Starship Asterisk*

A Rorschach Aurora

Explanation: If you see this as a monster's face, don't panic. It's only pareidolia, often experienced as the tendency to see faces in patterns of light and shadow. In fact, the startling visual scene is actually a 180 degree panorama of Northern Lights, digitally mirrored like inkblots on a folded piece of paper. Frames used to construct it were captured on a September night from the middle of a waterfall-crossing suspension bridge in Jamtland, Sweden. With geomagnetic storms triggered by recent solar activity, auroral displays could be very active at planet Earth's high latitudes in the coming days. But if you see a monster's face in your own neighborhood tomorrow night, it might just be Halloween.

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I'm usually not very interested in aurora images, but I like the presentation of this one!


The caption told us that the image is an 180 degree panorama of the northern lights, but note that two panoramas have been "pasted together", one to the right and one to the left of the other, so that they mirror one another.

Göran Strand, the photographer, is a Swede, and I recognize the kind of landscape that is typical of northern Sweden. Particularly the trees. I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle, and almost all the trees the grew there were birches and spruces. That's what we are seeing in Göran Strand's image, because all the trees appear to be spruces (the pointy dark green ones) and birches (the yellow ones).


But there is one small red tree in the image - well, we see two versions of the same tree, of course.

I'd say it's a rowan tree, because they are small, and you can find some of them far north, and they get brilliantly red in the autumn.

Ann

According to the Weather Channel we may get some fascinating
aurora coming as a lot o9f solar flare activity is happening on the
sun! Today's APOD is very nice; also a bit complex!

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,

Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am
I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,

Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

When I look at this image upside down, it looks like a puppy dog face.

When I look at this image upside down, it looks more like a puppy's face than anything else.

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:17 am I was born far north in Sweden, just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle,

Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

That's an interesting experience. I have not studied it, but it seems like people who get depressed from winter darkness are also being affected by "dreary days" as opposed to simply "short days". If you live in a place that regularly gets 4-5 hours of bright sun, it might not be as bad as it is if your place gets 8-9 hours of a gray blanket most of the winter.

But as you approach the Arctic Circle, it does get extreme. I enjoyed looking at the Wikipedia page for Luleå. It has a mean length of daylight in December of just 3 hours, and surely the Sun never gets very high, either. Constant cold is definitely not fun, either, and can be dangerous. Then there's deep snow to contend with. Yet somehow, the Swedes and Norwegians seem to be polite, industrious, and even cheerful people, for those that I've had the pleasure to get to know.

By the way, for today's APOD . . . I find the image lovely and creative in its design. Nevertheless, I quickly found myself wishing to have just seen the 180-degree image un-warped, and felt it would probably be considerably more beautiful to have just seen it as nature actually presented itself.

I was focused on the aurora for a couple of seconds before I realized it was mirrored. I immediately thought of this clip from "Fantasia".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP7kE_cncEs&t=47s

MarkBour wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:53 pm

Ann wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:18 pm

neufer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 2:04 pm
Is that where you also grew up?

If so, did you find the almost sun-less winter days difficult to cope with?

I was born in Luleå, but we moved to Malmö when I was nine. So we moved some 1,500 kilometers away, mostly to the south.

I found the cold in Luleå harder to deal with than the darkness, and I remember often being cold. The darkness didn't bother me as much. The way I remember it, the Sun rose at about 10 a.m. and set around 1.30 p.m. around the time of the winter solstice.

Now, though, due to the climate change, it's a lot milder in Luleå, and there's a lot less snow. But due to the relative lack of snow, it is darker in Luleå than it used to be, because the white snow does a splendid job of reflecting whatever light there is.

I find it hard enough to deal with the darkness here in Malmö. At its darkest, the Sun rises at around 8.39 a.m. and sets around 3.32 p.m.

Ann

That's an interesting experience. I have not studied it, but it seems like people who get depressed from winter darkness are also being affected by "dreary days" as opposed to simply "short days". If you live in a place that regularly gets 4-5 hours of bright sun, it might not be as bad as it is if your place gets 8-9 hours of a gray blanket most of the winter.

But as you approach the Arctic Circle, it does get extreme. I enjoyed looking at the Wikipedia page for Luleå. It has a mean length of daylight in December of just 3 hours, and surely the Sun never gets very high, either. Constant cold is definitely not fun, either, and can be dangerous. Then there's deep snow to contend with. Yet somehow, the Swedes and Norwegians seem to be polite, industrious, and even cheerful people, for those that I've had the pleasure to get to know.

Good point about the "dreary days", Mark. November, December, January, February and sometimes March are often overcast, gray and dreary where I live. And when it clears up it gets cold, which I am also unhappy about.

Ann

Who ya’ gonna call? SLIMER!

Ann wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:26 am Good point about the "dreary days", Mark. November, December, January, February and sometimes March are often overcast, gray and dreary where I live. And when it clears up it gets cold, which I am also unhappy about.

Ann

Well, here's wishing you more days of sunshine this winter ... and an indoor space with large windows from which to enjoy it best!