Colorado Coroners Association: Fill & Download for Free

Lenticular clouds IImage credit: Jeff SullivanIn the image above you can see a spectacular display of lenticular clouds streaming over Sierra Nevada and Mono Lake at sunset. You can see a time-lapse of the event in the video below.Lenticular clouds IIImage credit: Hector Fabian GarridoIn the image above, you can see more lenticular clouds, this time near La Rioja, Argentina, at the base of the Andes mountain range.Lenticular clouds IIIImage credit: Akihiro ShibataAbove are lenticular clouds yet again, this time settled at summit of Mount Fuji in Japan at sunset.Lenticular clouds IVImage source: PhactualAnd here are stacked lenticular clouds, again at the summit of Mount Fuji.Fallstreak hole IImage source: PhactualI admit the image above (taken in Moscow) is probably tempered with; I think the contrast was increased, the saturation has been increased, and details have been sharpened. However, the phenomenon you see in the sky is definitely real. It’s what is called a fallstreak hole, also known as hole punch cloud or cloud hole.Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below freezing but the water has not frozen yet due to the lack of ice nucleation (see supercooled water). When ice crystals do form it will set off a domino effect, due to the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen process, causing the water droplets around the crystals to evaporate: this leaves a large, often circular, hole in the cloud.[1]Fallstreak hole IIImage credit: David BartonIn the image above (taken in Victoria, Australia) you can see another fallstreak hole, this time of the cloud canal kind. Within it, a rainbow can be seen. It almost looks like a window into a parallel universe, does it not?Polar stratospheric clouds IImage credit: Patricia CowernThe display above reminds me of a Van Gogh painting, but what you are looking at are polar stratospheric clouds, observed around the Arctic Circle.These beauties form at around 70,000 feet in the Earth’s stratosphere, where clouds normally don’t venture due to extreme dryness. The reason they end up there is because of temperature drops at high altitudes and become colorful little rainbows when sunlight is refracted off of ice crystals during sunrise and sunset.[2]Polar stratospheric clouds IIImage credit: Patricia CowernIn the image above you can see polar stratospheric clouds floating above Porjus, Lappland, Sweden.High-altitude sunlight shining through tiny ice particles ~10µm across produce the characteristic bright iridescent colors by diffraction and interference. Once thought to be mere curiosities, some PSCs are now known to be associated with the destruction of ozone.[3]Polar stratospheric clouds IIIImage credit: Deven StrossMore polar stratospheric clouds, this time observed from Antarctica. Interestingly, I saw someone characterized this image as a Van Gogh painting, so apparently I am not the only one who is reminded of his work when seeing polar stratospheric clouds.Mammatus clouds IImage credit: Anton YankovyiA gorgeous display of mammatus clouds in the Nepal Himalayas. Mammatus clouds are cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud.Mammatus clouds IIImage credit: Cory ReppenhagenOminous mammatus clouds above the Evergreen Cemetery in Deer Trail, Colorado.Mammatus clouds IIIImage source: ImgurMammatus clouds and lightning over Nebraska.Light pillars IImage credit: Greg TomaszewiczIn the image above you can see light pillars in Nesbyen, Norway.Light pillars are created by the reflection of light (from the Sun—called a sun pillar or solar pillar—the Moon, or terrestrial sources such as street lights) from numerous tiny ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere or clouds.Light pillars IIImage source: Cristobal Garciaferro RubioIn the image above light pillars can be seen in Alaska.The SunImage credit: Alan FriedmanTechnically the image above IS photoshopped, as the tonality of the Sun’s surface was inverted, so that the cooler regions appear lighter and the hotter regions darker.In the image above, I inverted the tonality back. Does it look any less alien now?If you look through the telescope that photographer Alan Friedman used to take the image above, you’ll see only a hint of violet—if you see anything at all. Equipped with a calcium potassium filter, the telescope lets in radiation right on the edge of ultraviolet, which the eye can have a hard time distinguishing.To create solar portraits like this (you can see others on Friedman’s Tumblr, Averted Imagination), Friedman attaches his camera—specifically, an industrial streaming device that he describes as a “webcam on steroids”—to the telescope’s viewfinder, which he focuses on the Sun using a computer. He then records video for a minute or two at a time, trying to capture moments of steadiness in the atmosphere. From that video footage, Friedman uses software to pick out the sharpest frames, reviews those, and merges multiple together, then further cleans up the mosaic to get rid of noise—a process that can take several hours.[4]Massive UFO refueling at the SunImage source: HUGE UFO drains plasma from sunThere have been many videos (follow the link above for example) and posts claiming the black sphere above is a massive UFO refueling at the Sun, or perhaps a black hole. But it is neither an alien spaceship refueling nor a black hole, but a coronal prominence cavity. Have a look at the video below.A solar prominence is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun’s surface. Some solar prominences are powerful enough that they eject the material into space, while others form huge arching columns called coronal loops, reaching heights of hundreds of thousands of kilometers and lasting a few days to months. When the solar prominence is observed not extending the Sun but head on it’s called a solar filament.Prominences sometimes also form larger formations called coronal streamers. The inside void is what the coronal prominence cavity is.Image source: The Extended Solar AtmosphereNow, obviously this still looks like an arch, but it’s all about perspective. The black “sphere” you see in the first image is basically the view from the image below, where you peer directly into this “tunnel” of filaments.Image source: Three-dimensional morphology of a coronal prominence cavityNature has a lot of splendor to offer. I apologize I couldn’t cover all of it in this post.Footnotes[1] An Unusual Cloud Phenomenon Above the Skies of Victoria, Australia[2] 9 Rare Cloud Formations And Their Explanations[3] Colorful polar stratospheric clouds return to Swedish skies -- Sott.net[4] Picture of the Week: The Sun

