TOKYO (Reuters) – The first photographs of a live giant squid — one of the most mysterious creatures in the deep ocean — suggest it is a more active creature than previously thought, a Japanese scientist said on Wednesday.

Until now the only information about the behaviour of the creatures which measure up to 18 meters (59 feet) in length has been based on dead or dying squid washed up on shore or captured in commercial fishing nets.

But Tsunemi Kubodera, of the National Science Museum, and Kyoichi Mori of the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association, both in Tokyo have captured the first images of Architeuthis attacking bait 900 meters below the surface in the cold, dark waters of the North Pacific.

“Up to now, giant squids were thought to be relatively sluggish squids that stay in deep waters without moving much … But we found out that they move around pretty actively,” Kubodera told Reuters in an interview.

First photos of giant squid show it very active | Reuters.co.uk

The Royal Soceiety | Official publication (PDF Link)

Smile! The universe just took a photo of itself, producing the brighest explosion ever observed by man outside of the milky way.

geekroot’s dad writes “Space.com is reporting that a huge ‘starquake’ releasing as much energy as our sun does in 250,000 years, has cracked a nearby neutron star. The magnetar produced the brightest explosion ever seen by man outside of the milky way. Although it is 50,000 light-years away, the blast was so huge it temporarily blinded some satellites and briefly altered Earth’s upper atmosphere!”

Slashdot | ‘Starquake’ Cracks Star