moon

Rare, dazzling supertide envelops France’s Mont Saint-Michel

Rare, dazzling supertide envelops France’s Mont Saint-Michel

0 Comment Weather, World , , ,

19 Photos

A supertide turned France’s famed Mont Saint-Michel into an island on Saturday and then retreated out of sight, delighting thousands of visitors who came to see the rare phenomenon.

The so-called “tide of the century” actually happens every 18 years. Although the tide rushes in and out along the whole northern French coast, it’s especially dramatic at the UNESCO world heritage site, an ancient abbey normally linked to the mainland only by a narrow causeway at high tide. – Associated Press
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Exploring the moon: NASA’s first interactive look at the lunar north pole

Exploring the moon: NASA’s first interactive look at the lunar north pole

0 Comment The Baltimore Sun, World , , , ,

Interactive

Constructed from 10,581 pictures, scientists, using cameras aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), have created the largest high resolution mosaic of our moon’s north polar region. The mosaic provides enough detail to see textures and subtle shading of the lunar terrain and consistent lighting throughout the images makes it easy to compare different regions.

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Sunday’s solar eclipse burned, burned, burned, like a ring of fire

Sunday’s solar eclipse burned, burned, burned, like a ring of fire

1 Comment Nation, World , , , ,

31 photos

The western region of the United States and other countries along the Pacific rim caught a glimpse of the first solar eclipse of the year on Sunday. While, 2011 saw a handful of partial solar eclipses, spectators got to see what’s called an annular eclipse, or a so-called “ring of fire.” This occurs when the moon, appearing slightly smaller than the sun, passes before it to create an annulus, or ring, in the sky.

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