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Mar 31, 2016
Few views are as breathtaking as #SanFrancisco’s #GoldenGateBridge on a clear day. Fog hovers along the rocks of Marshall Beach at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in #California, where photographer Bruce Getty (@gettyphotography) shot this captivating image. @goldengatenationalparks -- one of the most visited #nationalparks -- offers spectacular views and a natural oasis in the heart of #SanFran. Photo courtesy of Bruce Getty (@gettyphotography). by usinterior
The #NorthernLights shimmer above the remote Slaven's Roadhouse at Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in #Alaska. This historic roadhouse along the Yukon River once housed prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. Today, @alaskanps visitors can spend the night in this restored cabin. Photo by Sean Tevebaugh, #NationalPark Service. by usinterior
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NGC 6188 and NGC 6164 NGC 6188 and NGC 6164
Fantastic shapes lurk in clouds of glowing gas in the giant star forming region NGC 6188. The emission nebula is found about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara. Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward the lower right, is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. The impressively wide field of view spans over 3 degrees (six full Moons), corresponding to over 200 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188. Three image sets have been included in the featured composite. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RKuBcc
Mar 30, 2016
#Sunsets are one of the many amazing experiences awaiting visitors to #PetrifiedForest #NationalPark in Arizona, which protects petrified rock and expansive landscapes. Take a #backpacking trip off the beaten path in the colorful #PaintedDesert, see artists at work through @petrifiedforestnps’s artist-in-residence program or attend a cultural demonstration with local artisans during spring and summer. Photo by Michael Reed (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #findyourpark by usinterior
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After nearly disappearing decades ago from most of the United States, the bald eagle is now flourishing across the nation. Seeing this #majestic #bird is always a special treat. With a wingspan of 8 feet, watching them soar or hearing their distinctive call will stir your 🇺🇸 spirit. Photo of a #baldeagle at #GlacierBay #NationalPark & Preserve in #Alaska by Bert van Macklenbergh (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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Mar 29, 2016
An explosion of color -- yellows, pinks, purples -- covers #CarrizoPlain National Monument, located just a few hours outside of Los Angeles, #California. When conditions are right, #wildflowers 🌼 blanket the landscape and create an ever-present sweet fragrance. To catch this spectacular sight in person, head to Carrizo Plain this week. Photo by Bob Wick @mypubliclands by usinterior
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Orions Belt and Sword over Teides Peak Orions Belt and Sword over Teides Peak
The southern part of Orion, the famous constellation and mythical hunter, appears quite picturesque posing here over a famous volcano. Located in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, the snow-peaked Teide is one of the largest volcanoes on Earth. Lights from a group planning to summit Teide before dawn are visible below the volcano's peak. In this composite of exposures taken from the same location one night last month, the three iconic belt stars of Orion are seen just above the peak, while the famous Orion Nebula and the rest of Orion's sword are visible beyond the volcano's left slope. Also visible in the long duration sky image are the Horsehead Nebula, seen as a dark indentation on the red emission nebula to the belt's left, and the Flame Nebula, evident just above and to the right of the Horsehead. via NASA http://ift.tt/1LTXjvg
Mar 28, 2016
#MountRainier stands as a icon in the #Washington landscape. Scott Kranz (@scott_kranz) captured this striking pic of the mountain in January while backcountry skiing the nearby #TatooshRange in Mount Rainier #NationalPark. “Clouds were in and out the whole day, and so when we were able to see the mountain, it was quite the sight.” Photo courtesy of Scott Kranz (@scott_kranz). #pnw by usinterior
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Blooming over the Tidal Basin like a gorgeous cloud, the #cherryblossoms welcome over 1.5 million people to the #NationalMall (@nationalmallnps) during the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. Over 3,800 trees color America’s front yard with shades of white and pink. Walking among the blossoms and touring the memorials in #WashingtonDC, is an experience you’ll want to repeat. Photo by Andrew Rhodes (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). 🌸 by usinterior
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NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars
How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, making it one of the most massive stars known. This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the featured image. Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however, have shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses, making them among the more massive stars currently on record. Toward the bottom of the image, stars are still forming in the associated emission nebula NGC 6357. Appearing perhaps like a Gothic cathedral, energetic stars near the center appear to be breaking out and illuminating a spectacular cocoon. via NASA http://ift.tt/22ENYyP
Mar 27, 2016
