APOD: Orion and Aurora over Iceland (2014 Mar 24)

[APOD Robot]

Orion and Aurora over Iceland

Explanation: If you see a sky like this -- photograph it. A month ago in Iceland, an adventurous photographer chanced across a sky full of aurora and did just that. In the foreground lies the stratovolcano Öræfajökull. In the background, among other sky delights, lies the constellation of Orion, visible to the aurora's left. Auroras are sparked by energetic particles from the Sun impacting the magnetic environment around the Earth. Resultant energetic particles such as electrons and protons rain down near the Earth's poles and impact the air. The impacted air molecules obtain excited electrons, and when electrons in oxygen molecules fall back to their ground state, they emit green light. Auroras are known to have many shapes and colors.

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[/b]

[neufer]

<<Edmond Halley, FRS (8 November 1656 – 14 January 1742) was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed.

In 1692, Halley put forth the idea of a hollow Earth consisting of a shell about 500 miles thick, two inner concentric shells and an innermost core, about the diameters of the planets Venus, Mars, and Mercury. He suggested that atmospheres separated these shells, and that each shell had its own magnetic poles, with each sphere rotating at a different speed. Halley proposed this scheme in order to explain anomalous compass readings. He envisaged each inner region as having an atmosphere and being luminous (and possibly inhabited), and speculated that escaping gas caused the Aurora Borealis.>>

[b][size=150][color=#0000FF]Arne Saknussemm's Runic[/color] [color=#FF0000]ELS cryptogram[/color][/size][/b]

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.  n d I r e l a[N] d,D
.  e f e n d e r[O] f t
.  h e F a i t h[c].T H
.  E T R A N S L[A] T O
.  R S O F T H E[B] I B
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{FRANC.} [BaCON] -10  (Prob. ~ 1 in 750) 

1611 KJV dedication ELS cryptogram[/size]

<<Voyage au centre de la Terre is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves German professor Otto Lidenbrock who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the centre of the Earth. He, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans descend into the Icelandic volcano Snæfellsjökull, encountering many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, before eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy, at the Stromboli volcano.

The story begins in May 1863, the Lidenbrock house in Hamburg, Germany, with Professor Lidenbrock rushing home to peruse his latest purchase, an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga written by Snorri Sturluson ("Heimskringla"; the chronicle of the Norwegian kings who ruled over Iceland). While looking through the book, Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find an Equidistant Letter Sequence cryptogram written in runic script. Lidenbrock and Axel transliterate the runic characters into Latin letters, revealing a message written in a seemingly bizarre code. Professor Lidenbrock decides to lock everyone in the house and force himself and the others (Axel, and the maid, Martha) to go without food until he cracks the code. Axel discovers the answer when fanning himself with the deciphered text: Lidenbrock's decipherment was correct, and only needs to be read backwards(; i.e., from bottom to top) to reveal sentences written in rough Latin. The note, which is revealed to be a medieval note written by the Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, who claims to have discovered a passage to the centre of the Earth via Snæfell in Iceland.>>

• -----------------------------------------------------
  "Backwards!" cried my uncle, in wild amazement.
  "Oh most cunning Saknussemm; and I to be such a blockhead!"
  
  • Descend into the crater of Yocul of Sneffels,
    which the shade of Scartaris caresses,
    before the kalends of July, audacious traveler,
    and you will reach the center of the earth.
    I did it. Arne SaknusseM
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
  <<"Because Arne Saknussemm was persecuted for heresy,
  and in 1573 his works were publicly burnt at Copenhagen,
  by the hands of the common hangman.">> - Jules VERnE (J.C.E.)
  ................................................................
  • 1573 Tycho Brahe (Copenhagen)
  _De Nova et Nullius Aevi Memoria Prius Visa Stella_
  "On the New and Never Previously Seen Star"
  ----------------------------------------------------------------

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Nice image.

One question/comment:
In the description, it says

an adventurous photographer (pictured)....

/snip
which I took to mean - the photographer is included in the image, however I do not see him/her. (Maybe my browser settings are off enough that I cannot see the entire image. Does any/everyone see the photographer?)

[HellCat]

Maybe if we turn the picture upside down and inside out...

No, I can't see a photographer either. So this is either another case of "where's waldo?" or a grad student slipup.

I'd like to petition for a moratorium on links to funny cat pictures as well.

[CURRAHEE CHRIS]

I was wondering the same thing- i didnt see anyone in the picture either.

This is a really exciting and timely picture. We are plannning to go to England and Iceland in early July. My wife and kids both asked me on friday night if we will see some northern lights in Iceland. I told them I didnt think so but you never know. Definately will share this picture with them.

[Canadian Grandma]

Maybe the pictured photographer referred to IS the cat?

[Chris Peterson]

One question/comment:
In the description, it says

an adventurous photographer (pictured)....

which I took to mean - the photographer is included in the image, however I do not see him/her. (Maybe my browser settings are off enough that I cannot see the entire image. Does any/everyone see the photographer?)

I was wondering if it's a reference to a star or constellation. The imager's name can mean something like "Son of the Eagle", or "Guardian of Thor". Maybe a reference to something astronomical? Nothing comes to mind from what I know of Norse mythology (which has nothing about auroras, and practically nothing about stars or constellations), but maybe some modern reference?

[MarkBour]

Nice image.

