Photographer: Jeanette Stafford
Summary Author: Jeanette Stafford
This photograph shows an ancient field boundary curving towards the remains of Clachtoll Broch from where the Torridonian red sandstone used in its construction was sourced. To the left of the boundary, the undulations left by previous use of the run rig agricultural system are clearly visible, and towards the upper right, the mound under excavation is Clachtoll Broch, an Iron Age round tower, constructed by dry stone walling from the local stone around 2,000 years ago.
Stoer Bay, visible beyond the broch, is of interest in particular for the Stac Fada meteorite complex. Stac Fada is a small rock pinnacle visible at low tide that was originally thought to be volcanic in origin due to the inclusion of green devitrified glass. More recent analysis discovered shocked quartz suggesting an event with extraterrestrial origins. The most likely site of such a meteorite impact has been identified as near the town of Lairg, around 31 miles (50 km) to the east. Photo taken on September 17, 2023.
Stoer Bay, Sutherland, Scotland Coordinates: 58.1984, -5.346
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Run Rigs at Clachtoll, Scotland
Photographer: Egidio Vergani
Summary Author: Egidio Vergani
During an excursion this past autumn to the Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest glacier in Iceland covering some 8 percent of its land mass, a fragment of a rainbow appeared. It remained in view for several minutes, warming our emotions in spite of the cold temperatures. Although it was cold, the clouds in the background obviously consisted of raindrops and not ice crystals. Photo taken on November 13, 2023, at 2.00 p.m. (local time).
Photo Details: Panasonic Fz10002 camera; f 3.2; ISO 125;1/1600 seconds exposure.
Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland Coordinates: 64.4220, -16.7902
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High Desert in Snow
Rainbow Fragment over the Ocean
Photographer: Glenn McCreery
Summary Author: Glenn McCreery
Shown above is a partial 22-degree solar halo, containing a very bright pair of parhelia (sun dogs), that I observed in Idaho Falls, Idaho, during a cold 5 degrees F (-15 degrees C) sunrise on January 8, 2024. Also note the sun pillars, extending above and below the Sun.
Parhelia are caused by refraction of light through hexagonal plate-shaped ice crystals, where the plates are approximately horizontally oriented. The horizontal orientation is due to aerodynamic forces across the crystals as they flutter downward.
Sun pillars are caused by reflection of light rather than refraction. Sunlight is reflected off the horizontally oriented faces of crystals that are slightly tipped in the direction of the observer. The upper pillar results from reflections off the lower faces of ice crystals, and the lower pillar results from reflections off the upper faces of ice crystals.
Photo Details: Taken using an iPhone 13 Mini at 8:19 a.m. (local time) on January 8, 2024. Minor straightening and cropping were employed.
Idaho Falls, Idaho Coordinates: 43.4927, -112.0408
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Solar Halo and Sundogs over Camelot
Photographer: Josh Gordon
Summary Authors: Josh Gordon; Jim Foster
Shown above is a corona over one of the flanks of Split Mountain, California, captured from the Whiskey Flat Trail near the city of Kernville. Coronae form when water droplets in mid-level clouds diffract sunlight (or moonlight) in such a way to produce colorful interference rings. If the droplets (in some cases pollen or other aerosols) are nearly uniform in size, the rings may be particularly remarkable. Always use caution when looking anywhere near the Sun.
Split Mountain is one of the California’s fourteeners, standing at 14,064 ft (4,287 m). The shadowed rock in the foreground is likely granodiorite, a type of igneous rock that’s similar to granite. Photo taken on December 28, 2023.
Split Mountain, California Coordinates: 37.02091,-118.42239
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Cloud Corona over the Sierra Nevada
Photographer: Liguori Domenico
Summary Author: Liguori Domenico
This photo was taken from a scientific balloon at a height of nearly 21 miles (33 km) looking down at the Calabria region of southern Italy (the toe portion of the boot). Its purpose was to measure cosmic rays in the stratosphere (MoCRiS2). The payload, consisting of two special detectors, will facilitate research into variations in the flux of cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere, represented in this image as the blueish-purple patina over the Earth.
The launch took place on June 14, 2023, from the municipal stadium of Paola in Calabria. This project is a collaborative effort between several Italian institutes -- OCRA (Outreach Cosmic Ray Activities), the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), ABProject Space, Arpacal, ADA Project and the Liceo Scientifico of Cariati.
