At sunset, an alignment of rainbow and mountain shadow was captured in this remarkable snapshot.
The stunning view was recorded from a fire lookout on Smith Peak in the Plumas National Forest near Portola, California on July 13.
Still, near sunset it's no accident that the majestic mountain shadow seems to point to the center of the graceful rainbow arc.
Due to perspective and the long line of sight the mountain shadow naturally forms a tapering triangular shape, its apex positioned at the point opposite the Sun on the horizon.
Following thunderstorms in the region, the rainbow arched across the early evening sky, with its colorful and characteristic 42 degree arc formed as sunlight is refracted and reflected by the atmospheric water droplets.
The geometric center of a rainbow arc lies at the antisolar point. And in this scene from the golden hour on planet Earth, that's also opposite the setting Sun along the distant horizon.
Image Credit & License: Dave Loschiavo
What do auroras look like from above? Behold!
From the ground, auroras dance high above clouds, frequently causing spectacular displays. From space, they look a bit different.
As the International Space Station (ISS) circles the Earth every 90 minutes, it sometimes sees auroras below that are active on the night side.
A one-hour time-lapse video showing auroras from above was captured about two weeks ago from the orbiting ISS. The ISS -- and all objects in low Earth orbit -- will pass well above green auroras but just a bit above red glowing auroras.
The auroras' electron and proton streams are too thin to be a danger to the ISS, just as clouds pose little danger to airplanes. From orbit, as magnetic fields change, auroras can appear to squiggle and crawl like giant snakes. The featured one-minute video was captured by French astronaut Sophie Adenot of the ISS Expedition 74 crew.
Image Credit: ESA, NASA, ISS Expedition 74;
Capture: Sophie Adenot;
Music: Circle of Light (Patrick Hawes & Grace Davidson)
💙 "Crois en la magie qui est en toi.
Tes rêves sont les graines de ta réalité.
Nourris-les avec amour...
et regarde-les fleurir." 🤩✨
#VisTesReves#Dreamer
💙 Saturne en opposition au Soleil, le 21.09.25, à son point le plus proche de la Terre, se levant alors que le Soleil se couchait et brillant parmi les étoiles de la constellation des Poissons (de l'observatoire Qinghai Lenghu, plateau tibétain, sud-ouest de la Chine) ! 😇🪐✨
This year Saturn was at opposition on September 21, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. At its closest to Earth, Saturn was also at its brightest of the year, rising as the Sun set and shining above the horizon all night long among the fainter stars of the constellation Pisces. In this snapshot from the Qinghai Lenghu Observatory, Tibetan Plateau, southwestern China, the outer planet is immersed in a faint, diffuse oval of light known as the gegenschein or counter glow. The diffuse gegenschein is produced by sunlight backscattered by interplanetary dust along the Solar System's ecliptic plane, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. Like a giant eye, on this dark night Saturn and gegenschein seem to stare down on the observatory's telescope domes from their antisolar perspective. Strong atmospheric airglow forms a colorful background along the horizon.
Image Credit & Copyright: Jin Wang
Les neurones qui s’activent ensemble, se connectent ensemble.
Concentrez-vous sur le positif et votre cerveau se reprogrammera en conséquence. Des pensées saines façonnent une vie plus longue et plus saine.
How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius. The featured illustration shows what would happen if all of the water on or near the surface of the Earth were bunched up into a ball. The radius of this ball would be only about 700 kilometers, less than half the radius of the Earth's Moon, but slightly larger than Saturn's moon Rhea which, like many moons in our outer Solar System, is mostly water ice. The next smallest ball depicts all of Earth's liquid fresh water, while the tiniest ball shows the volume of all of Earth's fresh-water lakes and rivers. How any of this water came to be on the Earth and whether any significant amount is trapped far beneath Earth's surface remain topics of research.
Illustration Credit: Jack Cook, Adam Nieman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Data source: Igor Shiklomanov
Dans les Vosges, Vincent a construit pendant 10 ans sa propre maison de Hobbit, inspirée de l’univers du Seigneur des Anneaux. 🏡🧙♂️
Vincent et sa femme Sophie la louent aujourd’hui aux passionnés de la saga. 🌿✨
Abonne-toi pour ➕ d’histoires inspirantes ! 🍀