Ah, Wilderness!

Photos of Deep Space

Feb 042012

Many of the photographs in this entry are from APOD, Astronomy Photo of the Day [recommended] or the NASA Image of the Day [also recommended].

APOD 2012 January 9 – Facing NGC 6946

2012 January 9

Facing NGC 6946
Composite Image Data – Subaru Telescope (NAOJ) and Robert Gendler; Processing – Robert Gendler

APOD 2012 January 7 – Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232

2012 January 7

Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232
Image Credit: FORS, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO

APOD 2011 November 26 – Pelican Nebula Close Up

2011 November 26

Pelican Nebula Close-up
Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

APOD 2011 November 13 – The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble

2011 November 13

The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

APOD 2011 October 29 – Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble

2011 October 29

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgement: A. Reiss et al. (JHU)

APOD 2011 October 25 – IC 1805 The Heart Nebula in HDR

2011 October 25

IC 1805: The Heart Nebula in HDR
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Verloop (Beursacademie)

APOD 2011 September 22 – Arp 272

2011 September 22

Arp 272
Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing - Martin Pugh

APOD 2011 September 21 – Pleiades Deep Field

2011 September 21

Pleiades Deep Field
Image Credit & Copyright: Stanislav Volskiy

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Photos of the Moon

Photos from others, sky No Responses »

Feb 032012

Many of the photographs in this entry are from APOD, Astronomy Photo of the Day [recommended] or the NASA Image of the Day [also recommended].

APOD 2011 November 18 – A Colorful Side of the Moon

2011 November 18

A Colorful Side of the Moon
Credit: NASA / GSFC / DLR / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Explanation: This colorful topographical map of the Moon is centered on the lunar farside, the side not seen from planet Earth.

APOD 2011 December 24 – Eclipsed Moon in the Morning

2011 December 24

Eclipsed Moon in the Morning
Image Credit & Copyright: Roger N. Clark

APOD 2011 December 16 – Red Moon Rising

2011 December 16

Red Moon Rising
Image Credit & Copyright: Oshin Zakarian (TWAN)

APOD 2011 November 27 – Shuttle Plume Shadow Points to the Moon

2011 November 27

Shuttle Plume Shadow Points to the Moon
Image Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA

APOD 2011 December 29 – Conjunction at Sunset

2011 December 29

Conjunction at Sunset
Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano De Rosa

Two Earth Satellites Viewed From Houston Image of the Day

acquired January 4, 2012download large image (139 KB, JPEG, 1416×944)

This photograph taken from Houston, Texas, juxtaposes Earth’s oldest satellite with one of its youngest.

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Another cross-quarter day

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Feb 022012

The Sky This Week, 2012 January 31 – February 7 — Naval Oceanography Portal

[Groundhog Day is] from a tradition brought over to America by German immigrants. Loosely based on the old pagan celebration of Imbolc, it was believed that if a hibernating animal awoke and saw its shadow there would be six more weeks of winter. No shadow indicated an early spring. Imbolc and its derivatives mark one of the so-called "cross-quarter" days in the ancient seasonal calendar, marking the mid-point of astronomical winter. Halloween is another one of these cross-quarter days that are still widely observed here in the New World, continuing traditions that date back millennia in time.

The Sky This Week, 2012 January 31 – February 7 — Naval Oceanography Portal

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Photos of the Earth

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Feb 022012

Many of the photographs in this entry and the next few are from APOD, Astronomy Photo of the Day [recommended] or the NASA Image of the Day [also recommended].

Regarding this first image which got a lot of attention: it’s not a photograph, per se. It’s a rendering of data. Mind blowing in more than one way.

Viral Image The Biggest and Bluest Marble – Kara Swisher – Media – AllThingsD

Enjoy:

(Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring)

APOD 2012 January 3 – A Full Sky Aurora Over Norway

2012 January 3

A Full Sky Aurora Over Norway
Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer

APOD 2011 October 28 – October Skylights

2011 October 28

October Skylights
Image Credit & Copyright: Malcolm Park

Fire in the Sky and on the Ground Image of the Day

acquired September 17, 2011

Amazing Time-lapse Video of Auroras as Seen From the ISS [Video] – How-To Geek

APOD 2012 January 1 – To Fly Free in Space

2012 January 1

To Fly Free in Space
STS-41B, NASA

Amazing Space Photo From Twitter – Peter Kafka – Social – AllThingsD

Here’s one NASA’s Ron Garan beamed to earth yesterday from his perch in the International Space Station.

His caption: “This is what the Moon looked like 16 times today #FromSpace We had simultaneous sunsets + moonsets”

APOD 2011 November 14 – Waterfall, Moonbow, and Aurora from Iceland

2011 November 14

Waterfall, Moonbow, and Aurora from Iceland
Image Credit & Copyright: Stephane Vetter (Nuits sacrees)

The long shadow of Mt. Rainier Bad Astronomy Discover Magazine

Here in Boulder we get magnificent sunsets, especially in the summer when the clouds interplay with the mountains to the west. But I have never seen anything like this: the shadow of Washington state’s Mt. Rainier cast along the clouds at sunrise:

That’s amazing. Mt. Rainier is a volcano, climbing to a height of over 14,000 feet (4300 meters).

