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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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On April 26, Harlan Thomas in Alberta, Canada saw rare concentric Sun halos in the sky. SpaceWeather explains: Many sky watchers have witnessed a halo around the sun--a single ring of light that surrounds the solar disk at a radius of 22 degrees. The phenomenon is caused by pencil-shaped ice crystals in cirrus clouds that bend sunlight. [But in this case the concentric rings] are caused by ice crystals in the shape of pyramids.
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Last week I found a photo of an unusual Sun halo. Here's a beautiful photo of a Moon halo over a stone circle in Wales. A Moon halo occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens. In this image, the ice circle in the sky is mirrored by a stone circle on the ground. Taken just over a month ago in Pontypridd Common, Wales, UK, the central Rocking Stone survives from the last ice age, while the surrounding stones in the circles were placed much more recently -- during the 1800s. Image Credit & Copyright: Alyn Wallace Photography Description: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,963 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Two nights ago there was a conjunction of Venus and the crescent Moon. Filippo Curti (Sanderphil Urban Observatory) got this shot of the reflection of the Moon and Venus in the calm sea off Atlantic Beach at Santa Marinella near Rome, Italy. The dark side of the Moon is dimly illuminated by earthshine.
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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A sun pillar over Norway. It is absolutely fantastically gorgeous!!! When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light. Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground. Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-sun-pillar effect. In the featured picture taken recently, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Fensfjorden, Norway. Image Credit: Thorleif Rødland Description: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Find out which planets are visible in the night sky. You'll see that this link is for London, England. To see what's up in your own location, type the name of your city in the "search" box.
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Steve Cariddi's suggestions for viewing this week:
The Moon starts the week nearly full (it's officially full just after midnight on Thursday), so it is the most prominent object in the night sky most of this week.
Mercury and Venus are visible in the western sky at sunset. Venus is remarkably bright; Mercury is about 100 times dimmer, but still visible about 20° to the lower right of Venus.
Jupiter is bright in the south as night falls, providing the best telescopic view as soon as it gets dark.
Saturn is at its highest point in the south around 1:00 AM. The Moon is near it on the 27th.
Mars is best seen in the south around 3:00 AM. The Moon is near Mars on the morning of July 1st.
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,463
BellaOnline Editor Koala
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BellaOnline Editor Koala
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Dear Mona,
Is this the strawberry moon.(I think I've heard this because it coincides with the farmers and their strawberry harvest)
I love to look at the sky, during the summer our family frequently lays outside on chaise lounges and looks into the starlit/moonlit sky! It is a true summer highlight!
Mary Caliendo Tea Editor
Mary Caliendo Tea Editor Tea Forum
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Mary, lying back and gazing at the sky sounds simply wonderful. It must be particularly good in August when the Perseid meteor shower is active.
And yes, it is the strawberry moon. It's my understanding that the names were adopted from those used by Native Americans, though other traditions also existed in Europe and elsewhere. I'm ignorant of the habits of wild strawberries, but the almanac listing says it was a good time for picking them. I think these names are connections to a natural world that is alien to most people these days.
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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I found this summer astronomy highlights graphic a bit late for June. But it shows what's up in July and August. Viewed as a clock face centered at the bottom, early (northern) summer sky events fan out toward the left, while late summer events are projected toward the right. Objects relatively close to Earth are illustrated, in general, as nearer to the cartoon figure with the telescope at the bottom center -- although almost everything pictured can be seen without a telescope. As happens during any season, constellations appear the same year to year, and meteor showers occur on or near the same dates. Highlights specific to this summer's sky include that Jupiter will be visible after sunset during June, and Venus will shine brightly in the evening sky during July and August. Saturn and Mars should be visible during much of this season's night, with Saturn appearing in the direction opposite the Sun in late June, and Mars at opposition in late July. Finally, a total lunar eclipse should be visible to anyone who can see the Moon in late July. Illustration Credit & Copyright: Universe2go.com Comments: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Joined: May 2010
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Note for this week from Steve Cariddi: At the beginning of the week the Moon is just past full, rising about two hours after sunset. Each night it will rise about an hour later. Afer sunset, as the sky is getting dark, Venus is the first object you should see, midway up in the western sky. The next "star" visible should be Jupiter, bright in the southwestern sky. As darkness settles over the sky, Saturn becomes visible in the southeast, at about the same altitude as Jupiter. Mars, just past its opposition last week, is rising just a bit before sunset, so by 10:00 or 11:00 PM, depending on how clear of a view you have of the horizon, it should be visible in the east. By midnight or 1:00 AM, Mars is in the southeast, at about the same altitude as Saturn, which is now in the southwestern sky.
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