• ES Picture of the Day 06 2023

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Fri Jan 6 11:00:36 2023
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Opalized Fossil of a Cycad Cone

    January 06, 2023


    Mila_cycad (003)

    Photographer: Mila Zinkova

    Summary Author: Mila Zinkova

    Shown above is an opalized cycad cone fossil (31 x 11 x 9 mm) that
    was found in Lighting Ridge, Australia. Fossil cycads, dating from the
    Mesozoic, have been uncovered on every continent. These very
    ancient group of seed plants are thought to be a sister group to all
    other living seed plants.

    Most fossil cycads are called cycadeoids and are classified
    scientifically in the order Bennettitales. During the Jurassic,
    cycads and their kin, along with conifers and ginkgos, dominated
    the plant kingdom. They remain extant and are commonly referred to
    as living fossils.

    On occasion, cycad fossils are opalized. If a cavity in a rocky
    surface resulted when a living organism, such as a shell or pinecone,
    was buried in sand or clay and then rotted away, an opalized cast or
    fossil replica may form of the object that was buried. Click here
    to see a video of this fossil, which also includes clips of a modern
    cycad.


    Lighting Ridge, Australia Coordinates: -29.4278, 147.9790


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    Geology Links

    * Earthquakes
    * Geologic Time
    * Geomagnetism
    * General Dictionary of Geology
    * Mineral and Locality Database
    * Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
    * This Dynamic Earth
    * USGS
    * MyShake - University of California, Berkeley
    * USGS Ask a Geologist
    * USGS/NPS Geologic Glossary
    * USGS Volcano Hazards Program

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Mon Feb 6 11:01:10 2023
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Six Years of Full Moons

    February 06, 2023


    滿月顏色37危海排列1.8M

    Photographer: Meiying Lee

    Summary Author: Meiying Lee
    This composite shows the full moons I’ve captured over the past 6+
    years from my home in Taiwan. Because Mare Crisium is located on
    the east side of the moon, its position can be used as a guide to the
    moon’s location in the sky. Therefore, the moons pictured here are
    arranged according to where the moon was in the sky on the night it was
    photographed.

    On the top row, Mare Crisium is the circular crater at the top of the
    lunar disk. When it's in this position, the full moon rises in the
    east. As the moon rises, the position of Mare Crisium shifts to the
    right. When Mare Crisium is on the right side of the lunar surface, the
    full moon is near the zenith –- around midnight. At this time of night,
    the sky is near its darkest, and if the weather is clear, it’s easier
    to detect the iron-gray lunar surface.

    As the moon sets, Mare Crisium is turned toward the lower right. A full
    moon sets about the time that the Sun rises. The color of the dawn is
    usually gray-blue or pink-gray, so the color of the full moon will be
    close to the color of the sky, and details in the lunar surface are
    more challenging to detect.

    All photos were taken at the same focal length. But you can observe
    that the size of the moon may change significantly from one shot to the
    next. This is of course related to the distance between the moon and
    the Earth. Note that I also captured phases of a total lunar
    eclipse (rows 2 and 3) as well as a jet airliner (row 3) passing
    overhead of my location.

    Yunlin, Taiwan Coordinates: 23.7092, 120.4313


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    Night Sky Links

    * Space Weather Live
    * Space Weather Live Forum
    * About the Moon
    * American Meteor Society
    * Arbeitskreises Meteore e.V.
    * Global City Lights
    * Heavens Above Home Page
    * The International Meteor Organization
    * Lunar and Planetary Institute
    * MoonConnection
    * NASA Eclipse Web Page
    * Understanding The Moon Phases

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Mon Mar 6 11:00:32 2023
    EPOD - a service of USRA

    The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
    captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
    community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
    relevant links.


    Giant Bialy

    March 06, 2023

    20210710_132845

    20230105_093118

    Photographer: Roger Hopkins
    Summary Author: Roger Hopkins
    Our waterfall produces a full menu of foam goodies, including
    marshmallows, pancakes, donuts, bagels, and recently, a spectacular
    bialy. This foam, frequently misunderstood to be man-made
    pollution, is a natural phenomenon in our case. Decaying plant material
    is mixed in the turbulence of the stream, acting as a surfactant to
    reduce the surface tension of the water and allowing the formation
    of persistent small "soap" bubbles in the turbulence. We normally see
    these after a period of rain with more organic material leaching into
    the stream.
    The waterfall has this nice gentle eddy at the base that forms
    these round shapes. The brown streaks are probably caused by tannin
    washed into the stream from decaying oak leaves and branches upstream.
    Click here to see a video of this foam forming. Photo taken on
    January 5, 2023.

    Asbury, New York: 42.526283332981414, -76.48522451537521

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    Hydrology Links

    * Current Sea Surface Temperature
    * NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery
    * Ocean Color
    * What is hydrology?
    * Tides and Currents
    * Water Resources of the United States
    * World Waterfall Database
    * The USGS Water Science School
    * World Water Database
    * The World’s Water
    * USGS Surface Water Information Pages

    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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