Love and Joy for the New Year Image of the Day

acquired December 21, 2011download large image (341 KB, JPEG, 2128×1416)

In November and December 2011, professional and amateur astronomers reveled in observing a sun-grazing comet that dove close to the Sun and survived for a return flight back to the outer solar system. Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) enjoyed their own surreal view of the comet as it appeared on Earth’s horizon on the day of the solstice.

ISS Commander Dan Burbank captured a series of digital photographs of Comet Lovejoy on December 21, 2011, as it rose above Earth’s limb

Nickel Cobalt

$This up to 1000 years old snow has metamorphosed into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains almost no air bubbles. Thus it absorbs the visible light despite the scattered shortest blue fraction, giving it its distinct deep blue waved appearance. This cavity in the glacier ice formed as a result of a glacial mill, or moulin. Rain and meltwater on the glacier surface is channelled into streams that enter the glacier at crevices. The waterfall melts a hole into the glacier while the ponded water drains towards lower elevations by forming long ice caves with an outlet at the terminus of the glacier. The fine grained sediments in the water along with wind blown sediments cause the frozen meltwater stream to appear in a muddy colour while the top of the cave exhibits the deep blue colour. Due to the fast movement of the glacier of about 1 m per day over uneven terrain this ice cave cracked up at its end into a deep vertical crevice, called cerrac. This causes the indirect daylight to enter the ice cave from both ends resulting in homogeneous lighting of the ice tunnel.$

This up to 1000 years old snow has metamorphosed into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains almost no air bubbles. Thus it absorbs the visible light despite the scattered shortest blue fraction, giving it its distinct deep blue waved appearance. This cavity in the glacier ice formed as a result of a glacial mill, or moulin.

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“a gain of 1 hour of daylight by month’s end”

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Feb 012012

Roughly 2 minutes a day, nearly 15 minutes each week. Cue “Here Comes the Sun.” http://www.sunrisesunset.com/

By February 29th, the Sun transits 9.5 degrees higher up than on the 1st. The result is a gain of 1 hour of daylight by month’s end. – Kevin McKeown, Abqjournal

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The Big Picture from The Boston Globe [recommended]

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Feb 012012

Each week, The Big Picture features one long page full of photos of a current event. These photos are always very professional and gorgeous, appearing in a large format. My one complaint is that scrolling inevitably fails to line most of the photos up correctly; I wish there were a better mechanism for moving between photos.

2012 Marking the New Year – The Big Picture – Boston.com

Around the world people celebrated with fireworks, kisses, blessings, gatherings, cheers, watching the sunrise and plunges into icy bodies of water to welcome in a new year. Here’s a look back at how some of them marked the transition. – Lloyd Young (41 photos total)

Fireworks explode in the sky over Bucharest, Romania, at midnight, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, during street celebrations of the new year. Large crowds gathered downtown Romania’s capital taking advantage of the dry weather to attend the celebrations. (Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press)

The Year in Pictures Part I – The Big Picture – Boston.com

(36 photos total)

A wave caused by a tsunami flows into the city of Miyako from the Heigawa estuary in Iwate Prefecture after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck Japan March 11, 2011. (Mainichi Shimbun /Reuters)

The year in Pictures Part II – The Big Picture – Boston.com

(45 photos total)

A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area. (Claudio Santana/AFP/Getty Images) )

The Year in Pictures Part III – The Big Picture – Boston.com

(51 photos total)

A defaced portrait of fugitive Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in Tripoli on Sept. 1, 2011 as the fallen strongman vowed again not to surrender in a message broadcast on the 42nd anniversary of the coup which brought him to power. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

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“Astronomically speaking, deep winter is over.” (Sky Watch)

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Jan 202012

From today’s paper:

Today the Sun has reached 20 degrees south of the equator [up from 23.5 or 47/2]. After two months of “hibernation” along the bottom of the zodiac, the Sun really picks up northward speed today. Astronomically speaking, deep winter is over. – Kevin McKeown

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Los Lunas – Belen – Bernardo Birding Daytrip

birds, Day Trips, daytrips, newmexico, photos No Responses »

Jan 162012

I took a day trip to various birding hotspots south of Albuquerque, but not as far south as Mecca (Bosque del Apache). My guide was Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico, by Judy Liddell and Barbara Hussey, plus GPS and some time spent with Google Earth beforehand. One trip is not enough to evaluate these spots – their inclusion in the book may be enough of a rating. Certainly, I will return to Bernardo, which is so much closer than Mecca but *almost* as beautiful and bird-full (no place is as beautiful as Bosque del Apache). I wish Bosque del Apache would mimic the blinds and overlooks at Bernardo, which has two fantastic trails through high bushes around a pond.

Highlights included quite a few kestrels, a northern harrier at Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area, lots of sandhill cranes and snow geese, a song sparrow, and several rufous-sided towhees, all at Bernardo.

Los Lunas – Belen – Bernardo, New Mexico

Note: Photos contain GPS data and can be mapped online.

