Starship Asterisk*

Sentinels of a Northern Sky

Explanation: Who guards the north? The featured picture was taken last March in Finnish Lapland where weather can include sub-freezing temperatures and driving snow. Surreal landscapes sometimes result, where white alien-looking sentinels seem to patrol the landscape. In actuality though, the aliens are snow-covered trees, and the red hut they seem to be guarding is an outhouse. Far in the distance, behind this uncommon Earthly vista, is a beautiful night sky which includes a green aurora, bright stars, and streaks of orbiting satellites. Of course, in the spring, the trees thaw and Lapland looks much different.

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APOD Robot wrote:... In actuality though, the aliens are snow-covered trees, and the red hut they seem to be guarding is an outhouse.

Ooooooweeeeeee! That's a brisk walk at 3:00am!

I hope whoever has to go isn't in a hurry !! And the seat probably needs "tending to" before use. A fur cover would probably by a welcome addition

An absolutely wonderful photo .. and I was at once struck by the similarity of the formations to the 'Pillars of Creation' and other molecular formations in space. Perhaps those cosmological formations are also built on some framework.

How about a link to the same spot but in the summer?

Reminds me of the Pillars of Creation.

alter-ego wrote:

APOD Robot wrote:
... In actuality though, the aliens are snow-covered trees,
and the red hut they seem to be guarding is an outhouse.

Ooooooweeeeeee! That's a brisk walk at 3:00am!

You know you've reached the Finnish line when you pass the last Lap.

It's a fine picture. And it makes me feel cold. I shudder when I see all that snow and the starry sky above.

Imagine using the bathroom in that outhouse.

As usual, I would like to identify the stars. At first I thought I saw the Big Dipper there, but on second thought I think not. Chris once said I could use Stellarium to identify a field of stars, but I don't know how. (In fact, I think someone taught me to use it once, and I managed to do it once, but then I forgot it again.)

Can somebody help me again?

Ann

Ann wrote:
As usual, I would like to identify the stars.

At first I thought I saw the Big Dipper there, but on second thought I think not.

Why not? It's in the proper position vs-a-vs the 'question mark' of Leo on the right.

Ann wrote:As usual, I would like to identify the stars. At first I thought I saw the Big Dipper there, but on second thought I think not. Chris once said I could use Stellarium to identify a field of stars, but I don't know how. (In fact, I think someone taught me to use it once, and I managed to do it once, but then I forgot it again.)

You can use any planetarium program, but that can be quite difficult. I upload uncertain starfields to nova.astrometry.net, which can usually solve the field.

I don't think it's necessary in this case, however. That is clearly the handle of the Big Dipper oriented vertically above the outhouse, and two of the cup stars at the top of the frame. You can quite easily make out the visual double of Mizar and Alcor. So the view is to the northeast.

Chris Peterson wrote:

Ann wrote:As usual, I would like to identify the stars. At first I thought I saw the Big Dipper there, but on second thought I think not. Chris once said I could use Stellarium to identify a field of stars, but I don't know how. (In fact, I think someone taught me to use it once, and I managed to do it once, but then I forgot it again.)

You can use any planetarium program, but that can be quite difficult. I upload uncertain starfields to nova.astrometry.net, which can usually solve the field.

I don't think it's necessary in this case, however. That is clearly the handle of the Big Dipper oriented vertically above the outhouse, and two of the cup stars at the top of the frame. You can quite easily make out the visual double of Mizar and Alcor. So the view is to the northeast.

Thanks, Chris (and Art)! I'll try to us nova.astrometry.net next time. But I agree with you, that is indeed the handle of the Big Dipper.

Ann