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(Thanks to Bill Nye, The Science Guy for this!)

Jellyfish Lake is on the island of Eil Malk, part of the island nation of Palau, in the Pacific Ocean.

Twelve thousand years ago  jellyfish became trapped in a natural basin on the island when the ocean receded.

Because there were no predators of the jellyfish for thousands of years, they evolved into a new species that lost most stinging ability because they no longer had to protect themselves. Now, they are pretty much harmless to humans although some people with very sensitive skin may get a minor irritation from them.

Snorkeling near the surface of Jellyfish Lake is a popular activity for tourists in Palau. Scuba diving is not allowed because the bubbles are harmful to the jellyfish, and because diving into the lower depths of the lake is very dangerous. While the top layer of the lake is oxygenated, the lower part, which starts about 49 feet down, is anoxic (without oxygen) and contains a bacteria that absorbs all light. Additionally, the deeper water is very high in hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that divers can absorb through their skin.

From National Geographic‘s Expedition Week television special Tiger Man of Africa: The Mating Game, big cat conservationist John Varty closely observes as one of the 15 tigers at his Tiger Canyons reserve gives birth.

Note: This video contains rather graphic footage of a tiger being born, although it’s really cool and not that icky!

The northern lights, properly called the aurora borealis, are a natural light display in the sky caused by charged particles in the atmosphere being pulled around by the Earth’s magnetic field. When the particles collide and release energy, the lights appear.

This natural phenomenon is usually most apparent near the Earth’s poles (in the southern hemisphere it is called aurora australis, or “southern lights”) and especially near the equinoxes . Equinoxes are the time of year when the Earth’s axis tilts neither toward the sun (summer), nor away from it (winter). We think of the two annual equinoxes – the Vernal, or Spring Equinox, and the Autumnal, or Fall Equinox – as the beginnings of those seasons.

The auroras get their names from Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. Various kinds of auroras can be seen all over the world and on other planets, too.

Norwegian landscape photographer Terje Sorgjerd spent a week in northern  Norway, near the Russian border, in 13 degree below zero weather, to make this magnificent time-lapse video of the aurora borealis. Other than time-lapse, there are no other special effects in this video – just an amazing light show provided by Mother Nature!