Tagged: phenomena

Beautiful Blood Red Moons: Tetrad of Lunar Eclipses [20 PICS]

April 12th, 2014 Permalink

April 15 is tax day in the USA, but don’t let that get you down. Instead, lift your eyes toward the heavens during the darkness and wee hours of the morning to view the first of four total lunar eclipses, spaced six full moons apart. Those four consecutive total lunar eclipses are called a tetrad. Christian Pastor John Hagee dubbed them “Blood Moons” denoting change for Israel; these total eclipses of the moon occur on Jewish holidays such a Passover in April 2014 and April 2015, and Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, in September 2014 and September 2015. Some folks are even claiming this series of blood-red moons is heralding the end is nigh. You’ve might have seen “blood red” moons before as the term has previously been applied to the coloring of Harvest moons. One thing that’s for sure, if you live in the USA, then you have a front row seat for a tetrad of lunar eclipses. Here’s a calculator to figure when you can see it from where you live. Here are some beautiful photos of blood red moons, aka total lunar eclipses. [20 Photos]

Tetrad Blood Red Moon, harbinger of end times

So you might have heard about the coming tetrad? This shot of a total lunar eclipse over a church and cross reminded us of the coming four consecutive total lunar eclipses. During such an eclipse, the moon can appear to be reddish in color. Some folks are calling them “Blood Moons,” others are quoting Biblical prophecy of when the moon turns blood red, a harbinger of end times. NASA says if you are in the USA, then you have a front row seat to view the 2014-2015 tetrad. Photo #1 by D. Wood

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Cool Karst at China’s Shilin Stone Forest: 270 Million Year Old Natural Wonder [35 PICS]

June 6th, 2013 Permalink

Imagine 96,000 acres of forest, then swap out the trees in your mind’s eye for huge karst formations, some of which formed at least 270 million years ago, and that “stone forest” is Shilin in China. Since the Ming Dynasty in 1368-1644 AD, the collections of intricate karst formations and landscapes at Shilin Stone Forest have “bewitched” people; the site became known as the ‘First Wonder of the World,’ according to the China Travel Guide. South China Karst is not one Stone Forest, but made up of many such individual landscapes of all sizes. In fact, UNESCO says South China Karst has “outstanding universal value” and named two smaller stone forests, Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village, both as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Here’s a look at Shilin Stone Forest in China.
[35 Photos]

Lunan County, China, Stone Forest, Shilin

Imagine 96,000 acres of forest, then swap out the trees in your mind’s eye for huge karst formations, some of which formed at least 270 million years ago, and that “stone forest” is Shilin in China. It’s located about an hour away from Kunming. Shilin is dotted with 65 reservoirs and ponds. Photo #1 by Richard IJzermans

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Flaming Door to Hell in the Devil’s Sandbox along Infamous Silk Road

March 22nd, 2013 Permalink

Out in the middle of a hot, dry Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, along the ancient Silk Road, Soviet-era scientists found a cavern of natural gas and started drilling. But the drill hit another pocket in the cavern, right before the ground collapsed, and the entire drilling rig disappeared into the huge Darvaza Gas Crater. Then poisonous gas started to pour out. So what did the scientists decide to do in order to avoid a potential environmental disaster? Burn it off. Genius! That was in 1971, but the flaming natural gas crater is still burning 42 years later. The locals dubbed it, “The Door to Hell.” Derweze can also be spelled Darvaza and that translates to “gate,” so it is sometimes referred to as “Hell’s Gate” or the “Gates of Hell.” [35 Photos]

Golden Eagle Silk Road, The Door to Hell in Darvaza, Turkmenistan

Back along the “Golden Eagle Silk Road” is the most famous crater, the Door to Hell. After a Soviet drilling accident in 1971, and a decision to burn the gas off, this hole — sometimes also called the Gates of Hell, Hell’s Gate — has been continually burning for 42 years. The locals named this huge gas reserve crater the ‘Door to Hell” because it is on fire with bright orange flames and has boiling mud. Derweze’s large crater is has a 230 feet (70 m) diameter. Photo #1 by Martha de Jong-Lantink

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‘Red Tide’ Phenomenon in Rainbow of Algal Bloom Colors [38 PICS]

