The International Year of Light continues with a beautiful gallery celebrating all aspects of light: multispectral astronomical, technological innovations, bioluminescence, eclipses, and even noctilucent clouds. I’ll say this for it: this is the most visually interesting and diverse “Year of…” celebration!
https://gizmodo.com/20-facts-about-light-to-brighten-your-curiosity-1679945054
While the entire gallery is gorgeous celebrating the International Year of Light is beautiful and well worth perusing, these are my favourites:
Dark field image vorticella, a single-celled protozoa lit by scattered light while the direct light source is deliberately blocked. Image credit: Frank Fox
The lights of Earth — star trails, terrestrial lights, and auroras — seen at 27,000 kilometers per hour from the International Space Station, 386 kilometers above the surface. Image Credit: NASA/JSC/Don Petit
Microscopic photograph of common cold medication under polarized light. Image credit: Marek Mís
The Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) colour-coded by its dominant elemental components: hydrogen (green), oxygen (red), and sulfur (blue). Image Credit: T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage/B.A. Wolpa/NOAO/AURA/NSF
Optical fibres transport light through flexible, hollow cords. Image credit: Optoelectronics Research Centre
The 1999 total eclipse as seen from Turkey, so only the corona of the sun is visible around the shadowy disc of the moon. Image Credit: Dan Schechter
Fireflies produce bioluminescence through the interaction of luciferin in their abdomen with atmospheric oxygen, producing light that further reflected by uric acid crystals. Image Credit: Tsuneaki Hiramatu
Elliptical galaxy Hercules A, with a giant cloud of gas surrounding a black hole. Multispectral image with optical light (red, green, and blue with bright galaxies in white), X-rays (purple), and radio data (blue). Image Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO (X-ray); NASA/STScI (optical); and NSF/NRAO/VLA (radio)
Light and shadow emphasizing the sandstone texture of Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Image Credit: J. L. Spaulding
Salt Lake City, Utah, seen at night from the International Space Station. Older high-pressure sodium lights glow yellow, while more modern light-emitting diodes are sharper whites an green. Image Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center
Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds on Earth, tiny crystals of water ice and dust on the edge of space. Image Credit: NASA
Want to contribute to the a visual celebration of the International Year of Light? You can host an exhibit using by curating a collection from the images, or donate pictures to the gallery.
