• ES Picture of the Day 31 2022

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Mon Jan 31 11:01:02 2022
    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.


    Thermal Inversion from the Biellese Prealps

    January 31, 2022

    #01(1)

    Photographer: Paolo Bardelli

    Summary Authors: Paolo Bardelli; Cadan Cummings

    These two images feature a thermal inversion that occurred on
    October 26, 2021 in the autumn colored foothills of the Biellese
    Alps. The valley is located between the Monte Rosa massif to the
    north and the Po Valley to the south. Thermal inversions are
    typical in this region during the autumn and winter due to the intense
    and prolonged periods of high pressure created when colder air
    layers near the land surface are trapped under warmer air layers being
    heated by the Sun. This difference in pressure combined with colder
    temperatures near the surface causes the air to drop below dew
    point forming haze and permanent mist. Above 3,280 feet (1,000 meters)
    elevation, the sky becomes clearer, and the temperature is decidedly
    more pleasant, which is also due to the thermal inversion.

    The terrain of the Po Valley further exacerbates the inversions because
    it is closed in on the north by the Alps and partially by the
    Apennines to the south. As a result, mist can stagnate for several
    days in the region and only fades once either an atmospheric
    perturbation occurs or a “barrage” situation is created north of the
    Alps with the entry of hot and dry wind (also known as a foehn). In
    the photos above, the Monviso mountain (12,600 ft / 3,841 m) stands
    out on the horizon. From the northern slopes of this mountain rises the
    Po River, the main river that crosses the Po Valley from west to east.
    * Bielmonte, Province of Biella, Italy Coordinates: 45.662947,
    8.086869

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    Cloud Links

    * Atmospheric Optics
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    * 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 8 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 43 minutes
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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Thu Mar 31 12:01:02 2022
    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 Wave Clouds Over Taipei

    March 31, 2022

    833BCB43-E4A2-4582-8A6F-4B58A1F33708

    Photographer: Wei-Chun Lin

    Summary Author: Wei-Chun Lin; Cadan Cummings

    The photo above shows Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds taken on January
    5, 2022 near Taipei, Taiwan. From this vantage point on Datun
    Mountain, the wave structures were visible over the skyline for less
    than three minutes. A rare atmospheric phenomenon, Kelvin-Helmholtz
    wave clouds form between two air layers where there is a strong
    vertical wind shear and signal air turbulence in the lower
    atmosphere.

    Photo details: Nikon D850, 24mm, f/2.8, 6 second exposure
    * Taipei, Taiwan Coordinates: 25.1767, 121.5219

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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 4 weeks, 3 days, 21 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)
  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Tue May 31 12:00:42 2022
    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.


    Reflections on the Southern Wasatch Mountains

    May 31, 2022

    NeboUtCo1450c_11mar22

    Photographer: Ray Boren

    Summary Author: Ray Boren

    A rural pond mirrors the majestic southern peaks of the Wasatch
    Mountains in this photograph, taken on March 11, 2022, a mild day
    poised between winter and spring. The pasture lands, just south of
    Utah Lake, are wet but mostly free of snow. Conversely, fresh snow
    blankets the mountains and their alluvial slopes almost down to the
    Utah Valley floor.

    The Wasatch Range, a western outlier of the Rocky Mountains, is
    often called “the spine of Utah,” because it extends north and south
    through the middle of the state. The mountains stretch about 250 miles
    (402 km) from near the Utah-Idaho border to terminate on the south at
    Mount Nebo, the peak shown to the right in this photograph. It is
    the range’s highest in elevation, at 11,933 feet (3,637 m.) above sea
    level. Other prominent summits pictured are Loafer Mountain, dominating
    to the left, and Dry Mountain. The southern Wasatch, a product of the
    Laramide Orogeny and the Wasatch Fault, include sedimentary,
    volcanic and metamorphic rocks and strata from the Precambrian,
    Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.

    The pond is fed by runoff from winter precipitation and offers a lovely
    example the law of reflection. Specifically visible in the photo above
    is specular reflection, which occurs when rays of light bounce off
    the clear, calm water to produce a mirror-like, albeit inverted, image.
    * Wasatch Range, Utah Coordinates: 39.926, -111.872

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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 13 weeks, 1 day, 21 minutes
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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Wed Aug 31 12:00:44 2022
    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.


    Sea of Clouds Above the Pain de Sucre

    August 31, 2022

    Sea-of-clouds-over-milky-way

    Photographer: Jean-François Gely:
    Summary Author: Jean-François Gely:

    The photo above shows the view from the top of Pain de Sucre
    (located in the French Alps at an altitude of 10,525 ft or 3,208
    m). The sea of ​​clouds featured here wasn’t totally planned, but
    actually many conditions were met to achieve the photograph I had in
    mind.
    The weather forecast on the day I climbed this summit called for
    overcast conditions for a good portion of the day, which was what I was
    hoping for because in addition to giving a pleasant feeling of
    well-being, the presence of such a sea of ​​clouds below the summit
    reduces the diffusion of light pollution, blocks atmospheric
    turbulence and thus offers exceptional sky transparency. It was even
    possible to see the faint green color in the sky due to the phenomenon
    called " airglow."

    Access to the summit is difficult, particularly when carrying
    equipment, requiring a walk of a little over 1 mile or about 2 km (no
    marked path) and an elevation gain of 1.640 ft (500 m). But the effort
    was certainly worth it. Photo taken on May 30, 2022.


    Pain de Sucre, Hautes-Alpes, France Coordinates: 44.69028, 6.99639


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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

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