Psalm 19:1-7, " 1The heavens keep telling the wonders of God,
and the skies declare what he has done. 2Each day informs
the following day; each night announces to the next.
3They don't speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice.
4Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world.
In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun. 5It rises like a bridegroom
and gets ready like a hero eager to run a race. 6It travels all the way
across the sky. Nothing hides from its heat. 7The Law of the LORD is perfect;
it gives us new life. His teachings last forever, and they give wisdom
to ordinary people.
1st Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Organized by astronomy-education projects The World at Night (TWAN) and Global Astronomy Month, the contest honors pictures that meet one of two criteria: "either to impress people on how important and amazing the starry sky is, or to impress people on how bad the problem of light pollution has become." In total, ten winners were announced May 9 in either the "Beauty of the Night Sky" or "Against the Lights" category.
To achieve the contest goals, organizers asked for "landscape astrophotography"—pictures of world landmarks against the night sky. This style "brings Earth and sky into one frame, and it's a bridge between the night sky and the ... environment," TWAN founder and contest judge Babak Tafreshi said in an email to National Geographic News.
"If we considered dark, starry skies a part of nature and our living world heritage, then we would try to preserve it like the other parts of nature."
—Victoria Jaggard
1st Place, "Against the Lights" Category
Overall, images in the "Against the Light" category "try to display how the beauties of the night sky are being vanished away by increasing lights in our modern life," TWAN's Tafreshi said. "Many of these lights are either not directed toward the ground in the right way or not necessary in those locations."
This picture of the Alps impressed the contest judges because it "has a very good balance between the starry sky and the lights," Tafreshi said. "Sky is affected partly by those village lights but not vanished away. So the beauty of nature exists above the lights."
Our solar system lies in one of the galaxy's spiral arms, about halfway from the galactic center. Recent studies show that the Milky Way's dusty heart houses a supermassive black hole.
"The position of the Milky Way in this image—lying horizontally, just above the horizon—gives the sense that it's just beyond arm's reach. Walk to the horizon, and instead of falling off the edge of the Earth, you can step into the rest of the galaxy," said contest judge Mike Simmons, president of Astronomers Without Borders, a TWAN co-founder, and a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.
"This connection of Earth and sky is actually quite real, if not always so apparent. The Earth is in space, and we are traveling through the galaxy upon it. Giving me a sense of our status as space travelers is what I love about this image," Simmons said via email.
"I've seen the sky from within Isfahan's glow and from Iran's deserts. As in cities around the world, the city's inhabitants rarely know what they are missing," said Astronomers Without Borders' Simmons. "Perhaps this image will encourage them to leave the city and reconnect with the night sky."
Auroras occur when large numbers of charged particles from the sun encounter Earth's magnetic shield. Most of these particles get corralled toward the Poles, where they slam into atmospheric gases such as nitrogen and oxygen.
The fishers' lights wash out any starlight on the horizon—a common phenomenon worldwide.
National Geographic magazine. (Read more about light pollution.)
Toward the left of the image, lights crowd the Nile River; its delta; and Alexandria, Egypt (top left center). The Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal are seen to the right.
God's best 2 U, Joy J
and the skies declare what he has done. 2Each day informs
the following day; each night announces to the next.
3They don't speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice.
4Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world.
In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun. 5It rises like a bridegroom
and gets ready like a hero eager to run a race. 6It travels all the way
across the sky. Nothing hides from its heat. 7The Law of the LORD is perfect;
it gives us new life. His teachings last forever, and they give wisdom
to ordinary people.
1st Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Photograph by Stephane Vetter, TWAN
A dazzling green aurora frames the arc of the Milky Way over Jökulsárlón, the largest glacier lake in Iceland, on March 10. The picture is a first-prize winner in the Second International Earth and Sky Photo Contest's "Beauty of the Night Sky" category.Organized by astronomy-education projects The World at Night (TWAN) and Global Astronomy Month, the contest honors pictures that meet one of two criteria: "either to impress people on how important and amazing the starry sky is, or to impress people on how bad the problem of light pollution has become." In total, ten winners were announced May 9 in either the "Beauty of the Night Sky" or "Against the Lights" category.
