| SUPERB (un)NATURAL PHENOMENA TO ENJOY |
This one is unnatural -- or from some distant planet
SUNSET AT THE NORTH POLE
Astronomically and logically speaking, the sun and moon can never appear
in any earth sky in these proportions.
This is a purely digital creation. As far as we know, it is a work entitled "Hideaway," produced by a 22-year-old German astrophysics student named Inga Nielsen using TerragenTM scenery rendering software.
This one is natural -- from this, our jewel of a home planet
MOUNT ST. HELEN'S AT SUNRISE
BLOWING SMOKE RINGS
Here is something not many of us get to see, unless
you live near there - Mt. St. Helens at sunrise.
Mt. St.. Helens continues to spew ash, while it is
forming a lava dome in the crater and still having
minor tremors.
Here in this sunrise shot, she appears to be blowing
smoke rings (and anything so benign is welcomed, given
recent history).
What forms the "smoke rings" is the air flowing over
the mountain getting pushed up higher as it goes up
and over the top. The moisture content and initial
temperature are just right so that the moisture
condenses from a vapor to small particles at the
higher altitude. When the moving air moves past the
peak and comes down again, the particles evaporate
back to an invisible vapor.
The two "pancakes" describe that there are two layers
of air for which this is happening, thus making this
awesome picture possible.
Picture by Brent and Jan LeBaron
