Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Icelandic Legends and Aurora

NASA ^ | December 08, 2015 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Legends collide in this dramatic vista of land, sea, and sky. The land is Iceland, specifically Vík í M‡rdal, a southern village known for its beautiful black sand beaches. The sea, the Atlantic Ocean, surrounds Reynisdrangar, a sea stack of eroded basaltic rock pillars that Icelandic folklore tells are the petrified remains of trolls once attempting to drag a three-masted ship onto land. Watching from overhead and shining bright on the upper right is the god of the sky, according to Greek mythology: the planet Jupiter. Also visible in the sky are several other Greek legends encapsulated as constellations, including a lion (Leo), a big bear (Ursa Major), and a water snake (Hydra). One might guess that all of this commotion caused the spectacular aurora pictured -- but really it was just explosions from the Sun.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit and Copyright: Elizabeth M. Ryan; Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

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[ETL]

Vik i Myrdal is the southernmost village in Iceland

[apocalypto]

Great photos!

[ETL]

Iceland of course sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the place where the floor of the ocean is being pulled apart, pushing North and South America
away from Europe and Africa at the rate of about 2 inches/year. This works out to about 1 mile in 30,000 years. You can actually see the Ridge
in this image. Everywhere but Iceland the Ridge is deeply submerged under water.

[ETL]

[apocalypto]

Great! Thanks!

[ETL]

You’re welcome. Looks like a scene from the film Planet of the Apes.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I thought that same thing. Where Heston encounters the Statue of Liberty ruins.

[ETL]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, nice pics!

BTW, all, the POTA beach finale was filmed at Westward Beach, Malibu, Los Angeles. i suspect a lot of movies shoot there, like “From Here to Eternity” and “American Pie II”. ;’)

[Kommodor]

Ping to grab the pic later...