Spilling Thought: June 2015

Jun 30, 2015

#LakeClark National Park in #Alaska is a land of stunning beauty. The park (@lakeclarknps) is home to volcanoes, salmon-filled streams, foraging #bears and craggy mountains reflected in shimmering turquoise lakes. National #ParkService photo. 🐻 by usinterior

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Happy 151st birthday to #Yosemite National Park! On this day in 1864, Yosemite was first protected with the Yosemite Grant Act of 1864, which set aside 39,000 acres of #YosemiteValley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of #California. This historic legislation was the beginning of not only the California State Park System, but the #nationalpark idea we know today. Pictured here is @yosemitenps's iconic #HalfDome from Glacier Point at #sunset. Photo by Brandon Nimon (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Jun 29, 2015

#Sunrise at Shenandoah #NationalPark's Hazel Mountain Overlook is incredible! Just a short distance from Washington, D.C., #Shenandoah offers an escape from the city. Explore cascading waterfalls, spectacular vistas and quiet wooded hollows. For more great photo of Shenandoah, be sure to follow @shenandoahnps. by usinterior

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All the Colors of the Sun All the Colors of the Sun

It is still not known why the Sun's light is missing some colors. Here are all the visible colors of the Sun, produced by passing the Sun's light through a prism-like device. The spectrum was created at the McMath-Pierce Solar Observatory and shows, first off, that although our white-appearing Sun emits light of nearly every color, it does indeed appear brightest in yellow-green light. The dark patches in the above spectrum arise from gas at or above the Sun's surface absorbing sunlight emitted below. Since different types of gas absorb different colors of light, it is possible to determine what gasses compose the Sun. Helium, for example, was first discovered in 1870 on a solar spectrum and only later found here on Earth. Today, the majority of spectral absorption lines have been identified - but not all. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IkZVOI

Jun 28, 2015

Cool clouds fill the sky just after #sunset in this picture of #RockyMountain #NationalPark in Colorado. Taken from #BearLake, the image shows @rockynps's beautiful alpine landscape, including #HallettPeak in the background. Photo by Glenn Nelson (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Stars of a Summer Triangle Stars of a Summer Triangle

Rising at the start of a northern summer's night, these three bright stars form the familiar asterism known as the Summer Triangle. Altair, Deneb, and Vega are the alpha stars of their respective constellations, Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, nestled near the Milky Way. Close in apparent brightness the three do look similar in these telescopic portraits, but all have their own stellar stories. Their similar appearance hides the fact that the Summer Triangle stars actually span a large range in intrinsic luminosity and distance. A main sequence dwarf star, Altair is some 10 times brighter than the Sun and 17 light-years away, while Vega, also a hydrogen-fusing dwarf, is around 30 times brighter than the Sun and lies 25 light-years away. Supergiant Deneb, at about 54,000 times the solar luminosity, lies some 1,400 light-years distant. Of course, with a whitish blue hue, the stars of the Summer Triangle are all hotter than the Sun. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Ij77Lp

Jun 27, 2015

#Rainbows are a fan favorite in #Yosemite, commonly seen alongr the park's flowing waterfalls on sunny days. Halos and coronas around the sun or moon are also a typical sight. Recently, a lucky visitor was able to spot and capture this rare occurrence --cloud iridescence -- over #GlacierPoint. This optical phenomenon is caused when sunlight diffracts off tiny ice crystals or water droplets and creates a rainbow effect. Iridescent clouds typically occur in late afternoons in hot and humid weather, so be sure keep your eye out! Photo from @yosemitenps. 🌈 by usinterior

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One of the most spectacular #MilkyWay photos we've ever seen! In this picture, the Milky Way appears over the summit of #MountRainier in #Washington's Mount Rainier #NationalPark. The streaks of light on the Mount Rainier: those are climbers getting an alpine start and heading towards the summit. Photo by Stephen Byrne (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). 🌌 by usinterior

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Planet Aurora Planet Aurora

What bizarre alien planet is this ? It's planet Earth of course, seen through the shimmering glow of aurorae from the International Space Station. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays, also watched from the planet's surface on June 23rd. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. The eerie greenish glow of molecular oxygen dominates this view. But higher, just above the space station's horizon, is a rarer red band of aurora from atomic oxygen. The ongoing geomagnetic storm began after a coronal mass ejection's recent impact on Earth's magnetosphere. via NASA http://ift.tt/1J9Ei2q

