| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Nature & Man in One Astrophoto: Iridium Flare, Milky Way, Clouds and Light Pollution
An Iridium Flare flashes over western Maine in this beautiful night sky image from June 2014. Credit and copyright: Mike Taylor/Taylor Photography.
Ever seen a flash in the night sky and wondered if you were seeing things? Iridium flares are often mistaken for meteors because of their notable bright flashes of light in the night sky but they are actually caused by a specific group of satellites that orbit our planet. The Iridium communication satellites are just in the right orbit that when sunlight reflects on their antennas, a flash — or flare — is visible down on Earth. There are currently about 66 Iridium satellites in orbit, so flares are a rather common occurrence.
This image from photographer Mike Taylor is one frame from a timelapse of the Milky Way and other features of the night sky in motion against a silhouetted foreground. “Photographed from western Maine, this shot includes quite a bit of light pollution and some fast moving cloud cover,” Mike told Universe Today via email. “Most of the light pollution in this image is coming from Farmington, Maine which is about 35 miles from this location.”
(…)
Read the rest of Nature & Man in One Astrophoto: Iridium Flare, Milky Way, Clouds and Light Pollution (293 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2014. |
Permalink |
No comment |
Post tags: Astrophotos, Iridium Flare, milky way
Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Source: http://www.universetoday.com/112845/nature-man-in-one-astrophoto-iridium-flare-milky-way-clouds-and-light-pollution/