To achieve the contest goals, organizers asked for "landscape astrophotography"—pictures of world landmarks against the night sky. This style "brings Earth and sky into one frame, and it's a bridge between the night sky and the ... environment," TWAN founder and contest judge Babak Tafreshi said in an email to National Geographic News.
"If we considered dark, starry skies a part of nature and our living world heritage, then we would try to preserve it like the other parts of nature."
—Victoria Jaggard
1st Place, "Against the Lights" Category
Photograph by Thomas Kurat, TWAN
Twinkling stars over the Austrian Alps compete against the bright glow of a mist-covered town near Lake Traunsee in a February 17, 2010, picture.Overall, images in the "Against the Light" category "try to display how the beauties of the night sky are being vanished away by increasing lights in our modern life," TWAN's Tafreshi said. "Many of these lights are either not directed toward the ground in the right way or not necessary in those locations."
This picture of the Alps impressed the contest judges because it "has a very good balance between the starry sky and the lights," Tafreshi said. "Sky is affected partly by those village lights but not vanished away. So the beauty of nature exists above the lights."
2nd Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Photograph by Alex Cherney, TWAN
A tree seems to bend in a galactic breeze in a July 2010 picture of the central bulge of the Milky Way taken from Australia.Our solar system lies in one of the galaxy's spiral arms, about halfway from the galactic center. Recent studies show that the Milky Way's dusty heart houses a supermassive black hole.
"The position of the Milky Way in this image—lying horizontally, just above the horizon—gives the sense that it's just beyond arm's reach. Walk to the horizon, and instead of falling off the edge of the Earth, you can step into the rest of the galaxy," said contest judge Mike Simmons, president of Astronomers Without Borders, a TWAN co-founder, and a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.
"This connection of Earth and sky is actually quite real, if not always so apparent. The Earth is in space, and we are traveling through the galaxy upon it. Giving me a sense of our status as space travelers is what I love about this image," Simmons said via email.
Published May 17, 2011
2nd Place, "Against the Lights" Category
Photograph by Mehdi Momenzadeh, TWAN
The bright city lights of Isfahan, Iran, become the gold at the end of the Milky Way's "rainbow" in an April 2010 picture. The image shows how light pollution can drown out even the dense gathering of stars in the galactic plane."I've seen the sky from within Isfahan's glow and from Iran's deserts. As in cities around the world, the city's inhabitants rarely know what they are missing," said Astronomers Without Borders' Simmons. "Perhaps this image will encourage them to leave the city and reconnect with the night sky."
Solar Flare in 3-D Image courtesy SDO/NASA
A 3-D image of an active sun shows sunspots and "wonderful active regions in exquisite detail," according to NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. (See where you can get 3-D glasses to better appreciate this image.)
A powerful sun storm—associated with the second biggest solar flare of the current 11-year sun cycle—hit Earth last week.
Aurora Over Iceland
Photograph by Tim Vollmer, My Shot
An aurora arches over Hveragerdi, Iceland, in a photo recently submitted to National Geographic's My Shot.Auroras occur when large numbers of charged particles from the sun encounter Earth's magnetic shield. Most of these particles get corralled toward the Poles, where they slam into atmospheric gases such as nitrogen and oxygen.
Star Trails
Photograph by Kwon O. Chul, TWAN
Stars streak over illuminated fishing boats off Dokdo Island, South Korea, in a picture submitted to the astronomy-education project The World at Night (TWAN).The fishers' lights wash out any starlight on the horizon—a common phenomenon worldwide.
National Geographic magazine. (Read more about light pollution.)
Published March 12, 2012
Night Lights
Photograph courtesy NASA
Lights glimmer in the Mediterranean Sea region in an astronaut picture recently released by NASA.Toward the left of the image, lights crowd the Nile River; its delta; and Alexandria, Egypt (top left center). The Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal are seen to the right.
God's best 2 U, Joy J
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