APOD: Clouds and Stars over Cotopaxi in... (2010 May 26)

[APOD Robot]

Clouds and Stars over Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador

Explanation: What's happening above the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador? Quite a bit, from the looks of the above one-night, time-lapse movie, taken earlier this month. The majestic volcano is first seen through breaks in fast moving clouds as the movie begins. Soon the clouds have dissipated and a sky filled with stars seems to rotate about the snow-peaked volcano's peak. The band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the dark Coal Sack nebula, and the Southern Cross can all be seen overhead. Satellites streak by from several directions. Soon thin clouds roll by and seem to make the brightest stars sparkle. On the volcano (starting at about 1:13 of the movie), the lights of climbers flash. Near the end of the movie, a bright airplane passes over the peak with a residual trail seen drifting away.

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[Bret Webster]

Just beautiful! ..and so fun to watch! Full of new events and changes.
Congratulations and Thanks!
Bret

[Beyond]

WOW!!! A movie! Also i see they were filming some Star Wars scenes on the other side of the mountain. I could tell by the intermittent laser pulses.

Although the movie was a little short, It was very nice indeed!! next time can we have popcorn also

[hstarbuck]

Very cool. I like the way the mist actually helps the Southern Cross and other bright stars to "stand out" by blurring the light and obscuring the dimmer stars. Also neat when the disk of the Milky Way goes down and we are left with stars outside the plane just before sunrise. If we did not already understand the shape of the milky way and our place in it this movie could be of assistance. Cotopaxi is right on the equator too!

[henrystar]

What are "satellites steak?"

[orin stepanek]

What are "satellites steak?"

I would venture to say it would be kind of like a star trail on a time exposure. only this is a movie that can follow the the satellite across the vista.

[Tom in Michigan]

What are "satellites steak?"

I would venture to say it would be kind of like a star trail on a time exposure. only this is a movie that can follow the the satellite across the vista.

You missed the joke, "Satellite STEAK" should be "Satellite STREAK." I'll have my satellite steak medium rare, please.

[RJN]

My bad. Fixed it. And please, let this be a lesson for all of us -- never write when you're hungry. - RJN

[sguisard]

Hello everybody,

Thank you for your comments, i am happy you the movie was featured on APOD today and that you like it.Some more details about the movie and "making of" of it :

The Cotopaxi volcano time lapse movies were made at altitudes of 3800m and 4500m. Cotopaxi Volcano is very close to the Equator line, explaining why in this time lapse movie the celestial Southern Pole is located on the horizon behind the volcano. The coal sack and Southern Cross are visible above the crater. One can also see the flashlights of climbers going up the glaciar.

I must say that It is literally "breathtaking" to walk and climb in these beautiful landscapes at such altitude with 21 kg of equipment (cameras, tripods, batteries). Because of this altitude, you MUST have a written check list in order NOT to forget anything, even obvious ones (because your brain might work slower due to the lower air pressure) : adjust correctly all the camera parameters, put a memory card in the camera, focus the camera, switch ON the camera also, eventually remove the lens cap... ect ... well ... in this case ... the ONLY ONE thing I forgot ... was to take the checklist along with me ...
more informations and pictures here :
http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/Pagim/Cotopaxi.html

Best regards,

Stéphane Guisard

[Beyond]

Hey! I missed the midnight meal - Satellite Steak.
Boy, I'm going to have to start reading these Apod's in the morning while I'm awake!!
Also, i guess i was "moo-ving" to fast to catch it.

[orin stepanek]

What are "satellites steak?"

I would venture to say it would be kind of like a star trail on a time exposure. only this is a movie that can follow the the satellite across the vista.

You missed the joke, "Satellite STEAK" should be "Satellite STREAK." I'll have my satellite steak medium rare, please.

Oops! I missed the spelling error! I like my steak anyway; as long as it doesn't moo!

[owlice]

M. Guisard, thank you for letting us know about the creation of this beautiful time lapse! It appears you didn't need the forgotten checklist after all!

[neufer]

<<Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 28 km (17 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m. It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 5,000 metres. The mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito.

Cotopaxi means "Smooth Neck of the Moon", and was honored as a "Sacred Mountain" by local Andean peoples, even prior to the beginning of Inca domination in the 15th century. It was worshiped as “rain sender”, that served as the guarantor of the land's fertility, and at the same time its summit was revered as a place where gods lived.

The first European who tried to climb the mountain was Alexander von Humboldt in 1802, however, he only reached a height of about 4500 m. On November 27, 1872, geologist Wilhelm Rajss finally reached the summit of Cotopaxi. Painters Rudolf Reschreiter and Hans Meyer reached the summit in 1903 and many of Reschreiter's paintings feature a view of Cotopaxi.

• "Cotopaxi" by Frederic Edwin Church, 1862.

Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. However, Llullaillaco volcano is considerably higher (6,739 m) and is definitely in an active phase, having erupted as recently as 1877. Ojos del Salado is higher still (6,893 m), and there are indications near its summit of recent activity, although its remoteness precludes a definitive statement as to whether it is currently active.

There have been more than 50 eruptions of Cotopaxi since 1738. Numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) surround the volcano. This poses a high risk to the local population, their settlements and fields. Cotopaxi's most violent eruptions in historical times occurred in the years 1744, 1768, and 1877. In the 1877 eruption pyroclastic flows descended all sides of the mountain, with lahars traveling more than 100 km into the Pacific Ocean and western Amazon basin draining the valley. The main danger of a huge eruption of Cotopaxi would be the flow of ice from its glacier. If there were to be a very large explosion, it would destroy most of the settlements within the valley in the suburban area of Quito.>>

[Beyond]

Ever notice that when someone makes a misteak in this forum, there's always at least a few that will chew on it for awhile?
Friendship on the Starship Asterisk* - what would we do without it

[ta152h0]

and a couple meteors streaking by,very nice. Would make an outstanding screen saver

[neufer]

and a couple meteors streaking by,very nice. Would make an outstanding screen saver

The medium steaks are rare in time lapse.

[ta152h0]

that explains the direction

[bystander]

The medium steaks are rare in time lapse.

That makes them medium-rare? Perfect!

[ta152h0]

time lapse fire power.

[AC]

'Click here to download plugin?' This isn't much of a picture Stop using Flash!

[The Code]

Ever notice that when someone makes a misteak in this forum, there's always at least a few that will chew on it for awhile?
Friendship on the Starship Asterisk* - what would we do without it

Made me laugh that did. I'm not chewing honestly.

Mark

[fsoto]

Great movie, congratulations to the author!

I have a question which may be kind of silly, excuse me if that's the case... near the end of the movie, say about 15 seconds before sunrise, you can see some very hazy little structures that seem to be moving downwards from the top-center of the screen. They could be clouds, but the motion does not look like clouds at all--too vertical and moving in a very different direction from the almost horizontal that you see in the other clouds.

If I had to mention something similar, they actually look like very pale versions of an aurora--which I know would be quite outrageous in Ecuador!

Can they be reflections of light at the very early morning? Ghosts of some kind? Thanks for any hint there...

[BMAONE23]

I think they are likely high altitude clouds moving perpendicular to the direction of wind movement

[biddie67]

What a wonderful peaceful night-long scene - enjoyed watching it several times. What fascinated me was that there were people climbing the glacier at night!!!!

[DavidLeodis]

Judged by the movements of the climbers lights it looked as if they could have been lost! Or perhaps they were just looking for medium to rare volcanic grilled steaks. Nice time-lapse. Shame there was a lot of cloud around at times.