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.


Corona Over Westmoreland State Park, Virginia

February 07, 2020

Capture

Photographers: Sarah Perry and William Colling
Summary Authors: Sarah Perry and William Colling; Jim Foster

We observed this impressive corona while visiting Westmoreland
State Park in Montross, Virginia on January 16, 2020. Coronas result
from the diffraction of sunlight by minute water droplets that
compose mid-level clouds. For the colors to be as pure as rendered
here, drop sizes must be uniform throughout the cloud and the sky must
be relatively free of aerosols. Be sure to use utmost caution
when looking anywhere near the Sun.
* Westmoreland State Park, Virginia Coordinates: 38.1625,
-76.866111

Related EPODs

Corona Over Westmoreland State Park, Virginia Twilight Sky at
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Paraselene and Pooch
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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 2 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours, 4 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.


Encore - Eruption of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu

March 07, 2020

IMG_1948 (1)
Today and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you
to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD
that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice
polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating
images.
Photographer: Tony Morley
Summary Author: Tony Morley

May 2014 Viewer's Choice The photo above shows a recent eruption of
Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, as observed during my last expedition
there in November of 2013. Our team camped approximately 300 ft (100 m)
from the summit for five days, collecting lava samples from
previous eruptions. The shock wave from this discharge almost
flattened the tents. Though standing only 1,184 ft (361 m) above sea
level, Mount Yasur (a stratovolcano) has been in a nearly constant
state of eruption for over 800 years. Note the glowing lava bomb on
the summit's flank at upper right -- estimated to be 12 ft (4 m) in
length. Photo taken on November 3, 2013.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM;
Focal Length: 17mm; Aperture: f/5.0; Exposure Time: 30.000 s; ISO
equiv: 200; Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.3 (Windows).
* Mount Yasur, Vanuatu Coordinates: -19.528333, 169.448333

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Encore - Eruption of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu Volcán de Fuego
Active Again Archive - Gneiss Outcrop in Montana Cattle Point,
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Dry Lake, Nevada Archive - Sulfur
More...

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, 3 days, 15 hours, 5 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.


Superluminous Quasar

April 07, 2020

Quasar_Boxed_and_Book_Image (002)

Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker

The superluminous quasar APM 08279+5255 is shown above in the
box at top center and at the arrow at bottom center. This very
distant object, some 12-billion light-years away, is located in the
constellation Lynx. It was first identified as a quasar in 1998
during an Automatic Plate Measuring Facility (APM) survey to find
carbon stars in the Milky Way’s galactic halo. With a
redshift of z=3.87, the quasar appears very red, hence the initial
thought was that this might be a carbon star. The combination of high
redshift and brightness made it the most luminous object seen in
the Universe at the time of the survey.

Image Details: The widefield, upper image (box), was taken using a
Takahashi Sky90 telescope and Starlight Xpress M25C one-shot color CCD.
The narrow field, lower image (arrow), was taken with a Hyperstar on a
Celestron Nexstar GPS C11 reflector telescope, with a Starlight Xpress
H9C OSC CCD, at the New Forest Observatory in the U.K.
* New Forest Observatory, U. K. Coordinates: 50.819444, -1.59

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Over Modica, Italy
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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 10 weeks, 6 days, 14 hours, 5 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 - Muddy Falls

June 07, 2020

Grand_falls

Each Sunday we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD was
originally published June 4, 2003.

Provided and copyright by: Stan Celestian
Summary author: Stan Celestian

Grand Falls in northern Arizona is called the Muddiest Waterfall in the
World. The above photo was taken in March of 1999. This waterfall was
created when Meriam Crater produced a lava flow that dammed the Little
Colorado River. The lava dam can be seen on the right side of the
photo; the canyon runs to the left and the large basalt outcrop in the
foreground is part of the lava flow. Soon a lake developed and
eventually the water worked its way around the lava flow and back into
the original channel (canyon) creating the waterfall. When visiting
northern Arizona on a dry, windy spring day, you may see a cloud of
dust rising up out of the high desert -- you've found Grand Falls.


Related EPODs

Archive - Muddy Falls Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains
Phreatic Tube Archive - Spotted Lake, British Cloumbia
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Salt Lake
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Hydrology Links

* Current Sea Surface Temperature
* NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery
* Ocean Color
* What is hydrology?
* Tides and Currents
* Water Resources of the United States
* World Waterfall Database
* The USGS Water Science School
* World Water Database
* The World’s Water
* USGS Surface Water Information Pages

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 19 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 4 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.


Noctilucent Clouds Observed from Northeastern Germany

July 07, 2020

2020_05_26M_0307MESZ_SD15_TuchenKlobbicke_Nebel_NLC_0380_VarAd___26
40x1760pix

Photographer: Dennis Hennig
Summary Authors: Dennis Hennig; Jim Foster

At the end of a rather foggy evening, skies cleared and this display of
noctilucent clouds appeared, as observed a little north of Berlin,
Germany, on May 26, 2020. Taking into account that it was early in the
season at this latitude (52.8 degrees north), for these upper
atmospheric ( mesosphere) clouds to be seen, this display was quite
unusual. The Sun was 11.3 degrees below the horizon when I
snapped this picture, but because noctilucent or night-shining
clouds form at altitudes between 31 to 53 miles (50 to 85 km) above
the Earth’s surface, they were still illuminated by the Sun’s remaining
rays.

