Posted on 06/24/2007 7:24:49 AM PDT by EnjoyingLife
Sunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station (Expedition 7) on 21 July 2003. Above photo via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200702.htm (photo 49), see photos 47 and 48 too.
Image link, 1502 x 1002 pixels: http://ChamorroBible.org/images/photos/gpw-200702-49-NASA-ISS007-E-10807-space-sunset-20030721-Pacific-Ocean-medium.jpg
Thanks for posting this
Please don’t let an stupid posting ruin your fine abilities. This is an appreciated posting. There are so many making dumb comments, it is a chore to wade through for pertinent comments. Not only here, but all over FR.
Well, that is only one factor and a minor one at that. This image shows many things and could make a fine wall hanging, but as Proust noted, indirectly, photographs aren’t art and realistic art isn’t realistic or art. Still, there is plenty of science to explain in this image, much of it hidden. There are several of the anvil thunderheads as mentioned above. They go nearly to the top of the atmosphere where anything could fly on wings. It might be interesting to compare these equatorial thunderheads to thunderheads in the arctic. Arctic thunderheads are only half as high; intercontinental airplanes in the arctic fly only half as high. Why is that?
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
MAGNIFICENT!
Author ... Author ... !!!
In the foreground, ‘under’ the huge thunderhead, and to the left of the lens flare, thee’s a faily large ‘whispy’ that seems much brighter than the clouds around it. Does that qualify it as a noctilucent; or is it not that high?
Not an expert in clouds, but it might be a cirrus. Noctilucent clouds as portrayed in images in Sky & Telescope are usually like ripples on a pond. Still very high, probably just as high as the anvil top.
Seriously? - The Tropopause.
What does that mean? For extra credit: explain the word tropopause.
BTTT
I’m well and truly stuned! That is gorgeous!
Clearly a hoax. Where are the stars?
/conspiracy theory
Oh dear. Long subject & I don’t know if you are pulling my chain or not, but hey.
I’m a pilot and an instructor so I deal with WX on a regular bsis.
The tropopause is a boundary layer between the lower atmospehere (troposhere) and the upper atmoshere (stratosphere) where the air ceases to cool as you gain altitude, ie, the lapse rate ceases to be consistant.
here in florida it is close to 10 miles up and at the poles its about 4 miles up. cool air condenses and sinks, hot air rises, heance the Tropopause is higher at the equator than at the poles.
Harder to fly where there is no air...
noctilucent gallery at Space Weather
Great post, and an awesome picture! Thank you!
Thanks and good explanation. There’s nothing like seeing the effect from orbit.
very cool.
That is kind of wavy, which is how I imagine noctilucent clouds. Nacreous would have those pearlescent or opalescent colors, wouldn’t it? We see that all the time there are light clouds around the sun. They have bands of light green and light purple, especially bright near the sun but visible quite a distance away. This is in addition to sun dogs, which we also have nearly every day.
Black sky, no stars???
Thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.