Magnificent #SunriseThisMorning at Blue Ridge Parkway. This stunning photo was taken by Eric Allen Van Tassel (@vantastic20) at the East Fork Overlook on North Carolina side of the Parkway (@blueridgenps). Feeling lucky to stumble upon the overlook at the right time, Eric is still hesitant to show it off because “I felt the product does not reflect the overwhelming beauty and the excitement we experienced watching the sunrise that morning.” We know the feeling, but think this photo is definitely worth sharing! Photo courtesy of Eric Allen Van Tassel (@vantastic20). Want to be featured on @USInterior’s account? We’re partnering with @CBSThisMorning to share amazing sunrise photo from America’s national parks and other public lands. Tag your photos with #SunriseThisMorning for a chance to have one of your photos appear on our feeds! by usinterior

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Bright Spots Resolved in Occator Crater on Ceres Bright Spots Resolved in Occator Crater on Ceres

What created these bright spots on Ceres? The spots were first noted as the robotic Dawn spacecraft approached Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, in February, with the expectation that the mystery would soon be solved in higher resolution images. However, even after Dawn arrived at Ceres in March, the riddle remained. Surprisingly, although images including the featured composite taken in the last month do resolve many details inside Occator crater, they do not resolve the mystery. Another recent clue is that a faint haze develops over the crater's bright spots. Dawn is scheduled to continue to spiral down toward Ceres and scan the dwarf planet in several new ways that, it is hoped, will determine the chemical composition of the region and finally reveal the nature and history of the spots. In several years, after running out of power, Dawn will continue to orbit Ceres indefinitely, becoming an artificial satellite and an enduring monument to human exploration. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Kf3khw

There is still plenty to see after the sun sets at #Glacier #NationalPark in #Montana. Paul Weeks (@paul_weeks) captured this pic of the #MilkyWay over @glaciernps’s #ElizabethLake after a long day of backpacking through the rain and mud. Of the trip, he says, “Elizabeth Lake was calm and peaceful - the perfect place to snap a few Milky Way photos before catching some z's and making the haul up to Red Gap Pass the following morning.” Photo courtesy of Paul Weeks (@paul_weeks). by usinterior

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Check out these cute little guys! #Yosemite #NationalPark released of these orphaned fisher kits north of the #MercedRiver as part of a four-year effort to reintroduce fishers in this area of @yosemitenps. Historic records show that fishers once occupied this area but trapping and logging in the late 1800s and early 1900s likely led to their local extinction. Despite over 70 years of protection, fishers have failed to successfully recolonize the area. Biologists hope that human-assisted migration north of #YosemiteValley and across the Merced River barrier may help increase the long term viability of the population. by usinterior

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Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve in #Alaska is the largest #nationalpark in the U.S. Four mountain ranges run through it, with nine of the 16 highest peaks in the country. Its Malaspina glacier is bigger than the state of Rhode Island and a diverse array of wildlife thrives in habitats from the mountains to the coast. At this time of year, the park is losing over five minutes of sunlight each day and autumn has already arrived. Enjoy these fall colors. They won’t last long. Photo by @nationalparkservice by usinterior

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A Spiral Aurora over Iceland A Spiral Aurora over Iceland

What's happened to the sky? Aurora! Captured late last month, this aurora was noted by Icelanders for its great brightness and quick development. The aurora resulted from a solar storm, with high energy particles bursting out from the Sun and through a crack in Earth's protective magnetosphere a few days later. Although a spiral pattern can be discerned, creative humans might imagine the complex glow as an atmospheric apparition of any number of common icons. In the foreground of the featured image is the Ölfusá River, while the lights illuminate a bridge in Selfoss City. Just beyond the low clouds is a nearly full Moon. The liveliness of the Sun -- and the resulting auroras on Earth -- is slowly diminishing as the Sun emerges from a Solar maximum of surface activity and evolves towards a historically more quite period in its 11-year cycle. In fact, solar astronomers are waiting to see if the coming Solar minimum will be as unusually quiet as the last one, where sometimes months would go by with no discernible sunspots or other active solar phenomena. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Kn2C2V

The evening commute is a little different at #Yellowstone #NationalPark in Wyoming. Daniel Kleiman captured this picture of a #bison traffic jam @yellowstonenps. Photo from http://ift.tt/18oFfjl. by usinterior

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Just before it flows past #WashingtonDC, the Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and rushes through a narrow gorge. #GreatFallsPark offers tremendous views of this powerful, natural spectacle. Hikers enjoy several trails along the river and sometimes gasp at expert kayakers who brave the falls. This #sunrise picture was taken on the #Virginia side of the river. Photo by Yin Lau. (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl) by usinterior

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Pluto from above Cthulhu Regio Pluto from above Cthulhu Regio

New high resolution images of Pluto are starting to arrive from the outer Solar System. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft, which zoomed by Pluto in July, has finished sending back some needed engineering data and is now transmitting selections from its tremendous storehouse of images of Pluto and its moons. The featured image, a digital composite, details a surprising terrain filled with craters, plains, landscape of unknown character, and landforms that resemble something on Earth but are quite unexpected on Pluto. The light area sprawling across the upper right has been dubbed Sputnik Planum and is being studied for its unusual smoothness, while the dark cratered area just under the spacecraft is known as Cthulhu Regio. So far, New Horizons has only shared a few percent of the images and data it took during its Pluto flyby, but will continue to send back new views of the dwarf planet even as it glides outward toward even more distant explorations. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KkOCH1

Exploring The Loch -- a beautiful alpine lake in #RockyMountain National Park’s #GlacierGorge -- is definitely worth the trip. Erik Stensland took this stunning photo from the area on the first morning @rockynps opened following the a historic flood to the area in 2013. Of the capturing the photo, he says, “The clouds parted just as the sun rose, lighting the top of a rock formation called The Cathedral.” Photo courtesy of Erik Stensland. by usinterior

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