Photo Details: Camera: SIGMA SD15; Software: GIMP 2.10.14; Exposure
Time: 30.000s; Aperture: ƒ/2.0; ISO equivalent: 50; Focal Length
(35mm): 23.
* Berlin, Germany Coordinates: 52.5200, 13.4050

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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 23 weeks, 6 days, 16 hours, 6 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.


Necropolis of Pantalica

August 07, 2020

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Photographer: Kevin Saragozza
Summary Author: Kevin Saragozza
Pantalica, or rather the rocky necropolis of Pantalica, is a
natural archaeological site in the province of Syracuse (Sicily),
Italy. It’s featured here in the mid-ground with the Milky Way as a
backdrop. The name of the site seems to be derived from the Arabic word
buntarigah (caves) a reference to many natural and artificial caves
found here. Pantalica is one of the most important protohistoric
Sicilian places, useful to understand the time of transition from
the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. It’s poetically, but not
scientifically, identified with the ancient Hybla, a Sicilian
kingdom that from the 13th to the 8th century B.C. extended from the
Anapo valley to Syracuse. In 2005 this site was awarded, together with
the city of Syracuse, the title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO
for its special historical, archaeological, speleological and landscape
profiles. Photo taken on May 20, 2020
Photo Details: Photo composed of 18 shots, joined with the Sequator
program and then processed with photoshop; f3.5; 25-second exposure;
ISO 6400; Sony a7iii + Samyang camera; 14 mm; 2.8 AF.
* Pantalica Siracusa, Italy Coordinates: 37.1415, 15.0297

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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 3 weeks, 1 day, 15 hours, 25 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.


EPOD 20th - High Altitude Balloon Burst

September 07, 2020

BalloonBurst2 (7)
We’re celebrating 20 years of Earth Science Picture of the Day during
the month of September! Today’s photo features a popular EPOD from the
past. Thanks to all of our followers (on the blog, Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter) for supporting us. Thanks also to all of you who’ve
submitted your photos. We’re most appreciative. This EPOD was
originally published September 19, 2013.

Photographer: Kostas Tamateas
Summary Author: Kostas Tamateas
September 2013 Viewer's Choice The photo above shows the remains of
a high altitude balloon just after it burst far above the
Thessalian plain of northern Greece. This was Greece's first
suborbital photography project. The project that launched the
balloon is referred to as SlaRos (Tesla, Ikaros); the mission is called
Stratonauts. Mount Olympus is beneath the clouds at top left – to
the left of the balloon is the Aegean Sea.
The balloon reached an altitude of 111,296 ft (33, 923 m) before
bursting. All such high altitude balloons burst when the
atmospheric air pressure is too low to contain the expanding volume
of the gas within the balloon. This balloon’s capsule was retrieved
intact and will be re-used for a future launch. Note that since there
are too few air molecules at altitudes above about 60,000 ft
(18,288 m) to effectively scatter sunlight, the sky appears
essentially black. Photo taken at 12:29 UTC on August 26, 2013.
Photo Details: The picture is a 1280 x 720 frame from a High
Definition, GoPro Hero3 camera, configured to 50 fps (frames per
second).
* Thessalian plain, Greece Coordinates: 39.236935, 22.195804

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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, 6 days, 20 hours, 20 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.


Colorado’s Red Mountain Creek Lives Up to Its Name

October 07, 2020

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Photographer: Patti Weeks
Summary Author: Patti Weeks

When silver was discovered—and later lead, zinc, copper and gold—in
the 1880s in southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, mining
towns popped up in a concentrated location along the Red Mountain
Creek. Miners, equipment and metal ores were hauled by horse-drawn
wagons and later via railroad. A wagon toll road, connecting Silverton
and Ouray across the high mountain passes, was built in 1882 and was
paved in 1924. Nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway, this 25-mile
(40 km) portion of U.S. Highway 550 is ranked as one of the
most dangerous highways in the world. It is indeed treacherous, but
the scenery is spectacular!

About midway between Silverton and Ouray, strangely tinted
reddish-orange rocks are visible in Red Mountain Creek, a tributary
of the Uncompahgre River. Some of this ochre tint is caused by the
natural iron pyrite runoff from the Red Mountains, which
accounts for the ferricrete encasing the stream-lined rocks. But
the brownish water also consists of acid mine drainage (toxic
sulfuric acid), runoff from tailing piles and heavy metal overload
from the now-abandoned mines. Photos taken on October 12, 2019.

Via the Superfund the EPA authorized the Idarado Mining
Company, on the west side of the Red Mountains near Telluride, to clean
up and revegetate its defunct mining district. Their plan, implemented
in 1992, also included the more challenging cleanup of the Red Mountain
Mining District on the east side of the Red Mountain Creek. The
Idarado cleanup plan became a model environmental remediation
project, and Idarado is continuing to employ innovative methods to
reduce pollutants in the Red Mountain Creek to a sustainable level.

Photo Details: Apple iPhone 11 Pro: 4.25 mm; f/1.8; 1/527 sec.; ISO 32;
second photo the same, except 6mm; f/2; 1/122 sec.; ISO 50.
* Red Mountain Creek, Colorado Coordinates: 37.93799, -107.67446

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EPOD 20th - Anatahan Eruption of May 11 Reynisfjara Beach,
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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, 1 day, 20 hours, 26 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)