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.


Total Solar Eclipse of December 14, 2020

January 26, 2021

Capture

Capture222

Photographers: Pablo Barrios, Cristian López
Summary Author: Stu Witmer

The Total Solar Eclipse of December 14, 2020, was seen over land
only in parts of Chile and Argentina.

Pablo Barrios sent us the top composition showing the total solar
eclipse surrounded by clouds above Valcheta, Río Negro, Argentina. The
bottom image by Cristian López shows the eclipse with Venus,
Mercury and Jupiter, visible to the naked eye at midday over La
Lobería, Río Negro, Argentina. Remember to always protect your eyes
when viewing the Sun.

The next total solar eclipse will pass over Antarctica and the
Southern Ocean in December 2021.
* Coordinates:
+ Valcheta, Argentina: -40.67877, -66.16545
+ La Lobería, Argentina: -41.15469, -63.12474

Related EPODs

Total Solar Eclipse of December 14, 2020 Archive - Afternoon
Analemma for Athens Sunspot Sequence AR2781 in 8 days Archive -
Sunspots Analemma from Albusciago, Italy Annular Eclipse of
December 26, 2019
More...

Sun Links

* NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory
* NASA Solar Eclipse Page
* NOAA Solar Calculator
* The Sun-Earth Connection: Heliophysics
* The Sunspot Cycle
* Solar System Exploration: The Sun
* The Sun Now
* This Week’s Sky

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 5 weeks, 6 days, 21 hours, 27 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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.


The Full Moons of 2020

February 26, 2021

6a0105371bb32c970b0263e98a4e5e200b

Photographer: Paolo Bardelli
Summary Author: Paolo Bardelli

In 2020 I managed to photograph all 13 full Moons, as represented
on the montage shown above. Having used the same setup for all shots,
the first thing noticeable is that the apparent dimensions of the Moon
vary by approximately 10.5 percent, a result of its elliptical
orbit about Earth. The Moon always shows us the same side, because its
rotation is synchronous with its revolution around the Earth, but
thanks to oscillations ( librations) we’re able to observe 59
percent of the lunar surface. This can be seen from viewing the above
images, each of which has been similarly oriented with respect to the
celestial meridian for my location in Albusciago, Italy.

Note that in 2020 there were 4 supermoons: in order of brightness,
or distance from Earth, they occurred on April 8 (221,851 miles or
357,034 km), on March 9 (222,082 miles or 357,406 km), on May 7
(224,431 miles or 361,186 km) and on February 9 (225,189 miles or
362,406 km). It should also be pointed out that the full Moon of
January 10 and June 5 were partially obscured by penumbral
eclipses.

Photo Details: Canon 70D camera; zoom lens 70/300 mm; 300 mm, on a
tripod.
* Albusciago, Italy Coordinates: 45.7395, 8.7939

Related EPODs

The Full Moons of 2020 Nightscape Above Pieve di Cadore, Italy
The Quadrantids Mars and Moon Conjunction of October 28, 2020
Super Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn Twilight Sky at Dawn
and Venus
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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 10 weeks, 2 days, 21 hours, 27 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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.


Lake Ghirla, Italy

March 26, 2021

Lake Ghirla Meda

Photographer: Michela Meda
Summary Author: Michela Meda

Lake Ghirla, seen above, is a small lake of glacial origin in
Lombardy, Italy. The lake lies on the bottom of the glacially formed
U-shaped valley of Valganna. The average February temperature
here is around 45 F (8 C) with about 2.5 inches (63 mm) precipitation.
This combination has produced a lush forest of birch, alder,
willow and ash. Photo taken February 6, 2020.

Photo Details: Pentax K5 - telephoto 18/55 mm
* Lake Ghirla, Italy Coordinates: 45.91771, 8.82216

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Lake Ghirla, Italy Lofoten Islands, Norway Mesa Arch in
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More...

Geography Links

* Atlapedia Online
* CountryReports
* GPS Visualizer
* Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas
* Mapping Our World
* Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
* Types of Land
* World Mapper

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 22 hours, 10 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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.


May Apples in My Garden

May 26, 2021


Image1 (2)

Photographer: Dale Hugo

Summary Author: Dale Hugo

Our dear neighbor asked my wife if she’d like some of her 'umbrella
plants', as she called them. They’re really May Apples
( Podophyllum peltatum), a species in the barberry family. In
fact, they’re the only member of this group. They’ve grown to spread
within the confines of our small garden, where they receive a dose of
sunshine in the morning and then deepening shade in the afternoon. They
like shade and do well in deep forests, sprouting before the leafy
trees in the early spring, and bearing fruit, the apples, in May and
June. May Apples flower after about 4 or 5 years; the fragrance of
their flower ranges from likable to stinky, dependent upon the person's
preference. Box turtles help spread the seeds.
All parts of the plant except the fruit are toxic. The toxin is
podophyllotoxin (PPT).This active ingredient can be used as a cream
to treat warts. Native Americans used it to treat parasitic worm
infections, deafness, snake bite and as a laxative.

Notice that other plants are sprouting around our May Apples. These are
peonies that will eventually tower over them, providing them shade.


Arlington Heights, Illinois Coordinates: 42.0884, -87.9806


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May Apples in My Garden Blooming of Pico de Graja on La Palma
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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 2 weeks, 5 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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 - Fire in the Clouds

June 26, 2021

Fire in the Clouds2

Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD
was originally published March 12, 2013.

Photographer: P. Nikolakakos
Summary Authors: P. Nikolakakos; Jim Foster
The photo above shows clouds apparently erupting in flames above the
snow capped peaks of the Taygetos Mountains in southern Greece. The
west-facing flank of the Taygetos was shadowed as the Sun had
already set, but the cumulus clouds draping the higher ridges
(over 7,500 ft or 2,286 m) were lit up a few seconds longer. From my
perspective, they briefly seemed to be on fire. The Taygetos Mountains,
like most all mountain ranges in southern Europe, formed from repeated
collisions of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.
In ancient Greece, Mount Taleton, reaching 7,897 ft (2,407 m), was
dedicated to Helios, the Sun god. Photo taken from Sparta,
Greece late in the afternoon of January 19, 2013.

Photo details: Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D; Lens: EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6
IS; Focal Length: 110mm; Focus Distance: Infinite; Aperture: f/5.6;
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250); ISO equiv: 200; Exposure Bias: -0.33
EV; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows.
* Taygetos, Greece Coordinates: 36.953544, 22.349956

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Cloud Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* The Cloud Appreciation Society
* Cloud Atlas
* Color and Light in Nature

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 7 weeks, 1 day, 12 hours, 15 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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
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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

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