Kofun (Japan) in Satellite Maps

 Japanese Kofun in Maps given by a Spaceborne Digital Elevation Model based on Multiple Satellite Data Sets

In the proposed discussion we stress the possibility to use maps from Spaceborne Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to analyze the locations of Kofun, the ancient tombs in Japan. Some of these tombs have the form of very large tumuli. The  Digital Elevation Model here used is that proposed by Yamazaki, Ikeshima, Tawatari, Yamaguchi, O'Loughlin, Neal, Sampson, Kanae and Bates, in the Geophysical Research Letters, 2017, and implemented at the web site it-ch.topographic-map.com . On Kofun and their orientation, a large literature in Japanese exists: we will give references about related archaeoastronomical studies too. Details about the burial chambers in the kofun having a keyhole-shape are given. The presence of two burial chambers inside is giving a direction coherent with the long axis of the tumulus. We will also recommend the reading of detailed discussions (in Italian), that have been provided by G. Poncini in the Enciclopedia dell' Arte Antica  (1995) and M. Hudson about archaeology in Japan 2002.  Literature on the funerary rituals of the Kofun Period are also proposed.

https://it-ch.topographic-map.com

Contents: Introduction - Early Japan - La tomba dell’ Uji No Kami (in Italian and English) - Orientation of zenpōkōen kofun (first part) - DEM Maps - Orientation of zenpōkōen kofun (second part) - Due North, facing South - Due South, facing North - Keyholes in Arabia - Goshikizuka Kofun - Why two parts? - Princess Pimiko – Kofun Religion - Swords - Amaterasu (in Italian and English) -Yata no Kagami  - Ishikoridome no Mikoto - Magatama -  Insegne imperiali del Giappone - Torifune (in Italian and English) – The waves - Kofun (G. Poncini, in Italian) - Tipo Coreano (in Italian and English) -  Takamatsuzuka (archaeoastronomy) -  I cinque elementi (in Italian) - Shitennō and the four directions -  Three  periods (Britannica) - Late Kofun Period - Misemaruyama Kofun (見瀬丸山古墳) -  Modifying the nature - Keyhole Tombs in Korea - Pits and corridors - Kofun (tumulus) (古墳) from www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/ - Yŏngsan River basin keyhole-shaped tumuli - The entrance - Gunshufun Tumuli and Kinship in Late kofun era - Pit-dwelling-style stone lined chamber at the square end - Nintoku-tenno-ryo Kofun – Ancestors - A cluster - Archaeology in Japan (M. Hudson, in Italian) - Land of Rising Sun - Mirrors in Kurozuka Kofun - Nakayama Otsuka Kofun and others - Funeral rites  - Misasagi - Archaic funerary rites – Asobibe -  Satellite and LiDAR - Discussion on orientation - Hopewell culture - References 

Special Issue "Image processing and satellite imagery analysis in environments"

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences/special_issues/Image_processing_satellite_environments

Taklamakan

Images at
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/index.html

Earth from Apollo

Courtesy: NASA Apollo 11

Bellissima!

Courtesy: NASA Apollo 8

Sun reflection

Courtesy: NASA Apollo 8

View of Earth as photographed by the Apollo 8 astronauts on their return trip from the moon. The terminator crosses Australia. India is visible. The sun reflection is within the Indian Ocean.

Huge and old crater in Groenlandia

Descubren cráter del asteroide más antiguo y grande en Groenlandia
"Un cráter de 100 kilómetros de ancho fue descubierto en Groenlandia y corresponde al impacto más antiguo y del asteroide más grande que se conoce hasta ahora, asegura un artículo publicado en la revista Earth and Planetary Science Letters."

Ancient Rainfall, Carved in Stone

"Stalactites grow from cave ceilings not as dull cones but often sporting elegant corrugations. In Physical Review Letters, two Italian researchers now explain these mysterious, wavy patterns using standard fluid mechanics. Their theory shows that the horizontal ripples form because spatially periodic patterns arise in the rate of mineral deposits from the water flowing down the stalactite. Starting from this model, climate scientists might in the future use stalactite surface structure to reconstruct variations in precipitation patterns over tens of thousands of years."Ancient Rainfall, Carved in Stone

Uturuncu

"Uturuncu, or Uturunku, the highest summit in southwestern Bolivia, is astratovolcano. ...Researchers have determined that a large, roughly circular "disc" of land surrounding the volcano, approximately 70 km across, has been rising at a rate of 1 to 2 cm per year since at least the early 1990s, making it "one of the fastest uplifting volcanic areas on the Earth"." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uturuncu
and also: Temen que supervolcán Uturuncu se prepare para explotar en Bolivia
http://www.connuestroperu.com/mundo/32/24804-temen-que-supervolcan-uturuncu-se-prepare-para-explotar-en-bolivia

