APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 05)

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APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 05)

Post by APOD Robot » Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:06 am

Image A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano

Explanation: Why does the shadow of this volcano look like a triangle? The Mount Teide volcano itself does not have the strictly pyramidal shape that its geometric shadow might suggest. The triangle shadow phenomena is not unique to the Mt. Teide, though, and is commonly seen from the tops of other large mountains and volcanoes. A key reason for the strange dark shape is that the observer is looking down the long corridor of a sunset (or sunrise) shadow that extends to the horizon. Even if the huge volcano was a perfect cube and the resulting shadow was a long rectangular box, that box would appear to taper off at its top as its shadow extended far into the distance, just as parallel train tracks do. The above spectacular image shows Pico Viejo crater in the foreground, located on Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain. The nearly full moon is seen nearby shortly after its total lunar eclipse last month.

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by neufer » Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:17 am

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by Beyond » Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:24 am

WOW! This one even has two games to play.Maybe i'll try them tomorrow, when i'm awake. But i don't think it will help much. :mrgreen:
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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by Ann » Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:53 am

Wow! That's a spectacular image. And look at the colors!

As for, well, tapering off and sort of disappearing into infinity, I'm reminded of something in Macbeth that I don't have the strength to try to look up. It's when someone says to Banquo (if I even remeber his name correctly) that Macbeth will have no offspring, but Banquo will be the father of kings and his line of descendants on England's throne will stretch to infinity. Or something like that.

Nice video, Art!

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by neufer » Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:16 am

Ann wrote:
As for, well, tapering off and sort of disappearing into infinity, I'm reminded of something in Macbeth that I don't have the strength to try to look up. It's when someone says to Banquo (if I even remeber his name correctly) that Macbeth will have no offspring, but Banquo will be the father of kings and his line of descendants on England's throne will stretch to infinity. Or something like that.

Nice video, Art!
MACBETH: Thou Art too like the spirit of Banquo: down!
  • Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair,
    Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first.
    A third is like the former. Filthy hags!
    Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes!
    What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by dave » Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:41 am

Why is the date July 4?

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by owlice » Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:06 pm

An error. Will let the editors know; thanks for the alert!
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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by orin stepanek » Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:43 pm

Interesting how shadows taper off like that! 8-) It does make a good background picture. :)
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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by florid_snow » Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:26 pm

I think a better title would be "Shadow Road to the Moon" to be more illustrative of the remarkable perspective of distance shown.

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by NoelC » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:46 pm

Excellent shot of the shadow of the stratovolcano!

I was just there (Tenerife) a bit over a week ago for the Starmus festival and I visited Mount Teide several times. Early in the week Saharan dust clouded the sky, but by Saturday night it had gotten quite clear. Here's what it looked like on June 25...
Sky over El Teide Tenerife June 25 2011.jpg
Tenerife is as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine. I will definitely be going back one day...

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Last edited by NoelC on Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by alter-ego » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:51 pm

The shadow reminds me of a gunsight drawing a bead on a target - the prize target in this case is the moon.
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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by saturn2 » Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:50 pm

The colors of sky are beautiful.
The shadow of volcano is a infinity proyection.
Surrealist picture.


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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by manuel moreno » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:23 am

other views volcano Teide (Tenerife) since Gran Canaria Island (90 km)
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Best Regards from Gran Canaria!!
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Last edited by manuel moreno on Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by Rusty Brown in Canada » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:47 pm

"The triangle shadow phenomena..."

"Phenomenon" (singular) surely.

One phenomenon, many phenomena.

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Re: APOD: A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano (2011 Jul 0

Post by neufer » Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:40 pm

Rusty Brown in Canada wrote:
"The triangle shadow phenomena..."

"Phenomenon" (singular) surely.
"The triangle shadow phenomena is ..."
Rusty Brown in Canada wrote:
One phenomenon, many phenomena.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomena wrote:
<<In scientific usage, a phenomenon is any event that is observable, however commonplace it might be, even if it requires the use of instrumentation to observe, record, or compile data concerning it. For example, in physics, a phenomenon may be a feature of matter, energy, or spacetime, such as Isaac Newton's observations of the moon's orbit and of gravity, or Galileo Galilei's observations of the motion of a pendulum.

Group phenomena concerns the behavior of a particular group of individual entities, usually organisms and most especially people. The behavior of individuals often changes in a group setting in various ways, and a group may have its own behaviors not possible to an individual. Social phenomena apply especially to organisms and people in that subjective states are implicit in the term. Attitudes and events particular to a group may have effects beyond the group, and either be adapted by the larger society, or seen as aberrant, being punished or shunned.>>
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