Topic: Sky!

[Nichi]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1008/PerseidStorm_arn900.jpg

[Nichi]

A celestial prelude to today's solstice, the June 15 total lunar eclipse was one of the longest in recent years. It was also one of the darkest, but not completely dark. Even during totality, a somber, red lunar disk could be seen in the starry night sky, reflecting reddened light falling on to its surface. Seen from a lunar perspective, the ruddy illumination is from all the sunsets and sunrises around the edges of a silhouetted Earth. In this sharp portrait of the eclipsed Moon from Granada, Spain, the Moon's edge reflects a bluish tinge as well as it emerges from Earth's umbral shadow. The bluer light is still filtered through Earth's atmosphere, but originates in rays of sunlight passing through layers high in the upper stratosphere. That light is colored by ozone that absorbs red light and transmits bluer hues.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110621.html

[Nichi]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110618.html

[Michael]

that last is what you'd call phantasmagorical.

[Nichi]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0411/aurora_venhaus_big.jpg

[Nichi]

Pleiades there at the top...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120223.html

[Nichi]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120307.html

[Nichi]

It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter and Venus was visible last week almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on the planet with a clear western horizon at sunset could see them. This week the two are still notable, even though Jupiter has sunk below the brighter Venus. And if you look higher in the sky you can see Mars as well. Pictured above, a creative photographer traveled away from the town lights of Szubin, Poland to image a near closest approach of the two planets almost a week ago. The bright planets were separated only by three degrees and his daughter striking a humorous pose. A faint red sunset still glowed in the background. Although this conjunction is drawing to a close, another conjunction between Venus and Jupiter will occur next May.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120318.html

[Nichi]

Iceland



http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1204/arctichenge_vetter_960.jpg

[Nichi]

Kiruna, Sweden by Anthony Spencer

[Nichi]

Lijah Hanley

[Michael]

Lovely.

[Michael]

Don't know where that was taken, but there was a full solar eclipse in Brisbane.

[Nichi]

Don't know where that was taken, but there was a full solar eclipse in Brisbane.

Yes, my bad, it was full, and this photo caught it as the thing was in progress. Here is the APOD blurb on the shot:

A dark Sun hung over Queensland, Australia on Wednesday morning during a much anticipated total solar eclipse. Storm clouds threatened to spoil the view along the northern coast, but minutes before totality the clouds parted. Streaming past the Moon's edge, the last direct rays of sunlight produced a gorgeous diamond ring effect in this scene from Ellis Beach between Cairns and Port Douglas. Winking out in a moment, the diamond didn't last forever though. The area was plunged into darkness for nearly 2 minutes as the Moon's shadow swept off shore toward Australia's Great Barrier Reef and out into the southern Pacific. Ranging from 1/4000 to 1/15 seconds long, five separate exposures were blended in the image to create a presentation similar to the breathtaking visual experience of the eclipse.

[Nichi]

That pic is so stunning I'm going to use it as my desktop.
I love seeing the gradations of change in the sky - be it dawn or dusk, or twilight.
(They're especially cool from the view of an airplane.)