March 2nd, 2013 Permalink

While you might not stop to think on it, water is full of algae and aquatic microorganisms that play a vital role in marine and fresh-water ecosystems. Not all algae is harmful, but when microscopic algae grows too quickly, then it can cause a phenomenon commonly called “red tide.” Scientists prefer the term algal blooms. Not all of these “red tide” algal blooms are red or dangerous, some even appear to glow with bio-luminescence, but harmful algal blooms can poison shellfish, fish or other wildlife. It’s no longer cool to call these “red tides” because red tides are very often not red; many have no discoloration at all. Red tide also is not the same thing as the wide variety of algal bloom species that are often mistakenly called red tides. Yet when the water appears blood red, which is rare, and dead fish are floating on the surface or the beach, then it freaks people out and rumors start flying about the “end of the world.” There are varying opinions about if it is “safe” to swim in a “red tide” which often comes in a rainbow of algal bloom colors . . . and shades of harmful algal bloom. Would you swim or fish in these waters? [38 Photos]

Red Tide at midnight

When water turns red, would you swim here? “Bioluminescent dinoflagellates (Lingulodinium polyedrum) lighting a breaking wave at midnight. The blue light is a result of a luciferase enzyme (like firefly luciferase, but the enzyme in L. polyedrum shares no similarity with that of the firefly enzyme). Under the right conditions, the dinoflagellates become so numerous that the water takes on a muddy reddish color (hence the name ‘Red Tide’). The bioluminescence is only visible at night. The photo was taken 6/26/2005 with a Canon Rebel XT – 6s, f5.6, ISO 1600, 85mm (135mm equiv).” Photo #1 by Mike (msauder)

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Sensational Starling Murmuration: Far Out Flocking Phenomenon [37 PICS, 13 VIDS]

November 25th, 2012 Permalink

In the winter, over Europe, massive starling flocks, from thousands to millions of birds, swarm, swoop, shift, swirl and twirl, moving as one while performing amazing aerial acrobatics. Although a previous Love These Pics post was full of bird flocks and flying swarms that seemed to be attacking like Hitchcock’s The Birds, some were, in reality, a starling murmuration. This extraordinarily beautiful ballet at dusk is a pre-roosting phenomenon known as starling murmuration. Although this is science, the phenomenon is more math and physics than biology. The ‘Black Sun’ is hypnotic to watch as the starlings fill the evening sky, twisting and turning in a incredible and unpredictable waltz. [37 Photos, 13 Videos]

Swarms and starling murmuration

Starling swarms, an extraordinarily beautiful ballet at dusk that is a pre-roosting phenomenon of nature known as ‘starling murmuration.’ Photo #1 by Fayez Nureldine / AFP

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Howling at the Harvest Moon [40 Fabulous Photos]

November 7th, 2012 Permalink

La luna makes folks seem like lunatics, and a bunch of people worldwide definitely cut loose and act crazy when there is a full moon. Harvest moon is real, but it is just as often a name referring to huge, orange moons. Red moons seem a bit like a bad premonition and blood red moons seem to be foretelling the end of the world. It’s a trick of light though. Full moons, supermoons and even lunar eclipses are all known for ‘the locals’ going temporarily looney. There are blue moons, Hunter moons and all kinds of beautiful full lunar moonscapes in these photos. Does looking at a magnificent moonrise in pictures, or only in real life, make you feel like barking or howling at the moon? [40 Photos]

Harvest Moon, Moonrise of the 2012 Supermoon taken from the Toroweap viewpoint at the Grand Canyon's North Rim

Harvest Moon seems to be bigger, brighter, or more colorful than other full moons because the reddish component of the light is what we see. This was a Supermoon, when ‘Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.’ The photographer called this, “Moonrise of the 2012 Supermoon taken from the Toroweap viewpoint at the Grand Canyon's North Rim.” Photo #1 by Jason Hines

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Breathtaking Baatara Gorge Waterfall & Cave of the Three Bridges [31 PICS]

August 23rd, 2012 Permalink

In Lebanon, the beautiful Baatara gorge waterfall cascades 837 feet (255 m) down in a thunderous roar during spring as the snow melts. Although a sign cautions not to climb around too close to the possibly slick edges at the risk of slipping and plunging to your death, nothing prepares a person to be so in awe of nature as the cavern opens up to house magnificent three-tiered natural bridges. This wonder of nature is also called the “Cave of the Three Bridges,” an abyss, “Three Bridges Chasm”, sinkhole, “pothole” and “hole in the wall.” During spring and early summer, the wildflowers are in full bloom making it a great time to hike the Tannourine Cedar Forest Reserve, part of the Lebanon Mountain Trail, that takes adventurers to the immense and breathtaking Baatara gorge waterfall. [31 Photos]

