Issue 110: Ice
In this week’s issue:
- Icy scenes for Groundhog Day
- Laser-like reflective highlights
- Shadows at Stonehenge
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Feature Story: Ice
Tomorrow is the scientifically-rigorous and vitally important holiday known as Groundhog Day. It’s a uniquely American event where a meteorological trend is derived from rodent behavior and the whole tradition was popularized by a Hollywood blockbuster. The movie, Groundhog Day, stars Bill Murray as a character forced to repeat the same day over and over again. And since our editor was called for jury duty this week (another Odyssey-like journey of unavoidable repetition), we’re making this issue groundhog-like (short, sweet, and partial to (plot) holes).
Seasonal weather is obviously not affected by whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his own shadow. But since we’re in the throes of winter we figured now’s as good a time as any to share some of our favorite icy images. We observe the Earth cycle between states with the same enthusiasm as a dog watching a tennis match, and the perpetually frozen polar regions are frequent favorites. Which makes it all the more difficult for us to watch as less ice accumulates each year. But we still do our best to look at the bright side of humanity’s shadow and hope for favorable future weather.
Satellite Explainer: Specular Highlights
Sometimes when you gaze into the Earth, it gazes back. Well, kind of. Occasionally a surface — like water or glass — will reflect light at just the right angle to show up as a laser-looking beam in our satellite’s sensors.
Concentrated solar power utilizes thousands of mirrors to redirect sunlight to a tower in the center. If a mirror is a touch misaligned, it’ll create a specular highlight like the one we caught here above what appears to be an almost correct Wordle guess.
Remote Sensations: Minihenge
If you want to track celestial movements in a traditional manner, you’re better off with Stonehenge than a groundhog. Not much is known about England’s ancient monument except that its configuration lends itself to a pretty mesmerizing view on the winter and summer solstices. We’ll be tracking some of the amazing celestial events this year (like the upcoming total solar eclipse in April), so stay tuned for more astronomical images.
All imagery Ⓒ 2024 Planet Labs PBC
Editor: Ryder Kimball | Images: Ryder Kimball, Max Borrmann, Julian Peschel, and Maarten Lambrechts