This cop understands that regular cannabis use before age 25 can lead to a permanent drop of up to 9 IQ points. I, for one, don’t have the IQ points to spare.[1] [2]I work and live in California where cannabis is almost legal, and frankly, I could care less if you are an adult and use cannabis responsibly. That said, I’ve rarely seen anyone who could be described as highly-motivated or a go-getter who uses marijuana. Admittedly, this is anecdotal evidence. For a peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Neuroscience), take a look at these links.Casual Marijuana Use Linked to Brain Abnormalities - Northwestern NowCannabis Use Is Quantitatively Associated with Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala Abnormalities in Young Adult Recreational UsersSo don’t tell me it isn’t bad for you. Tell that to the parents of the two separate young men who defenestrated themselves in Colorado in the past several years.Denver coroner: Man fell to death after eating marijuana cookiesColorado mom gave pot brownie to son who jumped from window: policeCannabis isn’t bad for you in the same way guns aren’t bad for you. If handled responsibly by people who know what they’re doing, everything is perfectly safe. The analogy breaks down in that prolonged responsible gun use isn’t shown to impair your judgement.The way I see it is like alcohol. Do it as an adult, out of public view, and don’t be out driving or interacting with the public while you’re stoned, and no one cares if you spark up.Footnotes[1] Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife[2] Study Shows Heavy Adolescent Pot Use Permanently Lowers IQ

Thanks for the A2A.Occurring during Solar Cycle 10 (1855-1867), the 'Carrington Event' was 'The Solar Storm of 1859', a powerful geomagnetic solar storm . It was one of the largest geomagnetic storms on record and resulted from a solar coronal mass ejection hitting Earth's magnetosphere. The solar photosphere's associated "white light flare" was recorded by Richard C. Carrington (1826-1875) & Richard Hodgson (1804-1872), English astronomers. [See Severe Space Weather--Social and Economic Impacts; Philips, Tony;01/20/2009; NASA Science: Science News; NASA Science]Aurorae were seen around the Earth on Sept. 1–2, 1859, one of the largest recorded geomagnetic storms occurred. Ground-based magnetometers were used to record the event. Aurorae were seen far south as the Caribbean; over the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, they were so bright that gold miners thought it was morning and began preparing breakfast. People in the northeastern U.S. reported reading newspapers by the light. The aurora was visible as far from the poles as Sub-Saharan Africa, Monterrey and Tampico in Mexico, Queensland, Cuba, Hawaii, Columbia and other places very close to the Equator. [See Solar storm of 1859]North American and European telegraph systems failed with telegraph operators reporting that they received electric shocks from the equipment; telegraph pylons threw sparks; and, some telegraph operators said that they could continue to receive and send telegraphic messages without being connected to a power supply.A solar storm of this magnitude occurring today would likely cause widespread problems for our modern, technology-dependent society. The solar storm of 2012 was of similar power and magnitude, but fortunately failed to strike Earth as it passed our orbit. [See Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012; Phillips, Dr. Tony; 04/23/2014; NASA Science]In June 2013, researchers from Lloyd's of London in conjunction with the Atmospheric & Environmental Research (AER, U.S.) compiled the data from the Carrington event in an effort to estimate a present day damage from an event similar to the Carrington Event. The theoretical damage estimate to the United States alone would be between $600 billion to $2.6 trillion. [See Emerging Risk Reports: Solar Storm Risk to the North American Electric Grid; http://www.lloyds.com/~ /media /lloyds/reports/emerging%20risk%20reports/solar%20storm%20risk%20to%20the%20north%20american%20electric%20grid.pdf ]One of these days, we could be in for a terrific light show and a horrific aftermath should Earth happen to receive a direct, or even partial, strike of a large solar coronal mass ejection.