martinlambert

Living at a latitude of -27 degrees I have never observed an aurora. If asked "What is the one thing you want to do before kicking off this mortal coil?" I always respond to, "To see the aurora borealis/australis!!"

 

As an amateur astronomer I love this picture, (and the shot containing the moonlit road). For me they both confirm the absolute beauty of the universe in which we live. Keep up the good work Father Xmas.

No, not a sunspot but a silhouette of the planet Venus transiting the face of the Sun. The last transit of Venus occurred in 1882, they occur in pairs 8 years apart, each pair seperated by either 122 or 105 years. So the next series of transits will occur in 2012, 2117, 2225 and so on.

Now I get the opportunity to publicly state what a wonderful picture this is. Deliberately throwing the Moon out of focus was a brilliant idea; it contrasts nicely with the sharply delineated foliage. Mystical - I think was the word that sprang to mind when I first saw this photograph.

 

Aesthetically very pleasing, I think the vertical colour gradient contributes mostly to this.

I know! I know! Transit pictures are a "dime a dozen" at the moment,

but thought I'd submit anyway. At our latitude, observation was

restricted to about two hours prior to sunset. Broken cloud cover was

a major problem with old man sun constantly playing "peek-a-boo".

However I do think shots of only a partially visible solar disk are

more satisfying to look at. I think I got lucky! Of couse feel free

to disagree.