Page 1 of 1

APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 4:05 am
by APOD Robot
Image A Rorschach Aurora

Explanation: If you see this as a monster's face, don't panic. It's only pareidolia, often experienced as the tendency to see faces in patterns of light and shadow. In fact, the startling visual scene is actually a 180 degree panorama of Northern Lights, digitally mirrored like inkblots on a folded piece of paper. Frames used to construct it were captured on a September night from the middle of a waterfall-crossing suspension bridge in Jamtland, Sweden. With geomagnetic storms triggered by recent solar activity, auroral displays could be very active at planet Earth's high latitudes in the coming days. But if you see a monster's face in your own neighborhood tomorrow night, it might just be Halloween.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
by Ann
I'm usually not very interested in aurora images, but I like the presentation of this one! :D

GS_20210917_Handol_5651_Pan1024[1].jpg
Aurora APOD October 30 2021 Göran Strand.png

The caption told us that the image is an 180 degree panorama of the northern lights, but note that two panoramas have been "pasted together", one to the right and one to the left of the other, so that they mirror one another.

Göran Strand, the photographer, is a Swede, and I recognize the kind of landscape that is typical of northern Sweden. Particularly the trees. I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle, and almost all the trees the grew there were birches and spruces. That's what we are seeing in Göran Strand's image, because all the trees appear to be spruces (the pointy dark green ones) and birches (the yellow ones).

Rowan tree close to where I live.jpg
A rowan tree close to where I live.

But there is one small red tree in the image - well, we see two versions of the same tree, of course.

I'd say it's a rowan tree, because they are small, and you can find some of them far north, and they get brilliantly red in the autumn.

Ann

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:10 am
by orin stepanek
According to the Weather Channel we may get some fascinating
aurora coming as a lot o9f solar flare activity is happening on the
sun!
GS_20210917_Handol_5651_Pan.jpg
Today's APOD is very nice; also a bit complex! :roll:

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
by neufer
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Ann wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm
by Ann
neufer wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Ann wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?
Malmö Luleå.png
I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:34 pm
by HellCat
When I look at this image upside down, it looks like a puppy dog face.

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:35 pm
by HellCat
When I look at this image upside down, it looks more like a puppy's face than anything else.

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:53 pm
by MarkBour
Ann wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm
neufer wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
Ann wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?
I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann
That's an interesting experience. I have not studied it, but it seems like people who get depressed from winter darkness are also being affected by "dreary days" as opposed to simply "short days". If you live in a place that regularly gets 4-5 hours of bright sun, it might not be as bad as it is if your place gets 8-9 hours of a gray blanket most of the winter.

But as you approach the Arctic Circle, it does get extreme. I enjoyed looking at the Wikipedia page for Luleå. It has a mean length of daylight in December of just 3 hours, and surely the Sun never gets very high, either. Constant cold is definitely not fun, either, and can be dangerous. Then there's deep snow to contend with. Yet somehow, the Swedes and Norwegians seem to be polite, industrious, and even cheerful people, for those that I've had the pleasure to get to know.

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:56 pm
by MarkBour
By the way, for today's APOD . . . I find the image lovely and creative in its design. Nevertheless, I quickly found myself wishing to have just seen the 180-degree image un-warped, and felt it would probably be considerably more beautiful to have just seen it as nature actually presented itself.

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 4:18 pm
by NateWhilk
I was focused on the aurora for a couple of seconds before I realized it was mirrored. I immediately thought of this clip from "Fantasia".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP7kE_cncEs&t=47s

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:26 am
by Ann
MarkBour wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:53 pm
Ann wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm
neufer wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?
I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann
That's an interesting experience. I have not studied it, but it seems like people who get depressed from winter darkness are also being affected by "dreary days" as opposed to simply "short days". If you live in a place that regularly gets 4-5 hours of bright sun, it might not be as bad as it is if your place gets 8-9 hours of a gray blanket most of the winter.

But as you approach the Arctic Circle, it does get extreme. I enjoyed looking at the Wikipedia page for Luleå. It has a mean length of daylight in December of just 3 hours, and surely the Sun never gets very high, either. Constant cold is definitely not fun, either, and can be dangerous. Then there's deep snow to contend with. Yet somehow, the Swedes and Norwegians seem to be polite, industrious, and even cheerful people, for those that I've had the pleasure to get to know.
Good point about the "dreary days", Mark. November, December, January, February and sometimes March are often overcast, gray and dreary where I live. And when it clears up it gets cold, which I am also unhappy about.

Ann

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 12:04 pm
by Tszabeau
Who ya’ gonna call? SLIMER!

Re: APOD: A Rorschach Aurora (2021 Oct 30)

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 3:38 am
by MarkBour
Ann wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:26 am Good point about the "dreary days", Mark. November, December, January, February and sometimes March are often overcast, gray and dreary where I live. And when it clears up it gets cold, which I am also unhappy about.

Ann
Well, here's wishing you more days of sunshine this winter ... and an indoor space with large windows from which to enjoy it best!