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.


Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds Over Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 29, 2021

KHclouds_1112201538b_HDR
Photographer: Karen Roop
Summary Authors: Karen Roop; Jim Foster

Shown above are Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds that I photographed while
at a stoplight in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 12, 2020. They
reminded me of ocean waves or a DNA strand. Sometimes called
fluctus or billow clouds, they result from Kelvin-Helmholtz
instabilities -- air in the layer containing the clouds is moving in a
different direction and at a slower speed than the air in the layer
just above the clouds. Though not uncommon, Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds
usually only capture our attention when they're rather conspicuous, as
they were on this mid-autumn day.

Photo Details: Camera: LG Electronics VS501; Software: Windows Photo
Editor 10.0.10011.16384; Exposure Time: 0.0011s (1/942); Aperture:
ƒ/2.2; ISO equivalent: 50; Focal Length: 3.7mm
* Albuquerque, New Mexico Coordinates: 35.0844, -106.6504

Related EPODs

Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds Over Albuquerque, New Mexico Archive -
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Cloud Display Parisian Twilight Sky EPOD 20th - Mammatus Above
Brookfield
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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 6 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.


Solar Halo and Lunar Halo Observed from Zsámbék, Hungary

March 29, 2021

Halos_of_january_abraham

Photographer: Tamas Abraham
Summary Author: Tamas Abraham; Jim Foster

Featured above are two photos of 22-degree halos that I observed
from Zsámbék, Hungary, a few weeks back. The top photo shows a solar
halo taken on January 18, 2021. At center are the ruins of the 900-year
old Premontre monastery church that was used here to mask the
Sun, permitting the halo itself to be more easily seen. The lower photo
shows a lunar halo taken on January 25. Note that the stars of
Orion are twinkling through the halo at the 4:00 position.

Whether observed at night or day, 22-degree halos (22-degrees is the
halo’s radius) form when randomly oriented, pencil-shaped ice
crystals refract sunlight or moonlight. On occasion, these crystals are
free-falling in the atmosphere but most often they compose cirrus
clouds. In order for the complete halo to be seen, the Sun or Moon
must be at least 22-degrees above the horizon.

Photo Details: Canon EOS 400D camera; Canon EF-S 10-22 USM lens.
* Zsámbék, Hungary Coordinates: 47.5474, 18.7214

Related EPODs

Solar Halo and Lunar Halo Observed from Zsámbék, Hungary Double
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Upper Tangent Arc and Sun Pillar Above Orsta, Norway
Val-d'Isère Moonbow Green Flash Sequence Observed from
Civitavecchia, Italy
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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 3 days, 22 hours, 9 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.


M4 Globular Star Cluster - The Golden Globular

April 29, 2021

JohnC_M4Glob_30minChumackHRweb (004)

Photographer: John Chumack
Summary Author: John Chumack

Early one morning a few weeks back I was able to observe the
globular cluster shown above in the constellation of Scorpius.
Designated as M4 or NGC 6121, my name for it is the Golden
Globular. Discovered in 1764 by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, M4 is
visible through a small telescope or even binoculars (in dark skies),
appearing as a fuzzy ball of light, subtending an area of the sky
about the size of the full Moon. It’s approximately 75
light-years across and some 7,200 light-years distant. Photo taken
on March 7, 2021, from Dayton, Ohio.

Photo Details: Explore Scientific 102 mm F7 telescope, FCD100 Triplet
APO refractor scope; Bisque ME Mount; QHY183C Cooled Cmos Color Camera;
6 x 300sec subs; 30-minute exposure total integration time. Seeing
conditions were a a bit rough, but I did get a shot of M4 before the
rising waning crescent Moon flooded the area with light.
* Dayton, Ohio Coordinates: 39.7589, -84.1916

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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 2 weeks, 1 day, 22 hours, 42 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.


Air Pollution Woes

June 29, 2021


Tomas_PeopleLiveHereSMALL

Photographer: Tomas Slovinsky
Summary Author: Tomas Slovinsky

For hundreds of thousands of years, the level of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere has been changing. But since the middle of 20th
century, carbon dioxide from human activity has increased 250 times
faster than it has from natural sources when the last Ice Age ended
some 12,000 years ago.

