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.


Changing Clouds Ahead

February 18, 2021

Capture
Photographer: Bonnie Keller
Summary Authors: Bonnie Keller; Jim Foster

While driving to get my COVID vaccine a few weeks back, I noticed
the odd sky pictured above near Fairfax, Virginia. You could almost
believe that the road sign at right is alerting the driver to --
Changing Clouds Ahead. The air temperature at the time was 46 F (8 C).
Behind me were mostly broken altostratus clouds, with sunlight
streaming through. Ahead, in the background, were clouds from the
cumulus family, and in the mid-ground and also above me were gray
clouds that had the appearance, at least, of mammatus.
Additionally, note the virga just ahead of me.

During the winter season, frontal systems and or upper air
troughs can quickly change the sky cover. A weak cold front had
passed through the day before, and now a shortwave trough was
positioned to the east of the Appalachian Mountains. There was just
enough instability to generate a few snow showers, and at one or two
spots in Fairfax County, a trace of snow was reported on the ground.
Photo taken on January 18, 2021.
* Fairfax, Virginia Coordinates: 38.8462, -77.3064

Related EPODs

Changing Clouds Ahead Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds Over Albuquerque,
New Mexico Archive - Virga and Rays Sunrise Mammatus Clouds
Archive - Lenticular Cloud Display Parisian Twilight Sky
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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 9 weeks, 1 day, 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.


A Tree is Known by its Fruit

January 18, 2021

Capture

Photographer: Menashe Davidson
Summary Author: Menashe Davidson

As a curious agriculturist, I'll never be satisfied with what I
know, only with what I can learn.

Seen above are some of the types of fresh citrus ( Rutaceae)
grown both in my commercial plots (Sharon region, Israel) and for my
home consumption. Food from the ground is often considered a type of
environmental entitlement that predates humans. But what we eat is no
less curated than a museum collection. A fruit tree grower is like an
artist, enjoying the opportunity to add color and textures to the
canvas.

Citrus is the most extensively produced tree fruit crop in the
world, mainly for two markets: fresh fruit and the processed juice. The
citrus genus was domesticated in Southeast Asia several thousand
years ago and then spread throughout the world. Fruit quality is gauged
by factors such as size, juiciness, sweetness, color, easy-peeling and
shelf-life. The main selection objectives for market cultivars are
seedlessness and the extension of the harvest season. Most of the
citrus scion cultivars result from the selection of spontaneous bud
mutations and, now in our modern time, biotechnology procedures.
* Sharon Region, Israel Coordinates: 32.234444, 34.933889

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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 4 weeks, 5 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.


Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument, Utah

March 18, 2021

Newspaper Rock main panel

Photographer: Rick Stankiewicz
Summary Author: Rick Stankiewicz

The U.S. Southwest is full of interesting geological formations and
history. Tracking down traces of human history in the landscape can be
equally interesting and rewarding. Such was the case when I was touring
through southern Utah a few years ago. I had read of a location In San
Juan County, along Hwy-211, 12 miles (8 km) west of US-191, north of
the Abajo Mountains called Newspaper Rock State Historical
Monument (not to be confused with Newspaper Rock at the
Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona). This site is easily
accessible by car and a short walk from a parking lot. It's aptly named
for the hundreds of petroglyphs carved into the black desert
varnished Wingate Sandstone face. This darkened surface coloration
is caused by high levels of manganese. Other terms for this feature
are rock rust or desert patina.

There are several smaller side panels but the main panel, one of the
most densely populated rock faces I have ever seen, is protected and
well preserved by a small lintel. Images include a myriad of abstract
designs along with human figures (some riding horses), wildlife such as
buffalo, bighorn sheep, mule deer and many six-toed foot
(or paw) prints. Some sources estimate this site to be used for
over 2,000 years, from the Archaic to Pueblo Cultures.
Recent images include horse-mounted riders hunting with bows and
arrows. It is thought that ceremonies may have been performed here or
perhaps it was a place for marking events and passages through the
region. What can you find of interest in this edition of the newspaper?
Photo taken October 8, 2013.

Photo Details: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, f/5.6, 1/60, 10mm
* Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument, Utah Coordinates:
37.9883, -109.51817

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History Links

* Paleoclimatology Data
* USGS: Age of the Earth
* What is Geologic Time?
* GSA Geologic Time Scale
* Earth Facts
* Earth History Courses

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 13 weeks, 1 day, 20 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.