Jun 26, 2015

Discover the #Badlands in #SouthDakota. Badlands #NationalPark (@badlandsnps) protect rugged buttes, pinnacles and spires surrounded by a mixed-grass prairie. William Green captured this jaw-dropping shot after spending a week at the park. Of the experience, he says, "As evening turned to dusk, and the sun hit the horizon, I was greeted by the most stunning sunset I have ever seen: lighting the valley in an almost mystical or magical way." Photo from http://ift.tt/18oFfjl. by usinterior

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Here's something you don't see every day: two #whales breaching at #GlacierBay #NationalPark and Preserve in #Alaska. Photo by G. Nachman. 🐋🐋 by usinterior

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Star Trails Above Table Mountain Star Trails Above Table Mountain

Stars trail above and urban lights sprawl below in this moonlit nightscape from Cape Town, South Africa, planet Earth. The looming form of Table Mountain almost seems to hold terrestrial lights at bay while the stars circle the planet's South Celestial Pole. This modern perspective on the natural night sky was captured in June 2014, the scene composed of over nine hundred, stacked 30 second exposures. The stunning result was chosen as the winner in the Against the Lights category, a selection from over 800 entries in The World at Night's 2015 International Earth and Sky Photo Contest. via NASA http://ift.tt/1e5iHNQ

Jun 25, 2015

Some places take your breath away. #YosemiteValley is one of them. This photo of #Yosemite #NationalPark was taken just after a hail storm, and if you look closely, you can see a #rainbow stretching across @yosemitenps's valley. Photo by Ece Batchelder (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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#Glacier #NationalPark in Montana is looking gorgeous. Tomorrow at 7am, join @glaciernps for its first Instameet. Explore the park's #SwiftcurrentLake with park rangers and watch the morning light on the mountains. 📷 Can't go? Check out the list of other meetups next month at http://ift.tt/1BoC3bu by usinterior

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It's that time of year when baby turtles start to hatch. Pictured here is a loggerhead sea #turtle from a few years ago making its way to the water at #BlackbeardIsland National #WildlifeRefuge in Georgia. The @usfws refuge is named after Blackbeard the Pirate because of rumors that he buried his treasure there. Today, the refuge provides a habitat for migratory birds and threatened species, like the loggerhead turtle. Photo by Becky Skiba, USFWS. #🐢 by usinterior

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Triple Conjunction Over Galician National Park Triple Conjunction Over Galician National Park

What are those bright objects hovering over the horizon? Planets -- and the Moon. First out, the horizon featured is a shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean that occurs at the Galicia National Park in northern Spain. Next furthest out, on the left, is the Moon. Easily the brightest object on the night sky, the Moon here was in only a crescent phase. The next furthest out, on the right, is the planet Venus, while planet Jupiter is seen at the top of the triangle. The long exposure from our rapidly rotating Earth made all of celestial objects -- including the far distant stars -- appear as slight arcs. The featured image was taken last Sunday night. Although the Moon's orbit has now taken it away from this part of the sky, the planets Venus and Jupiter can be seen superposed just after sunset until mid-August. The closest apparent separation of Venus and Jupiter will occur in one week, when the two planets will appear separated by less than the angular diameter of the Moon. via NASA http://ift.tt/1fALvPa

Jun 24, 2015

Ever see the #midnightsun in #Alaska? If not, you're going to want to check out this gorgeous photo of #Kenai National #WildlifeRefuge. Photo by Gareth Blakemore (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Sharpless 308: Star Bubble Sharpless 308: Star Bubble

Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 2-308 it lies some 5,200 light-years away toward the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major) and covers slightly more of the sky than a Full Moon. That corresponds to a diameter of 60 light-years at its estimated distance. The massive star that created the bubble, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution. The windblown nebula has an age of about 70,000 years. Relatively faint emission captured in the expansive image is dominated by the glow of ionized oxygen atoms mapped to a blue hue. via NASA http://ift.tt/1NgD9aH

Jun 23, 2015

A major solar storm lit up the skies over #Yellowstone #NationalPark last night. This photo of the #NorthernLights was taken from @yellowstonenps's Mammoth Hot Springs. #AuroraBorealis photo by Neal Herbert, National Park Service. by usinterior

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Covering 68,000 acres and extending along 35 miles of coastline in #California, #KingRange National #Conservation Area preserves the dramatic meeting of the land and the sea. This remote region is known as California's Lost Coast and is only accessed by a few back roads. But it's worth the effort! The Douglas-fir peaks attract hikers, campers and mushroom collectors, while the coast beckons to surfers, anglers, beachcombers and abalone divers. For more great photos, check out our @stellerstories at http://ift.tt/1z2D3kz. Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands. by usinterior