NCG 891

Another superb image at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120526.html
" This sharp cosmic portrait features NGC 891. .. At first glance, it has a flat, thin, galactic disk and a central bulge cut along the middle by regions of darkobscuring dust. The combined image data also reveal the galaxy's young blue star clusters and telltale pinkish star forming regions. And remarkably apparent in NGC 891's edge-on presentation are filaments of dust that extend hundreds of light-years above and below the center line. The dust has likely been blown out of the disk by supernova explosions or intense star formation activity. "

Here the NASA image after processing with AstroFracTool and Iris

http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.4637v2

Transit of Mercury

Very beautiful image at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120527.html Image Credit: SOHO - EIT Consortium, NASA
"The diminutive disk of Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, spent about five hours crossing in front of the enormous solar disk in 2003 ... the horizon was certainly no problem for the sun-staring SOHO spacecraft. Seen as a dark spot, Mercury progresses from left to right (top panel to bottom) in these four images from SOHO's extreme ultraviolet camera. The panels' false-colors correspond to different wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet which highlight regions above the Sun's visible surface."

Here the image from NASA after processing with IRIS

Transit of Venus

"The next transit of Venus, where Venus appears as a dark spot in front of the Sun, will begin at 22:09 UTC on 5 June 2012, and will finish at 04:49 UTC on 6 June.[1] Depending on the position of the observer, the exact times can vary by up to ±7 minutes. Transits of Venus occur in pairs that are eight years apart: theprevious transit was in June 2004, and the next pair of transits will occur in December 2117 and December 2125." from Wikipedia

Aristarchus proposed to measure the distance to the Sun using parallax. This approach based on the geometric principles of parallax last for two thousands of years, until Edmond Halley in 1716 proposed to observe the transit of Venus. The use of Venus transits gave an estimate of 1.53×10^13 cm, 2.6% above the currently accepted value, that of l.49 × 10^13 cm. More recently, in 1910, the parallax was measured using the asteroid Eros that passed much closer to Earth than Venus. A transit of Venus happens when this planet passes directly between the Sun and Earth, appearing as a small black disk moving across the Sun bright disk. The duration of such transits is usually measured in hours.
Read more "Two amateur astronomers at Berkeley", athttp://arxiv.org/abs/1202.0950

Moving sand dunes

In several desert areas, the slow motion of sand dunes can be a challenge for modern human activities and a threat for the survival of ancient places or archaeological sites. However, several methods exist for surveying the dune fields and estimate their migration rate. Among these methods, the use of satellite images, in particular of those freely available on the World Wide Web, is a convenient resource for the planning of future human settlements and activities. More at http://arxiv.org/abs/1112.5572

The barchans move. Note the dunes on the tracks.

Giant Waterworld Around Naked Eye Star

Giant Waterworld Confirmed Around Naked Eye Star - Technology Review
"55 Cancri A is a Sun-like star some 40 light years away. It has an apparent magnitude of about 6 and so is visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer.
This star is unusual in that it is just one of a handful that are known to have at least 5 planets. The innermost of these planets--55 Cancri e--was discovered in 2004 and has since had plenty of attention from astronomers. Various groups have observed the the changes in radial velocity that it causes its parent star. This tells them about that it orbits its star every 18 hours and that its mass is about 8 times Earth's or about half Neptune's.""The innermost planet around 55 Cancri A is almost certainly an exotic waterworld with a radius about twice Earth's, say astronomers"

Eta Carinae's Homunculus

Homunculus Nebula is surrounding the star system Eta Carinae. The nebula is embedded within a much larger ionized hydrogen region, which is the Carina Nebula. Homunculus is believed to have been ejected in a huge outburst from Eta Carinae in 1841, so brightly to be visible from Earth. This massive explosion produced two polar lobes and an equatorial disc, moving outwards. Though Eta Carinae is quite away, approximately 7,500 light-years, it is possible to distinguish in the nebula, many structures with the size of about the diameter of our solar system. Knots, dust lanes and radial streaks appear quite clearly in many images.

At the http://staff.polito.it/amelia.sparavigna/Astronomical-astrofractool-web.htm, I am comparing the imaging of Homunculus Nebula, obtained by Hubble Space Telescope, and that from the Gemini South Telescope.
See also http://arxiv.org/abs/1005.4323, A comment on Eta Carinae's Homunculus Nebula imaging.

Iris Nebula

Iris Nebula LBN 487 

From an image by Hewholooks, which is the user page of Hunter Wilson. Images may be seen at http://hwilson.zenfolio.com/f129011888 or on

Wikimedia athttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=hewholooks

Aurora boreale su Saturno

Un'aurora boreale su Saturno vista da Hubble

Credit: NASA-HUBBLE

Dancing galaxies

Il Sole24ore propone una collezione di immagini con la danza delle galassie. Vedi
http://foto.ilsole24ore.com/SoleOnLine5/Tecnologie/Scienza/2011/danza-galassie/danza-galassie_fotogallery.php?id=2

Europa, Ganymede and Callisto

Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in a surface comparison.

Images from NASA, JPL.

These are the icy surfaces of three of the Galileian Moons.