#BryceCanyon National Park is famous for its forests, horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters and fanciful rock pinnacles called "hoodoos." This #Utah park's #FarviewPoint offers spectacular views of the Grand Staircase -- an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from @brycecanyonnps to Zion #NationalPark and into the Grand Canyon. #Sunrise photo by Phillip Abrams (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #findyourpark by usinterior
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Sostice to Equinox Cubed Sostice to Equinox Cubed
This 3 month long exposure packed the days from December 22, 2015 through March 20 into a box. Dubbed a solargraph, the unconventional, unfolded picture was recorded with a pinhole camera made from a cube-shaped container, its sides lined with photographic paper. Fixed to a single spot for the entire exposure, the simple camera recorded the Sun's path through Hungarian skies. Each day a glowing trail was burned into the photosensitive paper. From short and low, to long and high, the trails follow the progression from winter solstice to spring equinox. Of course, dark gaps in the daily sun trails are caused by cloud cover. Sunny days produce the more continuous bright tracks. via NASA http://ift.tt/1XUvcwF
Mar 26, 2016
In every season, at every hour, #Yellowstone #NationalPark in #Wyoming is a #stunning and surprising landscape. Remote enough for dark skies to allow the #MilkyWay to shine and featuring steam rising from #hotsprings tinted with colorful bacteria and reflecting the #AuroraBorealis, a night in the park offers enough wonders for a lifetime. @YellowstoneNPS photo courtesy of Bryony Richards (@lifeofbrys). #findyourpark by usinterior
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Close Comet and the Milky Way Close Comet and the Milky Way
Comet 252P/Linear's lovely greenish coma is easy to spot in this expansive southern skyscape. Visible to the naked eye from the dark site near Flinders, Victoria, Australia, the comet appears tailless. Still, its surprisingly bright coma spans about 1 degree, posed here below the nebulae, stars, and dark rifts of the Milky Way. The five panels used in the wide-field mosaic were captured after moonset and before morning twilight on March 21. That was less than 24 hours from the comet's closest approach, a mere 5.3 million kilometers from our fair planet. Sweeping quickly across the sky because it is so close to Earth, the comet should be spotted in the coming days by northern hemisphere comet watchers. In predawn but moonlit skies it will move through Sagittarius and Scorpius seen toward the southern horizon. That's near the triangle formed by bright, yellowish, Mars, Saturn, and Antares at the upper left of this frame. via NASA http://ift.tt/1MGkwf2
Mar 25, 2016
You know it’s #spring when baby #bears 🐻 are out! This cute cub is lounging in a tree at #GreatSmokyMountains #NationalPark (@greatsmokynps) in #Tennessee. Mother bears and their cubs usually emerge from their winter dens in late March to early April. Photo by Matt & Delia Hills (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #findyourpark by usinterior
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Giant #sequoias thrive at Case Mountain in #California. Three small groves -- which have never been logged -- protect majestic trees that are 6-16 feet in diameter! These groves are part of the Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area that has miles of mountain bike, foot and equestrian trails, and endless opportunities to be wowed! Photo by Bob Wick @mypubliclands by usinterior
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Hickson 91 in Piscis Austrinus Hickson 91 in Piscis Austrinus
Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact groups of galaxies, now appropriately called Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs). This sharp telescopic image captures one such galaxy group, HCG 91, in beautiful detail. The group's three colorful spiral galaxies at the center of the field of view are locked in a gravitational tug of war, their interactions producing faint but visible tidal tails over 100,000 light-years long. Their close encounters trigger furious star formation. On a cosmic timescale the result will be a merger into a large single galaxy, a process now understood to be a normal part of the evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. HCG 91 lies about 320 million light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. But the impressively deep image also catches evidence of fainter tidal tails and galaxy interactions close to 2 billion light-years distant. via NASA http://ift.tt/1T7z7XN
Mar 24, 2016
Ten years ago, Augustine #volcano in Alaska swelled, rumbled and erupted. A gigantic cloud of ash rose above the mountain and two lava flows crawled down its sides. The #eruption resulted in #ash falling throughout south-central #Alaska and disrupted air traffic over the state. Historically, #AugustineVolcano has been the most active volcano in Alaska’s #CookInlet region with recent eruptions in 1976, 1986 and 2006. Photo by Cyrus Read, @USGS. #tbt by usinterior
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The Great Nebula in Carina The Great Nebula in Carina
In one of the brightest parts of Milky Way lies a nebula where some of the oddest things occur. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebulas. The Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324), the bright structure just above the image center, houses several of these massive stars and has itself changed its appearance. The entire Carina Nebula spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. Eta Carinae is the brightest star near the image center, just left of the Keyhole Nebula. While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that much of the Great Carina Nebula has been a veritable supernova factory. via NASA http://ift.tt/25mesUK
