Starship Asterisk*

STEVE is like the universe's secret art show, where glowing rivers of ions paint the night sky in mesmerizing colors.

[quote=Ann post_id=341994 time=1730117618 user_id=129702]

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[quote]APOD Robot wrote:
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[/quote]


Rivers on Earth flow at different altitudes, that much is certain!
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And things flow in the universe too. The filaments of dark matter and galaxies are the rivers of rivers!

Ann
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But those filaments seem more like boundaries than flowing rivers. On the other hand, streams of galaxies are clearly flowing toward the Great Attractor!

[quote=Guest post_id=341995 time=1730121703]
I like the arts and artsy photos but this is a science site that many people who don’t know anything about astronomy learn from. They shouldn’t be posting photos of things in a straight line that show as bent.
[/quote]

So you would prefer that the horizon be shown as bent? You can't project a sphere onto a plane without distorting something. You've been living with it with every map of Earth you've ever used!

I like the arts and artsy photos but this is a science site that many people who don’t know anything about astronomy learn from. They shouldn’t be posting photos of things in a straight line that show as bent.

[float=right][img3="Hi, I'm Steve! Credit: Karen Kai Lun Wang."]https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1085565157-ad9fb28850956d0d06466b42753cb1b607379a034c8102f060b4eb8be7289491-d_640?f=webp[/img3][/float][img3="A glorious STEVE! A Glowing River over France.
Credit & Copyright: Louis LEROUX-GÉRÉ"]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2410/SteveFrance_leroux_1080.jpg[/img3]
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STEVE looks like a rainbow that's all red, although I'm not sure that the arc seen in the APOD is the true shape of the STEVE.

[quote]APOD Robot wrote:

Details of how STEVEs work remain a topic of research, but recent evidence holds that [b][size=110][color=#FF0000]their glow results from a[/color][/size][/b] [b][size=110][color=#FF0000] [/color][/size] [color=#0040FF][size=130]river[/size][/color] [size=110] [color=#FF0000]of hot ions flowing over a hundred kilometers up in the Earth's atmosphere: the ionosphere.[/color][/size][/b][/quote]


Rivers on Earth flow at different altitudes, that much is certain!


[float=left][img3="The Mississippi. Credit: I don't know."]https://fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/media/2019/12/14135453/Mississippi-River-Fishing.jpg[/img3][/float][float=right][img3="What archipelago is that? Oh, those are mountaintops surrounded by an ocean of clouds! Credit: lucianopaccagnella"]https://64.media.tumblr.com/86f62c16a11a61d3e995f0736b74ad8f/tumblr_pfo83ye5131w2pygyo1_1280.jpg[/img3][/float]
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And things flow in the universe too. The filaments of dark matter and galaxies are the rivers of rivers!


[float=left][attachment=0]Cosmic web Illustris TNG.png[/attachment][c][size=85][color=#0040FF]The cosmic web. Illustris TNG simulation.[/color][/size][/c][/float]
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Ann

[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241028.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_241028.jpg[/img] [size=150]STEVE: A Glowing River over France[/size][/url]

[b] Explanation: [/b] Sometimes a river of hot gas flows over your head. In this case the river created a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement ([url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEVE]STEVE[/url]) that glowed bright red, white, and pink. Details of [url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018GeoRL..45.7968G/abstract]how STEVEs work[/url] remain a topic of research, but recent evidence holds that their glow results from a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEVE#Research_into_cause]fast-moving river of hot ions[/url] flowing over a hundred kilometers up in the [url=https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-atmosphere/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/]Earth's atmosphere[/url]: the [url=https://science.nasa.gov/earth/10-things-to-know-about-the-ionosphere/]ionosphere[/url]. The more expansive dull red glow might be related to the flowing [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210505.html]STEVE[/url], but alternatively might be a [url=https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2021/11/22/3308/]Stable Auroral Red[/url] (SAR) arc, a [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240103.html]more[/url] general heat-related glow. The [url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DBKEFJlMLPo/]featured picture[/url], taken earlier this month in [url=https://youtu.be/66ATFjFDjoY?t=129]Côte d'Opale[/url], [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France]France[/url], is a wide-angle digital composite made as the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171014.html]STEVE arc[/url] formed nearly overhead. Although the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231022.html]apparition[/url] lasted only a few minutes, this was long enough for the [url=https://static2.bigstockphoto.com/0/7/4/large1500/470325001.jpg]quick-thinking[/url] astrophotographer to get in the picture -- can you find him?


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