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Jun 22, 2015

#Summer has arrived at #Sequoia #NationalPark in California, and it's stunning. Photo of #AsterLake by Scott Toste. by usinterior

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The #GreatDismalSwamp National #WildlifeRefuge is the largest intact remnant of a vast habitat that once covered more than one million acres of southeastern #Virginia and northeastern #NorthCarolina. The 112,000-acre @usfws refuge is home to forests, marsh land and #LakeDrummond -- one of only two natural lakes in Virginia. Photo of Lake Drummond at twilight courtesy of Tom Hamilton. Want to be featured on @USInterior? Share your amazing pics of America’s #publiclands at http://ift.tt/1QwF2TB by usinterior

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Rings and Seasons of Saturn Rings and Seasons of Saturn

On Saturn, the rings tell you the season. On Earth, today marks a solstice, the time when the Earth's spin axis tilts directly toward the Sun. On Earth's northern hemisphere, today is the Summer Solstice, the day of maximum daylight. Since Saturn's grand rings orbit along the planet's equator, these rings appear most prominent -- from the direction of the Sun -- when the Saturn's spin axis points toward the Sun. Conversely, when Saturn's spin axis points to the side, an equinox occurs and the edge-on rings are hard to see. In the featured montage, images of Saturn over the past 11 years have been superposed to show the giant planet passing from southern summer toward northern summer. Although Saturn will only reach its northern summer solstice in 2017 May, the image of Saturn most analogous to today's Earth solstice is the bottommost one. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ezyjdb

Jun 21, 2015

Happy first day of #summer! We hope you can visit America’s amazing #publiclands, like #GrandTeton #NationalPark in Wyoming pictured here. Kate Garibaldi captured this summer scene of a field of arrowleaf balsamroot flowers framing the #TetonRange at #sunrise. Photo @grandtetonnps from http://ift.tt/18oFfjl. 🌻🌻 by usinterior

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Jun 20, 2015

It’s #AmericanEagleDay, a day that celebrates America’s national symbol -- the #BaldEagle -- and its dramatic comeback from the brink of extinction. In this amazing photo, an eagle flies from its nest at #Shiloh National Military Park in #Tennessee. Photo by Don Holland (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). 🇺🇸🇺🇸 by usinterior

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Jun 19, 2015

Here's a great photo to end the work week. Purple skies and a #rainbow make for a stunning shot of #Arches #NationalPark in #Utah. Photo @archesnps by Jack Suman (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). 🌈 by usinterior

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#Sunrise at Great #SmokyMountains #NationalPark: It's just gorgeous. As the sun peeks over the clouds, the fog begins to lift off the mountains. Photo of @greatsmokynps by Chris Mobley (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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M64: The Black Eye Galaxy M64: The Black Eye Galaxy

This big, bright, beautiful spiral galaxy is Messier 64, often called the Black Eye Galaxy or the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy for its heavy-lidded appearance in telescopic views. M64 is about 17 million light-years distant in the otherwise well-groomed northern constellation Coma Berenices. In fact, the Red Eye Galaxy might also be an appropriate moniker in this colorful composition. The enormous dust clouds obscuring the near-side of M64's central region are laced with the telltale reddish glow of hydrogen associated with star forming regions. But they are not this galaxy's only peculiar feature. Observations show that M64 is actually composed of two concentric, counter-rotating systems. While all the stars in M64 rotate in the same direction as the interstellar gas in the galaxy's central region, gas in the outer regions, extending to about 40,000 light-years, rotates in the opposite direction. The dusty eye and bizarre rotation is likely the result of a billion year old merger of two different galaxies. via NASA http://ift.tt/1LgCIiu

Jun 18, 2015

The @grandcanyonnps takeover continues with a gorgeous shot of the #MilkyWay over #DesertView Watchtower. Every #summer for eight days in June, park residents and visitors explore the wonders of #GrandCanyon's night sky with amateur astronomers from across the country. The Grand Canyon #StarParty lasts until June 20 (and takes place at both the North and South Rim of the canyon). With this week's new #moon and clear skies -- it is the perfect time to come out and stargaze at the park. Photo from last night by Jesse Barden (@jesse.barden), National Park Service. 🌟 Follow @grandcanyonnps for your daily dose of WOW from the park. by usinterior

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All day today, @grandcanyonnps is taking over our Instagram account, sharing stunning photos from the park during #summer. While #GrandCanyon National Park's expansive vistas leave visitors awestruck during the day, it's the amazing sunsets and starry skies that captures their attention at night. During July and August, spectacular sunsets like this one mark the end of the day. This picture was taken from #MatherPoint on the #SouthRim of the park as the last glowing rays of the setting sun illuminate the canyon. Photo by M.Quinn, #NationalPark Service. Be sure to follow @grandcanyonnps for more great photos from Grand Canyon. by usinterior

