Sun and Moon Halo Sun and Moon Halo

Two pictures captured on April 1 are combined in this creative day and night composite. Separated in time by about 10 hours the images otherwise match, looking along the coast at Östersund Sweden. The relative times were chosen to show the Sun and a nearly full Moon at the same place in the cold, early springtime sky. In the night scene Jupiter also shines above the waterfront lights, while Sun and Moon are both surrounded by a beautiful circular ice halo. The Sun and Moon halos really do align, each with an angular radius of 22 degrees. That radius is a constant, not determined by the brightness of Sun or Moon but only by the hexagonal geometry of atmospheric ice crystals and the reflection and refraction of light. Of course tomorrow, April 4, will find the Sun and Moon on opposite sides of planet Earth for a total lunar eclipse. via NASA http://ift.tt/1F7WN2X

Located just a few hours outside Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, #JoshuaTree #NationalPark in #California is a true #desert wilderness. Two distinct environments -- the Mojave and the Colorado deserts -- come together in @joshuatreenps. Joshua trees dwell in the higher elevations of the #Mojave, while creosote bushes and cholla cactus dominate the lower Colorado desert. #Sunset photo by Jaganath Achari (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1GaApvh

Great pic of a #redfox at #Yellowstone #NationalPark. Red foxes are the smallest canine in @Yellowstonenps. They are one of three native subspecies of red foxes in the United States. National Park Service photo. #wildlife #nature #fox by usinterior

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The Owl and the Galaxy The Owl and the Galaxy

via NASA http://ift.tt/1BPcKsE

Established in 1901, #WichitaMountains #WildlifeRefuge hosts a rare piece of the past -- a remnant mixed grass prairie, an island where the natural grasslands escaped destruction because the rocks underfoot defeated the plow. Located in southwestern #Oklahoma, the 59,020-acre refuge is home to two rugged ranges of granite #mountains and fields of #wildflowers, and it was recently voted the top @usfws wildlife refuge by USAToday Travel. #Sunrise photo by Kathy Suttles (http://ift.tt/1LOhkit). by usinterior

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Located in southwestern #SouthDakota, #Badlands #NationalPark consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires surrounded by a mixed-grass prairie. These striking, colorful geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here. @Badlandsnps is just one of the more than 400 national parks across the country. Follow @nationalparkservice to see great pics of all the national parks. #FindYourPark by usinterior

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Suiting Up for the Moon Suiting Up for the Moon

How will cows survive on the Moon? One of the most vexing questions asked about space, scientists have spent decades debating this key issue. Finally, after extensive computer modeling and over a dozen midnight milkings, engineers have designed, built, and now tested the new Lunar Grazing Module (LGM), a multi-purpose celestial bovine containment system. By now, many of you will not be surprised to be wished a Happy April Fool's Day from APOD. To the best of our knowledge, there are no current plans to launch cows into space. For one reason, cows tend to be large animals that don't launch easily or cheaply. As friendly as cows may be, head-to-head comparisons show that robotic rovers are usually more effective as scientific explorers. The featured image is of a thought-provoking work of art named "Mooooonwalk" which really is on display at a popular science museum. via NASA http://ift.tt/1C5kJ4J

Established in 1932 as a migratory bird refuge, #CapeRomain National #WildlifeRefuge (@usfws) encompasses a 22-mile segment of the southeast Atlantic coast. The #SouthCarolina refuge consists of 66,287 acres of barrier islands, salt marshes, intricate coastal waterways, long sandy #beaches, fresh and brackish water impoundments, and maritime forest. Points of interest include #BullsIsland, #CapeIsland, and #LighthouseIsland where two lighthouses, no longer operational, still stand as historic sentinels of days gone by. Photo of #sunset at #BoneyardBeach by Ben Sumrell. by usinterior

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Words fail to describe the beauty of #BryceCanyon #NationalPark in #Utah. Bryce is famous for its forests, horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters and fanciful rock pinnacles called "#hoodoos." The park's #FarviewPoint offers spectacular views of the #GrandStaircase -- an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from Bryce Canyon through #Zion National Park and into the #GrandCanyon. #Sunrise photo by Phillip Abrams (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Corona from Svalbard Corona from Svalbard

During a total solar eclipse, the Sun's extensive outer atmosphere, or corona, is an inspirational sight. Streamers and shimmering features that engage the eye span a brightness range of over 10,000 to 1, making them notoriously difficult to capture in a single photograph. But this composite of 29 telescopic images covers a wide range of exposure times to reveal the crown of the Sun in all its glory. The aligned and stacked digital frames were recorded in the cold, clear skies above the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway during the Sun's total eclipse on March 20 and also show solar prominences extending just beyond the edge of the solar disk. Remarkably, even small details on the dark night side of the New Moon can be made out, illuminated by sunlight reflected from a Full Earth. Of course, fortunes will be reversed on April 4 as a Full Moon plunges into the shadow of a New Earth, during a total lunar eclipse. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Fc1hba