Explanation: Recorded during 2017, timelapse sequences from the International Space Station are compiled in this serene video of planet Earth at Night. Fans of low Earth orbit can start by enjoying the view as green and red aurora borealis slather up the sky. The night scene tracks from northwest to southeast across North America, toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida coast. A second sequence follows European city lights, crosses the Mediterranean Sea, and passes over a bright Nile river in northern Africa. Seen from the orbital outpost, erratic flashes of lightning appear in thunder storms below and stars rise above the planet's curved horizon through a faint atmospheric airglow. Of course, from home you can always check out the vital signs of Planet Earth Now.
<<"The World Turned Upside Down" is an English ballad. It was first published on a broadside in the middle of the 1640s as a protest against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas. Parliament believed the holiday should be a solemn occasion, and outlawed traditional English Christmas celebrations.
According to American legend, the British army band under Lord Cornwallis played this tune when they surrendered after the Siege of Yorktown (1781). Customarily, the British army would have played an American or French tune in tribute to the victors, but General Washington refused them the honours of war and insisted that they play "a British or German march." Although American history textbooks continue to propagate the legend, the story may have been apocryphal as it first appears in the historical record a century after the surrender.>>
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:33 pm
by orin stepanek
I really enjoyed watching some of the clips! The ISS going above the Aurora was a little eerie; I thought!
Aurora slathers up the Sky!
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:46 pm
by ta152h0
I would like to see CERES as seen from Dawn Spacecraft in this manner. Those flybys are really informative and poetic. It'd be cool if JPL would put together a collection of flyby movies. That's a CD I would buy! Just out of curiosity, is Comet Haley still outward bound? Pass the ice cold one.
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:02 pm
by Chris Peterson
ta152h0 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:46 pm
I would like to see CERES as seen from Dawn Spacecraft in this manner. Those flybys are really informative and poetic. It'd be cool if JPL would put together a collection of flyby movies. That's a CD I would buy! Just out of curiosity, is Comet Haley still outward bound? Pass the ice cold one.
Comet Halley will reach aphelion at the end of 2023.
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:25 pm
by johnnydeep
Ok, I'll ask: why is the Nile river all lit up at night? Not just the edges, but the entire surface? I wouldn't think it's because of lights on boats.
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:37 pm
by Chris Peterson
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:25 pm
Ok, I'll ask: why is the Nile river all lit up at night? Not just the edges, but the entire surface? I wouldn't think it's because of lights on boats.
There's really not enough resolution here to make out the river surface at all. All you're seeing is the lights on the land around the river.
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:25 pm
Ok, I'll ask: why is the Nile river all lit up at night? Not just the edges, but the entire surface? I wouldn't think it's because of lights on boats.
There's really not enough resolution here to make out the river surface at all. All you're seeing is the lights on the land around the river.
Really? The river really looks like it has a definite width filled with light sources:
Lit Up Nile At Night?
If it's only an illusion, I have been fooled by "optics" once again Oh,wait, I think I see what you meant: the actual river is just a much thinner line down the center of that lit width, the lights being those of structures near the shore! Ok, got it!
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:30 pm
by spaceaman
At about 14 seconds, it appears that a small spot of light lifts from the surface, at the upper right side, and goes into space. It is too far from the horizon to be one of the stars that appear to rise there. Did anyone else notice that or is it just an illusion?
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:25 pm
Ok, I'll ask: why is the Nile river all lit up at night? Not just the edges, but the entire surface? I wouldn't think it's because of lights on boats.
There's really not enough resolution here to make out the river surface at all. All you're seeing is the lights on the land around the river.
Really? The river really looks like it has a definite width filled with light sources:
Lit Up Nile At Night.JPG
If it's only an illusion, I have been fooled by "optics" once again Oh,wait, I think I see what you meant: the actual river is just a much thinner line down the center of that lit width, the lights being those of structures near the shore! Ok, got it!
It's the fertile lands aside the river. Compare it with a daylight satellite image.
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:38 pm
by Astronymus
spaceaman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:30 pm
At about 14 seconds, it appears that a small spot of light lifts from the surface, at the upper right side, and goes into space. It is too far from the horizon to be one of the stars that appear to rise there. Did anyone else notice that or is it just an illusion?
I only see stars and artifacts. Screenshot?
Re: APOD: Flying Over the Earth at Night II (2021 Apr 23)
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:56 pm
by Chris Peterson
spaceaman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:30 pm
At about 14 seconds, it appears that a small spot of light lifts from the surface, at the upper right side, and goes into space. It is too far from the horizon to be one of the stars that appear to rise there. Did anyone else notice that or is it just an illusion?
I suspect you have your display too dark, preventing you from seeing stars below the yellow sodium layer that sits at an altitude of about 100 km. Except for Sirius, which rises at about 14 seconds. Not from the surface, but from behind the horizon, below the sodium layer that I suspect you're mistaking for the surface. Can you increase your monitor brightness?
Flying Over the Earth at Night II
Oh,wait, I think I see what you meant: the actual river is just a much thinner line down the center of that lit width, the lights being those of structures near the shore! Ok, got it!