Plate 14. Nebulae. (Now “galaxy” is used to denote the feature in Andromeda.) An atlas of astronomy. 1892.
“Right now, in Earth’s skies, Saturn appears at its biggest and brightest. Just look to the southeastern skies (from the northern hemisphere), slightly east of bright Jupiter. With Earth between the Sun and Saturn, it’s poised for spectacular viewing. But the true star of Saturn is its main rings, now tilted for excellent views.”
I wish we had a dedicated mission, constantly, for each of the outer planets. There’s so much out there to explore and learn about, and there’s no view like the view from actually being there. But in the absence of that, the Hubble Space Telescope is a very, very pleasing consolation prize, capable of imaging these worlds every year at incredible resolution, even from over a billion kilometers away.
Take a look at these views of Saturn, and marvel at the incredible ring system. If you want to see it for yourself, now’s the perfect time!
Switzerland // Hannes Becker
Lightning Appreciation Post:
There are nearly 500 lightning strikes every second around the world.
Only about 100 of these strike the earth, the others are between and within the clouds themselves.
Lightning is very visible from space (last gif from Astronaut Reid Wiseman)
Besides regular storms (thunder storms, hurricanes, etc.) lightning can be found in volcanoes (gif 3) and even intense forest fires.
In conclusion: nature is fucking awesome!
Crashing In//Oregon July 2016