Beautiful Baatara gorge waterall in the Tannourin mountains of Lebanon

When snow melts in the spring, the water forms this huge Baatara gorge waterfall in the Tannourin mountains of Lebanon. Photo #1 by Eli+

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Rare Rainbows in the Dark [24 PICS]

August 1st, 2011 Permalink

Rare rainbows in the dark of night, midnight moonbows, are an amazing natural phenomena. A rainbow in the moonlight is several hundred thousand times less bright than a rainbow during the day. A true lunar rainbow is lit by the moon itself. To the naked eye, they can appear white and are also called “white rainbows.” There are a few places in the world where “spray moonbows” are so-called “frequent phenomena” such as near waterfalls in Yosemite National Park, Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, and Victoria Falls in Australia. Here is a collection of these wonderful lunar rainbows and well as a few other natural phenomena that appear a bit like rainbows in the dark. [24 Photos]

Upper Yosemite Falls Moonbow

Upper Yosemite Falls Moonbow. Rainbows in the dark have been delighting the few who are fortunate enough to witness the phenomenon since Aristotle’s time. Photo #1 by Teddy Llovet

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Erupting Volcanic Paradise: Lava Rivers & Spatter Fountains of Hawaii [48 PICS]

July 30th, 2011 Permalink

Volcanic activity is spiking in Hawaii and people are flocking there to see the spectacular show. Visitors, both regular folks and scientists, to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are able to witness the active volcanic personality and the formation of new cinder cones, glowing pit craters, rivers of lava and fountains of spatter. This volcanic paradise shows off 70 million years of volcanism, but was only established as a National Park in 1916. It stretches over 333,086 acres (505.36 square miles) and has two active volcanoes. While Kīlauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and has been in nearly continuous eruption since 1983, Mauna Loa is the world’s most massive volcano. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has seven ecological zones, was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and became a World Heritage Site in 1987. Welcome to the Big Island and volcanic paradise! We love these pics! [48 Photos]

Lava erupting from the Pu`u `O`o vent

View at dusk of the young Pu’u ‘O’o cinder-and-spatter cone. The fantastic fountain on Kilauea, Hawaii, is shooting up about 40 m high. Photo #1 by G.E. Ulrich/USGS

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Marvel at the Magnificent Marble Caves [35 PICS]

June 28th, 2011 Permalink

In Patagonia, South America, General Carrera Lake is shared by Argentina and Chile. But on the Chilean side of the beautiful emerald-green to turquoise-blue waters, there are breathtakingly beautiful marble caves carved into passageways and caverns. These amazing marble formations were sculpted by erosion into three main marble formations: La Capilla (the Chapel), El Catedral (the Cathedral), and La Cueva (the Cave). The impressive labyrinth of marble caves are large enough for a small boat to glide into. Here are those magnificent marble caves. [35 Photos]

Reserva Nacional Cavernas de Marmol - Lago General Carrera Cavernas de Marmol - Patagonia Chilena

Incredibly beauty to be found at the Marble Caverns on General Carrera Lake in Patagonia, Chile. Photo #1 by © Jorge Leon Cabello

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Multicolored Martian Landscape? Nope. Fly Geyser in the Nevada Desert

March 30th, 2011 Permalink

Mother Nature didn’t create this bizarre geothermal wonder located in the Nevada desert, but neither did aliens. The vividly multicolored Fly Geyser phenomena is the result of an accident by man. Since the 1960s, the volcano-shaped Fly Geyser has continuously spewed hot water, as if morphing the land and environment into its own ecosystem and desert habitat.

Fly Geyser Timed Exposure

Mother Nature didn’t create this geothermal wonder, but neither did aliens. In 1916, a rancher drilled a well in hopes of turning the desert into a fertile wetland, but accidentally hit a geothermal pocket of water. It wasn’t until 1964 that boiling water started to escape to the surface and that is how this geothermal wonder came to be. It’s located on private property, the Fly Ranch. This phenomena has been named Fly Geyser in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, located about 20 miles north of Gerlach. Photo #1 by wallpaperpimper

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