ‘Devour of frying pan bottoms’, which are visually similar to craters and scars on a planet’s surface. In his series Jonassen refers to a quote of Jean-Paul Satre who said: ‘To eat is to appropriate destruction’ and the meaning of the word ‘devour’, which stands for eating up greedily, destroying, consuming, and wasting.

In order to celebrate Movember (mustache November), artist and blogger Adam Ellis slapped handsome, flowing beards onto some of Disney’s most famous princesses. The idea came to him when a fan commented on a bearded picture he had made of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. One bearded princess became twelve, and now this strange image series is all over the web.
For more art inspired by Disney’s beautiful damsels, check out Dina Goldstein’s pictures of real-life Disney princesses and these pictures of Grumpy Cat in the Disney universe.