Photo Details: GoPro Hero 7 video camera was mounted on the probe.
Calabria, Italy Coordinates: 39.366667, 16.033333
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High Altitude Balloon Flight over Mount Olympus, Greece
Photographer: Giovanni Tumino
Summary Authors: Giovanni Tumino; Jim Foster
The image above is a multiple exposure composition showing the Moon and Jupiter setting side by side over my hometown of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy as observed on January 19, 2024. On this night, the Moon and Jupiter were in conjunction with a separation of about 7 degrees. In actuality, the giant planet was 4.76 AU or about 442469640 miles (712,085,861 km) away from the Earth-Moon system.
Note that both the Moon and Jupiter appear orangish as they approach the horizon. This is because the shorter wavelength colors (blues and greens) are more readily scattered from our view than the longer wavelength colors (oranges and reds) as the path-length of their reflected light increases.
Photo Details: Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera; Canon RF zoom lens 70-200 mm; 70 mm; f/7.1; 1 second exposure; ISO 1.600. Software: LightRoom; Photoshop
Ragusa, Italy Coordinates: 36.9130, 14.7720
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Snowscape and the Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Authors: Greg Parker; Jim Foster
Featured above is the carbon star CW Leonis, found in the constellation of Leo the Lion, thought to be in the late stages of its lifetime. It lies approximately 310 light years from us. In the inset at lower right, its ruby red coloration is quite obvious. Carbon stars carry more carbon in their stellar atmospheres than oxygen. As with other carbon stars, CW Leonis is a variable star, having a cycle of about 160 days. Note that star SAO 98773, in the inset at upper left, though it looks very bright is much too dim to see with the unaided eye.
New Forest Observatory, Hampshire UK Coordinates: 51.063202, -1.308000
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Hinds Crimson Star
LaSuperba
Photographer: Matthew Chin
Summary Authors: Matthew Chin; Jim Foster
Featured above is the position of the Sun in the sky (solar analemma) as observed from Yuen Long, Hong Kong, from February of 2023 to January of 2024. All photos were taken at 7:30 pm (local Hong Kong time). The Sun is seen in each of the 12 major Chinese solar terms (see below). Note they're sequenced here based on the solar altitude (the Sun is highest in the sky in late June), not chronologically.
Ecliptic Longitude at 12 major solar terms:
330° 雨水 Spring Showers
0° 春分 Vernal Equinox
30° 穀雨 Corn Rain
60° 小滿 Corn Forms
90° 夏至 Summer Solstice
120° 大暑 Great Heat
150° 處暑 End of Heat
180° 秋分 Autumnal Equinox
210° 霜降 Frost
240° 小雪 Light Snow
270° 冬至 Winter Solstice
300° 大寒 Severe Cold
Yuen Long, Hong Kong, Coordinates: 22.4445, 114.0222
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Analemma Observed in Tapei, Taiwan
The 24 Solar Terms
Photographer: Jamie Bradley
Summary Author: Jamie Bradley
Visiting the Salt Lake Astronomical Society's Stansbury Park Observatory Complex on a foggy evening earlier this winter, I passed by the public park playground next to the observatory and was treated to this eye-catching sight. The playground with the lights from the building backlighting it surrendered this surrealistic scene. Note how from the photographer's view the shadows fan out from the illuminated building. Photo taken on January 2, 2024, at 6:49 pm local Mountain Standard Time.
Photo Details: Galaxy S21 phone; 1/5 second exposure; f/1.8; ISO 2000.
Stansbury Park Observatory Complex, Utah Coordinates: 40.648188, -112.297245
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Fog in Paris
Sunrise and Long Shadows
Photographer: Lorenzo Busilacchi
Summary Author: Lorenzo Busilacchi
I observed these understated crepuscular rays from Sardinia, Italy on December 25, 2023. "Crepuscular" means pertaining to twilight. They appear to come from a specific point near or on the horizon and then spread across the sky, most classically the position of the Sun. This visual effect is created when sunlight is alternately scattered by dust or other aerosols and obscured by clouds or portions of a cloud (a thunderstorm turret, for example) along the horizon. The airborne dust acts to project the scattered sunlight.
Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy Coordinates: 39.1458, 9.5170
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Views of Crepuscular Rays