• ES Picture of the Day 26 2021

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Mon Jul 26 11:00:36 2021
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Circumhorizon Arc over Viterbo, Italy

    July 26, 2021

    Circumzenitale-con-SOLE

    Circumzenitale-no-SOLE2

    Photographer: Marco Meniero

    Summary Authors: Marco Meniero; Jim Foster

    Arguably the most colorful of all ice halos, circumhorizon arcs
    are only seen when the Sun is high in the sky, around the noon-time
    hour during the summer season in the mid latitudes. When sunlight
    enters one of the vertical side faces of a six-sided ice crystal
    and then exits through the horizontally oriented basal face, these
    colorful arcs may appear below the position of the Sun. This one was
    detected over Viterbo Airport in Rome, Italy, on June 4, 2021. A
    closeup view is shown below. Always protect your eyes when looking
    anywhere near the Sun.
    * Viterbo Airport, Italy Coordinates: 42.441417, 12.058147

    Related EPODs

    Circumhorizon Arc over Viterbo, Italy Noctilucent Clouds Above
    Paris on a Summer’s Eve Archive - Lake Misurina in the Dolomite
    Alps Upper Tangent Arc Observed over San José Pinula, Guatemala
    Rainbows Over the Italian Shoreline Air Pollution Woes
    More...

    Atmospheric Effects Links

    * Atmospheric Optics
    * Color and Light in Nature
    * The Colors of Twillight and Sunset
    * Refraction Index
    * Image Gallery: Atmospheric Effects
    * What is a Rainbow?

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

    --- up 11 weeks, 3 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)
  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Sun Sep 26 11:00:24 2021
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Archive - Monarch Butterfly and Chrysalis

    September 25, 2021

    6a0105371bb32c970b01901ec5a4ad970b

    Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives.

    This EPOD was originally published September 8, 2013.

    Photographer: Bill Schultz MD
    Summary Authors: Bill Schultz MD; Jim Foster

    The photo above shows a nearly fully formed Monarch butterfly as
    seen through the wall of its chrysalis shortly before emerging. It
    was taken from Stonecreek, Ohio on September 22, 2012. The chrysalis is
    the pupa stage of a butterfly's lifecycle. A Monarch chrysalis
    is usually attached to a milkweed plant ( Asclepias syriaca) --
    Monarchs and milkweeds are intimately linked. Soon after this
    Monarch emerged, it began its extraordinary 2,260 mi (3,640 km)
    migration to the highlands of central Mexico. It's the great-great
    descendant of the Monarch that left for Mexico the previous fall.

    Photo details: Camera Model: NIKON D300; Focal Length: 105.0mm (35mm
    equivalent: 157mm); Aperture: f/9.0; Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320);
    ISO equiv: 800.
    * Stonecreek Ohio, Coordinates: 40.3975, -81.5589

    Related EPODs

    Archive - Monarch Butterfly and Chrysalis Four Seasons of
    Wisteria White-mouth Dayflower in Bloom The Corn Lily: Toxic
    Beauty of the North American West Miniscule Mushrooms in Washington
    The Fraser Fir - The Comeback Kid in the Smoky Mountains
    More...

    Plant Links

    * Discover Life
    * Tree Encyclopedia
    * What are Phytoplankton?
    * Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
    * USDA Plants Database
    * University of Texas Native Plant Database
    * Plants in Motion
    * What Tree is It?

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

    --- up 3 weeks, 2 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)
  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Tue Oct 26 11:00:30 2021
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Meeting Between the Celestial Spheres In Sicily, Italy

    October 26, 2021

    6a0105371bb32c970b02788046fc92200d

    Photographer: Dario Giannobile, Orazio Mezzio

    Summary Authors: Dario Giannobile, Orazio Mezzio; Cadan
    Cummings

    The picture above symbolizes time and the advancement of astronomy
    through showing a diagram from an 18^th century text in the foreground
    of the same starry sky that people centuries ago studied and learned
    the wonders of the cosmos. In ancient times, humans believed the
    Earth was at the center of the universe. After hundreds of years of
    observations, science reshaped this hypothesis into the
    heliocentric model. The illustration above from the book Elements
    of Experimental Physics by Giuseppe Saverio Poli with illustrations
    by Abbot Antonio Fabris and Vincenzo Dandalo demonstrates this notion
    as it shows the solar system at the center of the universe with the
    known planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and
    Uranus. Interestingly, Jupiter and Saturn both are observed to only
    have four and seven moons respectively, which has expanded today to
    each having over seventy moons. Another interesting detail is that
    Uranus, which was only discovered 12 years prior, is called with the
    name of its discoverer- Herschel- and is indicated with the letter
    H. Furthermore, the illustration shows the passage of three comets, at
    least two of which are recurring.

