M8 and M20 in CFHT Filters — Cesar Blanco
631
Polygons are of great interest because they often indicate the presence of shallow ice or of desiccation such as in a mud flat. However, nature sometimes seems too clever for us.
Polygons form by the intersecting ridges of sand dunes. If this deposit were to become indurated and eroded, we might not be able to tell that they originated as wind-blown dunes, and interpret the polygons as evidence for a dried-up lake, for example. Dunes often accumulate in the bottoms on craters, also a good setting for a (temporary) lake.
The illumination is coming from the upper left, so the bluish ridges are high-standing.
Jaw-Dropping Views of Night Sky and Earth Win Photo Contest
Eye-popping images of celestial wonders shining over equally stunning Earth views have won the top spots in the 2013 International Earth and Sky Photo Contest, competition organizers say.
Image 1: 3rd Place in Beauty of the Night Sky category goes to “Meteor Magic” by Shannon Bileski for her March 2013 outstanding capture of a streaking fireball and colorful aurora over a snow-covered lake in Canada. Credit: Shannon Bileski/
Image 2: The overall contest winner and first prize in the Beauty of the Night Sky category goes to Stephane Vetter of France (nuitsacrees.fr), for his March 2013 panoramic photo “Sky above Godafoss” of aurora and the Milky Way over the “Waterfall of the Gods” in Iceland. Credit: Stephane Vetter
Image 3: Fifth place in the Against the Lights category goes to “Golden Gate Star Trails” by Rick Whitacre. A well-done photo sequence has captured star trails above the lights of San Fransisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Credit: Rick Whitacre
The contest, the third annual event held by the landscape astrophotography group The World at Night (TWAN), aims to raise awareness about the importance of dark skies free of light pollution. It honors photos that show both the Earth and sky in all their glory.
The Astronaut by Patrick Seymour
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is the largest known vortex in the Solar System. It’s big enough to engulf several Earths as shown in this artist’s rendition. — Michael Carroll
Within A Red and Blue Rose (The Rosette Nebula False Color Hybrid) — Terry Hancock
Solar science meets art in this unique portrait of a solar storm heading straight for Earth.
The image is based on data collected by the ESA/NASA SOHO space observatory during a coronal mass ejection, when a huge cloud of magnetised plasma was ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere and launched towards Earth.
The image shows an extreme-ultraviolet view of the solar disc superimposed on a wide-field view of the surrounding solar environment as the storm leaps away from the Sun.
Two particularly bright regions on the Sun’s face indicate active regions with looping magnetic fields. Towards the left a filament of dense, cool gas appears to snake its way across the surface.
As a result of the ‘running difference’ technique used to process the images, the scene creates a feeling of rapid change as the solar storm expands outwards on all sides of the Sun and races towards us.
The running difference technique takes sequential snapshots and compares them such that the strongest and most persistent features are isolated and highlighted.
This image was featured in a SOHO ‘The Sun as Art’ portfolio in 2002.
Eric Joyner has made a name for himself over the past few years with his signature Robot and Donuts series of paintings.
In his works, he depicts retro robots exploring and participating in a variety of activities… but somewhere in the painting donuts are incorporated. So, why Robots and Donuts? In his interview with Electix, Eric says:
“Upon deciding to become a gallery artist, I had to make some rules, or guidelines. They were as follows: 1 – I will only paint things I like, 2 – The subject(s) had to be something that I could paint for 30 years, and 3 – That people like it. Donuts & robots together make no sense. I find this interesting.”
Sun on May 4th by Alan Friedman
