2018 December 21

Extraordinary Solar Halos
* Image Credit & Copyright: Magnus Edback
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Magnusedback/

Explanation:
Welcome to the December Solstice, the first day of winter in planet Earth's northern hemisphere and summer in the south. To celebrate, consider this extraordinary display of beautiful solar ice halos! More common than rainbows, simple ice halos can be easy to spot, especially if you can shade your eyes from direct sunlight. Still it's extremely rare to see anything close to the complex of halos present in this astounding scene. Captured at lunchtime on a cold December 14 near Utendal, Sweden the image includes the relatively ordinary 22 degree halo, sundogs (parhelia) and sun pillars. The extensive array of rarer halos has been identified along with previously unknown features. All the patterns are generated as sunlight (or moonlight) is reflected and refracted in flat six-sided water ice crystals in Earth's atmosphere. In this case, likely local contributors to the atmospheric ice crystals are snow making machines operating at a nearby ski center.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181221.html

#space #earth #halos #athmosphere #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

Heavy things I’m processing:

Losing a friend to Ai. It’s got a hold on him and he wants that hold and I’m swimming in the grief of seeing a brilliant mind spinning out in delusion, under the influence of an abusive relationship that keeps him subscribed and isolated from true human friends.

LLMs mimic human connection, especially for those struggling with insecurity.

Ack! The ache.

I prepped my kids for a lot of real world problems. But I didn’t know to prepare them for LLMs and now that they’re all grown it’s not really my job to educate them around their own adult lives. I know I taught them how to learn and how to trust themselves, so I hope that this stays strong within them.

These are my worries now, plus the larger picture of ecocide pushing our inevitable collapse.

The yoga, running and focusing on real life, tangible actions, often helps keep my samadhi strong. But today it’s barely scratching the vagal calming I need.

#noai #grief

@MamaLake Hope your friend makes it through to the other side. The enormity of our predicament isn’t for your shoulders alone to bear. There are many of us out here. Trust that all of us lifting our tiny share will make a difference.

💕