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M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster

Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as dusty as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident. The featured exposure took over 12 hours and covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight. via NASA http://ift.tt/1G2jTZJ

Jun 17, 2015

Talk about an epic view! This pic was taken a few days ago from #HaystackFalls at #Glacier National Park in #Montana. Over the next few months, @glaciernps is hosting a series of photo tours and instameets at iconic places in the park. Check out the full list at http://ift.tt/1BoC3bu. #NationalPark Service photo. by usinterior

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Mama knows best! Pictured here, a mother #bear shows its baby how to dig for clams at Lake Clark #NationalPark in #Alaska. #LakeClark is known for it's world-class brown bear viewing in the coastal areas of Silver Salmon Creek and #ChinitnaBay during large portions of the summer. This photo was captured by Sally Jewell before she became Secretary of @usinterior and is one of her favorite photos she has taken at a national park. Photo by Sally Jewell. 🐻🐻 by usinterior

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APOD is 20 Years Old Today APOD is 20 Years Old Today

Welcome to the vicennial year of the Astronomy Picture of the Day! Perhaps a source of web consistency for some, APOD is still here. As during each of the 20 years of selecting images, writing text, and editing the APOD web pages, the occasionally industrious Robert Nemiroff (left) and frequently persistent Jerry Bonnell (right) are pictured above plotting to highlight yet another unsuspecting image of our cosmos. Although the featured image may appear similar to the whimsical Vermeer composite that ran on APOD's fifth anniversary, a perceptive eye might catch that it has been digitally re-pixelated using many of the over 5,000 APOD images that have appeared over APOD's tenure. (Can you find any notable APOD images?) Once again, we at APOD would like to offer a sincere thank you to our readership for continued interest, support, and many gracious communications. If you consider yourself a fan of APOD, you might want to consider joining the Friends of APOD. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Ca37pO

Jun 16, 2015

The view from #HardingIcefield Trail in #KenaiFjords #NationalPark (#Alaska) is spectacular. The 8.2-mile round trip trail is a great day hike. Starting on the valley floor, the trail winds through cottonwood and alder forests, passes though heather filled meadows and ultimately climbs well above tree line to a breathtaking view of the Icefield. Photo by Chandra Sekhar Gantha (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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The Grand Staircase-Escalante #NationalMonument spans nearly 1.9 million acres of America’s public lands in southern #Utah. From its stunning Grand Staircase of cliffs and terraces, across the rugged Kaiparowits Plateau, to the wonders of the #Escalante River canyons, the monument’s size and remote character offer a spectacular array of scenic, scientific, and historic resources. Pictured here is a #fullmoon over the national monument by Bob Wick, BLM. The #GrandStaircase-Escalante is one of three new vintage posters that celebrate the 15th anniversary of @mypubliclands' National #Conservation Lands. by usinterior

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A Colorful Lunar Corona A Colorful Lunar Corona

What are those colorful rings around the Moon? A corona. Rings like this will sometimes appear when the Moon is seen through thin clouds. The effect is created by the quantum mechanical diffraction of light around individual, similarly-sized water droplets in an intervening but mostly-transparent cloud. Since light of different colors has different wavelengths, each color diffracts differently. Lunar Coronae are one of the few quantum mechanical color effects that can be easily seen with the unaided eye. The featured lunar corona was captured around a Strawberry Moon on June 2 from La Plata, Argentina. Similar coronae that form around the Sun are typically harder to see because of the Sun's great brightness. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IF9Pt1

Jun 15, 2015

The @mypubliclands Instagram takeover ends with a quiet #starrynight over open wilderness, a signature of the National #Conservation Lands. The small community of Big Pine California is best known as a jumping-off point to popular trailheads in the Eastern #Sierra. But just over the pass to the east of town is a dramatic desert landscape visited by few people and full of surprises -- the 72,000-acre #PiperMountain Wilderness. The Piper, Sylvania and #InyoMountains meet in this area of colorful rock formations and vast desert landscapes. One of the northernmost stands of #JoshuaTrees can be viewed in the northeast part of the wilderness along with sagebrush and piñon-juniper woodlands. Lucky visitors might spot a desert bighorn sheep in one of the canyons. BLM Wilderness Specialist Bob Wick shows here that perhaps the area's best feature is its night skies. Far from any major towns or other developments, the pristine dark skies reveal seemingly countless stars and bright swath of the #MilkyWay in a nightly show. Be sure to follow @mypubliclands for more stunning photos of the National Conservation Lands. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM. by usinterior

