• ES Picture of the Day 22 2022

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 12:01:00
    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.


    Fallstreak Hole and Circumzenithal Arc over Hong Kong

    March 22, 2022

    1F276D7A-5F4E-4C55-9CA8-1A422AAF30EC

    Photographer: Li Yuen Han

    Summary Authors: Li Yuen Han; Cadan Cummings

    The photo above features both a fallstreak hole and
    circumzenithal arc observed from Jordon, Hong Kong. Fallstreak
    holes, also referred to as hole punch clouds, are created when a cloud
    layer composed of supercooled water droplets is unsettled and
    produces ice crystals. This phenomenon is often caused in cirrocumulus
    or altocumulus clouds by jet aircraft that pass through a cloud deck
    producing turbulent air behind their wings and engines. As the ice
    crystals nucleate, the surrounding water evaporates and ice
    crystals slowly fall to the ground to form this unique circular hole in
    the cloud. Looking at the center of the cloud hole, one can also see a
    faint circumzenithal arc. These two phenomena are likely correlated
    because as the ice crystals accumulate in the air, they act like a
    prism and refract incoming light to produce what looks like an
    upside-down rainbow. Photo taken December 9, 2021.
    * Jordan, Hong Kong Coordinates: 22.3049, 114.1692

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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

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Friday, April 22, 2022 12:01:08
    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 Plastic Littering Our Shores

    April 22, 2022

    Lavinia_EarthDay_Picture1

    Lavinia_EarthDay_Picture2

    Photographer: Geoff Dennis

    Summary Authors: Geoff Dennis, Lavinia Gadsden; Jim Foster

    The photo at top shows what I collected along shore here in East
    Island, Rhode Island, on November 23, 2021. Sadly, I come across this
    stuff all too often. Of course, it’s not just the beaches in Rhode
    Island that are being contaminated by plastics, trash, flotsam and
    other debris; it’s happening pretty much everywhere. The oceans can
    deal with a lot but have found their match with plastic. It doesn’t
    degrade on the scale of human lifetimes.

    Included in my “catch” on November 23, are 27 mylar balloons. They
    came in this summer, blew to higher ground on the island and laid in
    wait until the vegetation died off, which revealed their hiding places.
    In addition, I found 25 single use, plastic bottles that had come
    ashore since September 6. The running tally on these two most numerous
    items collected, which began in 2015, now stands at 489 bottles/cans
    (99.9% plastic bottles) and 558 mylar balloons. Note that the four
    lobster pots washed in on a nor’easter earlier in November.

    Today marks the 52^nd Earth Day. Few would argue that our lives
    would be better without plastic, but our ocean’s health, and indeed our
    planet’s health, suffers as this plastic waste increasingly litters our
    shores.

    On occasion, my debris removal runs are happily interrupted by
    unexpected sightings that take my breath away, such as the snowy
    owl (bottom photo) -- one of three I spotted in a time span of an hour
    or so. These sporadic wintertime visitors were part of an irruption
    in the autumn of 2021.
    * East Island, Rhode Island Coordinates: 41.5312, -71.2716

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    Applied Sciences Links

    * BBC: World Water Crisis
    * Indoor Air Quality
    * Mathematics in Nature
    * A Mathematical Nature Walk
    * NASA: Applied Earth Sciences
    * Remote Sensing Tutorial

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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 12:01:00
    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.


    Icons of Arizona

    June 22, 2022

    TomMc_CactusSaguaroMoonCaveCreekMarch19.2022#18ajpg (003)

    TomMc_CactusSaguaroMoonCaveCreekMarch19.2022#8e (003)

    Photographer: Thomas McGuire

    Summary Author: Thomas McGuire

    The images above combine two iconic symbols of Arizona, the stately
    saguaro cactus and “ The Valley of the Sun,” as the greater
    Phoenix area is often called. Both photos were taken on March 18, 2022,
    at sunset as the full moon was rising.