Mar 23, 2016
#VermillionCliffs #NationalMonument in #Arizona swirls the senses with unreal rock formations like #TheWave, pictured here. To protect these colorful geologic features, permits are required to visit this area. If you’re not able to obtain one, don’t worry -- you can still explore #WhitePocket nearby, which offers equally spectacular and unique formations. Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands. by usinterior
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It may officially be spring, but you wouldn’t know it at #CraterLake #NationalPark in #Oregon. The park had over 400 inches of #snow this #winter and is expecting more. Don’t worry, though. The roads should be clear by late May, so visitors can experience this incredibly beautiful place. Photo by Inge Johnsson (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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Rainbow Airglow over the Azores Rainbow Airglow over the Azores
Why would the sky glow like a giant repeating rainbow? Airglow. Now air glows all of the time, but it is usually hard to see. A disturbance however -- like an approaching storm -- may cause noticeable rippling in the Earth's atmosphere. These gravity waves are oscillations in air analogous to those created when a rock is thrown in calm water. The long-duration exposure nearly along the vertical walls of airglow likely made the undulating structure particularly visible. OK, but where do the colors originate? The deep red glow likely originates from OH molecules about 87-kilometers high, excited by ultraviolet light from the Sun. The orange and green airglow is likely caused by sodium and oxygen atoms slightly higher up. The featured image was captured during a climb up Mount Pico in the Azores of Portugal. Ground lights originate from the island of Faial in the Atlantic Ocean. A spectacular sky is visible through this banded airglow, with the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy running up the image center, and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, visible near the top left. via NASA http://ift.tt/1SfcRc5
Mar 22, 2016
Is there anything more peaceful than watching the #sunset over the water? At St. Marks National #WildlifeRefuge in #Florida, experience coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers and marvel at the diverse community of plant and animal life. The refuge also has strong ties to a rich cultural past, and is home to the St. Marks #Lighthouse, which was built in 1842 and is still in use today. Photo by Viktor Posnov (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #worldwaterday by usinterior
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Alaskan Moondogs Alaskan Moondogs
What's happened to the sky? Moonlight illuminates a snowy scene in this night land and skyscape made on 2013 January from Lower Miller Creek, Alaska, USA. Overexposed near the mountainous western horizon is the first quarter Moon itself, surrounded by an icy halo and flanked left and right by moondogs. Sometimes called mock moons, a more scientific name for the luminous apparitions is paraselenae (plural). Analogous to a sundog or parhelion, a paraselene is produced by moonlight refracted through thin, hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals. As determined by the crystal geometry, paraselenae are seen at an angle of 22 degrees or more from the Moon. Compared to the bright lunar disk, paraselenae are faint and easier to spot when the Moon is low. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ScNZ4F
Mar 21, 2016
#Spring might have just started, but we’re already dreaming of summer hikes and endless views like this one from Highline Trail at #Glacier National Park (@glaciernps). If this doesn’t inspire you to plan a trip to this #Montana landmark, we don’t know what will. Photo by #NationalPark Service. by usinterior
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A Picturesque Equinox Sunset A Picturesque Equinox Sunset
What's that at the end of the road? The Sun. Many towns have roads that run east - west, and on two days each year, the Sun rises and sets right down the middle. Today is one of those days: an equinox. Not only is today a day of equal night ("aequus"-"nox") and day time, but also a day when the sun rises precisely to the east and sets due west. Featured here is a picturesque road in northwest Illinois, USA that runs approximately east -west. The image was taken one year ago today, during the March Equinox of 2015, and shows the Sun down the road at sunset. In many cultures, this March equinox is taken to be the first day of a season, typically spring in Earth's northern hemisphere, and autumn in the south. Does your favorite street run east - west? Tonight at sunset, with a quick glance, you can actually find out. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZghOnV
Mar 20, 2016
Happy first day of #spring! What better way to celebrate than with this serenely beautiful pic of spring #wildflowers at #GrandTeton #NationalPark in #Wyoming. As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, spring is the perfect time to get outdoors and explore America’s #publiclands! Photo @grandtetonnps by Jon LeVasseur (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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3D Ahuna Mons 3D Ahuna Mons
