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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- An Aurora of Marbles
NASA ^
| February 07, 2015
| (see photo credit)
Posted on 02/07/2015 5:07:47 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: It looks like a fine collection of aggies. But this grid of embedded swirls and streaks actually follows the dramatic development of planet Earth's auroral substorms. The sequence of over 600 horizon-to-horizon fisheye images was taken over a 2 hour period near the artic circle in March of 2012 from Lapland, northern Sweden. It begins at upper left in evening twilight and ends at lower right, covering two activity peaks with bright coronae forming overhead. While exploring space between Earth and Moon, NASA's fleet of THEMIS spacecraft discovered that these explosions of auroral activity are driven by sudden releases of energy in the Earth's magnetosphere. Even if you're not playing for keepsies, you can follow this link to check out the sequence in a full timelapse video (vimeo).
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; science
[Credit and Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)]
1
posted on
02/07/2015 5:07:47 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; dayglored; ...
Just the regular one is a little hard on my eyes.
The Big One
2
posted on
02/07/2015 5:08:16 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary men)
To: SunkenCiv
artic circle Is that anywhere near the Arctic Circle?
3
posted on
02/07/2015 5:24:07 AM PST
by
ROCKLOBSTER
(Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves Month")
To: ROCKLOBSTER
No, I think it’s near the deco.
4
posted on
02/07/2015 5:24:41 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary men)
To: SunkenCiv
5
posted on
02/07/2015 5:25:38 AM PST
by
9thLife
("Life is a military endeavor..." -- Pope Francis)
To: SunkenCiv
That was the best minute-and-a-half video I’ve seen in a long time!
It’s beautiful, and it was fun watching the auroras putting on their lovely show.
Thank you, Mr. Civilizations.
6
posted on
02/07/2015 6:15:19 AM PST
by
TheOldLady
(Pray for Obama... Psalm 109:8)
To: ROCKLOBSTER
artic circle
"...a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."
7
posted on
02/07/2015 6:31:21 AM PST
by
762X51
To: SunkenCiv
Just watched the video version. All I can say is, "A Palantír is a dangerous tool, Saruman. We do not know who else may be watching!"
8
posted on
02/07/2015 7:10:52 AM PST
by
grey_whiskers
(The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: 762X51
written by a professional astronomer Isn't "Arctic" an astronomic reference to the Bear Constellations (arktos) found in the Northern skies?
9
posted on
02/07/2015 7:44:06 AM PST
by
ROCKLOBSTER
(Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves Month")
To: SunkenCiv
10
posted on
02/07/2015 7:47:31 AM PST
by
onyx
(Please Support Free Republic - Donate Monthly! If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, Let Me know!)
To: SunkenCiv
Must have been a tough day for the guys running the APOD site, when it came to finding good astronomy pics.
They almost always do great, then they’ll randomly throw something like this out there. I believe they do this intentionally, so we’ll have more appreciation for their usual good pics. lol
11
posted on
02/07/2015 7:57:08 AM PST
by
KoRn
(Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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