    Saguaro cacti are endemic to the Sonoran Desert and are the tallest
    cactus species native to North America –- some specimens are over 50 ft
    (15 m) in height. The word “saguaro” originated in an indigenous
    language spoken by peoples of the Sonoran Desert in what is now Mexico.
    It’s pronounced “sah WAH roh.”

    Taking sunset or sunrise images with the moon in view is
    challenging. The images featured here required a confluence of
    conditions. My first task was finding a photogenic saguaro cactus on a
    clear eastern horizon. Then I consulted astronomical tables in an
    ephemeris to determine when the Moon would be fullest, as well as
    the precise time and geographic direction of sunset. An added timing
    and positioning consideration is that at this location the land rises
    to the east about 5° above a flat horizon. Of course, a little luck
    with clouds and stray light is also helpful. Note that the 2nd image
    was taken in diminishing light, so it shows significantly more noise
    ( graininess and color error) than the top photo.
    * Cave Creek, Arizona Coordinates: 33.8334, -111.9507

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    Geography Links

    * Atlapedia Online
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    * 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

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Friday, July 22, 2022 12:00:58
    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.


    Nature Reclaims Lost Shoe

    July 22, 2022

    Epod-tris

    Photographer: Rosario Catania

    Summary Author: Rosario Catania

    The picture above shows a lost shoe in the woods near the Etna
    volcano. As is happening above, nature always reclaims the spaces that
    belong to her. It’s just a matter of time before plants and organisms
    begin to grow and utilize the discarded items on the forest floor.
    Commonly found on fallen trees and rocks, moss is considered both a
    producer and decomposer since it typically helps breaking down
    items into available nutrients. This work has a larger significance
    within the lifecycle of ecosystems because it makes nutrients available
    for surrounding organisms.

    Now in perfect camouflage, time for the shoe pictured above will pass,
    but it will devour its contents. A time that for our existence means a
    lot, but in the cycle of nature is only a flash.
    * Bronte, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 37.7883, 14.8307

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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

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Monday, August 22, 2022 12:00:46
    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.


    Lunar Pareidolia: Profile of Woman’s Face

    August 22, 2022

    Screenshot_20220512_074746
    Photographer: Emanuele Nifosi

    Summary Author: Emanuele Nifosi

    Emanuele_Screenshot_20220512_074746 (002) Around the eighteenth
    century, the astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini first noticed light
    reflecting off the Moon's landscape along the edge of Golfo delle Iridi
    resembled the profile of a woman with long hair. This lunar feature
    specifically appeared in close relation to the Promontorium
    Heraclides and coincided with the Moon's 10th and 11th day of its
    synodic orbit. Later, Giovanni Cassini also engraved a female
    figure in a lunar map he published in 1679, according to some scholars
    identifiable with his wife Genevieve Laistre.

    Shown above, surrounded by a pronounced radial pattern, the Copernicus
    crater is visible resembling a human profile. As a note, the photo of
    the Moon is upside down as viewed through the reflector telescope - as
    it would also have been seen by Gian Domenico Cassini. Click here
    to see a video of the Moon changing illumination angles.

    Photo Details: Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope 6 inch diameter telescope,
    Hyperion Morpheus 9mm, mounted smartphone, ISO 1.250, f/1.9 exp 1/130
    * Scicli, Italy Coordinates: 36.7932, 14.7070

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    Night Sky Links

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    * American Meteor Society
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    * 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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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Thursday, September 22, 2022 12:01:04
    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.


    Frost Crack in Linden Tree

    September 22, 2022

    Dale_H_linden_a

    Photographer: Dale Hugo

    Summary Author: Dale Hugo

    This scar running about 10 ft (3 m) on our linden (or basswood)
    tree out front is probably a frost crack. Cracks like this are
    caused on extremely cold days, usually at night or early morning when
    it is coldest, as sap under the bark expands enough to cause a rupture
    or even an explosion, sounding like a gun shot. However, I don’t recall
    hearing such a retort coming from our linden. But here in northeastern
    Illinois, temperatures dropped to at least -25 F (-32C) the past
    several winters. This tree has been in place since 1974, between the
    sidewalk and the street.

