Omigosh!

To enlarge this picture, click on it. It’s a supercell thunderstorm in Montana. Unbelievable weirdness, almost like it’s on another, even imaginary, planet. Once again, it comes from good old Astronomy Picture of the Day, one of my go-to-first sites that I check daily.

UPDATE! Go here for much much more on this astonishing storm!

A Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana
Credit & Copyright: Sean R. Heavey

Similarities

Click on the photo for detail

This morning I was fascinated to see the Astronomy Picture of the Day showing what are called spicules on the sun. They are pipes of hot gas, as long as the earth is wide and as big around as a whole state (Rhode Island? Texas? They didn’t say.)

Wet hair on Geronimo, The World’s Greatest Horse

Drawing by Vincent van Gogh after his painting, The Starry Night

The solar photo reminded me of a picture I took of Geronimo’s hair after a rainstorm, and a drawing Vincent van Gogh made from his painting, The Starry Night. Click on the photo of the sun to enlarge it, then click again on the enlargement to make it even bigger. But don’t overdo it; you could eventually make it life-size, fall into one of the pipes, and be consumed by the hot gas.

Credits
Spicules: Jets on the Sun, Astronomy Picture of the Day;
Credit: K. Reardon (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF) IBIS, DST, NSO.
Van Gogh drawing: Wikipedia

A puzzle

Today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day has an interesting depiction of the night sky that reminds me of a Vincent Van Gogh painting. A camera on a tripod with its lens left open for a period of time will produce a picture of the sky with star trails making circular streaks as the earth rotates during the exposure. Can you determine, by looking at the picture, how long the shutter was left open? Click the picture for a larger version, making it easier to figure out.

Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel López

I’m using restraint for a change

The above picture shows:

• Pomegranate seeds
• Groovy new countertop material from Dupont
• Dead-cow-eating pig barf
  

For once, I’m not going to go there. The picture shows the graininess of the surface of:

• Ultra-magnified liver cells
• Close-up of a 44¢ postage stamp featuring Bart Simpson
  
• Paint on a rusty old fire truck
  

The real answer? The sun! There are so many ways to see the sun through all kinds of filters that admit a tiny part of the light spectrum that it can make your head spin. Good old APOD used this picture today to show the granularity of the surface of the sun when seen through a filter that only shows the light from rusty old fire trucks. Amazing.

Picture credit: Bright Points on the Quiet Sun, J. Sanchez Almeida (IAC), et al.

Trees on Mars?

This morning I checked in at APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) and saw this bizarre photo taken by one of Mars’ orbiting reconnaissance satellites. What a strange sight. Click on the image to see an enlargement, then click on the enlargement to see an even larger enlargement (this only seems to work if you go to the original APOD site). Further clicking is your responsibility. I am innocent, and had nothing to do with this weirdness.

Where on Earth…?

Fire up your Google Earth and try to find where this is located and you’ll be frustrated. Mainly because it’s on Mars! Click the image for a larger version and marvel at the earthlike features. Thanks once more to Astronomy Picture of the Day!

Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MOC, MGS, JPL, NASA