Surprise on the Tyrrhenian Sea

May 18, 2021

20210318 7R304070 web

Photographer: Alessia Scarso
Summary Author: Alessia Scarso

The photo above is a single shot showing a portion of a double
rainbow and rainbow wheel over the Tyrrhenian Sea, as observed
from the hill of the Sanctuary of Tindari (Sicily, Italy). After
many days of seemingly continuous rain, and then finally a few rays of
sunshine, it was an unexpected treat to be able to enjoy this spectacle
while driving the hairpin bends of the hill of the Sanctuary. Photo
taken on March 18, 2021.
Photo Details: SONY ILCE-7RM3 camera; 1/800s exposure time; ƒ/4
aperture; ISO 250; 35mm focal length.


Tindari, Messina, Italy Coordinates: 38.141633235150046,
15.04585612621864


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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 1 week, 4 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.


Fossilized Footprints in Abiego, Spain

June 18, 2021

Best of Landschaft - 348 of 672

Photographer: Martin Ripsam

Summary Authors: Martin Ripsam & Cadan Cummings
Nearby the town of Abiego in the northeast of Spain, there exists a
100-foot (30 meter) long rock feature covered with around 1100
ichnites (fossilized footprints). These ancient tracks preserved
in the limestone rock date back to the Oligocene Epoch
approximately 33 million years ago, a period when the landscape was
comprised largely of grasslands. The ichnites present at this site
were produced by mammal species in the genera Anoplotherium, a
common ancestor of cows, camels, giraffes, and pigs, and
Entelodont, a family of mammals very similar to today's wild boars.
This paleontological record has been maintained because of tectonic
activity in the region around the Pyrenees shifting the landscape
to become a vertical rock feature, which prevented many forms of
weathering. To further protect the historic site, a stone wall was
constructed at the top of the slope to prevent erosion and damage from
falling rock debris.
* Abiego, Spain Coordinates: 42.12431, -0.06553

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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 6 weeks, 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.


Novaya Zemlya Mirage Observed from Sicily, Italy

August 18, 2021


Composita novayla zimlya L

Photographer: Marcella Pace

Summary Author: Marcella Pace

Compared to the time given in almanacs, actual sunrises occur slightly
earlier and sunsets a bit later. This is because almanacs don't
account for atmospheric refraction. The light from the Sun and the
Moon, and indeed all celestial objects, passes through multiple layers
of our atmosphere before reaching our eyes. Layers of different
density, pressure and temperature can alter sunrises/sunsets by more
than two minutes. The altitude and latitude of the observer also affect
sunrise and sunset times.

The above image sequence, taken from Sicily, Italy on May 7, 2021,
results from strong atmospheric refraction. This is the Novaya
Zemlya mirage, which takes its name from an archipelago in the Arctic
Ocean. In 1597, the crew of Willem Barents' Dutch ship
witnessed this phenomenon when their ship was entangled in the ice. It
was necessary to spend the winter months in place and wait for the
return of the Sun, predicted for February 8. In reality, however,
because of a pronounced thermal inversion they were able to see the Sun
on January 24, 15-days earlier than expected. Note that as shown above,
the Sun as photographed in the last image had already set by about 3
minutes but was still visible. Click here to see a video of the
complete sequence.

Photo and other details: Nikon D7100 camera; Sigma 600 mm lens.
Altitude of 178 m above sea level; temperature of 18.5 C °; humidity of
84%; pressure of 1.014 mb.
* Gatto Corvino, Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, Italy Coordinates:
36.81311,14.57088

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Paris on a Summer’s Eve
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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 14 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 - Earth's Shadow in Red Light

September 18, 2021

6a0105371bb32c970b019b00f50755970b

Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives.

This EPOD was originally published November 30, 2013.

Photographer: Luis Argerich
Summary Authors: Luis Argerich; Jim Foster

6a01116860210d970c019b00fbd174970c-320wi The photo above shows a
view near Tornquist, Argentina, using a filter sensitive to the 720
nm region (red light) of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is
the far-end of the visible spectrum -- wavelengths are longer here
than in the green or blue portions of the spectrum. The camera is
looking toward the eastern horizon just after sunset. Note the
blue-fringed strip of sky between the two hill slopes at center. This
is known as the Belt of Venus. Our eyes, which utilize the entire
visible spectrum (from about 375-750 nm), sees this band in pinkish
hues. The dark wedge below the Belt of Venus is the edge of night --
the rising Earth's shadow. Healthy vegetation appears white here
since chlorophyll is reflective in red light. The photo at left
shows that, even in winter, the Argentinian plains are always green. It
was taken on July 5, 2013, the same day and at the same location as the
above photo.

Photo details - Inset: Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D; Aperture: f/0.0;
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60); ISO equiv: 1600.
* Tornquist, Argentina Coordinates: -38.071660,-62.008162

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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 2 weeks, 1 day, 21 hours, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)