Balancing Rocks in Central Oregon

“Geologists explain that the formations are the result of the aging, tilting and erosion of two layers of consolidated volcanic ash, known as tuff.

These ash flows originated from the Cascade volcanoes to the west many thousands of years ago. The top layer of tuff was tougher so to speak than the bottom layer, so as the ground tilted and cracked and the softer bottom layer was eroded by wind and water, top-heavy rock pedestals remained.

Discovered by surveyors way back in the 1850s, the unusual rocks were known to only a handful of people for many decades. They remained hidden in a forest of pine and juniper until a forest fire in 2002 denuded the area. Visible now from Forest Service roads and from boats on the popular Lake Billy Chinook below, the rocks are visited more frequently. Sadly, the formations pose an irresistible temptation to immature vandals and a few of the pedestals have been toppled. Fortunately, most are far more massive, stable and durable than they appear.”— Brad Goldpaint

(Source: ikenbot)

odditiesoflife:

Ice Caves Around the World

Ice caves come in two forms. A cave formed entirely of ice is actually called a glacier cave and as the name implies, forms in glaciers. Water runs through or under the glacier and forms a cave.

The other type of ice cave can be any cave type (limestone, lava tube, etc.) that has ice in it year round. These caves trap cold air. Water entering the cave freezes and stays frozen year round.

Glacier caves can be found in the Pacific Northwest and ice caves are found in many locations where temperatures drop below freezing. Once cold air enters the cave, it generally stays there.

1. Iceland
2. Russia
3. France
4. Antarctica
5. Iceland
6. Russia
7. Iceland
8. Iceland

Airglow

by Brian Larmay

Airglow (also called nightglow) is the very weak emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. In the case of Earth’s atmosphere, this optical phenomenon causes the night sky to never be completely dark (even after the effects of starlight and diffused sunlight from the far side are removed).[**]

(Source: ikenbot)

ikenbot:

Radio Astronomy

A fireball (very bright meteor) flashes against the coalsack nebula and the Southern Cross in the night sky above Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope antennas.

The fireball left a glowing trail that dissipated over several minutes. The southern Milky Way and our neighboring dwarf galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are also visible in this south-looking image.

Emerging out of the Western Australian outback MWA is a remarkable telescope for radio astronomy where more than 2000 antennas are spread across 3 square kilometers, in 128 groups of dual-polarisation dipole antennas. — John Goldsmith

Sunsets, Dancing Auroras, Eclipses, Sun Trails & Comets - Mesmerizing Sky Photography of Juan Carlos Casado — Tierra y Estrellas

(Source: ikenbot)

Moon, Venus, Jupiter and ISS

“I planned to capture the conjunction of Moon and planets with the trail of the International Space Station. I drove my car to a nearby frozen fishpond, set my equipment up and waited for the ISS rising. As I took some images, clouds appeared but fortunately I had success to catch the ISS passing.” — Tamás Ábrahám

(Source: ikenbot)

ikenbot:

The Milky Way Band and Dark Skies

PSA:“That has to be superimposed - they photoshopped that on!” It’s understandable why a lot of you (and I do mean a lot) might be confused when confronting these vistas. But these are actual images of the milky way as seen under the best viewing conditions known to our planet, the dark skies. Due to the rapid growth of our civilization, we emit more light than we should and thus this darkens out many of our views and blocks us from making those wonderful necessary connections to the skies our minds desperately need. We can’t see the Milky Way band as seen above in many places, it’s always there though, rest assured, ready to greet us with its lovely stars. If we’re missing out on this.. is the way we use public lighting really as conventional as we believe it is? [Similar Posts: Losing the Dark - a Public Service Announcement on Light Pollution] [Losing The Dark: GIF set]

Images: Southern dream, Southwest Night, Three Roads To Galactic Paradise, Tropical milky way

staceythinx:

Photographer Eric Rolph captured this beautiful view from above Maui, Hawaii.

afracturedreality:

Salt Pond Ecosystem

The color of salt ponds range from pale green to deep coral pink, and indicate the salinity of the ponds. Microorganisms create these spectacular colors, changing their own hues in response to increasing salinity.

In low-to mid-salinity ponds, green algae proliferate and lend the water a green cast. As the salinity increases, an algae called Dunaliella out-competes other microorganisms in the pond, and the color shifts to an even lighter shade of green. In mid-salinity ponds, millions of tiny brine shrimp clarify the brine and contribute an orange cast to the water. And in mid-to high-salinity ponds, high salt concentrations actually trigger the Dunaliella to produce a red carotenoid pigment. Halophiles, such as Halobacteria and Stichococcus, also contribute red tints to the hypersaline brine.

Kite aerial photographs by Charles “Cris” Benton.

storyboard:

At Gowanus Canal, Turning Toxic Waste Into Art

New York’s Gowanus Canal is notoriously toxic — full of dangerous chemicals, industrial waste, and yes, poop. It reeks in the summer and lives in the popular imagination as the perfect dumping ground for dead bodies. No plant or animal life can survive in it for long. This tends to inspire two kinds of images: gritty photos of the filth and pollution, and scenic landscapes that try not to dwell too long on the former.

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razorshapes:

Nikki Graziano

Found Functions

“Nevertheless, the fact is that there is nothing as dreamy and poetic, nothing as radical, subversive, and psychedelic, as mathematics. It is every bit as mind blowing as cosmology or physics… and allows more freedom of expression than poetry, art, or music… Mathematics is the purest of the arts, as well as the most misunderstood.” - Paul Lockhart

ikenbot:

“Making the invisible visible” - the ISS Image Frontier

This is a tribute to the International Space Station Program as well as Dr. Don Pettit, NASA Astronaut and ISS Astrophotographer.

It can not be emphasized enough, how Dr. Pettits innovative photographic work and his passion has changed the way we see earth from space. Accompanied with great info on the challenges of astrophotography aboard the ISS by Dr. Pettit, the shortfilm features a great compilation of 4 timelapses (“intro”, “startrails”, “fisheye” and “aurorae”).

Now welcome aboard the ISS - enjoy stunning photography and timelapses from the Space Station! — Christoph Malin

Omega Moon Ω

The photo sequence above shows a distorted and fiery moonrise over Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

I couldn’t help but notice the Moon’s inverted image (inferior mirage) as it rose on the evening of January 27, 2013 — one day past the full Moon. As the Moon ascended slightly higher, its inverted image disappeared.

Refraction in the lower atmosphere, due to a steep temperature gradient with height, was responsible for this distortion, referred to as the Etruscan vase or Omega effect. When the Moon emerged over the horizon, its inferior mirage appeared below and seemed to reach up to grab the Moon, producing the omega shape.

If you look very closely you can detect a green rim on the top of the Moon (green flash), especially on the third and sixth image in the sequence. — Photography & Summary: John Stetson; Jim Foster

(Source: ikenbot)

Losing the Dark - a Public Service Announcement on Light Pollution

(Source: ikenbot)

ikenbot:

Within Two Worlds

“Within Two Worlds depicts an alternate perspective by giving us the illusion of times movement, signifying a beginning and end within a world of constant contradiction. It appears you are traveling in the midst of a dream, half-sleeping, half-waking, and touching the arch connecting heaven and earth.”