Get out your red/blue glasses and gaze across Ceres at mysterious mountain Ahuna Mons. Shown in a 3D anaglyph perspective view, the mosaicked image data was captured in December of 2015, taken from the Dawn spacecraft's low-altitude mapping orbit about 385 kilometers above the surface of the dwarf planet. A remarkable dome-shaped feature on Ceres, with steep, smooth sides Ahuna Mons is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter at its base, rising on average 4 kilometers to a flattened summit. Similar in size to mountains found on planet Earth, no other Cerean surface feature is so tall and well-defined. It is not known what process shaped the lonely Ahuna Mons, or if the bright material streaking its steepest side is the same material responsible for Ceres' famous bright spots. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Mtn6oM
Mar 19, 2016
Less than 100 miles north of #California’s Bay Area, #Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument sweeps down from the Snow Mountain #Wilderness to the cool blue waters of #LakeBerryessa. Established in July of last year, this secluded, hilly expanse of oak woodlands, grasslands and flowery meadows is a gorgeous and peaceful place for all kinds of outdoor recreation. Photo by Jim Eaton, @mypubliclands. #optoutside by usinterior
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The W in Cassiopeia The W in Cassiopeia
A familiar, zigzag, W pattern in northern constellation Cassiopeia is traced by five bright stars in this colorful and broad mosaic. Stretching about 15 degrees across rich starfields, the celestial scene includes dark clouds, bright nebulae, and star clusters along the Milky Way. In yellow-orange hues Cassiopeia's alpha star Shedar is a standout though. The yellowish giant star is cooler than the Sun, over 40 times the solar diameter, and so luminous it shines brightly in Earth's night from 230 light-years away. A massive, rapidly rotating star at the center of the W, bright Gamma Cas is about 550 light-years distant. Bluish Gamma Cas is much hotter than the Sun. Its intense, invisible ultraviolet radiation ionizes hydrogen atoms in nearby interstellar clouds to produce visible red H-alpha emission as the atoms recombine with electrons. Of course, night skygazers in the Alpha Centauri star system would also see the recognizable outline traced by Cassiopeia's bright stars. But from their perspective a mere 4.3 light-years away they would see our Sun as a sixth bright star in Cassiopeia, extending the zigzag pattern just beyond the left edge of this frame. via NASA http://ift.tt/1VjfPz3
Mar 18, 2016
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in #Montana -- the second largest national #wildliferefuge in the lower 48 states -- covers diverse habitats ranging from native prairie to wetlands to badlands. Explorers Lewis and Clark came through the area in 1805, commenting: “Saw but few buffalow today, but a great number of Elk, deer, some antelopes and 5 bear.” Today, visitors can enjoy backpacking, boating, #wildlife viewing and more in this expansive landscape. Photo by @usfws. by usinterior
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Close Comet and Large Magellanic Cloud Close Comet and Large Magellanic Cloud
Sporting a surprisingly bright, lovely green coma Comet 252P/Linear poses next to the Large Magellanic Cloud in this southern skyscape. The stack of telephoto exposures was captured on March 16 from Penwortham, South Australia. Recognized as a Jupiter family periodic comet, 252P/Linear will come close to our fair planet on March 21, passing a mere 5.3 million kilometers away. That's about 14 times the Earth-Moon distance. In fact, it is one of two comets that will make remarkably close approaches in the next few days as a much fainter Comet Pan-STARRS (P/2016 BA14) comes within 3.5 million kilometers (9 times the Earth-Moon distance) on March 22. The two have extremely similar orbits, suggesting they may have originally been part of the same comet. Sweeping quickly across the sky because of their proximity to Earth, both comets will soon move into northern skies. via NASA http://ift.tt/1WsRHZf
Mar 17, 2016
Grand Canyon #NationalPark (@GrandCanyonNPS) in #Arizona is probably bigger than you think. As the crow flies, #GrandCanyon Village on the South Rim and the lodge on the #NorthRim are only about 10 miles apart. However, to drive between them through the park, over the #ColoradoRiver and loop around the canyon, you have to travel 212 miles. That’s just one small way to understand the immensity of this incredible place. Photo courtesy of Sandra Ainsworth. #findyourpark by usinterior
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Happy #StPatricksDay! We can’t promise a pot of gold at the end of this double #rainbow over #LakeSuperior, but it’s sure to be an amazing experience at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in #Michigan. The lake creates dynamic weather, and the area is the second-cloudiest region of the U.S -- spring is one of the few seasons when the park has clear skies. Whether there’s clouds, rainbows or blue skies, the view is sure to be enchanting. Photo by Steve Perry (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland
All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am in Iceland, on a quiet night last September, much of that night's auroras had died down. Suddenly though, a new burst of particles streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once again. This time, unexpectedly, pareidoliacally, they created an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while the small foreground river is called Kaldá, both located about 30 kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjavik. Seasoned skywatchers will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible just above the frame center. The new aurora lasted only a minute and would be gone forever -- possibly dismissed as an embellished aberration -- were it not captured in the featured, digitally-composed, image mosaic. via NASA http://ift.tt/254533W
