APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by APOD Robot » Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:06 am

Image Aurora on Ice

Explanation: Not from a snowglobe, this expansive fisheye view of ice and sky was captured on February 1, from Jökulsárlón Beach, southeast Iceland, planet Earth. Chunks of glacial ice on the black sand beach glisten in the light of a nearly full moon surrounded by a shining halo. The 22 degree lunar halo itself is created by ice crystals in high, thin clouds refracting the moonlight. Despite the bright moonlight, curtains of aurora still dance through the surreal scene. In early February, their activity was triggered by Earth's restless magnetosphere and the energetic wind from a coronal hole near the Sun's south pole. Bright Jupiter, also near opposition, is visible at the left, beyond the icy lunar halo.

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hoohaw

Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by hoohaw » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:19 am

And it is icy cold here in Washington DC today....

Guest

Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:40 am

hoohaw wrote:And it is icy cold here in Washington DC today....
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Planet Earth.... Minus 26 C (wind chill Minus 38 C)

Washington DC, USA, Planet Earth... Minus 3 C

REMS Monitoring Station, Planet Mars... Plus 2 C
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/in ... sors/rems/)

Some of us were just born on the wrong planet... :)

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MarkBour
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Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by MarkBour » Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:16 pm

Lovely image! And the moon is reflected in the large ice crystals on the ground, as opposed to being refracted through them.
Mark Goldfain

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MarkBour
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Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by MarkBour » Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:04 pm

Guest wrote: . . . REMS Monitoring Station, Planet Mars... Plus 2 C
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/in ... sors/rems/)
Some of us were just born on the wrong planet... :)
Thanks for sharing that. A balmy day on Mars? On the other hand, the low tonight will evidently be about -72 C. :(
Mark Goldfain

tigermsm

Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by tigermsm » Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:04 am

Just how large are these chucks of ice?

starsurfer
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Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by starsurfer » Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:55 pm

Does anyone want to guess what the halo around the Moon in this image remind me of? :D

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rstevenson
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Re: APOD: Aurora on Ice (2015 Feb 13)

Post by rstevenson » Sat Feb 14, 2015 8:35 pm

"I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that."

Rob

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