Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere
"Surrounded by the warm waters of the South Pacific, the Fiji Islands are often cloaked in clouds when the Aqua or Terra satellites fly over. But July 21, 2011, offered up a perfectly cloud-free view. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua shows Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu, and the Cakaulevu Reef that shelters the island’s northern shore.
Also called the Great Sea Reef, Cakaulevu shines turquoise through clear, shallow waters. It is the third longest continuous barrier reef in the world, behind the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Mesoamerica Reef off Central America. When combined with the nearby Pascoe Reef, Cakaulevu Reef is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) long. On its own, the Cakaulevu Reef covers 202,700 square kilometers (77,200 square miles)."
by Rick Stankiewicz
“It was both eerie and beautiful. Of course it was only a harmless solar pillar, but one of the most striking and colourful that I have ever seen. The contrast with the black clouds over the western horizon added greatly to the special effect. The solar pillar was redder than I have normally seen. Usually they tend to be a yellow, orange or pink. Clearly the longer wavelengths of the spectrum were showing themselves this evening.”