    This photo is intended to be a connection between the reader of the
    text and the view of the night sky where, in addition to the Milky
    Way, we find on the left the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The location
    of this picture is the Anaktoron, the prince's palace, at the
    UNESCO site of Pantalica, where mythology becomes historical. The
    book is kept in the library of the convent of the Capuchin Friars
    of Sortino. A special thanks goes to Friar Matteo Pugliares for
    allowing us to keep the ancient artifact with reverential awe.
    * Pantalica UNESCO Site, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 37.1415, 15.0297

    Related EPODs

    Meeting Between the Celestial Spheres In Sicily, Italy Altair
    Alluring Views of Saturn Nearing Time of Opposition The Moon’s
    Journey - Apogee to Perigee Flower Supermoon Over Rome Lost
    Meteors Due to Light Pollution
    More...

    Night Sky Links

    * Space Weather Live
    * Space Weather Live Forum
    * About the Moon
    * American Meteor Society
    * Arbeitskreises Meteore e.V.
    * Global City Lights
    * Heavens Above Home Page
    * The International Meteor Organization
    * Lunar and Planetary Institute
    * MoonConnection
    * NASA Eclipse Web Page
    * Understanding The Moon Phases

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

    --- up 7 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)
  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Fri Nov 26 11:00:32 2021
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Vortex Clouds Around Mount Etna

    November 26, 2021

    Etna turbini 21092021

    Photographer: Rosario Catania

    Summary Author: Rosario Catania; Cadan Cummings

    The photo above shows Mount Etna, one of the tallest and most
    active volcanoes in Europe, producing a spectacular cloud vortex from
    its eruption plumes. Etna frequently produces eruptive columns
    formed by volcanic ash, magma fragments and gas- which is also known as
    tephra- mixed additionally with water vapor. The force of this
    vertical jet is a product of the accumulated pressure from the
    eruption. Remarkably, the plumes can rise for miles in the atmosphere
    and often reach the stratosphere. In addition to their astounding
    height, the eruptive columns can also achieve very high temperatures
    and become incredibly dense. Sometimes these columns can be observed
    near Etna vapor clouds and darker clouds of tephra, which can precede
    one another and at times even overlap or merge together. The result of
    this interaction can be spectacular and occasionally vortices have
    been observed that connect between the two formations. These vortices
    are likely formed because of the temperature gradient between the
    hot eruption column and comparably colder clouds. In the picture you
    can see these connections between the two types of clouds.
    * Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 37.751, 14.993

    Related EPODs

    Vortex Clouds Around Mount Etna Rock Glacier in Colorado
    Rockies Archive - The Great Smoky Thrust Fault at White Oak Sink
    Les Demoiselles Coiffées Archive - Flosagjá Canyon, Thingvellir
    National Park, Iceland Trace Fossils in Hanover Formation
    More...

    Geology Links

    * Earthquakes
    * Geologic Time
    * Geomagnetism
    * General Dictionary of Geology
    * Mineral and Locality Database
    * Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
    * This Dynamic Earth
    * USGS
    * USGS Ask a Geologist
    * USGS/NPS Geologic Glossary
    * USGS Volcano Hazards Program

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

    --- up 2 weeks, 16 hours, 24 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)
  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Sun Dec 26 11:00:28 2021
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Plate Crystal with Simple Extensions

    December 25, 2021

    Snow crystal 2022_0173 (003)

    Photographer: Wilson Bentley

    Summary Author: Jim Foster

    Shown above is a classic, hexagonal plate snow crystal. This lovely
    crystal and hundreds of others photographed by Wilson Alwyn Bentley
    (1865-1931) are housed at the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection in
    the Schwerdtfeger Library, at the University of Wisconsin. Bentley
    was perhaps the first to capture these delicate crystals on prepared
    sets of glass lantern slides.

    According to the Lee/Magano system, the crystal above is classified
    as a plate with simple extensions ( P2e). Snow crystals are
    six-sided because water molecules that form such crystals are
    characteristically arranged in layers of hexagonal rings. This
    results in their eye-catching six-fold symmetry.



    Related EPODs

    Plate Crystal with Simple Extensions Archive - Deep Blue Abyss
    on Godwin's Glacier Archive - Frost Crystal Congregation
    Archive - Gurgler Glacier April Snow in Dolly Sods, West
    Virginia Ice Falls in Valganna, Italy
    More...

    Cryosphere Links

    * Guide to Frost
    * What is the Cryosphere?
    * Bentley Snow Crystals
    * Glaciers of the World
    * Ice, Snow, and Glaciers: The Water Cycle
    * The National Snow and Ice Data Center Google Earth Images
    * Snow and Ice Crystals

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

    --- up 3 weeks, 20 hours, 43 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)