Mar 16, 2016
Lassen Volcanic #NationalPark in northern #California is one of the best places to view the splendor of the #nightsky. In this dazzling photograph, the #MilkyWay shines over #Lassen Peak, with stars reflected in Manzanita Lake. Start planning your summer vacation now for astronomy programs and @lassennps’s annual Dark Sky Festival. Photo by Abhilash Itharaju (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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Denali is huge -- 20,310 feet tall and growing about 1 millimeter a year. Despite its size, visitors to #Denali #NationalPark & Preserve (@denalinps ) in #Alaska are often denied a view of “the high one” by clouds and fog. However, on clear days, the massive granite #mountain dominates the landscape. Photo by Kathleen Barth (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). ⛰ by usinterior
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Mar 15, 2016
The #sanddunes of Death Valley #NationalPark are an incredible sight. Located in central #DeathValley near Stovepipe Wells -- Mesquite Flat Dunes are the best known and easiest to visit. In this dramatic pic, a rare storm brings out the colors of the dunes and contrast with the #GrapevineMountains on the horizon. If you look closely, you’ll see two visitors exploring @deathvalleynps. Photo by Donna Fullerton (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior
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Picture yourself under the #NorthernLights at White Mountains National Recreation Area in #Alaska. Bob Wick -- who caught this dramatic green display -- describes his first experience photographing the #auroraborealis: “It was interesting to see how dynamic and fickle the display was, going from a dim glow to bright, dancing molten light pouring from the skies in a matter of 30 seconds. I have never seen or photographed anything in the #nightsky that compares!" Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands by usinterior
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Dark Nebulas across Taurus Dark Nebulas across Taurus
Sometimes even the dark dust of interstellar space has a serene beauty. One such place occurs toward the constellation of Taurus. The filaments featured here can be found on the sky between the Pleiades star cluster and the California Nebula. This dust is not known not for its bright glow but for its absorption and opaqueness. Several bright stars are visible with their blue light seen reflecting off the brown dust. Other stars appear unusually red as their light barely peaks through a column of dark dust, with red the color that remains after the blue is scattered away. Yet other stars are behind dust pillars so thick they are not visible here. Although appearing serene, the scene is actually an ongoing loop of tumult and rebirth. This is because massive enough knots of gas and dust will gravitationally collapse to form new stars -- stars that both create new dust in their atmospheres and destroy old dust with their energetic light and winds. via NASA http://ift.tt/1XpZlDN
Mar 14, 2016
#BryceCanyon #NationalPark in #Utah is home to the world’s largest collection of #hoodoos. These odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion inspire the imagination @brycecanyonnps. Striking in form because of its isolation from other hoodoos, Thor's Hammer (pictured here) is a favorite among visitors. Photo courtesy of Ed Cooper (@ed_cooper_photography). by usinterior
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The Louisiana #blackbear -- the inspiration for the teddy bear -- is no longer threatened. While the American black bear can be found across North America, the Louisiana black bear subspecies is only known to occur in #Louisiana, East Texas and western Mississippi. Thanks to 24 years of #conservation work between public and private partners, Louisiana black #bear population is on the rise. It’s a big #WildlifeWin for these cute little cubs! 🐻 by usinterior
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On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first #wildliferefuge on Pelican Island in #Florida. Created to protect bird species that had been hunted to the brink of extinction, this first refuge led to the National Wildlife Refuge System that now includes over 560 refuges across the country. Though the brown #pelican has recovered, Pelican Island National #Wildlife Refuge continues to protect 14 other threatened and endangered species. Photo courtesy of Andrea Westmoreland. by usinterior
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Neon Saturn Neon Saturn
If seen in the right light, Saturn glows like a neon sign. Although Saturn has comparatively little of the element neon, a composite image false-colored in three bands of infrared light highlights features of the giant ringed planet like a glowing sign. At the most blue band of the infrared light featured, false-colored blue in the above image, Saturn itself appears dark but Saturn's thin rings brightly reflect light from our Sun. Conversely, Saturn's B ring is so thick that little reflected light makes it through, creating a dark band between Saturn's A and C rings. At the most red band of the infrared, false-colored red above, Saturn emits a surprisingly detailed thermal glow, indicating planet-wide bands, huge hurricane-like storms, and a strange hexagon-shaped cloud system around the North Pole. In the middle infrared band, false-colored green, the sunlit side of Saturn's atmosphere reflects brightly. The above image was obtained in 2007 by the robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting about 1.6 million kilometers out from Saturn. via NASA http://ift.tt/1pgRg9s
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