wookie
12-18-2006, 06:38 AM
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html) Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 December 18
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0612/auroraiowa_richard_big.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0612/auroraiowa_richard.jpg)
Aurora Over Iowa
Credit & Copyright: Stan Richards (%20stan%20at%20nightskyevents%20dot%20com) (NightSkyEvents.com) Explanation: Last Thursday evening, stars were not the only lights in Iowa skies. Spectacular northern lights (http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/) also shone from the heavens, extending across the midwestern USA and other locations (http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01dec06_page3.htm) not often graced with auroral displays. The wide-ranging auroral activity was triggered as a large solar flare (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/) - an energetic cloud of particles blasted outward from the Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html) a few days earlier - collided with planet Earth's (http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/geospace.html) magnetosphere. Alerted to (http://spaceweather.com/) conditions ripe for aurora (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060329.html), photographer Stan Richard recorded this apparition (http://www.nightskyevents.com/events_in_the_night_sky_main.htm) over Saylorville Lake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saylorville_Lake), near Des Moines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines%2C_Iowa), Iowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa), USA (https://cia.gov/cia//publications/factbook/geos/us.html). While the colorful rays seem to end just above the water, they are actually at altitudes of 100 kilometers or more (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010210.html).
Tomorrow's picture: massive stars (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061219.html)
< (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061217.html) | Archive (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html) | Index (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html) | Search (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search) | Calendar (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html) | Glossary (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html) | Education (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html) | About APOD (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html) | Discuss (http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewforum.php?f=9) | > (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061219.html) Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn.html) (MTU (http://www.phy.mtu.edu/)) & Jerry Bonnell (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html) (USRA (http://www.usra.edu/))
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/banner.html)
NASA Official: Phil Newman; Specific rights apply (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply).
A service of: ASD (http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/) at NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) / GSFC (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/)
& Michigan Tech. U. (http://www.mtu.edu/)
Discover the cosmos! (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html) Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 December 18
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0612/auroraiowa_richard_big.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0612/auroraiowa_richard.jpg)
Aurora Over Iowa
Credit & Copyright: Stan Richards (%20stan%20at%20nightskyevents%20dot%20com) (NightSkyEvents.com) Explanation: Last Thursday evening, stars were not the only lights in Iowa skies. Spectacular northern lights (http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/) also shone from the heavens, extending across the midwestern USA and other locations (http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01dec06_page3.htm) not often graced with auroral displays. The wide-ranging auroral activity was triggered as a large solar flare (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/) - an energetic cloud of particles blasted outward from the Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html) a few days earlier - collided with planet Earth's (http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/geospace.html) magnetosphere. Alerted to (http://spaceweather.com/) conditions ripe for aurora (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060329.html), photographer Stan Richard recorded this apparition (http://www.nightskyevents.com/events_in_the_night_sky_main.htm) over Saylorville Lake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saylorville_Lake), near Des Moines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines%2C_Iowa), Iowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa), USA (https://cia.gov/cia//publications/factbook/geos/us.html). While the colorful rays seem to end just above the water, they are actually at altitudes of 100 kilometers or more (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010210.html).
Tomorrow's picture: massive stars (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061219.html)
< (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061217.html) | Archive (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html) | Index (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html) | Search (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search) | Calendar (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html) | Glossary (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html) | Education (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html) | About APOD (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html) | Discuss (http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewforum.php?f=9) | > (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061219.html) Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn.html) (MTU (http://www.phy.mtu.edu/)) & Jerry Bonnell (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html) (USRA (http://www.usra.edu/))
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/banner.html)
NASA Official: Phil Newman; Specific rights apply (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply).
A service of: ASD (http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/) at NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) / GSFC (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/)
& Michigan Tech. U. (http://www.mtu.edu/)