One question/comment:
In the description, it says

an adventurous photographer (pictured)....

/snip
which I took to mean - the photographer is included in the image, however I do not see him/her. (Maybe my browser settings are off enough that I cannot see the entire image. Does any/everyone see the photographer?)

I often miss the obvious in the day's APOD, so I too had the same thought, and wondered if he were a speck somewhere in the foreground.

At the moment, I'm guessing that what the description was trying to say was that the photographer is credited in the picture itself. If you go to facebook and look up Thorri Photo/Film, you'll see more of this really excellent photographer's work, and there you'll find an occasional self-portrait, which I think is our man.

[neufer]

In the description, it says: an adventurous photographer (pictured)....

which I took to mean - the photographer is included in the image, however I do not see him/her.

I was wondering if it's a reference to a star or constellation. The imager's name can mean something like "Son of the Eagle", or "Guardian of Thor". Maybe a reference to something astronomical? Nothing comes to mind from what I know of Norse mythology (which has nothing about auroras, and practically nothing about stars or constellations), but maybe some modern reference?

I often miss the obvious in the day's APOD, so I too had the same thought, and wondered if he were a speck somewhere in the foreground.

At the moment, I'm guessing that what the description was trying to say was that the photographer is credited in the picture itself. If you go to facebook and look up Thorri Photo/Film, you'll see more of this really excellent photographer's work, and there you'll find an occasional self-portrait, which I think is our man.

[b][color=#0000FF]Thor's Battle Against the Jötnar (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge[/color][/b]

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• Þorvarður Árnason
  regarding Thor / Árne's son

<<Tanngrisnir (Old Norse "teeth-barer, snarler") and Tanngnjóstr (Old Norse "teeth grinder") are the goats who pull the god Thor's chariot in Norse mythology. They are attested in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.

The Prose Edda relates that when Thor cooks the goats, their flesh provides sustenance for the god, and, after Thor resurrects them with his hammer, Mjölnir, they are brought back to life the next day. According to the same source, Thor once stayed a night at the home of peasant farmers and shared with them his goat meal, yet one of their children, Þjálfi, broke one of the bones to suck out the marrow, resulting in the lameness of one of the goats upon resurrection.

A stanza from the Poetic Edda poem Þrymskviða describes Thor's goat-driven ride to Jötunheimr (Benjamin Thorpe translation):

• Straightway were the goats homeward driven,
  hurried to the traces; they had fast to run.
  The rocks were shivered, the earth was in a blaze;
  Odin's son drove to Jötunheim.>>

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Glad I wasn't the only one that couldn't see something/one in the image!
(I don't always see the 'obvious', either.)

And Chris Peterson, I'd bet your comment is pretty close to what TPTB had in mind. Makes sense to me, anyway - thanks!

[geckzilla]

The answer to the explanation is simple.

[Chris Peterson]

The answer to the explanation is simple.

Copy and paste failure?

[geckzilla]

The answer to the explanation is simple.

Copy and paste failure?

Copy and paste success. Proofread and adjustment failure!

[Chris Peterson]

Copy and paste success. Proofread and adjustment failure!

How boring. I was hoping to learn an exciting new piece of Nordic mythological or astronomical trivia.

[geckzilla]

Sorry, the Nidhoggr ate that part of the description.

[RJN]

Nice image.

One question/comment:
In the description, it says

an adventurous photographer (pictured)....

/snip
which I took to mean - the photographer is included in the image, however I do not see him/her. (Maybe my browser settings are off enough that I cannot see the entire image. Does any/everyone see the photographer?)

Oops. Yes, it turns out that the adventurous photographer is not actually pictured here. So I have now deleted "pictured" from the text. That sentence was taken from a previous APOD and I missed it (repeatedly) in the editing. Sorry! - RJN

[neufer]

Copy and paste success. Proofread and adjustment failure!

How boring. I was hoping to learn an exciting new piece of Nordic mythological or astronomical trivia.

Sorry, the Nidhoggr ate that part of the description.

At least, someone finally got to the root of the problem.

[Anthony Barreiro]

I was wondering the same thing- i didnt see anyone in the picture either.

This is a really exciting and timely picture. We are plannning to go to England and Iceland in early July. My wife and kids both asked me on friday night if we will see some northern lights in Iceland. I told them I didnt think so but you never know. Definately will share this picture with them.

Iceland is on the arctic circle. In early July the sky will be light all night. I doubt it will get dark enough to see any auroras. By the way, for unknown reasons, auroras are strongest around Earth's equinox.

This is an amazingly beautiful aurora and a beautiful image. I visited Iceland last April, saw a few auroras, but nothing like this. I hope to return.

[BMAONE23]

Powerful Towering Icelandic Giants
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/turnin ... nt-people/

Click to view full size image

[Ron-Astro Pharmacist]

Something about an aurora's physical appearance has always seemed strange and it just dawned on me. If the suns energetic particles are interacting with the Earth's magnetic environment, why do the lines appear straight and "curtain like" until you get to the bottom? Seems like they should be curved similar to how the magnetic field lines are depicted. Maybe it's a perspective effect.

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Oops. Yes, it turns out that the adventurous photographer is not actually pictured here. So I have now deleted "pictured" from the text. That sentence was taken from a previous APOD and I missed it (repeatedly) in the editing. Sorry! - RJN

That definitely clears it up! Thank you, Mr. RJN.