Dublin: Big-Big Super-Moon Due Next Week

A huge "supermoon" will accompany this year's Perseid meteor shower, in one of the most dramatic astronomical events of the year.

More than 100 meteors an hour speed by during the annual display, which takes place on the second week of August.

The shower is due to reach its peak on Tuesday, but this year the display has a shining rival - the Moon.

On Sunday the Moon will become full as it reaches the point in its orbit that is closest to the Earth, known as perigee.

It will appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons during the year.

It could mean that the meteor shower does not stand out as much as it would on a typical year.

Dr Bill Cooke from Nasa's Meteoroid Environment Office said: "Lunar glare wipes out the black-velvety backdrop required to see faint meteors, and sharply reduces counts."

But he said that the Perseids were "rich in fireballs as bright as Jupiter or Venus" that would remain visible despite the Moon's glare.

Tony Markham, director of the Society for Popular Astronomy's meteor section, said skywatchers should stay optimistic.

"The Perseids are rich in bright meteors and so many Perseids will still be seen despite the moonlit sky background," he said.

"If possible, keep the Moon hidden behind trees or a nearby building."

The best time to see the meteors is between Saturday and Wednesday, with activity peaking on Tuesday.

At perigee, the Moon is around 31,000 miles closer than when it is furthest away from the Earth.

Supermoons occur every 13 months and 18 days, but are not always noticed because of clouds or poor weather.

Connecticut, US: Jumbo-Sized 'Pelagornis Sandersi' Was Largest Flying Bird: Scientists

Scientists believe Pelagornis sandersi was an expert glider

Scientists have identified the largest feathered creature that ever took to the air, with a wing span of 7.3m.

Pelagornis sandersi could spread its wings more than twice as wide as the Wandering Albatross, the biggest bird alive today by wingspan.

Scientists who identified the 27 million-year-old seabird believe it was an expert glider that used its vast wings to make epic soaring flights.

"Pelagornis sandersi could have travelled for extreme distances while crossing ocean waters in search of prey," said lead researcher Dr Daniel Ksepka, from the Bruce Museum in Connecticut, US.

The bird belonged to a jumbo-sized avian family called the Pelagornithids whose species once lived all over the world and vanished three million years ago.

"Pelagornithids were like creatures out of a fantasy novel - there is simply nothing like them around today," said Dr Ksepka.

Pelagornis sandersi's paper-thin hollow bones, stumpy legs and giant wings would have made it awkward on land, but a master of the air.

Scientists believe it was too big to take off from a standstill by flapping its wings.

Instead, it probably ran downhill into a headwind or took advantage of air gusts to get aloft, much like a hang glider.

Computer simulations conducted by Dr Ksepka's team indicate that P sandersi was an incredibly efficient glider.

Once airborne, it would have been able to soar effortlessly for miles over open ocean, occasionally swooping down to feed on soft-bodied prey such as squid and eels.

"That's important in the ocean, where food is patchy," said Dr Ksepka, whose research appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The bird's remains, consisting of a skull, wing bones and leg bones, were originally unearthed in 1983 during excavations for a new terminal at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina in the US.

Scientists used them to estimate the creature's likely body size and flying style.

The bird was named after Albert Sanders, former curator of the Charleston Museum where the fossils are now housed, who led the team that made the discovery.

Keywords: pelagornis sander

Papua New Guinea: 'Extinct' Big-Eared Bat Discovered In Forest

A big-eared bat which was thought to be extinct has been found in a forest in Papua New Guinea, highlighting the unique biodiversity of the developing nation.

Until the find the bat, or Pharotis imogene, had not been seen in 120 years.

"The species was presumed extinct," University of Queensland researcher Luke Leung said.

Two University of Queensland students caught the female sample of the species in mid-2012 while conducting field work in the Abau coastal district of Papua New Guinea's Central Province.

It did not match any bat known to exist, and was later determined to be the species not seen since the first and only specimens were collected by an Italian scientist in 1890.

Leung said further studies needed to be done to establish whether the animal was one of a small number of mammals endemic to PNG's southeastern peninsula region, or whether it occurred more widely.

"Many of the coastal lowland habitats throughout Papua New Guinea are among the most threatened in the country due to clearing for logging and agriculture," he said.

"And more field surveys of local bat populations could assess the conservation status of the species and inform future strategies to ensure their preservation."

The bat, which has ears about the size of its head, is listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's "Red List" of threatened species as critically endangered (possibly extinct).

Until now the only information on the species comes from the few specimens which were originally housed at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genova, Italy.

Catherine Hughes, who was an honours student when she and another student captured the bat, said the discovery demonstrated the unique biodiversity of the mountainous Pacific country.

"There's places in PNG which haven't even been travelled to yet by researchers," she told AFP.

"The variety of habitats and ecologies in PNG is just crazy so you can imagine all these species which are tucked away in there and haven't been found yet."