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.


A Year of Sunspots

November 10, 2022


A Year in the Sun (1)

Photographer: Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Summary Author: Soumyadeep Mukherjee

I imaged the Sun for 365 days between December 25, 2020, and
December 31, 2021, missing just six days during this period. The
project started with the aim of recording the journey of a single
sunspot across the solar disk, but I managed to continue imaging
for an entire year. From my home in Kolkata, India, I blended the
images to create a single shot, which records the rise of Solar
Cycle 25. A total of 127 active regions appeared on the Earth-facing
solar disk (AR 12794–AR 12921) during this phase – the image above
shows all of them.

Two bands of sunspots can be identified moving across the solar
disk, around 15–35 degrees north and south of the equator. Note that
they gradually start drifting towards the solar equator – a phenomenon
known as Spörer’s Law.
Photo details: Nikon D5600 camera; Sigma 150–600c lens; Thousand Oaks
Filter (White-Light); f/6.3; ISO 100; 365 individual exposures
(1/80-second to 1/500-second), 600mm; Post-processing using PIPP and
Photoshop.
Kolkata, India Coordinates: 22.5726, 88.3639


Related EPODs

A Year of Sunspots Sun Plunging into the Mist and Sea Dust
Storm Sunset over Portugal Sun Granules Violet and Green
Flashes at Sunset Panoramic View of Etna and the Winter Solstice
More...

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 36 weeks, 3 days, 21 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.


Loana Valley of Italy at Night

October 10, 2022

#01 (9)

Photographer: Paolo Bardelli

Summary Author: Paolo Bardelli
These photos show two different views of night sky conditions observed
from Val Loana (Loana Valley), in the Piedmontese Alps of northern
Italy. Peaks at left delimit the boundary of the Val Grande
National Park.

The Loana valley is also almost uninhabited, thus this is a very dark
area at night. Despite the presence of the quarter Moon (half
illuminated) and artificial lighting in the direction of the Po
Valley to the south, the Milky Way is clearly visible (top view).

However, the bottom view (looking north) shows that light pollution
here is still a concern even though existing laws are in place aimed to
curb this stray light. Note the asterism of the Big Dipper, through
a layer of cirrus clouds, at lower left. Photos taken on the night of
July 10, 2022.

Photo details: Canon 6D camera; Samyang lens 14 mm; 30 seconds
exposure; f/2.8; 6400 ISO; Photoshop processing. Akira Fuji effect
used to highlight constellations.

Loana Valley, Italy Coordinates: 46.0890, 8.4772

Related EPODs

Loana Valley of Italy at Night Total Lunar Eclipse of May
15/16, 2022 Celestial Parade of the Planets in June 2022
Supermoon and Micromoon Comparison Sea of Clouds Above the Pain
de Sucre Lunar Pareidolia: Profile of Woman’s Face
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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 32 weeks, 21 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.


Crystal Forms in Petrified Wood

December 09, 2022

TomMc_EPODImage2.WolverineLoopPetrifiedForest2022#2 (003)

TomMc_EPODImage1.PetrifiedWoodWolverineClose2022#1 (003)

Photographer: Thomas McGuire

Summary Author: Thomas McGuire


Grand Staircase National Monument is a spectacularly rich geologic
area in remote southern Utah. Within this monument, Wolverine
Petrified Forest, shown above at top, features silicified (petrified)
tree trunks and sections. The variety of colors is caused by iron
oxide and other oxide minerals.


In the bottom photo, the geometric forms at right are dark stained
quartz crystals that probably grew by groundwater deposition in
openings called “ vugs.” Quartz is extremely common, but visible
quartz crystals less so. When an igneous rock cools and
crystallizes, quartz is the last common mineral to harden, so it
usually fills in the irregular openings between previously formed
minerals including feldspar, mica, amphibole and pyroxene. What
surprised me was the texture on this exposed surface. The radial forms
at the bottom of the photo are new to me, and I have yet to understand
how they formed. Photos taken in July 2022.



Grand Staircase National Monument, Utah Coordinates: 37.799633,
-111.214906


Related EPODs

Crystal Forms in Petrified Wood Mt. Baker at Sunrise Fossil
Find in Sicily, Italy Arizona’s China Wall Fossil Lake’s Legacy
at Wyoming’s Fossil Butte Wagon Tracks from the Old West?
More...

Geology Links

* Earthquakes
* Geologic Time
* Geomagnetism
* General Dictionary of Geology
* Mineral and Locality Database
* Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
* This Dynamic Earth
* USGS
* MyShake - University of California, Berkeley
* 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 40 weeks, 5 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)