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The @mypubliclands Instagram takeover today continues with #BuckskinGulch in the Paria Canyon #VermilionCliffs National Monument and Wilderness -- located in both southern #Utah and northern #Arizona. #PariaCanyon is a champion among the amazing slot canyons in the American southwest. No other canyon surpasses its combination of length, depth and narrowness. The walls rise 400 feet above the sandy wash, and it’s not rare for them to only be 10 feet wide in parts of the canyon. They are scalloped by millennium of erosion of the colorful red sandstone, and reflect the indirect light filtering in from above in ever-changing colors and patterns -- the canyon is so narrow that direct sunlight only reaches the floor in certain areas for short periods. Because of the fragility and popularity of the area, use permits are required and can be obtained from the BLM. If the limited permits are unavailable, BLM Wilderness Specialist Bob Wick recommends adjoining White Pocket as an alternative destination for stunning views and photography of National Conservation Lands. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM. Want more photos? Check out @mypubliclands. by usinterior

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Today the Bureau of Land Management (@mypubliclands) is taking over our Instagram, sharing the vast and rugged landscapes of the National #ConservationLands. A collection of monuments, wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, conservation areas and more -- National Conservation Lands are the newest national system of public lands and they turn fifteen this week. Colorful vine maples adorn the basalt monolith of #Oregon’s Table Rock Wilderness. A 3.3 mile long trail with a modest grade climbs through stately forest past tall basalt cliffs before topping out at drop-dead gorgeous viewpoints stretching from high #CascadePeaks to the #WillametteValley. #TableRock stands at 4,881 feet above sea level and has a rich forest of Douglas fir and western hemlock, with noble fir at higher elevations. At least two endangered plants bloom here: Oregon sullivantia and Gorman's aster. Deer and elk wander about its slopes, and the northern spotted owl have been seen among the old trees. From four trailheads, about 17 miles of trails give access to the Wilderness. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM. For more great images of National Conservation Lands, follow @mypubliclands. by usinterior

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Jun 14, 2015

Winding through the heart of #Canyonlands #NationalPark in #Utah is the Colorado River. Along with the Green River, these two rivers have cut through layered sandstone to form two deep canyons. In stark contrast to the hot, sunny desert above, the river corridors are remarkably green, shady and full of life. #Sunset photo of the #ColoradoRiver by Moti Abramovich (http://ift.tt/1G144o5). by usinterior

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Jun 13, 2015

Happy National #GetOutdoors Day. We hope you all can get out and explore some of America's amazing #publiclands today, like #Shenandoah #NationalPark in #Virginia (pictured here). by usinterior

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The Medusa Nebula The Medusa Nebula

Braided, serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away along the southern border of the constellation Gemini. Like its mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun, as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. An unrelated, bright, foreground star is near center in this close-up, telescopic view, while the Medusa's transforming central star is actually the dimmer star below center and toward the right-hand part of the frame. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over 4 light-years across. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S9BC9h

Jun 12, 2015

Visit #BlackCanyon of the Gunnison #NationalPark in #Colorado and see some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock and craggiest spires in North America. Pictured here is a stunning shot of the #MilkyWay rising above the Black Canyon. Photo courtesy of Greg Owens (@g.s.owens). 🌌 by usinterior

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#Glacier #NationalPark in #Montana is simply gorgeous this time of year. While on a hike to @glaciernps's Swiftcurrent Pass a few weeks ago, Park Ranger Oliver Goodman (@dog_hugs) came across this stunning sight -- a turquoise #waterfall with the mountains in the background. iPhone photo courtesy of Oliver Goodman (@dog_hugs). by usinterior

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The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty

This colorful skyscape spans about three full moons (1.5 degrees) across nebula rich starfields along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy in the royal northern constellation Cepheus. Near the edge of the region's massive molecular cloud some 2,400 light-years away, bright reddish emission region Sharpless (Sh) 155 lies at the upper left, also known as the Cave Nebula. About 10 light-years across the cosmic cave's bright rims of gas are ionized by ultraviolet light from hot young stars. Dusty blue reflection nebulae also abound on the interstellar canvas cut by dense obscuring clouds of dust. The long core of the Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1210 anchors the scene at lower right. Astronomical explorations have revealed other dramatic signs of star formation, including the bright red fleck of Herbig-Haro (HH) 168. Directly below the bright Cave Nebula, the Herbig-Haro object emission is generated by energetic jets from a newborn star. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KrqKkE