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.


Waning Crescent Moon Fades into the Sky

January 18, 2022

20210712moon

Photographer: Meiying Lee

Summary Author: Meiying Lee

This picture montage of the Moon against a vibrant sky was taken
near Taipei, Taiwan in July 2021. As the sky gets brighter, the
waning Moon with the age of 28.5 days gradually becomes the same
color as the sky and disappears. The moon’s apparent brightness
fluctuates significantly over its approximately 29.5-day synodic
month. Because these photos were taken within hours of the New
Moon, the Moon’s faint brightness enabled its graceful receding into
the background. The changes of the sky are as beautiful and changeable
as pressed powder.
* Taipei, Taiwan Coordinates: 25.0330, 121.5654

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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 6 weeks, 2 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Clouds In a Fiery Sunset

February 18, 2022

DSC_0090m ep

Photographer: Teresa Molinaro

Summary Authors: Teresa Molinaro; Cadan Cummings

Sunrise and sunset are beautiful times of the day to photograph the
gradually changing colors and clouds of our sky. This is embodied
by the photo above from the province of Palermo, Sicily on the evening
of July 4, 2021, when the clouds appeared to be set ablaze in a fiery
red hue. At around 9pm local time, the sky was suddenly tinged with
color that quickly changed from orange to red. The reason the sky at
sunrise and sunset is so vibrantly colored is due to light
scattering. As light passes through the atmosphere, its direction
changes when it interacts with gases and small molecules on the way to
our eyes. Longer wavelengths of light (red and orange) are not as
affected by scatter as shorter wavelength (blue and violet) light. When
the Sun angle is low on the horizon, the sunlight must pass through
comparably more atmosphere, which causes increased scattering of blue
and violet spectra. At sunset and sunrise, this unequal scattering is
why we see mainly red, orange, and yellow light on the horizon.

Photo details: Nikon D3400, 70 mm lens, 1/5 second exposure, f/4.5,
ISO-800,
* Bagheria, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 38.083, 13.500

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Rotation and Revolution
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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 10 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Three-Dimensional Moon

March 18, 2022

Inbound8360455531910057402 Photographer: Francesco Dalla Stella

Summary Author: Francesco Dalla Stella

This photo composite shows my first attempt to create a
three-dimensional image of the Moon with both sides visible. To
create this image, I merged a picture of the Full Moon taken on
November 19, 2021, with another photo taken during the Waxing
Gibbous Moon on the night of December 13, 2021. Each Full Moon of the
year is uniquely named, and the one each November is called the
Beaver Moon. The distinctive name was given because November is the
time of year beavers usually store up energy and take shelter.
* Montecchio Maggiore, Veneto, Italy Coordinates: 45.5003, 11.4213

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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, 4 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Low Rainbow Between Mountains

April 18, 2022

IMG_3857a

Photographer: Meiying Lee

Summary Author: Meiying Lee

Shown in the photo above is the closest and widest rainbow I have
ever encountered. It appears that you can reach the end of the rainbow
by just walking. At 1:39 pm local time on December 13th, I passed
through the saddle between two mountains going away from the cloud
and rain area. The Sun suddenly appeared, and I immediately looked back
and saw this very low rainbow was in front of me! At that time, the
Sun angle was about 35 degrees, and the center of the rainbow-
located at the antisolar point- was about 35 degrees below the
horizon. This means the elevation angle of the 42 degree rainbow on
the horizon was only about 7 degrees!

Photo details: iPhone 13 Pro, 2 mm focal length, f/1.8, 1/1876 second
exposure, ISO-32
* Taichung, Taiwan Coordinates: 24.1477, 120.6736

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Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* 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, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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 Sundog over Camelot

May 18, 2022

Solar halo over Camelot

Photographer: Daniele Cipollina

Summary Authors: Daniele Cipollina; Cadan Cummings

This stunning photo features a solar halo along with two
sundogs visible in the sky near Arquata Scrivia, Italy. Both
sundogs and solar halos are produced by ice crystals suspended in
the atmosphere. The difference between the two optical phenomena is
caused by variations in ice crystals orientation. If the ice is
oriented horizontally to the viewer, a sundog is visible. Conversely,
where the ice crystals are randomly oriented, a solar halo is visible.
According to legend, the hill in the foreground of the photo was where
King Arthur's castle was built. Photo taken on August 12, 2015, at
20:41 GMT.

Photo details:; Nikon Coolpix P7100; focal length 6 mm (35 mm
equivalent to 28 mm): ISO 100; f/6.3, 1/1600 second exposure
* Arquata Scrivia, Italy Coordinates: 44.681, 8.900

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Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* 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, 2 days, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Supernova SN2022hrs

July 18, 2022

Sn2022hrs_Forums

Photographer: Greg Parker

Summary Author: Greg Parker

Shown above is supernova SN2022hrs taken with my Hyperstar4 on
the night of April 21-22, 2022, at the New Forest Observatory in
southern England. Clear, moonless nights in England are quite rare, so
it was a treat to not only have such a transparent night but to be able
to observe a supernova to boot. This supernova was discovered by Koichi
Itagi on April 16, 2022, just a week before I was able to observe it.

SN2022hrs is found in the spiral galaxy NGC4647, some 63 million
light years away. It's almost overshadowed here by the massive
elliptical galaxy, M60 to its lower left. M60 and NGC4647 are part of
the Virgo supercluster of galaxies and lie close to the well-known
grouping called Markarian's Chain.