I had not luck locating Belen Waterfowl Management Area off Jarales Road (a lovely drive). The official map of the area is dreadfully vague. Nor did I see any indication along the road of Casa Colorada WMA.

See Judy Liddell’s blog for much more information: It’s a bird thing…

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The Rio Grande Bosque is a treasure we all need to visit more

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Jan 112012

We’ve walked in various parts of the bosque (riparian woods, primarily cottonwoods) within Albuquerque over the years. A year ago, our walk resulted in one of my favorite photos of the year (coyote with ducks, a prize winner). This year, we watched a Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) stand in the river, one foot pinning its prey in the current. And there was a disheveled merlin, a handsome shoveler, a snipe, and a plethora of robins. I’ve added 9 pictures to the album (19 total).

A Walk in Albuquerque’s Bosque

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Stokes Birding Blog (recommended)

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Jan 092012

Consistently, Lillian Stokes takes the finest bird photos I’ve seen. She always captures fascinating action in her subjects.

I recently bought The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. It’s huge and full of photos. I have just the slightest disappointment that the photos in the guide are not quite as beautiful as the photos on the blog.

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Wolf Moon – AOoooo

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Jan 082012

The Sky This Week, 2012 January 3 – 10 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Moon waxes in the evening sky this week, with the year’s first Full Moon falling on the 9th at 2:30 am Eastern Standard Time. January’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Moon After Yule, the Old Moon, or the Wolf Moon, depending on whose mythology you prefer.

The Sky This Week, 2012 January 3 – 10 — Naval Oceanography Portal

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National Bird Day

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Jan 052012

National Bird Day – Homepage

Why National Bird Day?

The beauty, songs, and flight of birds have long been sources of human inspiration.

Today, nearly 12 percent of the world’s 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world’s 330 parrot species.

Birds are sentinel species whose plight serves as barometer of ecosystem health and alert system for detecting global environmental ills.

Many of the world’s parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to pressures from the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss.

Public awareness and education about the physical and behavioral needs of birds can go far in improving the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity.

The survival and well-being of the world’s birds depends upon public education and support for conservation.

National Bird Day – Homepage

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The year’s latest sunrise was this morning – really

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Jan 042012

The Sky This Week, 2011 December 6 – 13 — Naval Oceanography Portal

December 7th marks the beginning of the series of phenomena associated with the winter solstice. This is the evening of the year’s earliest sunset, which in the Washington, DC area occurs at 4:46 pm EST. From this evening onward Old Sol will set a little bit later on successive nights. The change is very incremental at first, but by the time the solstice occurs on the 22nd sunset will be four minutes later. By the end of the year sunset will occur at 4:58 pm. The trade-off comes with the time of latest sunrise. That won’t occur until January 4th, 2012, when the Sun peeks over the horizon at 7:27 am. The shortest day of the year still falls halfway between these dates on the solstice itself, marking the astronomical beginning to the winter season.

The Sky This Week, 2011 December 6 – 13 — Naval Oceanography Portal

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Look west just before sunset (12/26): Venus & the crescent moon

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Dec 262011

The Night After Christmas Sky Show – NASA Science

On Dec. 26th, the night after Christmas, Venus and the slender crescent Moon will gather for a jaw-dropping conjunction in the western sky.

A Venus-Moon conjunction photographed in Nov. 2011 by Thad V’Soske of Fruita, CO. The "Night After Christmas" conjunction will look about the same. Copyright: T. V’Soske/Cosmotions.com

The action begins shortly before sunset. Around 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm local time, just as the sky is assuming its evening hue, Venus will pop into view, glistening bright in the deepening twilight. No more than 6 degrees to the right lies the crescent Moon, exquisitely slender, grinning like the Cheshire cat with his head cocked at humorous attention. This is a wonderful time to look; there are very few sights in the heavens as splendid as Venus and the Moon gathered close and surrounded by twilight blue.

But don’t go inside yet, because the view is about to improve. As the sky fades to black, a ghostly image of the full Moon materializes within the horns of the lunar crescent. This is caused by Earthshine, a delicate veil of sunlight reflected from our own blue planet onto the dusty-dark lunar terrain. Also known as "the Da Vinci glow," after Leonardo da Vinci who first understood it 500 years ago, Earthshine pushes the beauty of the conjunction over the top.

The Night After Christmas Sky Show – NASA Science

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Page 1 of 49 1 2 3 … 48 49 Older Entries

Ah, Wilderness!

Photos of Deep Space

Photos of the Moon

Another cross-quarter day

Photos of the Earth

“a gain of 1 hour of daylight by month’s end”

The Big Picture from The Boston Globe [recommended]

“Astronomically speaking, deep winter is over.” (Sky Watch)

Los Lunas – Belen – Bernardo Birding Daytrip

The Rio Grande Bosque is a treasure we all need to visit more

Stokes Birding Blog (recommended)

Wolf Moon – AOoooo

National Bird Day

The year’s latest sunrise was this morning – really

Look west just before sunset (12/26): Venus & the crescent moon

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