Triple SunriseOn September 23, 2006, the sun rose due East @ the Equinox, an event that only occurs twice every year. The ice halos were seen (ice crystals in the atmosphere that reflect and refract light) here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sun halos are often seen more as rainbows because of hexagonal cross-sections of ice. In the center of the picture, there is a sun pillar, 22 degrees above the halo arc. Sundogs on either side of the picture (falling ice crystals that reflect light), as well as a tangent arc (touches the top of the sun halo), can also be seen. I think this is a pretty amazing picture. I mean, 3 sunrises? How cool is that?
Anticrepuscular Rays Over Florida This is around the time of sunset. These are anticrepuscular rays, or sunbeams that are scattered over clouds to reflect and create visible shadows. Normally sunlight travels in straight lines, but because the beams are projected in a spherical sky, they are seen as semi-curves, because the beams are reconverging. This picture was taken @ the Kennedy Space Center over the Atlantic Ocean. I think I might actually have seen some of these last night over the house around 7:30 when I went out to look for the Iridium Flare. I was pretty disappointed since I went out a little early and stayed out longer than the time but still didn't see anything. I thought I had seen a flash of white light, but it was only out of the corner of my eye, so it could have been a reflection on my lenses. I should wear my glasses to school sometime, even though they sorta make me look emo. But anyway, there was a huge arch of pink light over a pale blue sky. My mom thought that this might be the iridium flare, but I thought not since a flare naturally sounds more exciting. I looked it ^ for good measure and found out that I was right, though I missed it nonetheless.
Saturday @ NightThis is a nighttime shot of Saturn. The colour of Saturn's nighttime is created by the reflection of the Sun's rays onto its own majestic rings. This was taken in July by the Cassini spacecraft. It was launched in 2004 & is expected to continue until 2008 (graduatin year!). The Sunlight rings are visible but are partially cut off by Saturn's shadow. One can see a dim glow of its rings the most obviously on the right side of the picture, or Saturn's southern hemisphere. The thin black lines cannot be seen through telescope because they are Saturn's C ring (the ring closest to the planet). So today I danced in Astro since there was an Annie Lenox song on. Mr. Percival has pretty sweet taste in music, especially classical. It's funny 'cause I seem to be the only one who can identify things in his vast library in terms of classical and jazz stuff. I need so much more classical, though I tend to like the more contemporary stuff like Joshua Bell's or Mark O'Connor's pieces. But don't get me wrong- HC classical will never die.
stargazing
So Will & I met ^ last night @ Venice beach. I was a little late (we decided to go out @ 8 since it's dark then) because it started to mist on River Road. He had checked the weather on Friday night but we decided to check it anyway. After we found each other (which took only 5 minutes, surprizingly), we headed out to the stars.
We sat out on the beach on an animal sheet (ibexes!), even when it started to sprinkle. We actually started to freeze our butts off because it got sort of windy and we were damp, so we trekked to his [RED!] jeep to get towels. I ended ^ wearing it as a cape and then as a blanket since I was having some childhood conflicts or something. It was pretty cloudy by this time, so we didn't get to see many stars until around 10.
Once the rain had stopped and the clouds had parted, some stars finally appeared. We were able to spot some constellation-looking arrangements, but it was too dark to consult a star map. I would have started making ^ my own names for the anonymous, but that might have been a little too much for anyone to handle. Maybe next time though...
So that was my grand adventure on a Saturday night. It was pretty amazing, I must say.
& for the record, I officially love this class. <3
The Moon Isn't Down (sorry CEC)
There was a full moon this past Thursday night. I like to keep my blinds open when I sleep, which tends to be a challenge to falling asleep when it's extremely bright (as it always is around a full moon); Don't get me wrong- it's beautiful & all, but it's just a little illuminating. I really do think I get some major beauty sleep on those nights though, since the moonlight always washes everything in a breath-taking silver.
I also saw the moon heading to school on Friday. It was massive and golden, allowing you to see the craters really well. It was almost disturbing in a way because it looked so huge, like it could attack you. (Kind of like the moon balloon in "A.I.", for the Flesh Fair- I love that movie...) Or else it was really Halloween-esque, which probably makes more sense. Candy! huzzah (though it no longer makes you hyper... ~_^)
Colourful Moon MosaicNo exposure can capture the faceted moon, though this composite shows some of its amazing colours (as well as the surrounding stars). By piecing together fifteen different, high resolution images of a gibbous moon, the colours can been seen. Though the colours are very dramatic, they represent the many-chemical surfaces with varying compositions such as Th, K, FeO, and Clementine 750. With the naked eye the colour changes aren't noticable, a dramatic lunar show can still be wittnessed; a partial eclipse can be seen from Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
Gemini South Star TrailsThis picture was taken @ the Gemini South Observatory, Cerro Pachon, Chile. Over a period of one hour and with forty minute exposure, the arc of stars was able to be recorded. Off the upper left edge lies the South Celestial Pole. There are two wide streaks show the path of the Magellanic Clouds, satellites of the Milky Way Galaxy, and a meteor just left of the observatory. Lights on the horizon are from La Serena and Coquimbo.