    Often such scars are attributed to lightning strikes. We had one
    across the street on a giant cottonwood, but the effect was to kill 1/3
    of the tree, leaving a scar that never will heal.

    A frost wound is referred to by foresters and arborists as a frost
    rib or frost ridge. The split heals and the health of the tree is
    unaffected. Further evidence is that the scar doesn’t continue up the
    trunk toward the top of the tree but is localized. This linden was in
    full flower this past spring and the fragrance was wonderful.
    Incidentally, the flowers of a linden can be collected to make a
    fragrant tea.


    Arlington Heights, Illinois Coordinates: 42.0884, -87.9806


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    Cryosphere Links

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    * The National Snow and Ice Data Center Google Earth Images
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    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Saturday, October 22, 2022 12:00:32
    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.


    Inferior Mirage of Amerigo Vespucci

    October 21, 2022

    Miraggio Inferiore amerigo L

    Photographer: Marcella Giulia Pace

    Summary Author: Marcella Giulia Pace

    Shown above is a sailing ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, that was
    miraged on the horizon of the Ragusa Coast of Sicily, Italy. This
    photo was taken from the seafront of Marina di Ragusa (Sicily) at a
    height of about 9 m, and therefore the visible horizon was about 10 km
    distant. Thus, the Earth's curvature actually conceals most of the
    ship. Layers of warm air, beneath layers of cooler air generated this
    inferior mirage, in which the visible parts of the ship are flipped
    downward. This “overturning” made the ship's bowsprit appear like a
    great, open mouth advancing towards the sea.

    Note that the "Amerigo Vespucci", an Italian military school ship,
    dates from 1931. Click here to see a video of this mirage. Photo
    taken on August 28, 2022.

    Photo details: Nikon D750 camera; sigma 150-600mm lens; 1200 focal);
    1/640 second exposure; f13; ISO 100.


    Marina di Ragusa (Sicily), Italy Coordinates: 36.7834, 14.5520


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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 11:01:00
    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.


    Dust Devils on a Dry Lakebed

    November 22, 2022


    Dust-devils
    Photographer: Dale Chadwick
    Summary Author: Dale Chadwick
    The photo above shows dust devils on a dry lakebed southwest of
    Winnemucca, Nevada, as observed in the early afternoon of July 4, 2022.
    I was about 2 to 3 miles (3-5 km) away from when I noticed dust and
    sand swirling in the air. The largest of these devils appears to be
    over 100 feet (30 m) high and perhaps 30 feet (9 m) in width. I was
    surprised at how long they persisted -- visible for at least 10
    minutes.

    Dust devils occur when the surface becomes sufficiently heated to
    form a weak updraft in the lower atmosphere, just above the ground.
    Once formed, the little rotating column of air may twist
    counterclockwise or clockwise and is typically barely strong enough to
    lift grains of sand.

    Photo details: Two views taken with a 300MM zoom lens.

    Winnemucca, Nevada Coordinates:


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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Thursday, December 22, 2022 11:01:20
    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.


    Colorful Clouds Observed at Sunset

    December 22, 2022


    CloudColors

    Photographer: Spyros Antonopoulos
    Summary Author: Spyros Antonopoulos

    The photo above showing colorful cloud colors at sunset was taken near
    Chalkeia, Greece. Of course, the color of a cloud depends primarily
    upon the color of the light it receives. When the Sun is low in the
    sky, because the path the Sun's rays take across the sky is longer
    than if they were coming from straight above (zenith), the shorter
    wavelength colors (greens and blues) tend to be scattered from our
    view. This leaves the red, yellow and orange colors to paint any clouds
    lying in the track of the Sun's lingering rays. The closer the Sun is
    to the horizon, the longer the path-length of its rays, and thus the
    redder the color. Photo taken on July 10, 2022.

    Chalkeia, Greece Coordinates: 38.431270, 21.684530

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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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