So, is anyone else tired of politics? Like really, really tired of politics?
I know I am.
So let's rise above all this just for now. Something I follow on Twi—, er, X is a number of accounts with astrophotography or other photography that's basically really cool. I keep the links in a folder labeled "spaceporn."
Just as a warning, this time I'm not attempting to make any particular story out of these choices. They're just my favorite recent pictures. If you find them interesting and want to see more, I can certainly be convinced.
So, first up: You may not have noticed, but we had a dramatic occultation of Saturn by the Moon not long ago. An occultation is when one celestial object passes in front of another, concealing it from view. This picture is from one of my favorite purveyors of space porn, Andrew McCarthy — not the lawyer by the same name.
A traveled to the top of a Volcano in Hawaii to capture this: Saturn briefly covered by the moon. One of the most difficult shots I’ve captured and a bucket list moment, this event gave me a new perspective on the solar system.
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) September 20, 2024
I’ll have it available in print for a short time. pic.twitter.com/hA4k9m8eyT
I suspect the colors on the moon are a side effect of a long exposure to get a good image of Saturn — I think the Moon is still the color of a burnt-out charcoal briquette to the naked eye.
Like this.
The camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured this unique and iconic view of the Moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth in August 2015, from a distance of 1 million miles. pic.twitter.com/OCnq8GLryS
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 8, 2024
Here's one I picked just because it is so much clearer than anything astronomers had when I was a college freshman taking astronomy.
NGC 7331, 40M light years away from us. pic.twitter.com/KlKxxO1P0z
— Space 8K (@uhd2020) October 10, 2024
Next, several posts by the Curiosity account, which is generally excellent.
Here's a great shot of the moon. Again, I wouldn't bet on this being the color you'd see with the naked eye; I think the contrast might be dialed up a little.
Extremely detailed view of Lunar surface by astrophotographer Darya Kawa Mirza 🌖 pic.twitter.com/0lG29X5ScI
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) October 10, 2024
And one where I'm sure the photographer said something like, "Holy crap, what's that?" You couldn't plan a shot like that.
Once-in-a-lifetime-shot.
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) October 10, 2024
A bright meteor burned up in the atmosphere while capturing Andromeda Galaxy.
📸 Jose Pedrero. pic.twitter.com/cv7z6RmAkK
And here's another.
Once-in-a-lifetime-shot🌠
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) October 10, 2024
📸 © Prasenjeet Yadav pic.twitter.com/15gdf31qgD
How about some pictures of the Earth from space?
If you've ever wondered if that map of Great Britain was realistic, have a look.
United Kingdom as seen from space. pic.twitter.com/ZyfilFZv5t
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) October 10, 2024
7500 light-years away from us pic.twitter.com/0XB7XYEb9k
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) October 9, 2024
And Hurricane Milton:
Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton about 2 hours ago.
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 8, 2024
1/6400 sec exposure, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps pic.twitter.com/p5wBlC95mx
Let's finish off with a picture of the Earth that looks like it must be a picture from a science fiction movie: the recent Northern Lights seen from the space station.
The sun goes burp and the atmosphere turns red. Spectacular not only from Earth but from orbit as well. This event caught both @dominickmatthew and I off guard. Aurora had been just so-so; we were out of energy at the end of a long day and reluctant to once again set up our… pic.twitter.com/gL6rjUiHJQ
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) October 11, 2024
So that's it for this... week? I don't know. If you want more of this, let me know in the comments. And now a word from our sponsor.
For current VIP members: Become a VIP Platinum member today to receive a $25 gift code to our brand new Townhall Media store as well as a LIFETIME discount.
Read. Listen. And now WATCH and REPRESENT with VIP Platinum.
The threat of a Kamala Harris presidency is looming, and the time to UPGRADE your membership and keep up the fight to save America is NOW. Will you continue to stand with us? Go here to upgrade your membership now.
Thank you for your continued support! Your member benefits will not change as an existing VIP or VIP Gold member; you'll still have access to everything you did before if you choose not to upgrade, but we could really use your added support!