The Košice industrial complex of Slovakia (shown above with air
pollution dimming the low-lying Sun) is largely dedicated to the
metallurgy of iron, steel, and coke production. This complex is the
primary industrial source of air pollution in Slovakia. In 2018
Slovakia was reported as being the 10^th most polluted nation in
Europe and the 40th most polluted nation in the world. However,
actions are underway to promote cleaner air in Kosice and to
improve air quality across Slovakia. Photo taken on April 9, 2020.
* Veľká Ida (Kosice), Slovakia Coordinates: 48.5977, 21.1674

Related EPODs

Air Pollution Woes Pink Moon over Annapolis Harbor
Fall-streak and Circumzenithal Arc Archive - Red Rose and
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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 7 weeks, 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.


Alien Iceplants in California’s Half Moon Bay State Beach

July 29, 2021

HMBCal32c_6june21

Photographer: Ray Boren

Summary Author: Ray Boren

Like botanically-based invaders in old science fiction movies (1951’s
The Thing from Another World and the meteorite segment of George A.
Romero’s Creepshow in 1982, starring horror writer Stephen King
himself), pretty but relentless iceplants — succulents native
to southern Africa — have been taking over the sandy marine terraces
and dunes of California’s long Pacific Coast for more than a century.
In the photograph here, taken early on the morning of June 6, 2021,
yellow-flowered Carpobrotus edulis (sour fig) iceplants have even
managed to find rootholds on the gray-weathered trunk of a long dead
tree on Roosevelt Beach, part of the Golden State’s scenic Half
Moon Bay State Beach.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife notes that iceplants,
like the sour fig and the pink-to-magenta Carpobrotus chilensis
(sea fig), were introduced in the early 1900s as groundcover to help
prevent erosion and to stabilize railroad corridors, and later
roadsides. Unfortunately, the agency says, the pervasive succulents
thrived and spread easily in the familiar, temperate habitats.
Although they continue to be used as garden ornamentals, and are still
sold at nurseries, the creeping iceplants are now considered
invasive in coastal California: Their colorful mats choke out
indigenous — and often rare or endangered — plant species. Efforts
are under way to remove, or at least stem, the carpet-like succulents
in many locations, including along Half Moon Bay’s beautiful 4-mile
(6.4-kilometer) stretch of white-sand beaches and the community’s paved
bluff-top California Coastal Trail.
* Half Moon Bay, California Coordinates: 37.487798, -122.454283

Related EPODs

Alien Iceplants in California’s Half Moon Bay State Beach
Gray's Bur Sedge Cottonwood Trees Beautiful Colors of the
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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 11 weeks, 6 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.


Moonlight Silhouette of Erupting Volcán de Fuego and Acatenango

September 29, 2021

DSC_1313pj

Photographer: David Rojas

Summary Author: David Rojas; Cadan Cummings

The impressive night photo above shows the Volcán de Fuego
(“Volcano of Fire”) erupting next to a crescent moon visible
momentarily before transiting behind the Acatenango Volcano.
Located adjacent to the town of Antigua, Guatemala, Volcán de Fuego
is a 12,346 ft (3,763 m) tall stratovolcano that has been erupting
regularly since 2002. Together the Volcán de Fuego and neighboring
Acatenango Volcano make up the complex named La Horqueta. The most
recent series of severe eruptions occurred at Volcán de Fuego in
1974 and 2018. Part of the most recent round of smaller
eruptions, the photo above taken on July 17, 2021 shows an ash cloud
rising above the volcano with small lava flows streaming down its side.
The timing of this dramatic shot could not have been better with the
moon’s disk visible at the edge of the volcanic cone and its light
illuminating the silhouettes of both volcanoes.
* San Cristóbal El Alto, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala Coordinates:
14.4747, -90.8806

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Villarica Volcano Under a Starry Sky
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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 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)