Photo details: Imaged with an ASI 2600MC-Pro colour CMOS camera (26
Megapixels!!) on a Hyperstar 4 lens connected to a wedge-mounted
Celestron C11 GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector. The image is only 16 x
3-minute subs (exposures). It was captured from 23:00 (local time) on
the night of the 21^st until 00:40 (local time) on the morning of the
22nd.
* New Forest Observatory, U.K Coordinates: 50.819444, -1.59

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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 20 weeks, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Pollen and Flying Seeds

August 18, 2022


#01 (7)

Photographer: Paolo Bardelli
Summary Author: Paolo Bardelli

Even if we don't realize it, during springtime the sky is crossed by
large quantities of flying seeds and pollen. The photo at top is a
sum of 30 shots showing the presence of many such seeds as observed
from Albusciago, Italy, on April 14, 2020. In addition, the
proliferation of pollen grains, though practically invisible, can
produce the spectacle seen on the bottom photo – a corona about the
Sun.

Mid-April was quite clear in Albusciago, due to foehn winds
(strong, warm and dry winds), while at the same time birch trees were
blooming. The very low relative humidity (measured at 12% at my weather
station) caused the release of large quantities of pollen into the air.
It was thus possible to detect a "pollen corona," created by the
diffraction of sunlight by the minute, elliptically shaped pollen
grains.

Though springtime can be difficult for people like me who suffer
with allergies, being able to observe this pollen corona offered some
consolation. Note, always use extreme caution when looking anywhere
near the Sun. Here, I used the top of a chimney to block the Sun and
made sure not to look through the viewfinder.

Photo details: Canon 70D, zoom lens 17/85 mm. with polarizing filter.
Processing: PS CC, Startrails.


Albusciago, Italy Coordinates: 45.7395, 8.7939


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Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* 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 24 weeks, 3 days, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Sylvanshine

September 16, 2022


SylvanshineWeb

Photographer: Marco Meniero

Summary Author: Marco Meniero

I finally managed to photograph an optical phenomenon that’s eluded me
for years, namely the sylvanshine, a faint reflection of light
produced by micro-drops of water on the leaves of trees. See slighter
brighter patches adjacent to the arrows on the above photo.
Essentially, dew drops on waxy leaves reflects beams of
sunlight back toward the observer -- a type of backscatter
mechanism.

The phenomenon was explained in 1994 by Professor Alistair Fraser,
an expert in meteorological optics. According to his analysis, the wax
on the leaves causes the water to form beads, which in effect become
micro-lenses, focusing the light to a spot on the leaf's surface.
The image at this spot is then directed in the opposite direction. This
effect can even make certain trees appear snow-covered on moonlit
summer nights. Photo taken from Viterbo Airport, on September 6, 2022,
at 09:38 a.m. local time.

Photo details: Nikon Z9 camera; Nikon S 14-24 lens; 2.8; 32 ISO; f /
3.2; 1/160 second exposure.


Viterbo Airport, Italy Coordinates: 42.436111, 12.061667


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Setting Moon and Lower Mock Mirage
More...

Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* 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 28 weeks, 6 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Fossil Find in Sangiovannulo, Sicily

October 18, 2022


DSC_2804 roccia con conchiglie fossili (1)

Photographer: Emanuele Nifosì
Summary Author: Emanuele Nifosì

This chunk of limestone rock, rich in fossil shells, was found
by my grandfather in in the Sangiovannulo district of Sicily. He
uncovered it at a depth of about 2.5 ft (3/4 m) when he was excavating
to make a small cistern. Note that the word “fossil” is derived from
the Latin fossĭlis (fodĕre -to dig), meaning obtained by digging. Based
on the type of shells within in the limestone rock mass, this specimen
likely dates back several million years to the Pilo-Pleistocene.
Photo taken on September 4, 2022.

Photo details: Nikon D700 camera; Nikkor 35-105 mm lens; ISO 400; f 8;
1/250 second exposure.


Sangiovannulo Distric, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 36.738143, 14.675832


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Animal Links

* Animal Diversity Web
* ARKive
* BirdLife International
* Bug Guide
* Discover Life
* Integrated Taxonomic Information System
* Microbial Life Resources
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the
-
Universities Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 33 weeks, 1 day, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Partial Solar Eclipse of October 25, 2022, Observed over Athens

November 18, 2022


Ecl-sol-2022-10-25-labels

Photographer: Anthony Ayiomamitis

Summary Author: Anthony Ayiomamitis

We were very fortunate to have had a great stretch of weather here in
Greece during late October that allowed us to observe the second and
final solar eclipse for 2022. This was a partial eclipse, on
October25, but it shaded as much as 86% of the Sun for some
parts of western Siberia. It was visible to residents of Europe,
northeast Africa, the Middle East and western Asia. The eclipse depth
for Athens, Greece, was approximately 38%, with the eclipse having a
duration of two hours and fifteen minutes. Maximum eclipse occurred at
13:42:56 (UT+3 local time). Note, as an added bonus there were three
active solar regions; one at each of the limbs to the east and to
the west (AR3131 and AR3126, respectively) as well as another fainter
group just south of center (AR3130).

Athens, Greece Coordinates: 37.9838, 23.7275


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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 37 weeks, 4 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)